Just Add Fins: A Week of Bahamian Snorkeling & Scuba

If you follow our blog, you may already know that we have been on a few excursions with Lea and Nate Kesler from Rocky Point Scuba Dive. They own a phenomenal dive shop in Puerto Penasco, Mexico and schedule excursions all around the world. In March 2026, we joined Lea for a 7-day trip on All-Star Liveaboards 12-passenger catamaran the Cat Ppalu in the stunning blue water of the Bahamas! Joining the group were our good friends Jill and Joel, who, along with Scott, are scuba certified. They were all looking forward to diving, and Gayle couldn’t wait to snorkel!

We arrived in Nassau on Friday, March 6th, and saw the famous blue waters as we flew over the islands. There are so many shades of blue in these waters that it’s hard to even describe them. Suffice to say it looks like someone turned the saturation all the way up on the ocean here!

On arrival at Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS), we entered the long line for customs, and were greeted by a man in full pirate regalia, with a rough and nautical English accent…just what you’d expect from a sea-faring sword slinger! A local band played Caribbean tunes while we snaked our way through the line, which took about 30 minutes. We hired an airport transfer to take us to our AirBNB on East Bay Street. Maliek, our driver, was great, and acted as a tour guide as we made our way across the island during rush hour traffic.

Maxine met us at the Pilot House Condominiums where we had reserved a 2-bed, 2-bath unit. After receiving keys and tips on local eateries, we headed out to the Conch Shacks at Potter’s Cay.

Tucked under the overpass that connects Nassau to Paradise Island, Potters Cay has about 40 lively colored shacks where chefs cook fresh conch and other seafood delights.

It’s a big local hangout, with stereos pumping out tunes, locals visiting, dining, drinking, playing dominos and smoking cigars,  and a few tourists scattered in amongst the diners. We decided to “shack-hop”, having drinks and sharing local dishes at several of the shacks. At Maliek’s suggestion, we tried the local favorites: Conch Fritters, Conch Salad; Fried Lobster; Fried Snapper. It was all delicious!!

Scott struck up a conversation with a local couple, who were gracious, welcoming and happy to give us tips on what to order. Frankie is a contractor and AirBNB owner/manager, and he was a wealth of knowledge about life in the islands.

Once we were stuffed to the brim, we walked the 1/4 mile back to our AirBNB and tucked in early after the long travel day.

Saturday brought beautiful blue skies, but strong winds, to the island. Our AirBNB was within walking distance of the Nassau Harbour Club Marina, and we were quite a spectacle walking down East Bay Street. We had been instructed to wear pirate outfits in order to board the Cat Ppalu, and we happily obliged. We did get our fair share of comments from folks who passed us on the street…fortunately, all were good-natured!

Our planned noon departure was slightly delayed due to weather, but soon enough we were on board, our baggage stowed, and lunch being served by Chris (our cook for the week). We did have time for an obligatory group photo before we set sail.

Although Lea had hoped to have a refresher dive for any scuba divers that wanted it, the weather had other plans. Captain Bill informed us that we would need to make haste in order to make the crossing from Nassau to the Exumas Islands, as there is a tricky section of coral that he needed to get through before dark. So off we went, travelling about 6 knots, with winds averaging 15-18 knots, in what would be a 7-hour crossing in the wind.

Gayle and Jill had loaded up on Dramamine, and we blessedly unaffected by the waves we encountered. Chef Chris served up a fabulous dinner as we crossed the channel, including pot roast with gravy, mashed potatos with Parmesan cheese, salad, and glazed carrots. For dessert, we had chocolate brownies with ice cream. We learned right away that no one should go hungry, or plan to lose any weight on this trip!

We made it through the problem coral section just before dark, and soon after watched our first sunset of the trip.

We arrived at Allen’s Cay on the Exumas at about 8:45 pm and anchored for the night. The Exumas are a stunning district of the Bahamas, consisting of an archipelago of 365 islands and cays stretching 130 miles. While we didn’t see them on our first night, we’d be diving and snorkeling around them tomorrow.

After a dive briefing with our Dive Master Victoria, we headed to bed around 9:30 pm and were rocked to sleep by the lapping waves.

Tomorrow would be our first day of diving and snorkeling, and we were eager to start the adventure!

To read about our first day diving, follow this link to our next blog post.