It’s been nearly two weeks since my voyage began in Nassau, and I cannot believe how distant life at home already feels — and I haven’t even gotten off the ship yet!
My mom and I left for Reagan National Airport during morning rush hour, but how could we complain when we were about to be in the Bahamas? From Washington, D.C., we flew into Nassau International Airport, where we waited a few hours for our connecting flight to the smaller island of Eleuthera. After the wait, we were escorted from the holding room to the runway with about 10 other people. Our escort pointed us to one plane, but a mechanic yelled back and turned us away. The escort looked to the other side and walked to another plane but was redirected yet again. No wonder he didn’t know which plane was ours — it was so small. I laughed as I looked at the Pineapple Air signature on the tail. Inside, the cabin was at most five feet tall and four feet wide. I held my breath for the next 30 minutes until we safely touched down in Eleuthera.
A taxi whisked us to the edge of Eleuthera where we boarded a water taxi to reach our final destination, Harbour Island. My brother flew in earlier that day from Mississippi and was conveniently waiting in a golf cart at the pier when my mom and I finally arrived. The meaning of “life in the fast lane” was redefined when I learned that golf carts are the primary mode of transportation on the island. This also meant we were quite a spectacle driving through town with my four months worth of luggage piled high.
Harbour Island was beautiful despite the cloudy and often rainy weather. It is only three miles long but filled with gorgeous island scenery and fun-loving locals. Part of the island’s beauty comes from the beaches’ unique coloring; particles of hot pink mix with the white sand and give the beaches a soft pink hue.
The island attracts visitors for a variety of reasons. While the island is a favorite for the rich to build their gated beach getaways or to sail their towering yachts, it is also apparently popular for international model shoots because of a solitary tree in the shallow tide.
Half the island is a complete resort area, but we rented an apartment in a neighborhood and were really able to experience the local community. This included losing power once or twice daily but also the deliciousness of Angela’s coconut pie and the homemade raisin bread from Arthur. We lived in the twilight area between being tourists and locals so we saw the best of both worlds on the island.
When the sun finally decided to shine on our last day at Harbour Island, we splurged and rented a jet ski because the weather had been so cruel for the previous three days. I avoided my brother’s attempts to throw me off by holding on very tightly; he wasn’t so lucky when I drove. Shortly after we returned to shore, the rains came again.
Sunday morning we were at the airport an hour and a half early to catch a flight back to Nassau; however, we forgot about island time, and we took off more than three hours later. As we approached Nassau we looked down at the harbor and saw three cruise ships. Though unidentifiable from the sky, we knew one of them must be the MV Explorer, my home for the next few months.
Monday morning I reported for embarkation with 700 other students. We pushed our luggage along in line for an hour before being screened through security. After the wait, we turned in our passports, got Semester at Sea IDs and walked up the gangplank. We had a pretty rude reminder that we were about to be on a ship for four months when we had a mustering before leaving Nassau. During a mustering, an alarm sounds with one long and six short rings. All members of the ship must put on warm clothes and shoes, don a life jacket and gather single file in a particular area of the ship in preparation to abandon ship. It was about that time that reality set in; we were truly going to circumnavigate the globe on a boat.
At 5 p.m., we lined the decks to wave goodbye to our families as we pulled out of port and set off for Spain, where we will arrive in nine days. Until then, we are just a speck in the massive infinite blue.
Katie’s column runs biweekly Tuesdays. She can be reached at k.rember@cavalierdaily.com.
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