A Day at Atlantis

Day 10.

The next day, 16 Feb 2013, we head out to the beach by way of the intervening park

and pools

 and water slides

and restaurants

 and bars 

 and pools with sharks (and turtles, and rays, and . . . ).  

 There had to be a beach out there somewhere.  We could see water from our room ;-).  

On the way we came across the starting point for the river rapids.  Ann got a tube and headed out while I walked a little further to see the beach front area.  

It was really there (the beach,that is), and very nice.  Beach chairs, umbrellas and towels were all provided, first come first served.  

After circling back to get Ann, we finally got to the beach more or less in time to watch a storm rolling in.  We figured it was time to move when Ann noted the local folks putting tarps over their wares.  We decided to head for the Lagoon Restaurant.  That's the painting in its domed ceiling above.  

The Lagoon is set amidst several pools and features aquariums.  The walls downstairs have large glass panels offering views of the sea life in various segmented pools surrounding the restaurant.  

This would have been a very nice place to eat if only it had not rained so hard.  We were waiting to be seated as the rain poured down for maybe 15 - 20 minutes.  

So hard that the people seated closest to the outer edge either were in the rain or were getting splashed by runoff from the roof.  

So hard the small drains near the entrance were not up to the flow and the area in which we stood was being flooded.  

So hard the head chef halted serving.  Eventually, we got the idea this was not as good an idea as we thought, and made our way back toward the indoor facilities.  

We eventually stopped at Virgil's, a BBQ place with good ratings.  Outstanding BBQ and they had Kalik Gold, an upscale version of the beer I tried in Staniel Cay.  All around, a great meal.  

This place reminds me of Disney World in at least one sense.  It is constructed on such a huge scale it takes several days to actually see everything it has to offer.  After that you can get comfortable and relax, knowing you are finally

in a position to choose what you want to do without the nagging suspicion you're missing something.  

All that said, Atlantis is not Nassau.  The big news outside of Atlantis is all the construction taking place for a new resort with 8000 jobs.  Both of our taxi drivers commented on it, and seemed very impressed with the effort.  

From their perspective, they liked the idea that the roads from the airport to the new resort (which will be much closer to the airport) are being expanded from 2 to 4 lanes, making it possible for them to generate more revenue from each hour of driving.  One noted it would probably be good for Atlantis to have some competition.  

We also saw a lot of efforts at Atlantis to improve or enhance their facilities.  That may just be routine maintenance, or it could be a little brushing up before the new guys open.  

Our drivers commented most folks on Nassau live on the other side of "the hill" which I'd guess is the opposite side of the island from Atlantis and Paradise Island.  One noted there is a mixture of housing areas over there ranging from pretty run down to pretty nice, but they are apparently all intermixed.  Would be nice to come back to Nassau sometime to see more of the island.  

In that sense, like we found everywhere else, if you want to explore the entire region, you really need to set aside a month or so and take a slow stroll.  Will have to think about that.  Would take a lot more budget unless one consciously avoided resorts of this sort.  

So, we're rapidly approaching the end of the trip.  Tomorrow is Sunday, Day 11, and we'll be headed back to Ft Pierce.  Still more to see.