Beautiful! Gorgeous! Wish you were here...Bahamas

We are on "Caribbean island time" and there can be no rushing and there will be no stress. This is how I am greeted when arriving in the Bahamas for an event at the Atlantis and a stay at the One and Only Ocean Club...and I find it to be very true.

Had I come for sunshine and beach time, I would have been very disappointed as it has rained almost continually since my arrival. September is rainy season and the time for hurricanes though thankfully we have only had showers. However the weather doesn't dampen the spirits of the group I am traveling with or the energy of the destination. I've realized during this trip that I had misperceptions about Atlantis even though I had never visited here. I envisioned it as an overly large playground for adults and while it is large, and it is a playground for people of all ages, it is these things in the best way. The resort is massive but easily navigated and most everything is a short walk or shuttle ride away. The hotels are fabulous and the food is amazing. Between us, I travel with the best intentions of eating only fruit for breakfast and a light salad for lunch but instead find my plate somehow filled with eggs and bacon in the morning and coconut shrimp in the afternoon. Oh well...so much for good intentions.

I have been attending a trade show this week sponsored by a number of hotels in the Caribbean. Think of it as speed dating for hotels and buyers. We had two days of back to back 20 minute appointments with each hotel to learn about their properties in hopes that we will have some group business to bring to their destination.  I visited with hotels from the Dominican Republic, Colombia, US Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, Aruba, Antigua, Mexico....the list goes on.

I was joined by about 40 other buyers and four days ago, we were complete strangers to each other. But I know them now. I know about their businesses and more importantly, I know about their lives, their families, their stories and their hopes. Over nightly dinners (with open bars), we have talked and laughed and become friends.

Now the show is over and I've transferred to the Ocean Club for a private one night site visit. This is a 5-star luxury resort visited by the rich and famous (of which I am neither). It is the best of elegant luxury and my butler awaits my any command. Yes...my butler...I just wish I could think of something for him to do. I now need to finish my hotel tour and then catch up on some work, but then plan to enjoy a glass of wine in a hammock overlooking the water. I am by myself but as my driver, Bernard, told me as we approached, "welcome to the One and Only where no one is ever lonely". (The islanders tends to talk in Iambic Pentameter, I'm not sure why).

So what were the moments that mattered in the Bahamas?

* Making new friends with people from all over the world.

* A particularly creepy bonding moment with a fish at Atlantis who I refer to as "Mr Limpet". Does anyone remember that movie with Don Knots from the 1960's about a man who fell in the ocean and turned into a talking fish? I swear to you this fish looked exactly like him and as I stood in front of his tank, he swam up to me and stared eye to eye. I couldn't break the gaze and I felt guilty walking away. What was he trying to tell me? I might never know. (Of course, a few glasses of wine might have been the real reason behind the power of this encounter but...believe what you will.)

* Watching the most incredible sunrise over Atlantis. The sky exploded with neon red and orange - it was spectacular.

* Hookah smoking...long story.

* And then back to my driver this morning. We were chatting about the weather as he drove. He shared his philosophy that a little rain just doesn't matter and you have to have a great time wherever you are... enjoy the moment. I realized then that we were kindred spirits. Then he told me about the singing he does for his church and I asked him the name of his favorite hymn. For the rest of the drive, he sang "How Great Thou Art" in the most beautiful baritone voice I've ever heard. It was a blessed moment for which I'm grateful.

Yes...How Great Thou Art...