There are just some days in my mind that stand out as the best day ever. I've talked about these before- days where from the time the sun rose to the time your head hit the pillow that night we're just all out blockbuster days. These include things like the Easter Egg Roll, our driving day in Alaska, our 5th anniversary, our driving day down the Oregon coast, our north shore Hawaii day, and my 40th birthday. You might even be able to throw in the Bucs Super Bowl win on Hayden's 15th Birthday there too. I mean, I have done a lot of cool things in my life. But blowout days? You're lucky to get one of those days every couple of years. But when my head hit the pillow on Wednesday September 21 (ok, technically it was Thursday by then) I just knew it would be remembered as one of those days.
When I woke up on Wednesday, the ship was just pulling into Port in Nassau. I don't know if we had been sitting offshore for awhile or not, after all, we were not more than 75 miles from yesterdays destination, so we spent the evening going VERY slow. I noticed at least one other cruise ship already docked.
I loved having our window at the head of our bed like it was. Every morning when I'd wake up before Asa (something that happens 95% of the time), I could stick my head out and look and see where we were before he even got up, right from our bed! I mentioned things to him, but he was mostly still asleep. We passed by the lighthouse all rusted from salt, but it certainly had a certain amount of charm to it. (Asa later told me I was like the kids when they were little who would announce things out the window like "a red car just went by").
I can't help it, I was excited about the day, and found the scenery interesting. There were lovely built up houses, and ones that looked like they had taken on some weather damage and were boarded up, clearly abandoned. Branches were laying just so in some spots it looked like a beach on Survivor. There would be tiny little fishing boats, and huge yachts. It was just such an interesting mix.
Eventually Asa got up and I showed him all my fun finds. He wasn't as amused, but to be fair it was 8 in the morning, and that's just not his time of day.
Since we wanted to leave the ship in a timely manner again, we decided to order room service just like we had the day before. However, we got a much more reasonable amount of food this time. Now we know to mark how many of things instead of just checking a box!
After our breakfast and coffee, we were headed off the ship and on to ground in the actual Bahamas. The capital of Nassau no less. We were one of four ships in port that day- including the Disney Wish (now that's a bucket list trip!) Our taxi driver would later tell us all about how the lack of cruise ships from covid brought Nassau to it's knees. He said they took covid so seriously for a year and a half you could basically only go to the grocery store and the bank and you had to do it all before 5 pm. He said it was nice to finally see the ships in port again, and told us four is nothing- they used to have at least six nearly every day. He was looking forward to when they were finally back up and running like they were pre-covid.
The taxi is also weird, because they drive on the wrong side of the road! I've never been in a car with the drivers side on the right. It was so strange! Also, how is this your parking job when thats the drivers side?!
Anyway, we were in a taxi because we had decided to book an excursion that wasn't run by Royal Caribbean, and we needed to transport ourselves. Now, I know they tell you not to book outside excursions- but I've done a bunch of googling and review reading and decided that the whole 'we'll leave you if you don't make it back on time' thing is true, but also just there to nudge you into taking their excursions. Because lots of people take plenty of non cruise ship sanctioned day trips and never have a problem.
To be fair, I've never done an actual day excursion that wasn't cruise ship run. Sure, I've rented cars, and hiked thru volcanoes- and even nearly got stranded on the Napali Coast- all on my own, but I've never relied on someone else's tour before. But here's the thing, there is one thing I've always wanted to do in the Bahamas, a bucket list item for sure: you ready for this? Drumroll please.... da da da daaahhh... Swimming With Pigs! I was shocked about how many people didn't know this was a thing. But it is, exclusively in the Bahamas, and I've always wanted to do it.
The original swimming pigs are in the islands of the Exumas. It's like a three hour trip by boat out there from Nassau, but the wild pigs out there are the original swimming pigs! (either shipwrecked there many years ago, or swam from a shipwreck). For the Exuma tour you get like 30-60 minutes with the pigs, and then you take the three hour trip back. And it's like $400 a person. As soon as I learned all that information, I was out. I wasn't sure how I'd do for three hours on a small boat in the middle of Bahamian waters, and I was sure I didn't want to spend $800 for me and Asa to find out.
