Tim & Denise Tiner Travels: 2018 Florida and Bahamas - Day Four

January 15, 2018

Hello Freeport! Love sleeping in a dark cabin on a boat. Pretty nice. Nonetheless, I was awake at 6 AM. I don't know.....body just programmed to be up then I suppose. I laid in bed pondering life and what this day would be like. It turned out to be really nice.

We met Jeff and Michelle at 7:45 AM to get some breakfast. 3 of us went to the omelet bar. Pretty good omelet filled with massive amounts of stuff! After eating, we headed off the boat to catch our ride to Paradise Cove. The ride was fun, led by 71 year old Nathan Parker. He has lived his whole life here and has been doing this driving job for 20 years. The ride took us through main towns of Freeport. It is apparent that the economy struggles here. Lots of folks just meandering around. Buildings half built. Apparently there was a hurricane in 2016 that caused a lot of damage and they are till recovering from that.

The ride to Paradise Cove took about 25 minutes. Upon arriving we were greeted by folks who checked us in and made sure we had paid. Once we had done that, we were given 'snorkeling' instructions on safety and where to go. It was a pretty long swim out to the best part of the reef. But it was well worth it. Once Jeff and I got out there, the terrain turned from sea grass to a coral wall that dropped off pretty good. There were tons of fish...very friendly fish that followed you around kind of begging for chum...I guess. The depth was probably anywhere from 20' to 40' in some areas. I thought it was really nice. We snorkeled for a good hour or morel. But the surf was a bit rough due to the windy conditions. And it was tough to walk on the rocky parts as you left and came from shore. Jeff, with his damaged foot, lost his balance and feel three or four times. But I'm sure he would say it was worth it. I did have my GoPro with me so I hope the videos I took are ok.

At about 12:30, we decided to take the shuttle back and go just enjoy the ship. I had French fries on the brain. So once we arrived, off we went to get some. Turns out that Guy Fieri has featured the burger stop on these lines. They looked really good. One burger type is bacon made into a big patty...no beef! I think Jeff had that one. We did get a couple of tacos (pork and fish). Both really good. But the French fries were exactly what the doctor ordered for me.

After grabbing a quick bite, Jeff, Denise and I went up to the Serenity Deck to see if there were hot tub openings. No cigar there. But we did lounge a bit and just enjoyed the sun and cool air. Michelle stayed on land in the shops seeing if Freeport could fit into her suit cases. :-)

Dinner tonight was formal night. Surf and Turf it was for me. Great food. The entertainment was pretty impressive technically. The singers, girls good, one guy is pretty bad! But nonetheless, entertaining. After the show, we got out of our nice clothes into something that let the food expand better in our stomachs, went to the Spencer's room and played some cards...Hearts and Fingers. Denise won both times. Tomorrow, more snorkeling!

Pictures:

Lots of unfinished houses like this as we drove in Freeport...

Some colorful shops for selling stuff. We must be in the slow time...not a single one open.

Our destination for the day.....

Fun to be with my gorgeous wife vacationing....although I am having to share her with her sister!

Denise and Michelle....

Jeff and Michelle....You can see the rock formations out in the water. We had to navigate around the buoys (just above Jeff's head) to the right and head out to those rock formations. Once you arrived there, the depth dropped from 2' to 4' to 20' to 40' with much warmer and clearer water. Unfortunately, the walk out there was pretty painful with tender feet like mine. And Jeff, with his bad foot, stumbled a few times and fell. I thought he'd be all bloodied up ready for shark chumming...but he came up ok each time. Anyway...It was a pain to get to the reef but pretty awesome once there.