Bahamas Day 0
I arrived in Nassau to warm weather and immediately hopped in a cab with a woman of Bahamian descent. Chatting to her and our very friendly cab driver was a scream. They were super friendly and warm, giving me a nice taste of Bahamian hospitality. When I mentioned my summer in Cayman the woman laughed and proclaimed, “those Caymanians are just soooo uppity!”
I meet up with Mark and we set out for the evening. I want to eat dinner at a local place called “The Poop Deck” but Mark sneers and says it’s for tourists. We then walk to Atlantis, and eat at Johnny Rockets. Mark does not appreciate the irony.
In case you are unfamiliar, Atlantis is one of the most infamous resorts in the Caribbean. It is a true megaresort, the largest in the Bahamas with over 3,600 rooms in its many hotels, 40 restaurants and bars, and a 63 acre water park. Love it or hate it, Atlantis reigns over New Providence Island.
I’ve actually been to Atlantis once before, when I was about 13, for a long weekend while my parents attended a “medical conference.” The water park was super fun but we had just come back from an amazing trip to Belize and in comparison to the über eco friendly resort we stayed at there, Atlantis seemed super manufactured and insultingly expensive. One of my greatest memories from the trip is my mother, a woman who will correct a ticket person who accidentally gives you a student discount, telling me to put yogurt in my purse at the $23 breakfast buffet.
Atlantis seems familiar and comes back to me after poking around the grounds. Wish I had appreciated more when I was a kid how cool everything we got to do was. Note to self: Will have to find a way to tell mom and dad that without looking like I’m trying to get something.
Neither Mark or I feel well but Mark wants to show me some gambling with my upcoming trip to Vegas and all (Did I mention I’m going to Vegas? I’m sorry, it’s an addiction. Not the gambling, the travel!) I’m only willing to play with $20 and so we get some chips and Mark tells me about roulette. We play for a bit and after a while are up about $50. Of course pretty soon we only have a $10 chip left and I turn to Mark and say, see this is why I hate gambling we should have walked away with the $50, lets use that $10 for a cab.
Instead Mark tries to teach me a lesson about gambling and how “the fun is in playing” (in what other situation is losing money fun?) and puts the whole $10 on the little green 0ne. For those not familiar with roulette, every other number of the 36 section wheel is red or black, making the green one the stand out. I’m giving him the stink eye when I see his face light up and look over and realize WE WON $360! That might seem like peanuts to some people but we were probably the most giddy people in the casino all night. I was so excited I even sneaked these blurry shots of our winning chips, casino security be damned.
I guess I can see the appeal of the whole gambling thing. Vegas better watch out.
Good times!