Jeeping Around Grand Island, Bahamas

I told you that I would blog a little about our cruise, so here is a little about our one and only excursion we took. 

First off, I'd like to mention, that we left Port Canaveral on the Carnival Sensation on Sunday, 23 Oct. I had never taken a cruise that late in the season, and I was a bit nervous about the weather.  I'll have to say, we had perfect weather.  When we left the port, it was sunny and probably in the low 80's. Our first port of call was Freeport, Bahamas.  This is where we decided to go on an excursion, since there really isn't much to do there.  

I had been to Freeport a couple of years ago, and we got off the boat and did a little shopping at the nearby shops, then just got back on the boat and enjoyed the slides and such. 

But anyway, back to the excursion. We signed up for the jeep excursion which was suppose to take us all over the island.  It was to include several informative stops, potty breaks, lunch, and the beach. 

My sister had always wanted to drive a jeep, so we let her drive. My mom was co-pilot and I was the photographer in the back seat. Mom and I really didn't care to drive especially since they drive on the wrong side of the road, and the steering wheel is on the American side.  That was REALLY weird. 

We stopped at a jetty that divided the north and south part of the island. Our guide, Tony, told us that the north end is hit by hurricanes more than the south end; and you could really tell.

After our visit at the jetty, we took off for our drive on the beach.  This picture I took without even looking. I thought it came out pretty good.  I just turned my camera around and held it up and pushed the button.  I actually did that on several of my photos and they all came out.  lol

After we got off the beach, we headed into some forests.

We stopped and Tony talked a little more about the island. 

Here you see a lot of dead trees. In 2004, there were several hurricanes that came through, flooding this area with salt water, and killing the trees.  Sad, yet interesting to see how nature can damage such an area, and yet just a few years later, much growth is coming back. 

So, what is this?  Do you stop or yield? Notice how short the signs are.  I am guessing it is because of the hurricanes. The high winds probably knock a lot of signs down.

One of our stops was Garden of the Groves.  This is where we had lunch and had the opportunity to do a little shopping.  I just walked around the area.  It is actually a very beautiful garden area.  We also were visited by some strange ducks while we ate our lunch.  They wagged their tails just like dogs, and even panted like a dog.  I thought is was really funny.

After lunch and all our stops, we headed for Taino Beach.  The water was a bit cool for my taste, so I just sat in one of the chairs for awhile, then walked around and down the pier and took pictures and enjoyed the nice sunny weather.

This excursion was pretty fun. As with all excursions, I do believe it was a bit overpriced.  As far as the weather, it was perfect.  While in the jeeps, it was a little cloudy, but as soon as we hit the beach, the sun came out, PERFECT!!

Here we are....having a great time!

Hang loose &

Bye-Bye...