Originally published on 9 January 2008. This Throwback post is part of a series from my graduation trip to the Bahamas with my friend Terri.

Hey there! Hope all is well with y’all. It rained here yesterday morning, but only for a bit, and by noon, everything was beautiful again!

We did some shopping yesterday at Port Lucaya (a big shopping resort in Freeport), and we got some good stuff–Bahamas towels, scrapbooks, a mug, Christmas ornaments, etc. Shopping around here is kind of tough, we decided. They’re a little pushy (possibly because it’s the slow season, we think), but we were able to haggle a little bit. We decided we don’t like haggling, so I guess that means we’re not hags. I think that’s a good thing!

For lunch we stopped at a local place we’d been told was good. We decided it was time for a Spontaneous Food Adventure, so as our appetizer, we ordered marinated octopus. Terri’s not big on seafood like I am, but she tried it and said it wasn’t horrible! I got some pictures of her trying it that are pretty fun!

She ordered a chicken sandwich for her meal, and I ordered conch… but I didn’t realize it would be fried. I couldn’t taste the conch, so that was a bit disappointing, but at least I can say I’ve had it. I’ll just have to try it again later!

We shopped a little more, then used the public transportation to go to the International Bazaar. (Another shopping center.) It was mostly destroyed in the 2004 hurricanes, but there are some shops there that have reopened. We got some ice cream (another Food Adventure!), walked around, and rode back to the beach. I’m really not much of a shopper, so I was shopped out! Public transportation here is interesting. They load up vans and shuttle people where they need to go. No set times, just whenever the vans are full. We only had to wait about 10 minutes or so. The system works well enough!

Back at the beach, we changed into our bathing suits and walked on the shore some more. Terri got some great shells, and I got some really amazing pictures. I can’t wait to scrapbook them!

For dinner, we ordered from the Island Seas hotel restaurant to go (Terri got steak, I got grilled Snapper–one of my favorites!), and we ate it back at our hotel, the Island Palm, in our room. The day was nice, especially after the sun came out! We’ve been true to our promise to our parents–no going out after dark, and we’ve made friends with a couple of older people.

There’s a man and his son here from Quebec, so it’s been fun talking to them. I love accents, and they have great French-Canadian accents! We also met an older couple from Maryland. They said we have to go up there and have some kind of Crab at St. Michael’s… anyone up for a Maryland Adventure? They were very nice and have been thinking about taking an Alaskan Cruise–and since I just got back from Alaska last week, I advised them that they have to go!

We’ve also enjoyed talking to the locals. Bahamian accents are wonderful! Everyone’s really laid back–no worries, just enjoy living. The bus drivers have all been really personable and helpful, so that makes traveling even more enjoyable.

So that’s it for now. We’re about to check out, shop around downtown and explore over there, then we’ll be back at the boat by 3:30 or so and head back to the States. We should be back to FL by 10 pm so we can check into the Ramada again and spend the day at Hollywood Beach tomorrow!

Hope y’all are having a geat day! Love y’all.
Whit