If the cruise overall had its moments of disappointment, our day in port at Nassau was pretty perfect. We booked the Bites of Nassau Tour with Tru Bahamian Food Tours in advance. We saved $20 per person by booking directly with the tour company instead of booking what was, I assume, the exact same tour as a shore excursion through the cruise ship.

The morning we arrived in port, we had some time before the tour to explore some of the city. I had downloaded the City Introduction Walk for Nassau on the GPSmyCity app, which allowed us to use it with my phone in airplane mode. We walked to the Queen’s Staircase and explored Fort Fincastle before heading to Rawson Square, which was the meeting point for the food tour.

Even first thing in the morning the stairs were already busy, mostly with locals out to get their steps in (seriously, people were climbing up and down these 65 stairs multiple times), but I am sure later in the day it would have been absolutely packed. Built by slaves, the solid limestone stairs were later renamed to honor Queen Victoria after she abolished slavery in The Bahamas (and the rest of the British Empire).

At the top of the stairs sits Fort Fincastle. Also constructed out of limestone in 1793 (the stairs were built to connect the fort more directly to the city), it was built on Bennet’s Hill to protect the city and harbor. Although tours were available for a small fee, we elected to forego the tour and walked around outside instead.

The view of the harbor from the top of the hill

We walked back down to the harbor to join the walking tour, which was, in a word, excellent. If you have the time and money for one activity in Nassau, do this. We got a great overview of the city’s history and, of course, ate so much delicious food. So much food. Our tour guide, Princess, was fantastic and made the day even better.

Our first stop was Bahamian Cookin’. Run by 3 generations of women, this was home cooking at its best. We learned about the history of Bahamian food while enjoying conch fritters (give me all the conch fritters) and “Sunday dinner,” an entire plate of steamed chicken, peas and rice, macaroni salad, coleslaw, and plantains. I especially loved the spicy goat pepper sauce that was served on the side.

On the way out the door, we grabbed a cold cup of switcha - a limemade made with a key lime base, often with the addition of other flavors, in this case orange - to keep us cool on the walk to Graycliff Chocolatier.

We took the scenic route, hearing about the history of Nassau along the way, ending at the Graycliff Hotel. Some of the iconic Nassau sites we saw during the tour were the bright pink Parliament buildings, Christ Church Cathedral, and Government House. I would have loved to have more time to explore Nassau and learn even more about its history. Even the chocolate shop came with an interesting backstory.

The historic Graycliff home was built in 1740 by a pirate, John Howard Graysmith. The mansion later became the headquarters for the American Navy when Nassau was captured by them. In 1844 the building became an inn for the first time before again being used for the military, this time as an officer’s mess. Over the next century and a half it was purchased by various wealthy families who used it primarily as a private residence until it was finally purchased by the Garzarolis in 1973. They turned this historic building into a hotel and restaurant. As the years passed, they and their children opened additional businesses on and near the property, including the chocolatier. We had an opportunity to explore a bit more of the grounds while we were there. And you know Brandon had to come back later in the day to buy a hand rolled cigar from the Cigar Company.

Day passes to enjoy the amenities of Graycliff, including this gorgeous pool, were available

Okay, enough of the history lesson. Let’s talk chocolate. This stop included a short presentation about the chocolate making process before getting to taste two of the chocolatier’s best sellers - key lime and white chocolate and dark chocolate with sea salted caramel. The latter was so delicious that we had to purchase some to take home.

Following the chocolate tasting, we walked across the street to the colorful Chillin’ conch stand, where we got to enjoy a cracked conch slider on island sweet bread. While sitting at tables with swinging benches.

After all this walking and all this food, it was time for a drink. Fortunately our next stop was the Talking Stick located in the Towne Hotel, a favorite place to stay for Bahamians coming to Nassau and New Providence Island to do business, something all Bahamians must do at one point or another. We got to try a delicious planter’s punch that did indeed pack a punch.

We were also given recipes for a couple of the bar’s most popular cocktails, including a Bahama Mama, so we could recreate the yumminess at home (note to self: add ingredients to shopping list). Although the drink was supposed to be the highlight, the actual highlight may have been meeting Max, a 50 year old macaw who was left behind after a divorcing couple could not amicably decide who got custody of their bird. He was a sucker for rum soaked fruit.

Although we had already eaten our way through what felt like half of Nassau, there were still two more stops to go. Our next tasting was at a family owned Greek restaurant, Athena Cafe & Bar. In the 1800s Greeks immigrated to the Bahamas to work in the sponge industry. Around the time the industry collapsed in 1938 due to a virus, one family opened up a restaurant. We got to try what was perhaps my favorite take on conch, a flavorful conch chowder.

The final stop of the day was at Tortuga Rum Cake Company to finish our food tour on a sweet note. We tried their iconic rum cake made with golden rum. Although the company is based in the Cayman Islands, they do make a pineapple rum especially for The Bahamas. The rum cake was delicious and I was more than tempted to buy enough rum cake to fill a suitcase.

Our food and walking tour was one of the highlights of the entire trip. If you find yourself in Nassau, I cannot recommend Tru Bahamian Food Tours enough.

We spent the rest of the afternoon seeing as much as we could before returning to the cruise ship. We revisited Graycliff, made a stop at the Straw Market where we bought Harrison a coconut shell turned toy turtle, and walked to the nearby Junkanoo Beach, a public beach that was packed with cruisers and locals alike on a warm Saturday.

We could have rented chairs for a few dollars, but at the time were expecting more beach time the following day and decided a quick dip in the ocean was enough. We bought drinks in coconut shells that were excellent if perhaps overpriced.

We had a wonderful day in Nassau, exploring a new place and taking in all of the warm, tropical air we could before returning home to Oregon. I’m already mentally planning a future Bahamian island hopping adventure. You know, once this whole pandemic thing is over.

Weekend Cruisin': Nassau, Bahamas

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