It ain't real travelin...

...til somethin gets lost. Well, the traveling has begun. I am in Nassau. And my luggage is not. Yeah!! I love a good obstacle.

It's 10:54 am and I am sitting in the baggage claim in the Nassau airport. I would much rather be sipping my morning coffee by the water, but this will do for now. Apparently, my luggage has boarded a plane in Orlando, and we're hoping it will arrive before I leave here in an hour and a half. If not, the lounge pants I've been wearing for the last 30 hours will soon become shorts and I'll be on the hunt for all new snorkeling gear. My mother and I seem to be cursed with lost luggage luck. Oh well, if it never comes, I have a valid reason to spend lots of money. Can't complain.

Anywho...the Bahamas is very cool so far. Well, not literally cool - it's actually kinda grossly warm and humid, but it is a unique place with such a relaxed vibe and very kind people. My taxi driver that just drove me to the airport was from Haiti, but has been here for 30 years. He said he has family in CA and that gas is almost $6 a gallon here, but that's about all I could understand through his wildly cool Caribbean accent. He is the regular taxi driver for the guest house that I stayed at last night. Here's my 5 star resort:


It may not look like much...well, it isn't, but I loved it. It is owned by a Greek couple who met in the Bahamas 58 years ago - they are adorable - I got the whole story of how she came and "met her prince" this morning. They only charge $50 for a room, which is unheard of here - and while the rooms may look slightly like a hospital rehab room, it had AC, cable tv, and a bed for me to collapse on. I can't complain. Plus, it's in the middle of Downtown Nassau - so I got to go for a quick walk this morning to wake myself up.

Oh...I must mention my flight from Orlando to here. Besides leaving my bag behind (maybe my hair dryer wanted to sneak into Disneyland for the night?), there was adventure from the time I boarded. I walked outside to see this...

Now, I've been on a couple small planes before, but this one was comedy. First of all, minutes after I boarded, the whole state of Alabama boarded. I've never been so stunned by the southern accent before - and I lived in North Carolina for nine years. I felt like I just feel into Mayberry. And for some reason, one of them thought we were on a roller coaster and felt the need to tell everyone to throw their hands in the air as we took off. Eventually, the one seat next to me was filled by a nervous looking women, about in her 40's, who right away confessed that this was the first flight she had ever been on. Yes, she was one of the ones from Alabama. I tried to calm her nerves, but I have never been on such a loud and scary plane in my life. Poor lady. I tried to convince her that flying is not normally so hair-raising, but I doubt she'll be booking any more flights any time soon. Despite the shaky ride and the luggage left in Orlando, I was really excited to land last night. I think it finally hit me that I was in the Bahamas and how cool this whole experience is going to be. The people are just great - their accents - while hard for me to understand at times, are so fun. How can you not love someone with this accent?

So, I better wrap it up and start saying luggage prayers. Again..not sure how the internet access will be from Deadman's Cay (which I have found is pronounced "key", by the way) - but you'll hear from me soon enough!

Oohh...the Bahamian Airport Band just started playing...I love this place!

Later! : )