Nassau

It’s a rough place unless you are escorted by rich guides.  If you keep your eyes open you may be sorry you did, but if you don’t, you may lose more than you brought with you.  

The most lasting impression I took away from my trip to Nassau in early April of 2011 was of a stunning gap between some of the richest people in the world and people who just don’t matter.  The term “Income gap”, doesn’t hack it.  There is desolation and despair where the poorest of the poor steal from each other.  Then there is extravagant disregard for money, a wasteful disdain for the damn stuff by the white visitors who apparently love nothing more than to throw it away, the more the better and the faster better yet.  Third world?  No.  Nassau is not there, maybe they passed through it on the way down, but it didn’t stick.

There is a real sense of danger.  You get an uneasy feeling  from the looks of natives when you venture away from downtown, and the street signs that have been stolen tell you that you are not where you thought you were. You know you need to turn around – carefully, casually – and hope you can still leave.  Trash lies in alleys where it has not been stirred for a long time.  Now it is covered by litter and dead things.  Deterioration seems the only constant here, there is no sign of repair or maintenance anywhere.  We heard of groups of tourists of eight people being held up at gunpoint,  on at least two occasions.  The local newspaper on a day I was there had a headline reading:  “Nine-year-olds ‘Carrying Guns’”.  The article continued:  "happens everyday", "they gang you and rob you".  These are words of a native of Nassau.

Nassau is not a city.  It is a great throat that opens when the big cruise ships come in, all the shops and restaurants pop open like little birds in their nest when mama flies in, and the place closes up when the ships leave.  Wednesday, March 13, 2011, we were downtown Nassau looking for a place to eat supper at 6:00 p.m.  Everything was closed.  All the restaurants were closed because the cruise ships had left for the evening. The big square downtown, Rawson Square, was filled with local people shouting back "Amen, brother!" at a preacher who was shouting on highly amplified loudspeakers at them, telling them “the devil is here!  He’s among you right NOW!”  They would sway and clap and call back "Amen, amen!" We could hear that sound for at least five blocks in every direction, and the “safe” part of the town is not much bigger than that.


I was reminded of an animal hit by a passing car, now maimed and dying and becoming more desperate with each passing Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini and Ferrari – yet you dare not approach it.  Litter in alleyways and elsewhere, strangely taking on a  form of  collected treasure like a mother finding and retaining memories of a lost child.  Nowhere did I see the signs of government:  no long range planning, no organization seemed to be in place.  There was some sporadic sweeping of dirt which was then put next to where it had been swept from.  Aimless, pointless, slow action pausing to move away from the path of the endlessly passing limousines. 

Otherwise, there is “Cable Beach” which appears to be a strip of hotels and casinos.   You can stay there.  Or you can stay at “Atlantis” which is far bigger than life.  We stayed at the Comfort Suites on Paradise Island, next to “Atlantis”.  Nice, but expensive.  Meals will probably run between $40 and $80 if you are careful.  We went to Harbor Island and ate at Dunmire Deli for lunch. Had two sandwiches $24, two beers $8, water $5, Tax and gratuity $6.  Total cost for lunch:  $43. Back on Paradise Island, “Cabbage Beach” is near Atlantis and probably as safe as it gets around here.

Atlantis has a huge casino.  Maybe several of them.  Most of the dealers and operators are black.  Most, all? of the “players” are white.  It also has a first-class aquarium, as good as I have seen anywhere, based on the concept of the lost city of Atlantis.  So the fish swim down “streets” and past “buildings”.  Much of the  aquarium is open to the sky too.  Great corporations have special events at Atlantis, and bring their “best producers” here for a great party.  


So if you come on a giant cruise ship for an hour or so, or to Atlantis as a "best producer" for an evening to two, then you will have a blast.  But if you come as a tourist, be very careful.  Don't expect much, be prepared to drop a LOT of money and hope that that is the the worst thing that happens to you.  Better yet, go someplace else.


I feel sorry for some of the people I talked with there.  They are serious about trying to make a good place for people to visit.  But they are ordinary people, looking for other ordinary people to come visit them, and Nassau is not that kind of place.  It really is a bomb whose fuse has burned out and it didn't explode.  What will happen next?