And The Adventure Begins With a Breath Taking View From a Plane Window

Ever since childhood I dreamed a dream of white sandy beaches, waters as clear as glass, and of palm trees with real coconuts. I imagined myself on my own deserted paradise, with nothing but me, a hammock, a cool drink, and tons of sunshine.

It took me close to 20 years to finally reach such a destination, and finally...finally I found my paradise, and my paradise? Well let's just say it was all delivered on Grand Bahama Island.

I booked our flight in June of 2008, and up until the day of our flight I worried so many worries. Mostly though I am sure the worries I dealt with were that of anyone who would be taking their very first trip.

My first concern was; was I expecting too much? Would the sand really be as white as websites and brochures offered? Would waters truly be crystal clear? Would I really be surrounded by palm trees? Or would everything be just as it is here in New York. Dark murky waters, sand- but more of a yellowish tint? Palm trees, only planted and not naturally grown?

I worried...would I really find paradise on Grand Bahama Island?

The flight was around 6 hours long, of course we traveled economy, and had a change in the Carolina's. The flight though offered a glimpse of the Bahamas as we grew closer. I could tell we were nearly there when the dark waters we had seen down below for so long, turned into a near glowing turquoise rainbow, with beautiful hues of green, blue, aquamarine, and every other hue of blue one could imagine. I knew just from the view down below, that paradise was soon to be discovered.

All of my worries were set aside, the moment I looked out that window.

Starfish Are Everywhere Grand Bahama Island; But I Found Their Secret Hiding Spot

I came across all sorts of beautiful marine life while lazily snorkeling around the waters at our resort (Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach), however the more time I spent in the water, the more I realized that these starfish seemed to enjoy hiding more left in the water.

They pretty much avoided the middle swimming area, and hid left to the swimmers marked off sections. If you follow the marked off rope on the left side you will come across all sorts of beautiful colored starfish!

I saw ones that looked green, with odd markings. Ones that were enormous and a gorgeous orange color, and others that seemed to look like they were painted with dark red paints.

Take a look at some of the beautiful starfish we came across while snorkeling just 2-4 feet out in the water.

---This fella looked like he was painted for war

---This giant flesh starfish was one of my favorites, with a flawless orange and tan coloring to it

---This fella just seemed to be in the right place, at the right time for a stunning photo opportunity

---Another Beautiful Starfish

---One of my Favorite Shots

Don't Forget To Feed The Fish!!!

I don't think there has been a day that has gone by where Grand Bahama Island has not been on my mind. Coming home was nice, but honestly I don't think I will ever look at the waters here where I live, quite the way I did in the Bahamas.

Here there are no magical worlds of colorful reefs underwater, nor are their fish swimming at your sides.

One of the first things we did when we arrived was feed the fish some bread that we took from the resort. I had no idea that we would have such a large school of fish in just seconds. It was surreal, amazing, and unforgettable.

Unexso, Grand Bahama Island- Not To Be Missed!!!

Another gem nestles on Grand Bahama Island, is a little cove I like to call Paradise's creatures. (Well that's what I would have called it). It's actually called Unexso.

You can find all sorts of information on Unexso literately the moment you step off of your plane into the Freeport Airport. There will be brochures on racks as you leave the airport. Be sure to check em out, because there are so many activity brochures for you to grab.

What is Unexso?

Oh my God, it's just about the most mind blowing experience you will ever participate in. You have many choices though, at Unexso you can either have a dolphin encounter, a dolphin swim, an open ocean dolphin encounter, and so on. They also do shark dives!!!

We paid extra for the dolphin swim. The encounter is a little cheaper, but truly you wont experience the dolphins one on one, unless you do the dolphin swim.

You have to make reservations, and from wherever you are staying you need to take a cab into Porty Lucya, in order to take a ferry over to Unexso, which is hidden down a weird channel like cove. The ferry ride is part of the experience, and it is fantastic.

On the way I was able to look down into the water and see huge tropical fish swimming around. Not only that, around 10 minutes into the small ferry ride, you will see a huge abandoned pirate ship in the channel, which is just so... neat.

You will also see some of the locals shoe string fishing from the bulkheads.

Once you pull up you will see just about the cutest little atmosphere I think you will ever see. To the left there is like this adorable little hut covered in tropical leaves high up on a hill. You get off to the right, where you meet with your instructors.

We had a pretty lil' blond gal take us to our swim. The best thing about the swim was that it was only my boyfriend, I, and another couple of two. It was very private, and made it all the more comfortable.

Before hopping into the water, we were given a quick lesson on what to expect. We were also given the dolphin's names. Ones name was corral, but I cannot for the life of me remember the other ones name, simply because he was the behaved dolphin. We were told that corral at times could get fresh, which was true because she pounded my leg in, in the water with her tail. I still think she did it on purpose. hehe. Thankfully it didn't hurt... but it was one hell of a series of powerful thrusts to my leg.

After swimming around with the dolphins, the time was just about up for us to come out of the water.

First though, we were told to do certain hand signals to the dolphins. Once we did the hand signals, the dolphins would perform a trick, such as waving, spitting, speaking, and so on.

After that, we then took photos with them.

It wasn't over there though, because next we got to come out of the water and see the dolphins in all of their glory. They did flips, waved, and a slew of other awesome tasks.

The experience was not over yet though... nope. Before boarding our ferry, we were taken to a small area in the forest where a group of parrots and macaws were. Here we were able to kiss the birds (yes this one bird actually kisses!), pet them, and feed them. It really added to the enjoyment of the place. Unexso is not to be missed.

If you are going to Grand Bahama Island, you must, and I cannot stress it enough- you must take 2 hours out of your plans to take a trip to Unexso. An experience never ever to be forgotten.

