Our first Port was Nassau - we had been to an "information" session where they gave us a map and told us the best places to get diamonds and high end luxury goods - with dire warnings of high crime rates anywhere other than the main shopping strip. There was also the option of a dolphin experience and access to the Atlantis Resort watersides and pools (very expensive), but we opted against them.

We decided on a brief foray to Nassau and I must say I didn't really enjoy it. I hate being driven like cattle with all the other tourists along the commercial strip. Not exactly an authentic experience. The shops we were driven to were all lovely, high end jewellery/handbag/watches/perfume.

Paul was interested in an Omega (which was considerably cheaper - half price? than in Australia), but couldn't justify it even so.

We called it quits after an hour and returned to the ship where we could enjoy the waterside, etc without all the crowds.

I did like the Bahamian people we spoke to in the stores, and enjoyed listening to the relaxed cadence of their accents. We also enjoyed seeing the traffic Police in their meticulous starched white uniforms. The remnants of colonial architecture looked interesting; but again, we were not encouraged to investigate on our own.

As a fearless 20 year old backpacker I might have, but we'd heard stories of children being kidnapped for ransom, so we decided not to venture further.