Every other year the Sukup company, which manufactures grain bins and grain dryers, offers a sales incentive trip to its salesmen/distributors who reach a certain level in sales. Jim is a consultant who earned this trip for two to the Bahamas. We arrived in Nassau the afternoon of January 12th and were escorted to our hotel - The Atlantis at Paradise Island. We spent the first afternoon exploring the hotel property before joining the Sukup company for their welcome dinner held out on the Royal Deck. Each morning, breakfast was provided followed by a short Sukup meeting or presentation. The rest of each day we had free to explore the island.
 |
| Standing on our hotel balcony looking across the Atlantis property |
 |
| Looking up at the hotel from the Sukup welcome dinner |
 |
| The Atlantis at night |
One of the days, we reserved a historical tour of the island. There are three forts in Nassau with the earliest dating back to 1725. Our first stop of the day was Fort Charlotte which is the largest of the three forts and was named after the wife of King George III. We saw its water-less moat, a drawbridge, and dungeons, as well as a beautiful view of Nassau Harbor. Next up was Fort Montagu which is the smallest of the three forts. It was built is 1725 and is best known for being the site of the US Marine Corps’ first military action when, in 1776, eight ships carrying marines were sent to Fort Montagu to capture a large supply of British gunpowder which was supposedly stored there. The last fort that we visited was Fort Fincastle erected in 1793 to protect Nassau Harbor from pirates. Adjacent to the fort is the Queen’s Staircase which consists of 66 steps built by enslaved laborers to connect Fort Fincastle to the town of Nassau. Later the staircase was named to honor Queen Victoria’s role in ending slavery in the British Empire.
 |
Jim at Fort Charlotte
|
 |
The harbor view from Fort Montague
|
 |
| The Queen's Staircase |
On our last full day in the Bahamas, we decided it would be fun to get out on the water, so we reserved a 1/2 day catamaran and snorkeling tour. It was the perfect way to enjoy sunshine and the gorgeous blue waters of the Bahamas.
 |
| snorkeling |
