Abaco

A thankfully short ride on an unnervingly small plane from Nassau Airport to Marsh Harbour Airport, which wasted no building space on an elaborate terminal or baggage claim area, and no cell phone service were quick reminders that we were far away from home. A short and sweet taxi ride took us to our home for the week. With limited knowledge of where we’d be staying, I had no expectations, which led to a pleasant surprise that took my breath away upon arrival. Walking into the quaint living room, which granted an ocean view, I was swept away with a feeling of comfort, gratitude, relief and satisfaction all at once. In that moment I knew that every bit of anticipation was worth it. People often ask me about my ideal work environment and stepping into that apartment confirmed that that was it. Having a view of the private beach in the backyard that continued to the never ending expanse of water rushed me with a feeling of relaxation and inspiration all at once. I got excited about how much I would love writing here. However, although I did indulge in some pleasure reading, the only writing that happened were the sporadic “memorable moment” notes scribbled on napkins in between our adventures.

After settling in, Jen and I stepped out to explore. Following the comforting sounds of a mix of rap and reggae, a sound that combined what we left at home and what was our present reality for the next week, we stumbled upon a resort where we were welcomed to the Bahamas with Angler’s Restaurant’s Bahama Mamas.

Once we were joined by our third partner in crime on Sunday and fully recovered from travel exhaustion, we were on a mission early Monday morning to start our week off right. Enjoying the view of the boats on the marina from Snappa’s, which became our hangout spot, we attempted to plan a tentative schedule, compiling all of the information and recommendations we’d gathered. Our position at Snappa’s granted us a great view of the marina as well as two interesting fellas that caught our attention. (We later discovered that that position also granted others a great view of us.) Unable to resist the urge of finding out more we struck up a conversation, which led us to the BB boys and opened up our worlds to a weeklong Abaco adventure.

From a late night game of dominoes where we got to witness candid interaction among Abaconian guys to an all day fishing trip, we were able to embrace and immerse ourselves in the Bahamaian lifestyle. It was so beautiful that it felt surreal. It’s funny how unaltered beauty of nature draws up comparisons to falsified imitations: “The water is as blue as Listerine” “This looks like something out of a movie or a beer commercial ” When in actuality we were in the midst of the the purest of inspirations for such televised fabrications. Our trip was filled with picture perfect moments that rivaled Jay-Z’s Big Pimpin’ video, created moments reminiscent of How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and a late night dance party in the rain saturated us with the feeling of exactly what Summer Rain is really about.

On our fishing trip where we docked for dinner to take in everything around us, a rainbow decorated the sky, a dolphin graced us with her presence, and a sexy sunset closed the scene, as if nature was smiling on us and giving us a nod of approval. I couldn’t help but hear the “Best Day Ever” (which I occasionally sang out loud, unable to resist how appropriate it was), which is now on the soundtrack for the memories. (Forever Young and Richie Spice songs are also on the soundtrack, as well as Nicki Minaj’s "Your Love" and Gucci’s "I Think I Love Her", all for very interesting reasons.)

There is still a debate as to which actually was the best day ever: Was it our introduction to the BB boys and our discovery of the world of boats, which was definitely a turning point in our trip? Was it the impromptu lunch jaunt to Pete’s Pub? Was it the island hopping adventure, where we were chauffeured to Man O’ War, Hope Town and Guana Cay (and private beaches along the way), where we finally got to experience the infamous Nippers? Was it the summer rain dance party? Was it the all day fishing adventure? There is no simple answer, because each day was filled with its own unmatchable moments. What was most precious about our experience were the people we met. It was initially puzzling to meet people who extended such genuine hospitality, but we finally accepted that that is just the Abaconian way. That is what I miss the most.