So, I looked into alternatives. Royal Caribbean had an excursion not in Nassau but on their private island in Coco Cay that let you swim with pigs. It was a short 90 minute thing. 30 minutes out to another island with pigs, 30 minutes with the pigs, and 30 minutes back. You got to feed the pigs apples off of sticks and swim with them. You couldn't take your own camera (meaning you'd need to pay for pictures with the pigs), but it was, what I thought, my best and possible only alternative to the Exuma pigs. So, we booked it and I was excited about it. Still, it was $100 a person. A little pricey, but what cruise ship excursion isn't?
And then I moved on to look for things to do in Nassau. People do not rave about this port. In fact, most people say they don't even get off the ship here. I found that the Parliament house was within walking distance, as was the Queen's staircase, an old staircase built centuries ago by slave labor. I thought maybe we'd just go do those things, nose around the straw market, maybe ride on a horse drawn carriage, and get back on the boat. But then, when we were at my mom's house, she paid us to take care of these vines that were growing on the side of the house. I said there was no need to pay us, but she insisted she was quoted at $200, and paid us anyway. Asa and I decided we should use that to do something fun in Nassau.
So then I started looking into Royal Caribbean excursions in Nassau. There were a lot of "private beach getaways" for about what we had earned. Of course, I exhaustively research anything we spend money on. Sure, we have way more than we used to, but I still want to make sure if I'm shelling out my cash, it's worth it. Then, in all my relentless googling I found a place called Sandy Toes.
Sandy Toes is out on Rose Island. And while they aren't cruise ship sancationed, they have a day package that includes a 25 minute boat trip out to Rose Island (as well as the trip back), a guided snorkel, a private beach, an open bar, a bbq lunch and swimming/interactions with pigs! The website even has a page for cruise ship passengers, assuring you if you are in port by 9am and leaving anytime after 5, you will have time to make the trip (if you're staying in a hotel, though, they will even come pick you up!)
I read reviews- on every imaginable travel site- and it sounded amazing, but it was twice the price of our pig excursion with Royal Caribbean, coming in at just over $200 a person. But I reasoned, if we cancelled the other tour on Coco Cay, and pool it with our other $200, we were spending the same amount. Because we could have a whole free day in Coco Cay with all the included stuff, but that would be harder to do in Nassau. So armed with my research, I sold my idea to Asa.
And here's the thing, Asa's usually on board. Partly because he just wants to humor me, but also he knows I exhaustively research before I make decisions, and he's usually just happy I made a decision. I presented my arguments, both the pros - a whole day excursion, lunch, drinks, and all the pictures with pigs you could imagine, included - and the cons- it was pricey, we'd have to get our own transportation out there, it wasn't cruise ship sancationed, and if we missed the boat, that'd be on us. But it was totally unnecessary, Asa was on board as he nearly always is with my ideas.
My biggest concern was getting out there and back- but it was easy enough to find a taxi, and it was a short ride (less than 10 minutes) out to the Paradise Island Ferry terminal. There, we found this little building to check in at.
The whole area is very unassuming. There's a Margaritaville, and some resorts- but it has a very Hawaii vibe to it. You know, I'm from that area in Florida where things are tropical- but if you're by the water it's usually upscale tropical. Almost too manicured. I find a certain amount of charm in natural, not built up, island beauty. Anyway, we also noted the Bird scooter. They're everywhere from Fremont, Ohio to Nassau Bahamas!
They do tell you when you book the tour that you must be at the docks by 9:50, and they aren't kidding. The boat started boarding at about 9:40 and left right on time. It is a double decker boat, but we opted for the lower deck in order to stay in the shade as long as possible. I thought I did such an awesome job packing, only to discover I had left Asa's hat at home. (To be fair, I did have it on my list, I just thought I grabbed it when I grabbed my visor- and I crossed it off the list.Turns out I never grabbed it at all). I really beat myself up about it all trip, but at least I had my visor for Asa to wear and a ton of reef-safe suncreen. And he kept assuring me it wasn't my fault (but it totally was, I'm the packer, we all know it).
It was about a 25 minute boat ride out to Rose Island, as you pass by all kinds of other private islands- all very natural looking. Lots of trees, with just one dock hanging out. When we arrived at the Sandy Toes dock there were pigs hanging out, and I immediately knew we made the right choice by picking this place. The pigs on the dock will leave before you disembark the boat, but it's just a glimpse of what's to come during your five hours at Sandy Toes.
