Some play and not all work
Trip Start
Sep 09, 2005
1
52
151
Trip End
Ongoing
Where I stayed
Nassau, Bahamas
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
It seems like day 28, at least. I have never done more waiting. Well, yes I have. The last time I was here. If nothing else, this job has taught me how to sit and wait. Sit and wait. Keep myself occupied and wait. Wander and wait. Wait some more. Airports and clients have taught me a lot of this!
Today I arrive a little later. I am still about an hour ahead of anyone I need to see. I search to find someone to let me into my room. I search to find my contact at the client site. I get signed onto the system.
I am supposed to meet the staff member for training at 10:00. I perform some more maintenance on the client system. I update my trip report notes. I have worked with the system so much I think I have all the data memorized.
At 11:00 I finally meet with the group. It is decided we will do training tomorrow. FOR SURE!
I return to my room and write some more procedures. I tell the client I am leaving to save them some money. It is 2:00 and I need to get out of here.
It was a good thing. I get back to my room, change quickly and head out. I decide to take the ferry to Paradise Island. This is the place that has the Atlantis Hotel. The ferry was a unique experience. The water taxi was kind of scary looking. However, by the time I bought my ticket at got to the dock it already had about 30 people on it and hadn't sunk. So, I am a good swimmer, so what the heck. I get on. If I thought my waiting was over, I was in for a sad surprise. We waited. The passengers were getting restless. They had been waiting 20 minutes already. The boat captain was trying to get as many people on it as possible. I thought the person boarding behind me would make it full capacity, but they managed to fit 10 more on. all I could think about were ferry disasters you hear about in the news. Ferry capsizes in Nassau Bay, 1,000's injured, many missing. Well, there were only about 40 of us, but to make headlines you have to up the ante a bit.
A fellow stands up and starts narrating our "tour". It was sort of interesting. We saw Mick Jagger's house, the place built for a James Bond movie, Charlie Chaplain's old house and some other stuff. The guy stood next to me and was a rather animated speaker. At one point he whacked me in the head a good one! He apologized, however at this point, imitating a sardine in a sardine can had become old and I wanted off! He passed a hat at the end so we would pay him.
We make it to Paradise Island. It sure has changed since the last time I was here about 5 years ago. There is so much more. More hotel rooms, more stores, more congestion. I walk over to the entrance to Atlantis and this has changed also. Now you walk through a cute little shopping village to get to the hotel. This was not here last time. You walk by the marina. Now, this is no ordinary marina. It is not even and extra-ordinary marina. It is a super, duper, extra-ordinary marina. The biggest boats I have ever seen are here. I have pictures attached for your viewing pleasure. One of them had a 20 foot boat and 6 jet skis on the top deck with a lift that puts them into and out of the water. Another one was 4 stories hig - above the water. They had satelite dishes and radars on their tops. There were decks and balconies adn more things than I could even imagine. I bet just one floor on some of these is bigger than my house!
So this is how the other people live! My brush with the rich and famous, or at least a look at some of their toys. I took pictures and made my way up to the hotel. It is really grand. Kind of reminds me of the Las Vegas hotels. HUGE, ornate and elaborate. The theme of this one is the lost city of atlantis. All the decorations deal with the sea and ancient stuff. Stuff - thats the technical term.
Atlantis is really done up pretty good. There is a huge aquarium that is visibule in the downstairs dining / lobby area. When I was here before I explored it all. It is a labyrinth of caves (very well decorated hallways) that take you underwater, and beside several different aquariums with different fish species. At some points you emerge from underground and see tidepools and recreated marinas with Atlantis artifacts and then following the path you venture back underwater. It is a real maze and I got lost several times. You see "wrecked ships" underwater, Neptunes home and lost treasure on the ocean floor. Actually rather neat. They charge for this tour now, so I declined to take the tour again.
I spent some time in the casino. I found a machine that lets you play blackjack. My favorite. It was a dollar machine and I was hesitant to use it. I typically play nickel machines, and sometimes when adventurous I step up to one that takes quarters. Anyway, I thought what the heck and decided I would spend $10.00 Well, I walked away with $30! I felt so lucky!
I went browsing in some stores and mosied back outside to begin my walk back to the dock for the ferries.
I didn't realize it, but the ticket I bought was good on any number of boats. I could select from the one with lawn chairs on the second story deck. Remembering the tenious sea-worthiness of the boats, it decided that might not be a good choice. I ended up on a boat different than the one I arrive on. It had no steps to board, so you had to just jump from the dock to the boat. A little old lady about 80 managed to get on just before me, so I was determined to try also. What a sight I must have been. Of course I had to whine and whine some more before I mustered my courage. But then the captain boarded and my window of opportunity was going to disappear, so I jumped and made it! I didn't even hurt anyone already on board. Once on board I began to wonder how we were going to get off the boat when we arrived in Nassau!
