We awoke suddenly with the alarm at 6:30, then slowly, with reservations, got out of bed. Ironically, the water worked better this morning than it had any other day. Breakfast was tea and juice, industrial strawberry bars, a key lime tart and a cupcake from Arthur's, industrial granola bars, and the last slice of Arthur's excellent cinnamon-raisin bread.
Breakfast was a little lazy, and we had to hustle to finish packing when Reggie showed up. We dropped off the keys and went down to the dock, where we boarded the water taxi with a family decked out in khakis and blue blazers. They didn't tip. The trip across the bay was quick and smooth, but the taxi that met us suddenly wouldn't start. We transferred to another for the quick drive to the airport, where we had to wait a bit for the agent to arrive and check us in. Jer fixed another passenger's suitcase zipper, we got our boarding passes and stood aside to wait. A flight to Nassau was called and we got on, only to find out it was the Southern Air charter. We quickly deplaned and returned to the waiting room to await our Bahamasair flight. Our flight left more-or-less on-time (15 minutes late), and after a brief stop in Governors Harbour, we landed in Nassau and collected our bags, and grabbed a taxi.
The trip from the airport to the El Greco hotel took us along Bay Street, past Cable Beach and its many spring breakers, past the seafood shacks of Arawak Cay, to the edge of downtown. The manager with whom Jess had corresponded, Terry, welcomed us and checked us in. She had a large, clean room ready for us (even though it was only 11 am), and she asked the chambermaid to do our laundry, as a favor.
We quickly stowed our bags, handed over our dirty clothes and spoke to Raquel about booking snorkeling and kayaking. We then set out to find Arawak Cay again, in hopes of getting some lunch. After a bit of walking we happened upon it again and stopped by the first open stall, where we settled ourselves at the bar for conch salad and sodas. The conch salad was delicious, if a bit spicy for Jess -- raw conch, shelled right in front of us and chopped with tomatoes, onions, green and spicy peppers, then doused in lime and orange juices. Jer had ginger ale, while Jess tried Junkanoo Champagne (less sweet than Goombay Punch and reminiscent of bubble gum). After finishing both conch salads (though Jer had to help Jess, who couldn't take the heat), we set off again in search of the zoo.
Ardastra Gardens and Zoo wasn't much further, just off Bay Street in a shady area. Though small, it has features we've never seen elsewhere. Its top two attractions are the lory parrots and the Caribbean flamingoes, and of course we saw both. We arrived just in time for the lory parrot feeding, where zoo visitors are given pieces of apple and encouraged to feed the bird. We both ended up with parrots perched on our heads, and later our hands and arms. It was great fun! Shortly thereafter it was time for the flamingo show: we were treated to a parade by the world's only marching flamingoes. It was really funny to watch them "forward march", "about face" and "pick it up" (especially when David, their drill sargeant/trainer ran after the stragglers, scolding them). At the end of the show a few lucky volunteers were allowed to go stand among the birds, and Jer volunteered Jess. Although she felt a bit silly out there with a bunch of little kids, it was amazing to be that close to the flamingoes! Beyond those special attractions, Ardastra had a pretty eclectic set of exhibits, including capybaras, a caiman, a pot-bellied pig (which had "escaped" its pen and was asleep in the sun), lemurs, iguanas, big cats (a caracal, a serval and two jaguars), a petting zoo (goats, sheep and bunnies), lots of parrots, turtles, peacocks, swans and ducks.
After leaving the zoo, we took a jitney (so named because they're run by private bus services) into downtown Nassau. We stopped at Haagen-Dazs for a bit of refreshment (tiramisu ice cream for Jer, macadamia nut brittle for Jess). We walked along Bay Street, looking into the jewelry stores (but the only item that really struck Jess's fancy was a Longines watch). We walked through the straw market and were amazed at the variety of straw bags, hats, photo albums, etc. (many with Disney characters "embroidered" on them). Emerging on the other side, we were accosted by a bead-necklace seller, but Jess liked one of her offerings, so we gave the requested donation to her schoolchildren's charity.
We returned to our room and made a few phone calls to book snorkeling and kayaking trips. After we rested for a bit, Jess finally convinced Jer to go swimming (the Western Esplanade beach being right across the street from our hotel). Of course, by then it had cooled down enough that she didn't want to swim, but she waded around a bit while Jer swam around. We were excited to see schools of little silver fishies in the shallows, since we hadn't seen any by Harbour Island. We also watched some of the big cruise ships sail out -- Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas was Jess's favorite.
Upon our return to our room, we luxuriated in the hot shower for a while, then spent a bit of time deciding on a restaurant for dinner. We chose Bahamian Kitchen, since Frommer's sang its praises for Bahamian home cooking. On our way we stopped into the British Colonial Hilton to buy postcards, but they were obscenely overpriced and the selection wasn't great. It was worth the detour just to see the lobby's stone inlaid floors, vaulted ceilings and live palm trees.
Bahamian Kitchen was just off Bay St., behind Trinity Methodist Church, and had the look of a cheap Chinese restaurant, but with Junkanoo masks and Androsia batiks instead of dragon paintings and brocade. Jer had the fabulous conch chowder with johnnycake to start, with a yummy banna/corn bread thing. Our mains were tasty, but less exceptional. Jess had grouper fritters, whose batter was so light and fluffy that it was almost tempura, and came with homemade tartar sauce. Jer had fried shrimp, which appeared to be industrial, but also had the tartar sauce. Jer liked his peas 'n rice side (which looked like red or white rice cooked with some black beans), but Jess hated it. His plantains were tasty, but very oily. Their other sides (mixed veggies and Jess's corn on the cob) had been prevoiusly frozen. Since the restaurant didn't have any desserts, we got the check and wandered out.
Downtown Nassau is largely desserted by 9 pm, as we discovered while strolling around. We viewed several pretty churches (Trinity Methodist, St. Andrews Presbyterian and Christ Church Anglican) and the edge of Parliament Square. It's a bit surprising that only a block behind the shops, hotels and restaurants are regular homes, some tidy and others seemingly abandoned. With the tourism boom in the Bahamas, it's hard to imagine that they won't be snatched up and refurbished as rentals or torn down to build hotels, since they're only a block from the beach.
When we got back to our room, Jess mentioned that she wasn't feeling great and crawled into bed at 9:30 pm. She was asleep almost before her head hit the pillow, and Jer soon followed.