Christmas Eve in Nassau

oh, yes, it's Christmas Eve in Nassau.  Complete with party hats with lunch.

Santa came early this year - We  lucked into an empty tour bus at the far western end of New Providence Island, near our boat.  The driver picked us up after we flagged him and took us into Nassau (21 miles) for a mere $4 each.  Lots of shops, but the first thing we did was to take a taxi to Paradise Island, to the renouned Atlantis Resort.

See that little archway in the center?  The suite in it is $24,000 per night, with a 3 month waiting period....there's too much money in this world...  Atlantis was recently renovated at a cost of about $500M (owner paid) to include exclusive rooms and a huge aquarium.
We entered through the main entrance, taking the opportunity to get our picture taken in King Neptune's Chair with Heather and Ken.

Then through the casino (no, we didn't drop any money there!), past the glass sculptures.  Here is the sun...

and the moon

and the volcano

Each valued at over $1m....

We headed to the aquarium, passing the best no smoking sign ever...

Fish are terrible...

Lots of fish in the aquarium, but mostly behind somewhat dirty glass.  Pictures were hard.  Here are a couple of jellies, great pictures, nasty creatures.

The many aquarium sections all had the sunken Atlantis theme -- ancient ruins under water -- nicely done.

Back over to Nassau proper for some lunch (first picture) and some exploring.  Lots of big cruise ships -- four in the harbor at this time -- makes us glad for our small, private boat.

We also visited the straw market, some booths closed for Christmas Eve.

Next, a beautiful Catholic church, with wonderful stained glass windows.

Then we walked up to Fort Fincastle, one of four old forts in Nassau.  We didn't get a good picture of the fort, but it's surrounded by tourist junk tents, always ready to make a good bargain with the "pretty lady" or "nice gentleman".

From there, we manged to catch a jitney (cheap bus) back to our dinghy (well, actually Heather and Ken's dinghy) and make it back to our boats before dark.  A Christmas Eve dinner, a little Christmas music, and we'll see you on Christmas!