The Bahamas - Blue Lagoon Island

Sixth day, we went on a package tour to Blue Lagoon Island $54, where we could observe dolphins and sea lions.

A baby dolphin, just 10 days old, swimming with mother dolphin. 

There are several kinds of packages with different prices.

Dolphin Encounter $98

Dolphin Swim $185

Sea Lion Encounter $90

They also have a touch tank where the staff put a see egg urchin on our palm. 

Lunch was included, then we relaxed and had a little nap on a big hammock.

Then we went swimming and playing on the slide. Those toys are for young people, but I was going to try... Oh man, I think I getting 1 year older is what made it hard to get up onto it. I needed someone to help pull me up.

Steve on the slide. We both went twice. It's fun. 

See, who found this shape of rock? 

Steve? 

Yes, he said he saw a heart shape rock.

The Bahamas - Paradise Island

Fifth day, we took the public bus to the bridge to Paradise Island. 

Some of the signs in the bus are humorous. 

There are two bridges: one way each to and from for vehicles to Paradise Island, but both bridges have sidewalks, so we walked across.

That island is famous for the Atlantis resort - casino, water park, aquarium and other activities. 

We didn't go for any of them but just walked around the casino and shopping areas. 

Then we walked to Cabbage beach. 

We came back to Nassau by ferry, and the staff talked about the 10 room suite that looks like a bridge between 2 towers of the hotel. 

"How much per night?" 

"$25,000 per night and min for 4 nights." 

"Yoga Retreat, they only eat vegetables, fruits and nuts. It's nuts."

"The wooden shack is from the James Bond movie "Thunderball", back in the 1960s."

The ferry stop at Downtown, Nassau. I like the colorful of little stores.

After we had food at Burger King, we took another public bus to Cable Beach. 

Who drew a heart on the sands? 

Steve? 

No, he is not as romantic as you thought.

The Bahamas - Exuma

Steve said if he buys jewelry for my birthday, the gift would be much cheaper.

Then I will ask for a 1 carat heart shaped diamond, he might regret it.

Fourth day, we went on a day boat trip to one of the little islands called Exuma. $200 for adult (we got 10% discount). It took about 1.5 hours ride, one way. 

First stop was to feed iguanas. 

Second stop is at a sand bar, white sand rising from the sea.

Third stop is snorkeling. Not many coral reefs or fishes, but we saw two giant stingrays sleeping on the bottom, not moving.

Then we had lunch at a little private island. 

The birds tried to get our fruits. 

We fed our food waste to the sharks, six of them came. 

The staff said these are Lemon sharks.

After lunch, it's time for me to relax in the clear water.

The Bahamas - New Providence

 Everyone can fly, even with wheelchair 

Last minute we changed my birthday trip to Bahamas instead of Mt. Rushmore, since the government shut down from Oct 1st onward. 

Bahamas is one of the Caribbean countries. We landed in Nassau, New Providence island. 

First day, we walked to Montagu beach, where there were several stalls selling fresh conch. 

Second day, we took the bus ($1.25) to Downtown and walked to the local Straw Market and Junkanoo beach.

Third day, we went snorkeling ($70-$5 voucher on free map). 

Steve is loving it since he learned to swim in deep water.
The trip took us to 2 points for coral reefs and fishes for 30 mins each.

Then we went to the final point to see sharks for just 5 mins. The staff put food in a metal box and lowered it down into the water, attracting the sharks to swim around the box. We snorkeled, holding the line near the boat. I could count 5 sharks, but maybe more than that.

What do you see?

這照片，你看到什麼嗎？

I post this picture and ask Steve to look at these.
Steve: Bushes shaped roughly like elephants?
Me: I know you like argue with me.
Steve: :) Sorry, but the first thing I saw was a large elephant head on a tiny body & very tiny feet!
Me: Oh really? Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus!
Steve: With the shadows on the front bush, you can kind of see the big ear, trunk, and even an eye.

What you see on the outside, that's what is inside. It's a reflection of your own mind. Haha..

Steve：灌木形狀大致如象？
我：我知道你喜歡跟我爭論。
Steve：：) 對不起，可是我第一個看到的是象的大頭在一個小身體上及小小的腿。
我：噢，是嗎？男女大不同！
Steve：在灌木前面的陰影，你可以看到似有個大耳朵，鼻，甚至一只眼。

你看到外面是什麼，那就是於你的內在。這是你心裡的投射。哈哈。。

Returning home?

龔老師受邀請到 Missouri mental health counselors conference 給一天的工作坊，她要我幫她負責音樂及道具準備等。我當然欣然答應。其實無論她須要我什麼幫忙，我能做到的都會答應。

工作坊開始，老師引導成員分組分享自己，然後組代表介紹組員們後，老師介紹我，from Malaysia。老師也分享自己。。。

在午餐後時刻，一位成員跟我說：I have a student (studying counseling) from Malaysia too, she doesn't want to go back to Malaysia. (我有位馬來西亞的學生，她不要回國。)
我以為我聽到她說：she wants to go back to Malaysia? (她要回馬來西亞？)
她說：no, she doesn't want to go back to Malaysia. She is Malay. (不，她不要回馬來西亞。她是馬來人。)
她又說：I have four students from Malaysia, one is Indian-Malay....


我心裡有一種很難形容的感受，連馬來人都不想回國，這個Malaysia到底是怎樣了？

Coming and Going

 生死交替