Before leaving the boat the very friendly staff (they were all great and super welcoming!) explain that if you would like to snorkel you have your one and only chance right when you get off the boat. So, in all my googling I did discover someone was attacked and killed by a shark at Sandy Toes five or so years ago. This obviously made me a little nervous (especially after our shark "encounter" the day before). In fact, about two weeks before we left another American tourist was attacked and killed by a shark off Rose Island- not at Sandy Toes, but a couple miles away. My understanding was the snorkle experience changed here after the shark attack. Now, instead of being able to grab your gear and head out whenever, there was one chance for a guided snorkel, and there would be your guide, along with guys on the rocks above, and some people in a boat with airhorns. If they sounded, you were supposed to head to shore and get out of the water. I figured that was safer than yesterday at least with the lifeguard shrugging off a shark in my general vicinity. I knew Asa really wanted to snorkel so I put on my big girl pants and tried not to be too anxious about it. So, after getting off the boat, we made our way up the rugged steps to the pavillion at the top of the stairs.
There, they checked us out with all of our snorkel gear. We were given life jackets that tied around our waist to help keep us afloat, googles and a snorkel, and optional fins (Asa and I passed on those in favor of our water shoes). You do have to give a cash deposite of $20 you get back promptly after you return your snorkel gear. But, we also go these little sharkbanz to wear (on your wrist or ankle- your choice"). These have magnets that sharks supposedly do not like. Whether or not they actually work, who knows. But, it was "an added layer protection" according to our guide. Plus no matter how legit they are, they did help calm my fears a bit.
The snorkle, by the way, was pretty amazing. All in all it took about an hour from getting our gear to turning it back in. You swim out with your lifejacket around your waist (which really helps floating!) under the dock and over to a bunch of reefs. Asa and I were both given a little piece of bread to drop some in the water, which the fish just loved. Asa sawm in front of me dropping them, so I could get good looks at the fish, which was awesome. We saw a ton of fish, but most excitingly we saw a green sea turtle! There were actually two swimming with the group, but I only got to see the one. The reefs were cool too. More colorful than anything I had seen before. I will note, a lot of people on reviews said the snorkeling was "just ok" and not very long, but for someone who doesn't ever go too far out, or get to do it very much, I loved it. The water was maybe 12- 15 feet deep, but very, very clear- and its a decently long swim in the open water out to the reef and back, but you mostly stay near the shoreline of rocks, not like super close to them, but never more than 50 yards away. I'm not sure how much longer I would have wanted to be out there. I'm not like an amazing swimmer, but in the open water it's a bit more tiring.
After giving back our gear and getting our deposit back, we made our way down the path to the other side of the island.
Here you will find a couple of nice little shaded pavillions looking out to the beach on the opposite side of the island from the snorkeling. I will note that the waters were MUCH more rough on this side. Lots of waves rolling in. But it also offered a nice island breeze.
One of the pavilions host a bar- and your drinks are included in the price of your trip. You can pay extra to get frozen drinks, but it's not really necessary. There are plenty of great (and fruity!) drinks that are included. And it's all you want to drink in those 5 hours, so drink up!
The extra package for frozen drinks also includes tube rentals and kayaks, or you can rent those for the day separately. We did consider it before we went- but there was more than enough to do to fill our day that was included. Honestly, we didn't see anyone on a kayak or a tube, but I think that might have been due to the rough nature of the water. Asa and I happily sat on the couches and had our drinks...
...until we saw the pigs come out at the far end of the beach, and then we made a beeline for them! One of the selling points of this excursion over the Coco Cay Royal Caribbean one was the ability to see the pigs all day long. They were brought out in groups "every half hour". The length in which they stayed out on those half hours probably varied. But to me, it only seemed like 10 minutes at the very most between the groups of pigs.
For the most part pigs come out in groups of three, though sometimes there are two. Each pig comes out with a handler/trainer. These guys are not wild, but rescues that are more like dogs than pigs. I know I probably missed a group while I was snorkeling (the only downside to me having to do that first- but honestly I got SO much pig time by the end of the day, it wasn't a concern at all). So the first group I saw was the smallest. These guys are named after the Golden Girls: Rose, Sophia and Dorthey.
