Nassau, Bahamas (Fort Fincastle and the Queen's Staircase)

We are still in Nassau due to windy weather.  The hope is that we can get out of here on Wednesday January 15th and get to the Exuma Islands.  While waiting for calmer weather, we visited Fort Fincastle and the Queen's Staircase here in Nassau.

Fort Fincastle was built from cut limestone  in 1793 to protect Nassau from pirates.  The fort is shaped like an old paddle-wheel steam ship.

From atop the fort and looking toward the front of the fort, you can see how it looks like the bow of a ship.  The old water tower is not within the fort.

The fort had 6 cannon and also served as a lighthouse until 1817.  A second lighthouse was built at the western entrance to the harbor on Paradise Island and came into use in the early 1800's.

The lighthouse on Paradise Island can be seen from the fort.

The view atop Fort Fincastle is quite amazing

Cruise ships in Nassau Harbor

Fort Fincastle is located atop Bennet's Hill.  In order to connect the fort complex with the downtown, 600 slaves were set to work to carve out a path and staircase in the limestone of the hill.  There are 65 steps on this staircase which was carved by hand between 1793-1794.  

Queen's Staircase looking down

Queen's Staircase from the bottom

This was a young local boy playing his drum for tips

In addition to seeing some of the sites of Nassau, there was work to be done on the boat too.  Since we were stuck in port due to the windy weather, we used our down time to put some sealant on the teak decks of Southern Style.  We did a few other minor chores, but we are really ready to be moving on to the smaller out islands of the Bahamas.  Hopefully Wednesday will be the day.