Dave found a wonderful deal for a short Bahamas cruise on Groupon so we decided to book it 2 days in advance. It turned out to be a great impulse trip and couldn't have been any more fun. Dave used to have layovers in the Bahamas when he worked for another airline but I've never been to the the Bahamas before so I was extremely excited to see the crystal turquoise water I've seen pictures of all my life.
This was our second cruise. The first one we went on was out of Venice, Italy with an Italian cruise line. Everything about the ship was over the top. This time around, the ship was significantly smaller with a much more simple interior which was nice for a short cruise. We lucked out on our first cruise and got a room with a balcony even though we didn't reserve one. I have always said that after that experience, I wouldn't want a room on a cruise without a balcony. Getting one this time around though was fine because it does force you to want to get outside and explore the ship's decks and other parts of the boat outside of your personal balcony more often!
During those 2 nights onboard, we went to a comedy show and another dancing show, we hung out for a short time at the slot machines, enjoyed the sunset in a huge chair at the back of the ship with a glass of wine, enjoyed chatting with some of our table mates at the delicious sit down 4 course dinners (of course one of my favorite parts about a cruise), went for a dip in the pool and explored all the different decks.
We spent only 2 nights on the ship and had only 10 hours in the Bahamas! The island we went to was Freeport, also known as the Grand Bahama Island. We got in around 7AM and had to report to the ship around early evening. With such a short amount of time and so many options of what to do, I let Dave research and chose where we should go. Instead of going on any of the expensive excursions the cruise offered, he made the excellent choice to rent a car for about 100$ and drive to a national park he saw online which was 45 minutes from the cruise port. In that 45 minute drive we covered half of the entire span of the island! I had no idea how small these islands were.
The national park was called Lucayan National Park. We knew very little about it so you can imagine our excitement to arrive and find out that there were caves there that we were able to go down into and explore as well as a lot of history about the area since they had found burial grounds there. The man working for the park's parking lot pointed out the path to take to go to the caves that we didn't even know were going to be there. Out of nowhere, a set of stairs leading completely underground to this cool cave appeared. There was bright blue water and tropical fish and bats. It was so cool down there. It was one of the only places I've ever seen that brought me to tears! It was so incredible and unexpected! I adored being down in that cave. Hearing the bats, seeing the tropical fish go by. It was surreal and I felt so close to nature and all that is in that moment. I felt so grateful for life and the beauty and incredible sights that our gorgeous planet earth blesses us with.
Now I'm so excited to share with you the beach that I want to get married on (if I ever decide I want to get married!) GOLD ROCK BEACH! I didn't find out that it is where scenes were filmed for Pirates of the Caribbean there until we were on our way home in Florida. It was insanely remote and quiet, expansive, insanely clean with fine white sand. As you can see in the picture below, even the way to get to it was different and special. You had to walk about a half a mile on a bridge side walk thru this crazy terrain of mangroves and swampy area. We got caught in a thunderstorm half way in the perfect spot, right under a little awning. It was a fun place to stay dry and observe the storm as it passed by before continuing on to the beach. Coming back from the beach, there is a different system of bridges to take with a totally different view which made the walk back from the beach more enjoyable.
Out of every beach I have ever been to in my entire life, this is my favorite beach by a long shot. Although I am sure that the rain helped with the remoteness of it on this day, it still is just one of those beaches that doesn't get wild. In my opinion, it was better then the famous Tulum beach and better then the empty black sand beach in Costa Rica. It seems like such a hidden gem and more private and special. All the hype of all the travel spots around the world takes away that sense of wonder for me. That feeling that the beauty of natural nature you are beholding is pure and wonderful and mysterious and no one is making money of this place or cares that you are there at all.
This beach just had something so special about it. It wasn't one of those crowded resort beaches at all. Even the fish were incredible! They were these clear white tropical ones that were pretty much invisible except for their eyes. Sounds strange but they were gorgeous. I wouldn't have noticed them unless I caught a glimpse of one of their eyes while sitting in the shallow waves. Then I started noticing them all over. They were so, so beautiful.
For lunch, we drove to a restaurant the car rental woman recommended. It was a local spot, just a little place out on the beach by itself. The food was not very good or vegan friendly but it was fun to see such a local spot and be able to order then go jump in the water! Afterwards we stopped at a local woman's little "souvenir store" since we had to promise her we would come back after lunch after asking for directions to the restaurant which wasn't where google maps said it would be. Her little "store" was a table on the side of the road in front of her house. We felt compelled to buy a big chunk of sugar she called her coconut cake. THAT was the type of experience you just don't get on these expensive day expeditions planned by the cruise ships.
I am so grateful that this very short trip couldn't have gone any better!