The trainers are awesome, especially if you get to talking with them. They are more than happy to tell you stories about each pig, explain their personalities and tell you about their care (they get sunscreen!) Our boat over to Sandy Toes was probably 3/4 full, so it wasn't max capacity- but even so, thsoe people spread out pretty well on the island and it never felt too crowded once we got there. And the pigs comes out so much that it's almost like by the end of the day, eveyone has had their fill (except for me, I literally visited with every single group of pigs every single time they brought them out- so I hope you're excited for A LOT of pig pictures!)
This set of pigs is the smallest, and they are still "in training". They get their feed from bowls/containers out there. You can pet them, but that's about it. Still, if you know me and animals, you know I was super excited just to be petting pigs on a beach in the Bahamas!
While we waited for the next group of pigs to come out, we went over by the rocks to see if there was any cool tidepool action. The waves were so rough though, things just kind of washed in and out and we didn't see much more than a few snails and a couple crabs.
There was also a nice little hammock spot near the rocks wherre we could chill and wait for the next set of pigs, so Asa and I made use of those. I love a good hammock- but I especially love a good beach hammock.
After not too long, they brought out the next set of pigs- these were much bigger, and admittedly, among some of my favorites. This is Ginger, the most charismatic of all the pigs (and yes, pigs can be charasmatic).
Look at her, just showing off! She knows all kinds of tricks. All the pigs are trained to sit, but Ginger goes way beyond that.
She even knows how to shake!!
The other two pigs in this group are Pepper and Spice. Honestly though, I was so enthralled with Ginger, I don't remember which one is which. So here is how meeting with the pigs goes: They all have their trainer, with a bucket of treats that stays close by. You can go up and pet the pigs, you can take pictures with pigs (their trainers will even ask them to sit for them), and you can even feed the pigs.
I read in reviews that the trainers won't ask you things like "do you want to feed them", and thats true. But just ask what you'd like to do and they'll tell you if it's ok. They are again very personable when you get to talking to them, and are happy to give you more food if you want it. I asked if I could feed Pepper (or maybe Spice?) and they give me a handful of feed. It's very similar to training Etta, they make the pig sit and stay until you walk down the beach with the feed, squat down and hold the food out flat in your hands, and then they tell the pigs to go get the food. So, you are on the beach with a pig trotting towards you, eating out of your hands. Can you tell how absolutely thrilled I was with this interaction?
Their little sandy snots do get slobber all over your sandy hands, but they are pretty gentle about it. I was fine with all the pig slobber, but just be warned if you want to feed them, it's a messy experience. No worries, you can just rinse your hands off in the ocean!
And worth noting, there isn't just pigs running all over the island. You'll also find wild chickens and peacocks everywhere. Sometimes they're up the hill in the grass, sometimes they come down to the beach.
Now if you know Asa, you know his obession with getting birds to eat out of his hands, so he went to ask one of the trainers if he could feed the peacocks. They said it was no problem, but told him to go far enough away the pigs don't see the food.
So he did. And he actually got a peacock to eat right out of hands, which he was most excited about, even if it did peck his hand a bit. I passed on the peacock feeding for that reason, but as I'm writing this, now I kind of wish I had tried it.
Ok, so I've just learned how to put videos in here- and I'm super excited to share them.
I made the rounds feeding all the pigs. Quite a few people had come down to the end of the beach to see these pigs, but the trainser were really good about giving people their time with the pigs. With three pigs coming out rather frequently, again, I didn't feel crowded or anything.
As people got their time, they'd visit the pigs and make their way back down the beach. But not me, I'd just move on to the next pig rotating to get to feed and pet them all. This was really my happy place.
When Ginger, Spice and Pepper went back inot the barn we were just left with the peacocks.
Now usually, Ginger, Pepper and Spice would have swam, but the water was too rough for them. I understood, and wasn't even super disappointed. I knew there was a possibility Hurricane Fiona or rough waters could cancel our trip out to Sandy Toes all together. If the water is too rough, they won't even bring the boat out to Rose Island from Nassau. And I also knew there was a possibility of the pigs not swimming- it's a disclaimer as you're booking that they have no control over rough seas. That's fair, I don't want pigs going out in the water if it isn't safe for them. Waves or no waves, the water was still very blue and clear.
It was nearing lunch time, and no more pigs would be out until after lunch, so Asa and I made our way back up to the bar for some more fruity drinks. The bartenders were great, super personable, and happy to get you whatever. Plus, yay open bar!
Up by the bar you'll also find a grassy area with more hammocks- this time in the shade.
