If you are like me, chances are that you probably didn’t know that Nassau was even a place. Neither did I. Till a friend booked a cruise to the Bahamas, to their capital city named Nassau.
Nassau is heaven on earth. There is no other way to describe the place. Clear blue skies, clear blue seas, a marine ecosystem that was alive and thriving, and people that welcomed you with their hearts and soul. Our stay in Nassau was about eight hours. We thought it would be enough to explore the island, but in fact, there wasn’t ample time. We had started off with exploring downtown Nassau, and had proceeded eastwards on a bike we rented, in search of beautiful beaches. Unfortunately, that leg of trip came to a halt as we had a little traffic accident, landing us minor injuries but thankfully no broken bones.
My friend, unsurprisingly, decided that she did not want to trust my driving any more. She headed off to join the scuba divers’ trip. She later told me that it was fun. It must have been, but I had a story up my sleeve too.
After dropping her off to the scuba divers’ camp, I headed westwards in search of a historic lighthouse in Nassau. You see, the city is said to have been a pirate outpost in the past – the lighthouse is said to have hosted historical relics and documents from that era.
Despite Nassau not being such a large island, I got lost. Despite having set out in the afternoon, I wasn’t getting anywhere and the sun was setting fast. I stopped at a rest area, to take a breather, to stretch my legs, and if possible, to ask for directions.
I finally did meet a group of men, who seemed to have taken an early day off from work and were chatting by the sea. “You’ve come a long way in the opposite direction,” laughed a middle-aged man. “You missed an intersection, about 20 minutes ago.”
My facial expressions must have revealed my disappointment, for another middle-aged man, Jay, put his arm around my shoulder and offered my something from a brown bag. “Have it, it is a speciality here in Nassau.”
Turns out, Jay was offering me Nassau’s Conch Fritters. Conch is a shellfish found in the Caribbean, and a fritter is basically a deep fried piece of conch. It resembled the South Asian Pakora, but are perhaps bigger in size and more moist (apparently, they add milk to the recipe – which should explain the moistness).
“Tell your friend she missed out,” said Jay when we said our goodbyes. “I will,” I promised him.
I never did get to the lighthouse, but I never regretted getting lost either.
