The first port we visited was Freeport, Grand Bahama Island.

Freeport itself was in a pretty industrial area with a few buildings containing a touristy straw market right off the dock.  For the most part, everyone gets in lines for taxis to be taken to other spots on the island.  We were looking forward to a beach day, so we piled into the taxi we were directed to (which turned out to be a limousine!) and drove for about 15-20 minutes to Port Lucaya.

The beach wasn’t too crowded yet, so we dropped our towels and bags on the sand and waded into the beautifully clear, though a bit cool, ocean waters.  It didn’t take Justin and I long to dive in, and we had to tease the King family a bit as they stayed in the shallow water longer.

It was a perfect day.  Warm and sunny, gorgeous and soft white sand.  Madie worked at creating a sandcastle that wouldn’t keep getting washed away by waves…

and Maureen took some time to get her hair braided by a Bahamian woman.

The beach got more and more crowded as the afternoon approached, so after a couple of hours we chose to pack up and find a spot for lunch.  There was also a development of shops and restaurants near the beach, so we found a local restaurant where we were able to enjoy some fried conch and conch fritters, and walked around a bit before getting a ride back to the ship.