It's also on the path back along to the first pavillion, where the snorkel gear is rented, which is also where lunch is served. I wish I had taken more (and better) pictures of the actual island. It had a charm to it with steps made from rocks and names imprinted on the little amount of poured concrete. There were lots of little areas to sit and hang out, and tons of shade.
In fact, there's a lookout tower up a flight of stairs that gives you the most amazing views. Asa and I took our lunch (served down the steps under that white roof there) up to the treehouse like place and ate virtually all by ourselves.
Lunch was salad, rice and beans, pasta salad, rolls, hot dogs and the best bbq chicken I've maybe ever had. Out of all the food I ate on the trip- this chicken was my favorite. I even went back for seconds. They'll give you as much or as little as you'd like, and they're super friendly and nice about it. They have a very cheerful, welcoming Bahamian demeanor about them.
And man, a good lunch with those views after snorkeling (with a sea turtle!!) and hanging out with pigs all morning while drinking fruity cocktails. All with your favorite person in the world. Does life GET any better than that?! I contend it does not.
After finishing up our lunch, we made our way down to the beach, we noticed a whole new set of pigs coming out to visit. These guys were the short potbellied kind. By now the pigs were garnering much less attention from the other guests on the island. I was basically out there snuggling and feeding these piggies all on my own.
First, let me introduce you to Larry, the only boy among the group of girls on the island (though he is neutered).
These pigs were so ugly they were cute! Larry sat nicely for a picture. The trainers are all happy to tell the pigs to sit and stay, and then even ask if you'd like a picture. They'll take your camera and snap A BUNCH, so you're bound to get a few good ones of the pigs. I know it's silly, but I did love that I could have my own camera and take pictures with the pigs. I didn't have to just buy one picture from a tour company, at a ridiculous price. In fact, I have like a million more I didn't put in the blog. Here you're just getting the best of the best.
Obviously, I fed Larry. Their little snouts tickle your hands when they eat the pellets.
Asa said he liked the whole pig experience more than he thought he would. He was excited for it, but it wasn't a bucket list dream item for him. It seems most of my big bucket list items involve animals. There was the time I swam with dolphins, the time I pet a penguin, the time I fed a stingray, the time I hung out with monkeys, the time I floated with manatees, the time I held a seahorse, the time I helped train a rhino, and of course this excursion was just about 3 months to the day to our trip on the Wild Africa Trek.
But look, Asa is definitely enjoying himself!
After our time with Larry, we moved on to Curly. Curly is a bit of a problem child according to her trainer.
Although, she was happy to get pets from me!
But, when I walked down the beach with her food, she followed me- and she wasn't supposed to go until her trainer told her to, so Curly had to go back and wait until she was told she could go. (I however, love the resulting picture from that interaction of Curly breaking the "rules").
Once she did it the "right way" she got her food.
Please, enjoy the video of me in my happy place.
Last up in this group of three was Mo. Mo is easily identifiable by the black spot on her snout.
Mo is kind of the lazy one in the group, but she seemed to really enjoy the pets, and was one of the sweetest taking feed from me. I kind of felt like Mo was the most like Ellie. I just wanted to snuggle her.
So, usually, most of the pigs swim. These guys not so much (look at their tiny little legs), the ocean had calmed some since the morning, but still much too rough, especially for the smaller/shorter pigs. I didn't care. I was having such an awesome day I was happy to be just a tiny bit in the water with them giving them pets and food. It was good enough for me.
When Larry, Mo and Curly headed back in, we went up the steps to go to the gift shop. While I was looking for a magnet (which I got), I also found a cute little stuffed pig. My penguin, as I've discussed, has been better days. The pig was just the right size for a replacement, so Asa got him for me. I don't care if I'm 41. I aboslutely love my stuffed pig from Rose Island, who I named Mo.
On our way back to the beach we grabbed one more drink. I asked for one with "less alcohol" because three drinks in about three hours is too many for me. For being an open bar, they were surprisingly heavy handed on the alcohol. But the joy of the whole trip is that I didn't have to drive anywhere, so drink up! We sat in our chairs and took in the lovely view, waiting for the next set of pigs.
I was sitting there, literrally talking to Asa about how even though I didn't get to swim with the pigs, it was still just the best day, when they brought out two giant pigs and headed into the water.
