Beaching it in Nassau Bahamas

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Sheraton Cable Beach Nassau Bahamas

My first choice for Stop 1 on this trip was Santiago, Chile. Unfortunately, since I didn’t book the ticket until last Thursday, flights to Santiago were totally sold out so I had to get creative.

After striking out with every South American destination I could think of, I started looking in the Caribbean. To give you a little background: The rules on the Around the World ticket with Delta (or rather, Skyteam) are pretty simple, you pick a direction (east or west) and keep going until you get back to your starting point, no back-tracking allowed.

Once again I chose to go east since it allows me to choose overnight flights which save time and hotel nights. Of course, if I had all the time in the world to spend entire days on a plane and money were not an issue, I think I’d go west, it would be a lot easier from a jetlag perspective.

Sheraton Fiji
Jerome the Travelin’ Gnome last year in Fiji

So, I like to start in South America and head to Europe from there. At the very least, I wanted to start somewhere warm. Mexico was out because that was west of Atlanta, so I looked elsewhere in the Caribbean. And Nassau turned out to be the only place I could get into and out of on the dates that I wanted. So, Nassau Bahamas, it is!

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to book through these links, I receive a small commission, which I will undoubtedly blow on more flights (it’s a vicious cycle).  All of this internet voodoo takes place at no additional cost to you. 

Flying into Nassau yesterday over crystal blue waters, I started to think maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Are the Bahamas adventurous? No. A step outside my comfort zone? Certainly not. But, after all, my next stop is Morocco where I’m planning to run a marathon so maybe easing into this trip by starting off with a little R&R is not such a bad way to go.

I should also mention that I am joined once again on this trip by Jerome the Travelin’ Gnome!  As you may recall, Jerome was a gift from my friend, Lynn, before last years’ trip. (She just thought SOMEONE should go with me.) And I must admit, he’s the perfect travel companion for an independent traveler like myself. He doesn’t eat much, almost never complains and I still get to make all the decisions about what we see and do. 

Though I must say, he’s not much for picking up a check at dinner. Well, what are you gonna do? No gnome is perfect.

My hotel for the 2 nights I will be staying in Nassau is the Sheraton Cable Beach. (Sidebar: You will be hearing a lot about Sheratons, Westins and Le Meridien hotels in the next few weeks because I have made good use of my hard-earned Starwood points for this trip.)

Sheraton Cable Beach Nassau Bahamas
Sun and sand at the Sheraton Cable Beach in the Bahamas

The hotel is actually quite nice. It has recently undergone a complete renovation and looks brand new. My room is excellent with a great view of the white sand beach and sparkling turquoise sea outside. I am relaxing already. There isn’t much to do other than laze around on the beach or go to the casino but, hey, that’s just fine with me.

After all, I am running a marathon in a few days so let’s just call this “taper” mode, Bahamas-style.

Next stop, Marrakech.