Atlantis- Paradis Island in the Bahamas

A few days ago we went to Atlantis and we loved it very much. It looks impressive when you are coming into the harbour of Nassau, and it is even more impressive when you are inside of the resort. We mainly went to explore the big Aquarium that someone has told us about. Wow... it is huge, it has got fabulous fish life in there and not just little small colourful fish, I am talking about sharks, manta rays, sword fish, Goliath grouper and green turtles. They even have got jelly fish in a tank with special lightening... Carlos was very impressed by that sight. We some dolphins playing with balls, just like flipper, and Julia and Carlos even managed to have a swim in one of the many pools that are on offer. We were not really allowed to go swimming, but hey they tried it anyway and succeeded. It is very expensive there and some of the prices did blow us away, for shorts US $ 250 , a straw hat US $150, a scoop of ice cream US$4, but it was the yummiest ice cream we ever had!

If you would like to see some more pictures, as they speak for themselves, have a look on our face book side " Gabriele Manschewski" and see for yourself.

Bahamas "second time round"

We are again in Nassau, Bahamas, this time we are exploring more the seaside of Nassau. Last time we rented a car, this time we are moving around with our Dinghy. We have met lots of nice people again and we are enjoying our time here even though we cannot wait to get to the Exumas, but before we can go we have to fix our anchor winch, our toilet, our air condition pumps (blocked with plastic from the water) and our generator is giving us trouble... great... but no worries .... Sven will fix it before we know it was broken :)

We are preparing for our departure tomorrow morning, te boat needs to cleaned, meals prepared, the dinghy needs to be tied down on the deck, we have to do some washing, and checking our emails, because you never know when we will be able to do that again.

Nassau is nice, but very noisy and not really our cup of tea, we are really looking forward to the next stop in the Bahamas, apparently thats were the real Bahamas will start.... lets keep an open mind...

Bimini

We have made it... we have reached Bimini. Sailing over has been easy, as there was no wind we had to motor most of the way. The weather was beautiful and calm and so no one got sick and we all enjoyed the weather, the ocean and the time together.

When we finally reached Bimini, we were blown away by the beauty and colour of the water. We had the feeling we sailed into a huge big swimming pool. The water was so clear and blue that we could see the ground. Beautiful ....... and actually it is very hard to find any other words for the beauty that this part of the world offers......

Bimini is an interesting little island. In the 50 and 60ties it must have been buzzing little place, at present it looks more like everyone left in a hurry and left everything they had started in an instaleaving everything behind.... very interesting and we are curious what has happened here.

We only wanted to stay for a few days, but the wind forces us to stay in the Marina for 10 days. This gave us enough time to explore the island id details. We go snorkeling for Conch, we visit the Dolphin House, the library and the Museum, we ride around the Island with our Dinghy, we explore the beach and discover an old wrack along the beach, we visit South Bimini and follow the Native Trail, we hire a golf cart and ride around North Bimini.... for such a little Island there is much to see and to do.

Carlos Birthday

On the 27th of April we had a reason to celebrate, it was Carlos 7th birthday. Wow, a big number for a big boy. It might have been Carlos 7th birthday, but it was his first one to celebrate on the boat, how exciting. We invited our friends from Daytona to come down to Fort Lauderdale and we were really lucky that they did have time and came for a visit. Julia and Carlos were pretty excited to have Chase and Reese on the boat, they did stay overnight and so we had a real party going on.

When they arrived it was raining and I thought, oh no, I do hope that we can entertain the four children on the boat, but luckily the sky opened up pretty soon and we were able to show them our playground in Fort Lauderdale. The children had fun while Aleatha and I were sitting on the swing and catching up since we had seen each other last. Finally some female company again, we both soaked up each others company and it is just amazing how we always find something to talk about... I love it and very lucky to have found Aleatha!

In the evening we had dinner together and watch a movie later on that night. Once the children were in bed Aleatha and I baked the birthday cake and talked and talked the night away... as usual the night did not have enough hours to give us some decent sleep as well, so we were a bit tired in the morning... but hey ... who knows when we can do that again...it has been very special to have her on the boat.

The next morning, we opened the presents and had a beautiful breakfast, with fresh buns, eggs and lovely company, it reminded me very much of having breakfast back in Germany when I was younger. After breakfast Sven took the children for a Dinghy ride on the new river in Fort Lauderdale and Aleatha and I had some more quiet time, while we were talking she plaided my hair, I very much enjoyed it to be attended to this way. At lunch time we had planned to go to the Museum, I knew that everyone would enjoy this very much. We did have an awesome time in the Museum and there was more to it.... we met in Daytona in the Museum and we spend some more time in the Museum in Fort Lauderdale......wonder which Museum we will visit next....

After our Museum visit we went to the Imax. "How to train your Dragon " was showing and everyone wanted to watch it. What a cute movie, we all enjoyed the story, even though it might have been a bit too scary for Reese (4 years) , but he hung in there and watch it right to the end.... with that he has become a viking himself. Well done! We went home and unfortunately our friends had to leave, very sad, I could not persuade her to stay.....but no matter what day they would have left there would have always been some tears to cry..... All over we had a fabulous time and all I can say thank you sooooo much for coming down and making this a special day for all of us.... I can't wait to see you and spend time with you guys again......