I obviously, immediately got up and started walk-running to the water. I couldn't believe it all day people were asking if pigs were going to swim, and they kept saying "probably not today, the water is pretty rough for them". But, the two best swimmers, Babe and Wilber were happy to go out into the water once it had calmed a little!
Though most people had gotten their fill of the feeding and petting pigs, when they got into the water, a lot of people came running down the beach. Still, nobdoy really wanted to get into the water with the pigs- at least not more than knee deep, because the waves were kind of intense.
Now normally, that would be me. I do not like big waves in the ocean. But I didn't even think twice about it. I went all the way out to the trainers. However, the only people willing to go out that far and really "swim" with the pigs were me and Asa and one other couple.
The pigs didn't spend a lot of time in the water, they mostly swam out, got rewarded with treats from the trainer, and then swam back to shore. I'm not sure if this is how it usually works, or if the pigs like to spend more time in the water on calmer days. But they did it over and over again.
I have pictures of the events, but the videos are really where it's at.
Babe the pink one was one the swimmers, who did really well despite the big waves.
Wilbur was a little more adventurous than Babe. She flat out swam right into waves and didn't even flinch.
ok, another story time: You see that black pouch/fanny pack thing I have there? It held both of our passports and phones. The pouch is essentially a fancy ziplock with three different ziplocks that you then fold over and velcro down. It kept my stuff very dry in Coco Cay when we were in the water (though the passports I put in another ziplock baggie for added protection. Still, my phone was kept pretty dry. Here, at times I had both Asa and my phones in the pouch- both of which I was taking out pretty frequently and maybe not closing all three ziplocks as much as I should have. I wasn't that worried. After all, I have the same phone as Peyton, and Peyton's phone just recently spent a good 15 minutes at the bottom of a lake, and was just fine. However, Asa doesn't have the same phone as us. So, what I'm telling you is here is the point where I ruined Asa's phone. It would never be the same, and as soon as we got home he had to get a new one. Thanks to a little loophole we've discovered, the new phone was free, and all it cost us was paying off the old phone, closing that line, and opening a new line for the new phone (therefore, you get the "free phone" for the "new line").... basically though, it all comes at a cost of changing your phone number. At least Asa finally has a Florida number like the rest of us now. He was the lone Ohio number hold out.
Whatever, though. I ruined the phone (Asa tells me it wasn't my fault, but we both know it was) and our phone bill will go down by $20 a month. Plus, I swam with pigs. All worth it. And at least he was still able to access some things on his phone- all the pictures from the trip were just fine. Anyway, I swam next to Wilbur quite a bit, and she was a good little swimmer. She even kicked me once, their little leggies get moving!
Of course, you know me, no swimming with pigs would be complete without a self taken picture- so here are my attempts at that.
Overall, swimming with them, for me, totally lived up to the hype. I know I didn't get as much swim time in as usual with the hard surf, but I also got more alone time with them because nobody else wanted to come out into the water where the pigs were actually swimming. I will say, I did feel a little knocked around out there and there was SO MANY little seaweed pieces that fell out of my swimsuit when I changed. But, it was all so worth it. I swam with pigs!! Bucket list item complete (look how excited/happy I am!!) Now, I find a new dream. Maybe we move on to cuddling with capybaras. Or hiking with alpacas! Or riding horses on the beach (see, I have no shortage of animal related wish list items).
They did bring the little baby pigs out one more time after the swimmers. I took that as an opportunity to take a picture with the pigs with my stuffed pig. I got so many compliments on my pig, I think I sold like four more just carrying it around.
After the little pigs went back in (The Golden Girl pigs), we packed up our stuff. We were supposed to be back at the boat at 3:30 to get back to Nassau, and it was a little after 3, so I didn't think they would bring out anymore more pigs. To my surprise, out came Pepper, Spice and Ginger one more time. And this time they were walking down the beach to say goodbye to all the guests.
So of course, I took this opportunity to visit with them one more time.
Back to my favorite Ginger, they told me I could essentially "sit" on her and give her a big hug.
How is this not the best picture of me, ever? (And this is me- the person who hates swimsuit pictures of herself- saying this).
I was going to soak in every last minute, so I fed Gigner one more time, and gave her one more scratch behind the ears.
I also did my best to get a me and Asa pig selfie.
As the pigs continued to make their way down the beach, we headed down to the other side of the beach.
There is a nice dock out by the water, and I wanted to go have a look before we left.
