Postcard from Nassau, Bahamas

Greetings from the Bahamas! Jim and I got up VERY early Friday morning to get to the airport, and three flights later (Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Nassau), here we are…

Is it winter where you are? Not here! Blue skies, balmy breezes and ideal temperatures… and where else does a three piece reggae band play for you while you stand on the Customs line? 

Our hotel room has an ocean view on two sides, and life is good, although they do drive on the wrong side of the road here (left is right and right is wrong, is what our friendly taxi driver told us).

We walked down Bay St. to the Straw Market, where Bahamian women offer the tourists trinkets made in China "on sale just for today!" We struck out to look for some authentic Bahamian cuisine for dinner, and found "de Fish Fry" that had just what we were after – rice and beans with Jamaican Jerk, spicy fish and a local beer called Kalik. The local speciality here is Conch Fritters.

On Saturday we boarded the MV Explorer that will be our home for the next 108 days. It is a super modern German ship built in 2002 for a Greek cruise line that went out of business after 9/11/01 due to the lack of American tourists, and UVA picked up for a song. We got a tour of the bridge (Our captain is from Croatia and the second in command is from Romania) and the ship is definitely state of the art.

When we received our cabin key, we couldn't believe our luck – we are on the top deck, in a deluxe king suite with a sitting room, a full bath with marble floors, and our own deck with lounge chairs…Wow! We thought the professors would have to travel down in steerage – this really can't be beat! All the stuff we brought stored away neatly in the long wall of closets and cabinets, and there is a maid dedicated just to our floor who sneaks in and folds the end of the toilet tissue back into a little point whenever we leave the room. This will take some getting used to…

The teachers and staff have several days of orientation and meetings before the students arrive next week. Here's what we know about the students: there are 733 undergrads from just about every state and several foreign countries, 70% female, and 12 Lifelong Learners coming along for the ride. There are 30 professors, most accompanied by a spouse, partner or family member, some returning for a second or third voyage, and also from all over the US and the world.

Well, off for my morning stroll…. More to come! Karen