Thursday, February 25, 2010

And The Adventure Begins With a Breath Taking View From a Plane Window


Ever since childhood I dreamed a dream of white sandy beaches, waters as clear as glass, and of palm trees with real coconuts. I imagined myself on my own deserted paradise, with nothing but me, a hammock, a cool drink, and tons of sunshine.
It took me close to 20 years to finally reach such a destination, and finally...finally I found my paradise, and my paradise? Well let's just say it was all delivered on Grand Bahama Island.
I booked our flight in June of 2008, and up until the day of our flight I worried so many worries. Mostly though I am sure the worries I dealt with were that of anyone who would be taking their very first trip.
My first concern was; was I expecting too much? Would the sand really be as white as websites and brochures offered? Would waters truly be crystal clear? Would I really be surrounded by palm trees? Or would everything be just as it is here in New York. Dark murky waters, sand- but more of a yellowish tint? Palm trees, only planted and not naturally grown?
I worried...would I really find paradise on Grand Bahama Island?
The flight was around 6 hours long, of course we traveled economy, and had a change in the Carolina's. The flight though offered a glimpse of the Bahamas as we grew closer. I could tell we were nearly there when the dark waters we had seen down below for so long, turned into a near glowing turquoise rainbow, with beautiful hues of green, blue, aquamarine, and every other hue of blue one could imagine. I knew just from the view down below, that paradise was soon to be discovered.
All of my worries were set aside, the moment I looked out that window.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Palm Trees with Coconuts!!!!



The moment we stepped off the plane I felt as if we were in a whole new world. Freeport Airport was small, and there were no terminals, we simply stepped off of the plane and into the airports parking lot! This is something that I only thought was done in scenes in Hollywood movies!
After stepping off the plane the heat hit me. It was not a drenching blow of heat, it was a dry clean scent, like nothing I had ever smelled before come from air.
I took my first look at Grand Bahama Island, and I wanted to take in every last scent, and sight. Immediately in the distance I noticed not just a few palm trees, but thousands of them. A tropical jungle if you will.
I knew I was not just on Grand Bahama Island, I was some place special, some place I never ever in my life thought I would be. I felt like Dorothy in Wizard of Oz- only I didn't want to go home.
I was in paradise...now all I needed was to find the water and see for myself if it was crystal clear.
From the small airport we took our cab to Viva Wyndham, an all inclusive resort on the island.
The cab ride itself was an adventure. It took 20 minutes to get to our destination. Our cabbie driver pulled up at the airport in a large taxi van. The van had no seat belts and in New York no way would it ever pass inspection. As uncomfortable as the ride was, it was part of the adventure. Like I said. You are not in Kansas anymore. In Grand Bahama Island many of the roads are covered in bumps, holes, and sand. The ride was indeed bumpy, but the scenery around us impeccable.
On the way we did happen to see a few homes that were in total disarray. They had been destroyed by a hurricane a few years back, and some were still in repair. Others that looked vacant actually had people living in them. Nonetheless, everything was as I had imagined. Beautiful. Palm trees as far as I could see, and phone lines were actually made of large palm trees. No large glorified cylinder shaped poles with lamps like you would find in New York. On Grand Bahama Island everything is simple, making it all the more natural, and all the more beautiful.
Before pulling up to our hotel, I managed to count 3 enormous crabs crossing the street. An image forever marked in my memory, never to be forgotten.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Grand Bahama Island Photos

The photo below was taken on the airboat tour into the mangroves. This is the small cay you will be having your lunch on. Lovely!!!
The Mangroves

Grand Bahama Island Sea Gull

Where I am from seagulls are big, white and gray. On Grand Bahama Island the gulls take on a much smaller and prettier apperance. As you can see, they are more of a dark gray, and white, than a light gray like here in the USA.

Cute huh?

Fans

I found these photograph recently on my PC and realized I had not shared it with my viewers yet. So here it is a beautiful array of sea fans.

The pictures were taken right off of Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach... and once again, I cannot stress it enough... this is WHY you are not supposed to step on the coral, or even the bottom if you can help it. Delicate beautiful wonders like this are everywhere, and it does not take much to destroy them!

They don't step on you, so don't step on them. : )

Monday, February 15, 2010

My, What a View!!!


Once the taxi dropped us off at our hotel, I wondered if it would be a dark dank little box of a hotel.

My worries though all slipped away the moment we pulled up. We had an employee grab our bags and take them into the main lobby where we checked in.
I could not see water yet, but I could feel it, and I honestly could not wait to be checked in, and given our water view room.
Once we were given our room, I was a little hesitant, because I still did not see water. The nice man who carried our luggage went over to the large balcony sliding doors, and pulled away the curtains to reveal our dream like water view.

There before me, no less than 50 feet away stood a gigantic beach! White powdery sand? Check! Turquoise blue waters? Check! Palm trees? Check, check, check!!!

Our view was spectacular, and even though we were jet lag, we hit the beach up immediately, with our underwater camera in hand, and our scuba gear; we were ready to see what Grand Bahama had to offer; under water!
*Our view, day and night photos- above.

Dolphins at Unexo, Grand Bahama Island, Flipping Video!

Dolphin Moonwalking at Unexo, Grand Bahama Island Video

Stingray Right Off Shore at Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach; Video

Puffer Fish That Lives In The Larger Reef At Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach

Beautiful Video Of Fish At Reef on Grand Bahamas Island