I found a great deal for 4 nights at an all inclusive resort in The Bahamas.
I arrived Saturday afternoon, and spend a few hours under a lovely thatched umbrella enjoying the view, and took a nice walk along the beach.
Sunday was more of the same. Turned out I needed some decompressing time, and to recover from a bee sting!! Walking back to my room after breakfast, I felt a bug get in my sandal. Before I could get it out, I got stung. It was a bee! I've never been stung by a bee before. I hobbled back to my room, got the stinger out and cleaned it up. It hurt like a son of a gun, so I read in my room and kept a cold washcloth on it. I did snorkel a bit off the beach at the resort. They have some rocks and a bit of coral close to shore and so there were quite a few fish. I signed up for a scuba diving class the next day.
Monday morning I went to the scuba class. I learned how to put on all the gear, and we headed to the pool. I immediately felt like I couldn't breathe when I used the regulator. I didn't feel panicked, but definitely felt like I wasn't getting any oxygen. The instructor verified all my equipment was working and told me to just put my face in the water and try taking slow breaths. After a while it became a bit easier, so I tried joining in with the exercises. I was able to take out the regulator and put it back in, but still really struggled to breathe. The longer I stayed under, the harder it got. I started to feel anxious about all this and felt like I was going to have a panic attack. In the end I decided not to try and dive as I knew I'd have to deal with the claustrophobia of being underwater as well as trying to breathe! The instructor was really patient and told me it just takes time for some people to get used to it. I arranged to do a snorkel trip the next day instead of the dive. I was kind of bummed about it, but I've always wanted to try scuba and now I know that I'll need a fair bit of work to get going with it.
Tuesday I went snorkeling. We took a boat about 10-15 minutes off shore. The coral was amazing. So many different colors, and tons of fish. It was fantastic. I wish I had spent more time taking snorkeling excursions. Tuesday afternoon I decided to go into town. I had cracked conch, which is fried conch and peas and rice for lunch. It was quite good. I was disappointed in the market. The sellers were pretty pushy and for the most part it seemed like the usual beach tourist stuff. I didn't stay too long before heading back to the hotel. Enjoyed the rest of the day at the beach.
Wednesday morning I took a nice walk, and did a little snorkeling off the beach. It was a little murky so not great snorkeling, but lovely to be in the water. Then it was time to pack up and head home.
The resort had a cruise ship feel. They had tons of activities, which they called "animations". Dancing lessons by the pool, exercise classes, volleyball, horseshoes, bingo, etc. There were nightly shows, which I never did go to. It was all inclusive. The food was mediocre, and by the 2nd or 3rd day felt pretty monotonous. It was easy to get drinks, and nice in a way that tipping really wasn't expected. The room was a bit old, but clean. Overall a decent place. It was very couple and family oriented, so not ideal for a solo trip. The trip into town was expensive and the food in town was outrageous, which made me appreciate the all inclusive hotel, even though it was lackluster.
Overall it was a relaxing trip and I enjoyed myself. :-)
