Baha Mar Resort, Tour of Nassau, Burgers and a Movie

Nassau – 1 mile in dinghy, 8 kilometres walked, 12 miles by bus, 13 miles by car

It was time to experience the Nassau public bus system as we wanted to explore Cable Beach today and it was too far to walk. The busses here are frequent and full with few marked bus stops so all you need is a hand and a wave to flag one down.

We picked up the 7a westbound on West Bay Street. The bus was quite small and packed like a sardine can with three fixed seats per row plus another that flips down into the aisle, meaning if the bus is full and somebody sitting at the back needs to get out, the people in the five aisle flip-downs need to stand up, fold in their seat, get off the bus, let the passenger out, then load back on and claim a new seat, just like naked hermit crabs claiming shells. It’s fun…the first time, at least.

The route took us through some rough residential neighbourhoods, the sort where you would not want to get out as tourists here would be painfully conspicuous. The crime in Nassau has skyrocketed in recent years with many more shootings and murders, which tend to happen in these residential areas, far away from where tourists congregate. It was an interesting ride as we passed many small food stores, liquor stores, sketchy bars, tiny restaurants, plus all sorts of industrial and commercial supply houses.

We were the last ones on the bus as it arrived downtown so we jumped off, thanked the driver, and walked across the street to the side road that served as a bus terminal There were two drivers sitting on a window ledge, talking.

“Excuse me,” Ana said. “Can you tell me which of these busses go to Cable Beach?”

“This one right here,” said the trim and neat first man, pointing to the bus directly beside us. “And this guy beside me is the driver. I know he don’t look too good, but he’s reliable.”

We laughed then Ana asked him about busses to the airport for Stella’s flight on Wednesday. After a discussion on the intricacies of the jitney system, it was determined we would not be able to get a bus from Traveller’s Rest restaurant (our anticipated lunch stop) to the airport and we’d instead need a taxi.

“I call my friend,” said the second driver. We waited and listened to the rapid fire Bahamian lingo passing through the cell phone. “He says he wants 35 dollars.”

“35 dollars?” exclaimed the first man, visibly agitated. “For going over the hill from Traveller’s Rest to the airport?  Tell your friend to fuck off. I’m going to get them my number,” he said as he stood up, walked to his bus, then returned with a business card he handed to Ana.

“You call me Wednesday, I’ll find you somebody.”

Ana tucked the card away in her purse and we laughed as we got onto the bus, which was fully packed, down to the last seat. In fact, the second from last passenger (who had the widest bum I have ever seen) had to fully exit the bus so Ana could get in and crawl up to the only remaining seat, beside the driver.

The bus snaked slowly through the gridlocked downtown traffic, creaking and groaning, then finally attained a level of speed outside of downtown, where the scenery turned green with palm trees and foliage to one side and ocean views to the other. We got off at the very start of Cable Beach where a new goliath hotel called the Baha Mar awaited us. Following the walkways through the sets of pools and fountains, we reached a lower entrance, used the facilities, then found an atrium ringed by fancy shops. We wandered through an art gallery then I sat in the comfy chairs at the sunny centre of the atrium while the girls browsed the other shops. We heard the sounds of a steel band so went up the escalator to find a band welcoming new guests arriving by bus, relieved to have finally reached their vacation destination. We mixed in easily with them and happy accepted red velvet complimentary cupcakes and optional mixed drinks. The three of us agreed the cupcakes were the most delicious we’d ever eaten.

The hotel was opulent, magnificent, and luxurious. There was a classy library room with classic furniture that looked like a place Hemingway could have written a masterpiece. We found a set of two comfy chairs and a couch hidden in the middle of jungle dense trees and greenery where we chilled for a while before continuing exploring the expansive grounds with multiple swimming pools, bars, food kiosks, beach, new breakwalls and docks, a huge waterpark, and thousands of guests.

We spent quite a while exploring the massive complex, then after having trouble finding an exit, finally made it out and continued walking west towards the main part of Cable Beach. We soon realized it was going to be an hour walk to reach the Poop Deck restaurant, where we had arrange to meet our friend Ruth, but that would not provide sufficient time to have a meal before taking in a 6:25 movie. We flagged down a bus, who whisked us there rapidly, only for us to discover the Poop Deck was closed on Mondays. We fumbled around for a while then ended up walking back to the Sandyport area and a lovely young Bahamian girl offered to guide us to a nearby restaurant called The Twisted Lime, which was artfully hidden within the complex. She assured us this would be a better choice than the Poop Deck as the food there was bad and it was her grandpa’s favourite restaurant. Enough said, I suppose.

The food was amazing, in fact it was the beast meal we’ve enjoyed in the Bahamas yet. The hamburgers were massive, fries were thick and crispy, and the draft Kalik was cold and cheap. And the view to the waterway and waterfront homes was very pleasant.

Ruth picked us up, fresh off a call negotiating a contract with a troublesome contractor, giving us a small and painful reminder the tough world of business just carried on in our absence. We drove to the Fusion Superplex, a huge and new complex with multiple cinema screens, restaurants, games, and party rooms but, inexplicably, missing a functioning website and we had a hell of time over the past couple of days trying to call them to find out what movies were playing and when they showed. Nobody seemed to know.

We saw the Imax version of a AI/robot/love/horror film called Companion, which wasn’t awful, and far more promising than the other sad choices available. After the movie Ruth took us for a long drive around the island, showing us all the new construction that had happened since we lived here including a huge US embassy, two massive international sports complexes, new hotels, new office buildings, new residential subdivisions, and one of the many building her family had procured over the years. We hadn’t known Ruth was a Bahamian Real Estate Magnate; seemed like she was close to taking over the island. We had a great visit, chatting constantly as she toured us from one end of the island to the other. It was so nice spending time with her again. She also solve a mystery we’d been grappling with. It had seemed to both Ana and I that the Bahamians we’d met on this trip, from people on the street to restaurant servers to construction workers had been unusually friendly and helpful compared to when we last lived here where it was often frustrating. Restaurant servers, in particular, used to treat customers (locals and tourists) terribly, and it was often all we could do to get somebody’s attention to bring over a menu.

“Covid,” Ruth said as she wheeled around a roundabout. “It was a wake up call for Bahamians. Our lifeblood is tourism, and when the tourism stopped overnight it reminded people how much we rely on it. Many people here went through very tough times as the money simply dried up. I too have noticed a big difference in peoples’ attitudes here. It’s a good thing.”

Ruth dropped us off at the Yacht Haven marina and demanded we call her for anything we needed, anything at all. We said our goodbyes, but I’m sure we’ll be seeing her again very soon