Last September we packed up the Little Prince and headed to the Bahamas with Pops and MommyShawna! Our original plan was to stay a week on tiny Cat Island, but the best laid plans occasionally unravel so we ended up spending a few days in Atlantis. (notice how you don't hear anybody complaining) I'm breaking the trip into two posts just so it isn't complete picture overload! Without further ado, we're off to Cat Island!
We spent the morning hopping from one airport to the next until we finally arrived in the Bahamas! We had a layover that was just long enough to catch a cab and grab a bite to eat before heading over to Cat Island so we took advantage of that opportunity and enjoyed a great lunch overlooking the ocean! Cooper was mesmerized by the bright blue water - he marched straight past our table and went to check it out.
After filling our bellies we went back to the airport and caught this cute little hopper over to Cat Island! I sure am lucky to get to travel with two handsome jet-setters!
This trip was different than our usual beach trip because we let Pops call the shots and he wanted to see and do something different! His goal was to avoid anything super touristy - enter Cat Island! This little tiny island was definitely off the beaten path, so much so that there was hardly a path at all! We flew into a one room airport and met a guy who would take us to the house we had rented for the week. On the way to the house, he let us stop at the one grocery store on the island which they had opened just for our arrival. It was a surprisingly well stocked store and we grabbed everything we needed for the first few days and headed on to a "restaurant" to grab a quick dinner. Why the quotations around "restaurant" you ask? Well, this wasn't your average beachside restaurant… This place, and we quickly realized almost every other eating establishment on the island, was a three walled shack. There was no going inside, you just walked up to the side that didn't have a wall and ordered and then they cooked it on a teeny-tiny grill/skillet/whatever they had and handed it to you and you were on your own to find a place to sit and eat. Pops loved it… the rest of us weren't quite as enthusiastic.
When we got to the house, our driver unloaded all our belongings onto the porch and left before we could barely get in the door… Once we stepped in the door we learned why… The house was filthy. Not like floors needed to be swept dirty, I'm talking I'm-not-getting-in-that-bed because every sheet, comforter and pillow is disgusting. {You're welcome for sparing you from seeing all those pictures!} So, long story short, we spent two nights there (fully clothed in a really hot bed trying not to touch anything with our bare skin) and then we caught a flight back to the main island and spent a luxurious few days with all the tourists in Atlantis! Haha! We love an adventure!
Cooper was not a big fan of the sand at first. He wasn't too sure about the fact that it moved when he walked on it and stuck to him… Oh, he did not like it on his hands! But then after just a few minutes of acclimating to the new texture and feel, he decided it was great fun after all! And then before we could stop him he had an entire mouth full!
Thankfully our little house was literally walk ten steps to the ocean so we enjoyed spending the day chasing giant crabs on the porch and playing in the sand and waves. Pops and Daddy went scuba diving and caught us some yummy lobsters and grouper for dinner! MommyShawna did such an awesome job cooking us an incredibly yummy dinner - I wouldn't have even known where to start on that one!
The best part of our visit to Cat Island was having our very own beach - it was so wonderful to not have to hustle out to find a beach chair at the crack of dawn or worry if you were offending anyone by letting your son run wild while being completely naked! He was so happy! We started with a diaper but it got heavy fast...
We spent one day driving all over the island. We hiked to the highest point in the Bahamas - Mount Alvernia (or Como Hill as the locals call it) - a whopping 206 feet above sea level! On top of the hill was a teeny-tiny church and even more teeny-tiny house where a Catholic priest built a hermitage. It was a fun little side stop!
We finished our evening on a crazy beautiful beach on the east end of the island. The sand was a magical shade of pale pink and the water was the perfect temperature. I was particularly fond of the a GIANT tree that was covered in a multitude of bright colored buoys! More importantly, Cooper was so happy! He could run for a day and we could still see him. He could throw all the sand he wanted. He could crawl until the waves took him completely out. He could play football with Pops and Daddy. He could run and jump waves with Mommy. Oh, it was a little boy's perfect way to top off a fun day and a really good end to our stay on Cat Island!
The next morning we gathered our growing collection of wet swimsuits and headed to the itty-bitty airport to catch our flight back to the main island and to beautiful Atlantis! Cat Island might not have been exactly what we had planned, but we made the most of it! It's always good to try something new even if it isn't perfect!
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