Freeport, Bahamas 弗里波特，巴哈马
December 21, 2025
This was the final stop of our cruise. We joined an underwater cave tour that took us on a drive across the island. Along the way, we could still see the lingering impact of the devastating 2019 hurricane. In several places, the contrast was striking: on one side of the road, Casuarina pine (Australian pine) trees had been killed by saltwater flooding, while just a short distance away, others had survived.
The tour itself brought us to only two openings of the cave system, offering just a glimpse of what lies below. Even so, it was impressive to learn that this is part of the vast underwater cave network within Lucayan National Park, one of the largest underwater cave systems in the world.
Afterward, we walked across the street to Gold Rock Beach. At low tide, shallow tidal pools spread across the sand, bordered by mangroves with exposed roots forming a delicate natural maze. The setting was quiet, pristine, and felt like a perfect ending to the tour.
If the tour had ended there, it would have been ideal. Instead, we continued on to Junkanoo Beach Club for lunch and beach time. The BBQ chicken and ribs were quite good, but after visiting so many beautiful beaches throughout this trip, this final stop felt repetitive. Compared with everything we had already seen, the rest of the tour was simply a bit boring.
In the last evening, we wrapped up the day with dinner at Umi Uma, the Nobu Japanese restaurant onboard. As always, the food was excellent and a fitting end to a beautiful day.
Over the past two years, we had visited more than twenty destinations across the Caribbean. The beaches and waters are among the most beautiful in the world, but the scorching sun and relentless humidity often limited how much we could truly enjoy them. In the end, we realized that we are more mountain people than ocean people. For now, the Caribbean will likely remain off our itinerary for a while.
2025年12月21日
昨天是我们这二十多天行程的最后一个海上行，同时离美国也越来越近了。今天早上船来到了我们本次邮轮行程的最后一站，巴哈马群岛的弗里波特。我们参加了一个水下洞穴之旅，途中驱车穿越岛屿。一路上，仍能清楚看到2019年飓风留下的痕迹：废弃的房屋，在一些地方，道路一侧的木麻黄（澳洲松）因海水倒灌而枯死，而不远处的同类树木却顽强存活，形成了强烈的对比。
洞穴游览本身只带我们参观了洞穴系统的两个入口。即便导游介绍说，这里属于卢卡扬国家公园内庞大的水下洞穴网络之一——也是世界上规模最大的水下洞穴系统之一，但由于参观方式有限，更多只是“知道它的存在”，却难以真正体会其宏大与神秘。
随后，我们步行过马路来到 Gold Rock Beach。原始而安静的沙滩边散布着一片片浅浅的潮汐水池，水面映着天空，也映着周围的红树林与白树林，裸露的根系交织成一座天然的迷宫。如果行程能在此结束，堪称完美。
但行程并未止步于此。之后我们继续前往 Junkanoo Beach Club 享用午餐并在沙滩玩水休息。烧烤鸡和排骨味道不错，但由于这趟旅程中我们已经走访了太多各具特色的海滩，这一站的沙滩太一般，相对逊色些，所以这后半段的行程也因此略显乏味。
我们今天所在的岛距离美国的劳德代尔堡只有大约70英里。明天我们便下船回家，准备迎接节日。
过去两年里，我们在加勒比海地区走访了二十多个地方。那里的海滩与海水无疑是世界一流的，但炽烈的阳光和难以忍受的湿热，常常让人难以久留、尽兴而游。相比之下，感觉绿水青山好像更适合我们。估计短期内加勒比海暂时不会上日程表了。