Nassau

Today the ship docked at Nassau on the island of New Providence. Nassau, for those who may not know, is the capitol of The Bahamas. We spent the day shopping. We were going to go to a beach, too, but wanted to achieve our shopping goals so we ran out of time to do it all. It is all good. We hung out on the pool deck afterward. Just as fun and still got some sun!
The Nassau shopping experience was interesting. First of all, the cab drivers beg you to ride with them! What a difference from New York, where you're lucky to get a cab! There were lots of souvenir shops as well as designer shops. I saw a Fendi store, Coach store, and lots of jewelers. My first purchase was made at the Del Sol store. I bought myself a nail polish and also bought one for my Gram. Del Sol products change color in sunlight. My Gram used to bring me nail polish from Hawaii. I love the stuff! The one thing I wanted to get was something for Hubby since he was not along on the trip. I figured either a hat or a tee shirt would be perfect. I wanted to get him a hat, but he is picky about the fit and I could not find one that would be suitable. Fortunately, I found him a shirt that says "Nassau, Bahamas." I think he will be pleased. It is green. He looks good in green. I also found a great soy candle set in a coconut shell. I will give this gift to a girlfriend of mine who bought me a candle in Hawaii. It smells exquisite! The scent is gigi berry and citrus--mmmm...
Mom got a cute flip flop magnet and later I found a cute flip flog magnet as well. Mine is a pair of flip flops that says, "Nassau, Bahamas" and has an ocean scene. It's ceramic. Eventually Mom and Aunt went to church and I was left with my cousins. We made our way to the most hectic shopping experience I've ever endured: The Straw Market. This was a huge tent filled with tables and tables of merchandise. The bulk of the merchandise were "designer" bags. They had Dolce & Gabanna, Prada, Coach, Kate Spade, Chanel, etc. They were knock-offs. One of my cousins was buying them up for her daughters. I guess at $30 a pop, it was a good deal. They were pretty good knock-offs. I'm not really into designer bags so I had little interest. The thing that really irritated me about the Straw Market was the way they kind of attack you to buy something. If you ever want to just browse a straw market, don't make eye contact! They will approach you and ask, "you like that bag, honey? I get you good deal. How much you wanta spend, honey?" As we entered the tent a woman placed wooden bead necklaces around each of our necks and asked for $5.00 to "help the children's schools. This is my job." I liked my necklace, but man, what a set up! My cousin found a bongo drum for her son and she found some straw purses for her daughters. I got myself a handmade bag that says Bahamas. When we finally made our way out of the straw market, we realized we didn't have all we wanted. I still hadn't found a shirt for myself and my cousin wanted a shirt for her baby. We decided to go back to our staterooms and drop off what we'd purchased so far and then head back out to get the rest.
Our second trip was successful, too. I found a cute peach tank top that says "Nassau, Bahamas." My cousin found her baby tee and my other cousin got a beer for her husband. Our day of shopping was complete. Time for poolside sun and fun!
We got lunch at the buffet. I had some very good butterfish! I think the food at the buffet is better than some of the food we've had at the formal dinner table. After lunch we went to the pool and got some soft serve frozen yogurt--there's a diy ice cream cone machine at the pool deck. We enjoyed our frozen yogurt and then watched the Men's Sexy Legs contest. That was interesting. Some of the contestants were NFL players. I stayed at the pool until about 4:30. I had to then go get ready for my Ladies Pampering Session--back massage, foot & ankle massage, scalp massage, and aromatherapy facial plus complimentary champagne!
I arrived at my appointment and waited a bit. I had to fill out a profile sheet. Since I sell Mary Kay and am quite happy with those products, I did not check any boxes regarding face/skin issues. I have none. :) I did indicate on the body issues that I have migraines, stiff muscles, and tension. The massage was fabulous, but they never gave me my champagne! I was a little pissed off at that. I asked if I was supposed to get some and then was told they had run out! I was not compensated in any way. This is one of the shortcomings I found with the cruise. I did purchase a seaweed muscle soak for in the tub or shower. There were times the massage was painful, but I carry a lot of tension in my shoulders. She did a good job kneading out the knot in my shoulder blade. I have a torn muscle there. I think I flared it up shoveling snow at the beginning of March. She also did hot stone massage. I wasn't expecting that--it's listed as a different item on the massage list. I was grateful she did that. It felt good. Basically, she put some hot rocks underneath the blankets I was on after I had flipped to my back. She put 4 stones total on me. they were under each shoulder blade and on either side of my lower back. The facial felt good, but I felt like I needed to wash the stuff off my face when it was over. It was kind of greasy feeling. My masseuse did a great job. Just wish I'd gotten that champagne!