The Bridge that Separates – Atlantis Side (Part I)

Paradise Island Bridge and Atlantis

After such a frustrating first day in Nassau, it was good that the Captain and I spent a day getting the dinghy fixed and cleaning the boat as we chilled and found a way to just relax.  Once we knew the dinghy was in good repair, though, we knew it was time to clean and take care of ourselves: it had been 12 days since we had a proper shower (we’ve got a solar shower that I had used during that time, mind you!).  So, we loaded up some clean clothes, our towels and toiletries, and headed toward the north side of the bridge: Paradise Island and the acclaimed Atlantis.

Super Yachts Abound

We entered the Atlantis marina on our ten-foot inflatable dinghy that needs a few pieces glued back on and has a spider-web of ropes going across the floor feeling like the Country Mouse entering Tiffany’s without the assistance of City Mouse.  We had to pass every boat in the marina to get to the dinghy dock at the very end, meaning we saw the world of opulence and wealth that is attracted to a place like Atlantis.  There were private yachts that were four-stories above the water with gold-trimmed, curving staircases at the stern (back) leading to swim decks which were bigger than our dinghy.  There were charter yachts with a passenger capacity of ~250 people though the boats were probably the same cost as the huge cruise ships which can hold ~5,000 people, meaning that the passengers of these boats could have easily paid 10 times what passengers on Carnival pay.  This entire scene was played out in front of the backdrop of Atlantis with its waterfalls coming from the side of the buildings, water passing sculpted artwork on every pillar and wall before splashing into the channel below.

When we tied up our dinghy, I kept thinking that there was no way we would be allowed to leave our dinghy in such a fancy-dancy place; sometimes, I really can be very wrong as not one person approached us while we got off and there was still no one around at the end of the evening when we came back to our little vehicle.  Taking our bags, Rob and I walked around the dockmaster’s building and into what Rob described as “Six Flags without the rides and way more expensive merchandise”.  We were on a path which lead to the Atlantis hotel buildings, but first we had to walk the gauntlet of stores with $1,000 bags and $500 shirts flanked on either side by restaurants with $40 grilled chicken; there was a Quizno’s with $6.50 sandwiches, though, and a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop with a line out the door.  And, of course, there was a Starbuck’s – paradise just wouldn’t be paradise without overpriced, over-caffeinated coffee, right?

As we walked into the hotel, I noticed a family walking toward the “village” we had just escaped from: a Caucasian-looking man and woman, him in front not really looking at the family, her just behind with a little girl holding her hand as she pulled the child along, and a Hispanic-looking woman a few feet behind pushing a stroller with a little boy who was leaning out the front.  I mentioned to the Captain that the family had a nanny with them and his first reaction was, “Wow!  The nanny gets to come to Atlantis?!”  My reading of the look on her face, though, was that the nanny had to come to Atlantis, not “got to.”

Our "We were there" Photo

Once inside, Rob and I tried to blend, to just look as though we belonged and knew exactly what we were doing instead of like interlopers who had come to the big shiny building in search of public showers; however, with how very little attention anyone is given, it was not a hard task to go unnoticed.  We walked past huge glass sculptures, through a casino with $200 minimums and $3,000 maximums, and found the doors that lead us to the beach-side of the complex.  Pools of water shimmered from every direction, the largest being the Atlantic Ocean with the turquoise water and the white sand beach off in the distance in front of us.  I figured that beach showers are what we were ultimately looking for, so we needed to make our way in that direction; we didn’t know it yet, but I give so many thanks for the quiet guidance we got through this area. 

We see these jumping out of the water often!

We passed a shallow pool with spotted rays then decided to walk through a tunnel that we stumbled across and found that we were walking under the pool which housed these rays and many other aquatic animals.  While walking though, we saw from every angle: a sawfish, multiple sharks, schools of white fish, silvery fish, and angry-looking fish, including barracuda who showed us up close and personal their teeth.  Later in our Atlantis Adventure, we were able to walk through the “largest open-air aquarium” in the world, which allowed us more views of the fish we had already seen, fish that almost NO human has seen, jelly fish in black-lights, small colorful sea horses, eels, and large rays gracefully swimming past with their wing-spans easily taking up six feet of the area around them.  All of this was in the Discover Atlantis Aquarium, an attraction that has a fee if you go in before 6:00, but is free if you have the knowledge to go at the right time (which we did thanks to other cruisers we met two days before!).  One of the coolest parts of this “aquarium” is walking around the grounds of Atlantis and seeing all of these animals from the top-side, including learning what the dorsal fin of a hammerhead shark looks like so that the Captain and I know when to get back on the boat!  It is hard, though, knowing that these animals do not have very much swim room as the deepest tank/pool we saw may have been 20-feet deep; most of the pools are shallow enough to keep the animals near the top of the water to ensure people can see them.

Rob in "the tube"

We did eventually get to the beach where we did only a few minutes of swimming as the sun was setting, the water was chilly, and my sweet husband is too skinny to warm himself up once cold.  We did, also, eventually find a shower to use; while it was not on the beach, it was not enclosed and we felt the need to rush in order to avoid quizzical looks that say, “Why don’t you wash your hair and shave in your room?”  I tell you what, though, I would gladly put up with those looks to make my hair feel smooth and soft again instead of feeling like I had the salt water of a week stuck in my head making my hair feel like straw!

Sharks!

We saw a Sawfish!

Hey there, big guy. How you doin'?

Pretty fish (yeah, i have no idea what kind...)

Eel!

I was so happy I got this shot of the ray!

Hammerhead Shark

One of many species of jelly fish blacklit

The Captain returns to school! (I'm so punny!!!)

The only human interactions we had while there were an interesting tale of money and vacation with very little Bahamian characteristics.  First, we spoke to a Bahamian man on the beach who wanted to know if we were: looking to ride jet-skies, needing to buy weed, or interested in some “sugar for the booger” – we could get a free sample before buying to make sure it was good!  Now, mind you, we’ve been in the Bahamas for almost three weeks and this was the first time anyone has asked us if we needed to buy drugs, though we found out from an American with a restaurant on the last cay that drugs and drug-running is big business here as there is little ability for the authorities to monitor all of the 700+ islands in the Bahamas.  The second interaction we had was with an American man who asked Rob where he had gotten the New Zealand hat he was wearing and who reacted in a very surprised manner to find that Rob was, indeed, wearing the genuine thing.  He was more surprised, however, to realize that Rob was seriously denying his offer to trade hats – how could Rob NOT want a New England Patriots baseball cap (yeah, ironic, huh?) for one of the very few items we bought while on our honeymoon on the other side of the world?!?!  Other than that, some of the Bahamian employees would smile if they happened to notice I was looking at them and smiling while we passed in walking, but most of the employees did not seem to look anyone in the face unless they were at the bar waiting to serve a drink.  However, most of the tourists did not look at one another, either, lost in their own families, their own thoughts, and their own bubble world.

We left Atlantis with smiles on our faces and grumbles in our bellies; it was time to say goodbye to this unreal world built to idolize the fabled city and return to our boat for some dinner of rice and something-from-a-can.  On our way to the dinghy, we once again had to pass through the gauntlet of overpriced goods and restaurants, though this time there was a man with a drum-machine and two steel drums playing music in the middle of the walkway.  It made me chuckle to think that this was the only aspect that separated this walk from the forced happiness of Six Flags and, yet, this is the one aspect that will convince the people who will never step outside of Atlantis that they were “in the Bahamas.”

If only they knew what was on the other side of that bridge…