Locked up Abroad... Well not quite.

There's nothing quite like being escorted out of the terminal by the US Customs and Boarder Protection and led into the holding area for questioning. Truth is I kinda deserved it. 

You see, I found this beautiful hand painted piece of artwork for sale on the wall of a local pub.  When I inquired on the price of the item the bartender said It was $35 and she would send the artist right over.  I felt like this item was worth well more than $35 so I questioned why so cheap?  She explained that since it's been painted on a piece a drift wood I may have trouble getting it through security.  But she told me the piece had been "sprayed", to wrap it up in a towel and if I run into any trouble to have security call her directly, and she gave me her card. 

Well just when I was about to board the plane and just when I thought I was in the clear, I was being paged over the intercomn. As I approached the gate and saw the two officers searching the crowd for whomever "passanger Sharon Brooks" might be, I knew that I WAS NOT about to get upgraded, but that my $35 investment was a goner. 

He took me out back and started firing questions. Are u aware this item was in your possession? Where did you get this? How much did u pay for it?  Who's the artist? How did u get to the bar? What resort are you staying at?  And then he showed me my now destroyed piece of artwork. It was filled with gross centipede worm type things, and clearly an item that is NOT allowed to enter the US.  After a bit of a lecture and a scolding sesh he let us go (and by us, I mean I made my mom come with me for questioning). 

At least I got to enjoy it for a week and truth be told, no way in hell I'd want icky bugs creeping in some artwork hanging above my bed...  Oh well lesson learned!! And now our plane has been delayed because they can't get the luggage compartment to close.  Guess there are worse places to be stuck..

Photos below show my purchased piece of art.  1st phot:  it's the long one top right (not the fishes). 2nd photo:  after I had to have the maintaince guy saw it in half cuz it wouldn't fit in my luggage.

Down in the Islands

Freeport Bahamas, also known as Grand Bahama, is the largest of the over 200 islands that make up the Bahamas. And being the farthest north, I was a little skeptical of the weather and water temps, but why should I be? After all, anything would be better then where I was coming from. But much to my surprise it was downright HOT w/water temps of 75 degrees.  I have been swimming in the ocean for 7straight days and have now officially dove the 3 largest reefs on the planet (bucket list...check!).  I've explored and explored and explored some more. And as I'm wrapping up the final days of this vacation there are a few shout outs that I would like to mention; wayward Hayward, Old Blue and my girl Casandra.  

Casandra, the bartender/server here at the resort, was my first friend on the island. Well, she and Miss Haddie, but Miss Haddie was just being friendly in the hopes I would buy a timeshare.  But Cassandra was great. Not only did she keep me stocked up on chicken quesadillas and Sands beer, but we shared many a story and many a laugh. She is a beautiful strong woman, doing her best to survive and provide for her family... as is the case w most of the women I've met on the island.  

Then there's Hayward... a 3rd generational tour guide who also deserves an honorable mention. He scouted us out on the second day and subsequently became our personal taxi driver for the duration.  He carted us all over the island, pointing out sights, spouting out bits of history and fun facts, and took us off the beaten path to local hangouts so we could get a taste of real Bahamian life.  

But if my destination was w/in a few miles of the resort then to heck with Hayward.  I would call upon my trusty steed Old Blue to get the job done.  A rickety ole rusted out beach cruiser, Old Blue is one humdinger of a bike, and quite a challenge to ride. In fact a 2 mile ride on this fine piece of machinery seemed to equate to one of my 22 mile spin classes. But none the less, if u were up for the task she was always ready and waiting. Need a quick trip to the liquer store? Old Blue. Feel like exploring surrounding beaches or crashing neighboring resorts?  Old blue.  Want to take a ride into town to do a little shopping? Old blue.  Banging and clanging the whole way, switching gears on her own, and virtually no breaks to speak of, Old Blue proved herself through and through... gonna miss that old clunker. 

Gonna miss it all really. The warm weather, warm water.  The beautiful beaches, beautiful people.  It was another fantastic vacation and many more memories were made. A giant thank you to all who contributed to that.  Now it's back to the cold and snow, but hopefully for only a few more weeks.  Spring is right around the corner and soon enough the sun may even feel warm New England.  

Ps dive blog to come soon, waiting until I can download my underwater pics... Giant reef sharks, woot woot!

Under the Sea

Its been exactly a year since I've had the opportunity to do what I love most... Scuba dive. I booked my trips w Grand Bahama Scuba who's dive shop is conveniently located right here at the resort, with their boat docked right here in the marina.  

Day one we hit up the dive sights Arrow Point and The Chamber.  Neither of which were super spectacular, but as we say in the dive world, "Any dive, is a good dive!"  And when your chilling with the fishes in 75 degree water with 100 ft visibility then what's not to love?  Interesting to note that at the dive site The Chamber, boats actually moore to the only hyperbaric chamber on the island.  Apparently a certain dive insurance company (I won't mention names) neglected to keep up with the payments on this chamber so it was confiscated, sunk, and it's now used as a marker for a dive sight. Also on that note, because the only chamber on the island lyes in 80ft of water, mandatory safety stops 1min at 25ft and 4mins at 15 no mater how short and/or shallow your dives.   

Day two was amazing; Dunkens Wreck and Shark Junction. Dunkens wreck is a 172 ft container ship from Panama that was seized by the government when it was discovered to have 200,000 kilos of cocaine buried in the walls of the ship. It was sunk in 2002 and lay perfectly upright in 120ft of water. When the hurricanes hit in 2004 it knocked the ship on its starboard side, twisting and crushing the stern like a soda can and ripped it completely apart from the rest of the ship.  This site is home to many eels, giant grouper, sea turtles and some of the biggest puffer fish I've ever seen (my fav's!!!)

Next came Shark Junction and as you can probably guess, considering my love and passion for these creatures, it was the highlight of my trip. Sharks sharks and more sharks. Every where you looked. Coming up behind you, swimming straight toward you, off in the distance. All Caribbean reef sharks ranging from 5 to 10 ft long with a few pregnant mamas who looked ready to burst.  They are such fascinating animals and if I had enough air in my tank I'll probably still be sitting on the bottom of the ocean completely awestruck.  

I also had the rare pleasure of having a sea turtle as my dive buddy for about 5 minutes.  We swam along side each other, checking each other out... completely memorized by each other.  It was fantastic!! Also fantastic was the opportunity for my mom to take a stab at a free discover scuba class offered at the resort. And although in the end she didn't sign up to get her open water certification, she at least shlept around in all the gear and got to experience breathing underwater.  She now has a better understanding of why diving is such a passion of mine. Can't wait to do it again!

PS:  photos taken by Melinda Riger from Grand Bahama Scuba - owner, captain and photographer.  And wherever you see that ugly black and bright yellow wet suit, that's me... Gotta love rentals :)