I'm telling you, even on a rough water day it was the bluest and clearest I had ever seen.
And that was it, we made our way back up the hill, past the bar (who was still serving drinks, you could basically get one on your way out if you wanted), and across the island back to the dock on the other side.
I took one last look down the beach at the pigs playing in the water, and even screwing around with a coconut that had washed up.
We risned off our feet and continued back along the path...
..saying goodbye to the peacocks on the way.
One last trip down the stairs, back on to the Sandy Toes boat.
So, I think you can guess how I'd review Sandy Toes. It is one more my most favorite places I have ever been. The snorkeling was safe, and colorful. Plus, we even spotted a sea turtle. The drinks were plentiful, the food delicious. The weather, pretty perfect (if not a little windy). The staff were all friendly and welcoming. And the pigs? Well, they were deserving of their spotlight. We are notoriously cheap, we try and get the best experiences for the cheapest price. But this, this was worth ever cent of the $440 it cost for the two of us to visit. The whole trip worked like a well oiled machine. It was as relaxing as they claim it to be, and nowhere else are you going to get to see the pigs SO many times, with your own pictures to boot. I cannot recommend this place enough. I so hope I get to go back someday.
Until then, so long Sandy Toes. Thanks for all the fun! We got ourselves a spot on the back of the boat and watched as Rose Island faded away into the distance (shout out to this Sandy Toes deck hand who thought he was hilarious for jumping in my picture!)
You spend a decent amount of the 25 minute boat ride heading back full speed ahead, but once you get into the no wake area, there are quite the sights to be seen. Everything from an old fort, to mansions, to a half sunken cargo ship. Off in the distance you can even spot our cruise ships in port. We also spotted a couple of dolphins out in the water, but I wasn't fast enough to snap a picture.
When we arrived back there were plenty of taxi cabs waiting to take people back. The Sandy Toes check in does ask if you're on a cruise ship when you book, so they knew where we were from and confirmed it at check in. They double check to make sure your times will match up and you won't miss your departure time. They even tell you if you have trouble getting a cab, they're happy to help (again, there were already a ton waiting, so we had no problems at all- which seems to be how it usually works). Our cab driver got us back to the port in less than 10 minutes, and dropped us off right at the check in to get back on the docks. (There is a lot of construction down there because they're building a whole new welcome center!)
We were back on the ship with plenty of time to spare before our 5 pm all aboard. I put Mo in the window so she could see her homeland one more time.
And then, for good measure, I added my penguin. Look how cute!
On the way back to the room, we swung by for some iced coffees. Since we hadn't used any punches on our coffee card today, Asa got himself two. No better way to cap off the day with had with some iced coffees and some hot showers.
Once we were all ready for dinner, we made a stop on the balcony of Deck 4 to check out the view of Nassau from the helipad at the front of the boat. Note: you can see Atlantis in the background!
We were running a little late for 5 pm trivia, and the seats next to our trivia buddies was taken, so we grabbed a sheet and headed to the hallway behind the Schooner Bar. Turns out, we're not super good at trivia just the two of us.
After trivia it was time for dinner, and we decided to head back to the main dining room. We had skipped it the night before because it was formal night, but there was some shrimp and pork tacos on the menu that looked interesting.
As soon as we sat down they brought us some ice water and bread.
And tonight they were not shocked that I ordered a dessert as my appetizer. I went with the Tres Leches cake and it was probably my favorite dessert I had all trip- which is saying something.
As my main dish I got the garlic tiger shrimp. They were good, not amazing, but good enough, and I wasn't super hungry, so I left the rice.
Asa got his pork tacos that we're different than I imagined. The shell was more bun then taco, but it did still have a good sweet chili flavor to it. For his main dish he got chicken cordon blue, which was pretty good, though the sides left something to be desired.
Our window view gave us a great sighting of a rainbow off in the distance as well.
Our main complaint with the Dining room would probably be how slow it is. To be fair, Asa and I don't go to that many sit down fancy places. Mostly just at Disney, and they usually are waiting for your table so they don't want you to linger that long. But, we did tell our waiter that we were hoping to catch the comediens in the theater by 7, so they made sure to get us out of there in time. The comediens were decent, they got a couple big laughs, and Asa and I at this point decided from here on out we wanted to try everything the ship had to offer. If we weren't into it, it didn't matter- it was free and we could always jsut skidaddle off to do something else.