Gold Rock Beach, Grand Bahama Island

See the websites main photo? That's the gem that was nestled across the street from Lucayan National Park. If you pull up at the park, you honestly would not even know it was there, unless you previously searched for it online. The locals may also mention it to you, and if you are lucky, hopefully your cab driver mentions it, because there is no sign.

The sign is hidden down a very small narrow dirt path, surrounded by tropical plants, bushes and flowers of every kind. If you look closely across the street, you may be able to see the path, but it's a bit over grown.

Once we found the little path, it took us to a huge green rock that stated GOLD ROCK BEACH. You now know you are on the right path.

You have 2 options. For us though, we had only one option because the small bridge that would have taken us straight to the beach was out of service, and blocked off. We had to go right, and follow the path that is called Mangroves.

The Mangroves is pretty tedious, especially if it is blazing hot out. We actually were a little lucky, and a little unlucky because it began to rain, and we had to be very, very careful walking the Mangroves, because it is a long, long path through marsh land. Some areas of the path are nothing more than puddles of 2 inch water, which would break off into sections of a long narrow plank. You have to be very careful on the planks, because there are no railings, and if you fall in, you fall into water. The water is not deep, but there are many bushes growing from the water that could hurt you.

You cannot help but think a big alligator is going to come up to grab you. It's really phenomenal the whole trek through the Mangroves because you will feel like you are on some sort of safari. If you stop to take in the surroundings you will sometimes see a large crab scurrying about. You may also see a bunch of spiders.

Once the path ends, you are not quite to the beach yet... but you will feel the anticipation building up.

You are instead taken to a dark overgrown area of tropical woods, with huge trees. Looking around we saw so many different types of enormous bugs, beetles, and butterflies. A huge cicada the size of my hand was actually dead and stuck in a spiders web. A sight I thought I'd only ever see on the Discovery Channel.

A few feet through the woods you come up a small dirt hill, and just below the hill, you will find miles and miles of the secluded perfect white sand beach. The water is probably the clearest and most beautiful waters we found on the entire island.

I stood up on the hill and took in what I was seeing. Gold Rock beach was the absolute description of Paradise. Here I felt a trillion miles away from home. Here it was as if I had found a hidden gem that nobody else had ever seen. The beach is untouched. Not a footstep in the sand... not a soul.

Gold Rock can be seen out in the distance. If it is low tide, and you have your snorkel gear you can swim out to it. We though were hesitant seeing that if anything were to happen, we would be miles away from help, so we sort of just stuck to the shore, and snorkeled a few feet out. The water when we arrived was nearly low tide. Low tide is awesome because the sands create a work of art that is truly not to be missed!

The waters weren't teaming with life here though. We didn't see many fish, but we did happen to spot a bunch of gigantic crabs swimming about the white sandy bottom of the sea.

Gold Rock Beach is also a must if you are a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean. Some parts of the film were actually done here on this beach. There used to be an actual ship from the movie on the beach, but it has since been removed due to hurricanes.

You can see from the beach that the hurricanes that hit the island a few years back have managed to rip some huge trees right from the roots. However if you really look at this disaster, and what it has left on Gold Rock Beach, you will truly look at it like a beautiful disaster, because all of the fallen trees have added to the scenery. The trees have become dried out gorgeous stumps of drift wood, and it is simply stunning.

Gold Rock Beach is not to be missed! You cannot go to Grand Bahama Island, and not see Gold Rock Beach. The only visitors you will find here will be the pack of little birds that scurry about on the shore, checking you out while you take a swim.

Take a Closer Look...

Wow, where the water ends, and sky begins is anybodies guess....

Before jumping into the glowing aquamarine colored waters, you have to really sit there for a moment and take it in. In the distance the blue hues seem to blend in with shades of glowing greens and blues. Like a rainbow of colors, and it's like nothing else on earth. I would refer to it often times while there as the ocean of Kryptonite, because truly that is the only thing I could compare this ocean of beauty to. A gem. Rare, special, and exotic.

After taking in the colors, I put on my mask and slowly made my way into the water. It's truly amazing because the water is just as warm as the air...there is no 'getting used to the water' in the Bahama's...the water is possibly warmer than the air, and it feels divine on your skin.

Under my feet I could feel hard lumps that I thought were just rocks. Upon inspection I came to realize that I was standing on a graveyard of broken coral pieces, beautiful seashells, and tons of snail and baby conch shells. I felt bad for a hot minute, till I realized that this shell graveyard was dead.

However just as I was about to scratch this large area of shell and coral scraps off as dead... I realized many of these mini conch shells were moving about. Many of these tropical shells were homes to none other than hermit crabs. Hermit crabs like I had never seen! In NY our hermits are relatively small, and house themselves in black snail shells. Some grow large, but primarily the larger ones are rarer sights.

Here in the tropical waters, hermit crabs looked as tropical as their surroundings. Some were pale white, and looked like they were covered in frost! Others were near fire colored with long slim claws.

I inspected this seashell graveyard for about an hour, and realized that it was not as I first imagined. It was far from dead. With a close eye I was able to see hundreds of different types of crabs scurrying about the shells, tons of hermit crabs in all different types of shells, shapes, and sizes, and when I stood really, really still I was shocked to find that baby tropical fish housed themselves this close to shore. I was no less than a 3 feet out, and all of this was delivered. Truly, and amazing, amazing experience.

The entire time while cruising the shoreline, I was also being followed by odd large angel fish. At first they actually scared me, because as soon as one comes along, you have a whole school of them surrounding you. These fish alone make you feel totally out of your element, and it's spectacular.