Happy "Fourth of July" everyone. We were thinking today that we would probably be in Logan, sitting around at Kevin and Lynn's watching the parade, eating brats, burgers, potato salad then going to see fireworks. None of that here . . . today. (Although we did see a van on the road that had two American Flags waving and a Red, White and Blue ribbon on the front.)
Bahamian Independence day is on July 10. This year marks their 34th year of independence from being governed by the British. While they are still a commonwealth they enjoy their own government and the elections that go along with them. They just had their elections in May and a new party was elected into power. There are sill the remnants of the election; campaign signs, t-shirts and the almost daily newspaper article or opinion critical of either party. We will give you more information about their Independence Day celebrations next week.
Today we spent the day on field trips going to The Bahamas National Trust and to the swimming pool. The BNT is like our National Park system. The park here in the Nassau area is called "The Retreat" and is part of the Trust system. This particular park is more like a botanical garden which houses native plant species. There is a problem throughout the islands with deforestation due to construction and demand for the tropical woods they have here. It was a great walk and environmental lesson. I have included pictures from out trip there. The white flower is one variety of native Frangipani. It is a very fragrant flower which is used in making perfumes. There is also one of the many spiders found throughout the park. The last one, dark yellow, is a False Bird of Paradise.
Tonight we are going to the Robert's (You may remember my mentioning them in an earlier post, Ros and Eddie, Julia and Sopie) for a cookout in honor of our Independence Day. I'm not sure if we will be the only Americans there or not but I do know that England, Canada and The Bahamas will be represented along with us. More details, if interesting, later.
Peace - Kurtis
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