After the show, we did a little gambling in the casino, and Asa turned his dollar into 5! I, however, lost my whole $2 winnings from the day before.
Then we took our evening stroll around the cruise ship. Those top decks at night, there's nobody up there!
We didn't have a big dinner, and it'd been a few hours, so we decided to stop by Windjammer to see what they had this evening. It was British night, so we sent a picture to Peyton (who is actually in England at the moment!).
There were all kinds of things, Yorkshire pidding, Shepards pie, fish and chips, ect. But Asa, for whatever reason, was most excited about Mushy Peas!
I was excited to find fresh crepes!! On our previous cruises crepes had been basically an every night affair- when we'd come up with no crepes the first two nights, I thought it was a lost cause. So, I added a crepe to the usual dessert buffet I had in the evenings. Truth be told it was my favorite Winjammer dessert.
By now though I had gotten Asa all in on at least trying a bite of each of the desserts and then we'd rate them in order. It was a fun little game we played- and we almost never had even close to the same order.
After British food and desserts, we decided to stop by the Star Lounge for a Gameshow. They pick people in the audience to play, but lots of people show up just to watch. Tonights gameshow was a couples one- they took three couples, one who had been married just four days, one at 20 years together, and one at 50 years together, and then they played various games. The winner was the couple who had been together the longest- but they were all entertaining and awesome sports about the whole thing. We had a lot of good laughs.
After that Asa went donw for a coffee, and if we were at cafe Promenade anyway, why not try a few more desserts? Which is basically my cruise ship mantra.
After all of that, we went back to our room and changed into my comfy clothes. We debated going to bed, but we had never made it closer to 11:15pm Karaoke! When we were looking through the app when we were still at home (the cruise compass comes up a few days before your cruise), we noticed 11 pm karaoke and said we wanted to go (just to listen), but we've been going to bed so early (we're so old), we'd been saying for a week how we just wouldn't make it. But, we were still up and around at 10:45, so I figured it was now or never, so we made our way back up to the Star Lounge.
And now, it's short story time. In checking out the cruise ship, we realized Sorrentos Pizza was open late, and Asa told the kids how he was going to find himself a midnight pizza. Like for weeks, he talked about midnight pizza. But not just late night pizza- he figured the same people would be having late night pizza over the course of the cruise and insisted he was going to make "Midnight Pizza Buddies". So here we are, nabbing one of the last few seats in the Star Lounge for karaoke. We're sitting there, through about one song when this girl comes up with an entire plate full of pizza and plops herself down right next to us (her friends were on the other side of us). She's slightly tipsy, but hilarious and super friendly, and eventually offers up her pizza to Asa. It's just before midnight. So, not only did Asa not have to go to Sorrentos to get the pizza himself, but his late night pizza buddy just appeared out of nowhere. We told her the story of the late night pizza buddy and she loved it so much, we took a picture. She then insisted we send it to her when we get off the boat (Asa took her number since the picture was on my phone but I didn't have the wifi package). Her name is actually Jenna, she's super fun, and she works at Disney! Still, her official title is "Late Night Pizza Buddy"
After the late night pizza buddy meet up, Asa and I decided to go outside to see to the stars. We made our way up to the helipad and there was literally nobody else there. But there were SO. MANY. STARS. More than I had ever seen before. You could make out all kinds of constellations, and even spot Milky Way dust.
I tried to take pictures, but none of it did it justice.
Eventually we decided to simply lay down at the helipad and stare up at the stars. It was the aboslute perfect ending to an otherwise amazing day. We were just laying on the helipad, not another person in sight with only the sound of the waves for a good 45 minutes before deciding to turn in. But, I'm telling you, this might be my new favorite thing to do on a cruise ship. It was AMAZING.
We headed back in, and nearing 1 am, it was a completely empty ship.
There wasn't even anything left on the "happening now" board.
But I did realize it was past midnight, so I ran over to the elevators to see if they had changed out the day (we were on floor three, I didn't even need to take it anywhere, I just wanted to see it), and they had already, in fact, already put the "Thursday" floor plates in
And that concludes our amazing day at Sandy Toes, and our awesome evening on the cruise ship with the cherry on the top being the stargazing on the helipad. Lock that one into the memory. It's a good one.
Next up: one last day on the cruise ship!
No comments:
Post a Comment