The Bahamas
This was our first cruise trip, and we picked a relatively short one with just 4 nights and 2 ports of call (Freeport and Nassau) in one country (the Bahamas), the reason being that if we did not like it, we did not have to endure for too long.
(Click on each image to see the high-resolution version)
In fact, it turned out we did not have to endure at all. Our ship was Norwegian Sky -- not a brand new ship, but it is still very spacious and beautiful. We had a state room with a patio. Although we weren't much interested in much of the onboard activities, we found some quiet time in our room, on our patio and in some lounges. We also quite enjoyed the food and drinks on the ship.
After a night of smooth cruising, at daybreak we reached Freeport. The sun just broke out of the horizon as the ship entered Freeport harbor and I took pictures from our patio. This promised to be a nice day.
Indeed this turned out to be our best day of the trip. We took a tour to Lucayan National Park. One of the attractions here is the underwater caverns, of which we had a glimpse.
We then took a short trek through the mangroves to the beach.
Thus we arrived at Gold Rock Beach, probably one of the best known attraction in Grant Bahamas Island. It certainly deserves its reputation with its powder white sand and turquoise blue water.
It was at Lucayan National Park that I photographed two new birds: the first is a Common Ground-dove near Gold Rock Beach, a bird that can be found in the U.S., but which I had not seen before.
The second bird is a Western Spindalis that I saw in the mangrove forest, probably the best bird of this trip (it would be "mega rare" in the United States).
I also saw a lizard in the bushes near the beach, I think this is a Brown Anole.
We had lunch in a restaurant near Fortune Beach, another beautiful white sand beach under the subtropical sun.
Near Fortune Beach I photographed an active Yellow-throated Warbler at close range. For a moment I thought it was the endemic Bahama Warbler, but this was not to be (the Yellow-throated Warbler can be found in the U.S., and this one was apparently wintering no the island).
Our onshore excursion was rather limited as we had to go back to the cruise ship. In the commercialized area outside the cruise terminal, I still managed to find a mural that seems quite authentically Bahamian.
And it was at the cruise terminal that I also photographed a Red-tailed Hawk, certainly a common bird in the U.S., but it was also nice to see an old friend there.
We were lucky that from our patio, we could also watch the sunset. Thus, I saw and photographed both sunrise and sunset on the same day, which is rather rare for me.
On the next day we arrived at our second port of call, Nasau, the capital of the Bahamas. Unfortunately, thsi day started cloudy and got worse. After getting off the cruise ship, we first walked to Queen's Staircase, a landmark of Nassau.
It was here I saw some interesting birds, the first is a Bananaquit, a nectar-loving little bird and one that would be very rare in the U.S.. But it was actually not a new bird for me -- I had seen it in Monteverde, Costa Rica
But I did manage to see and photograph my third and final new bird of the trip, a Red-legged Thrush in the rock cliffs by the stairs.
We eventually reached Fort Fincastle, a fortress at the island's highest hill overlooking the city and its harbor (and now cruise ships).
It was inside the fort that I photographed another lizard, probably another Brown Anole.
We walked around town, paying a visit to the Government House of the Bahamas.
There were some very interesting murals outside a building across the street from the Government House.
We continued our walk to other places before it started to rain heavily. I found these tiles outside a house very attractive.
Just outside National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, I saw this American Kestrel perched on a telephone pole. This was one of the closest I came to a kestrel, a usually wary bird of prey.
We reached the Buena Vista Estate and John Watling’s Distillery, I saw some Eurasian Collared Doves, an exotic species in the Bahamas.
It then started to rain pretty heavily and we went back to the ship. After some time, the rain lessened, although the sky was still gray. From the ship, we could see the mega-resort Atlantis and Paradise Island.
As the night falls, the cruise ships in the harbor started to leave one by one -- all the cruise operators follow similar schedules. As the light fades, I had to use very high ISO to get a few shots.
One of my last glimpses of Nassau, and of the Bahamas, was of Hog Island Light, I had to use max ISO (25600) on my Canon EOS M5 to get this shot -- it is grainy like hell, but I had no other choice.
For the next day, the ship cruised slowly at sea. There was little to do but relax. This we did, and snapped a few pictures from now and then.
From the patio, even before the ship undocked, the view was superb, with the glistening Miami and South Beach in front of us. Then, as the ship left the port of Miami at sunset, the skyline of Miamia faded into the distance.
Miami Skyline
Miami Skyline
Freeport Sunrise
Freeport Sunrise
Cave at Lucayan National Park
Cave at Lucayan National Park
Mangrove
Gold Rock Beach
Gold Rock Beach
Gold Rock Beach
Common Ground-dove
Western Spindalis
Western Spindalis
Lizard
Fortune Beach
Fortune Beach
Yellow-throated Warbler
Mural
Red-tailed Hawk
Freeport Sunset
Freeport Sunset
Queen's Staircase
Queen's Staircase
Bananaquit
Red-legged Thrush
Fort Fincastle
Fort Fincastle
Lizard
Lizard
Government House
Mural
Mural
Mural
Tiles
American Kestrel
Eurasian Collared Dove
Atlantis
Paradise Island
Cruise Ships
Nassau
Hog Island Light
View from the ship's bow (front)
View through a porthole on the ship
