Bahamas 2011

Thanks to Wheel of Fortune, we got to take our Bahama vacation this November! People have been asking me if it was "for real", as in, are the prizes you win really as awesome as they seem to be? The answer is YES! It was amazing! The island we went to, Eleuthera, is a smaller island and less touristy than some of the big name islands, such as Nassau or Grand Bahamas. This made for the ideal, relaxing vacation.

Our villa was amazing! It was two-story, beautifully furnished, and right on the water. Out the back of the villa, you looked onto the marina/ocean and out the front, you also looked onto the ocean! We woke up every morning to the sound of the waves and palm trees blowing.

We spent the first day or two, relaxing, exploring beaches and getting rid of jet lag. We went to one of the most amazing beaches in the Bahamas, Lighthouse beach. To get to this beach, you have to drive to the very Southernmost tip of the island and then get on an all dirt, very rutted, makeshift road and drive 3 miles until you finally arrive at the beach. There were a few times we didn't think we would make it in our Buick custom! However, the drive was well worth the view.

We literally had this entire beach to ourselves for hours. It was amazing!!


The next two days we spent scuba diving!! Let me tell you, it was a million times better than our scuba experience in the Netherlands. We didn't have to wear wet suits, there were fish, and the water was so warm and crystal clear! We saw sting ray, lion fish, beautiful coral heads, and so many different types of fish. The second day of diving, we got to dive to 80 feet!! We also got to dive with one of the world's most famous divers, Neal Watson! He holds two Guiness World Records; one for the deepest dive of 432 feet and the other for the longest underwater swim on compressed air. He swam 66 miles in about 19 hours.  The deepest dive record is officially closed because a number of people have died trying to break it! He was also in a few of the James Bond movies and taught Fergie (Duchess of York) and Russell Brand, how to dive. We found all this out later from some friends we met but we was really nice and down to earth. A definite beach bum! Speaking of our friends, we met this really nice couple who worked for a dive magazine and they were down there doing an article. They took a ton of underwater pictures of us so hopefully we'll get to see some and I can post them later!!

Overall it was a fabulous vacation and a great, free, getaway for us!!

anddd no, i'm not going European style swimming here, apparently my top just needs pulled up a bit:)