Bahamas Update #14

UPDATE FOURTEEN, FOR THIS PARTY MACHINE
originally sent August 7th, 2001

Saturday July 28th probably passed by uneventfully in your part of the world (wherever that may be), but here in Nassau, on that sunny afternoon, you were either at the "Party of the Year" or you were NOT! And believe me friends, I was THERE! The party in question was the annual summer bash hosted by, and at the estate of, none other than Finnish-born, Canadian-raised fashion mogul and multi-millionaire Peter Nygård.

And what a pad! Words cannot descibe the jaw-dropping uniqueness of this place. It's a vast acreage of faux-Inca, pseudo-Babylonian, architectural spectacle with Mr. N. lording over it like a tropical Hugh Hefner. Think of Playboy mansion meets The Lord of the Rings, and you'll begin to get a faint impression of this place. Wild!
The house is huge and there are several "guest" rooms. The picture to the left is the from a balcony looking out over some of these private suites. Each one comes with a bed, a television, and a view of the sunset over the Caribbean sea. Decorating the rooms, and the open air halls that connect them, is a huge array of unique sculptures (see the cobra below) and one-of-a-kind hand-carved wooden furniture. As well you'll run into a few parrots sitting contentedly on their outdoor perches, a gaggle of peacocks that have free reign over the territory and the ubiquitpous security guard who tells you which rooms you may and may not enter. Apparently this place has been profiled on "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous" and in the pages of "Architectural Digest" but seeing it up close and for real is much, much better.

But just opening up his private orgy palace to the inquiring gazes of a couple-a-hundred of Nassau's social A-listers was not all the Mr. N. had on the agenda. There was a myriad of activities, festivities and general carrying-on available to all and sundry that day. There was a beach volleyball tournament, kayaking, billiards, tennis, girl's pool volleyball (occassionally topless), sea-doo rides and even two boats that were taking people out parasailing. And all of it was au gratis, free of charge and complimentary. Now that's my kinda price tag.
As you can see by the picture on the right I gladly took up the parasail rides being offered and for those of you who have never done it let me just say that it is a rush, but not in the "extreme sport" sort of way. In fact there is no exertion required by the rider at all. You just let the wind take you up and the boat driver and the forces of nature do the rest. It was great floating effortlessly over the Caribbean Sea, and the colours of the water from that height are extraordinary. I could also lookout over the land and see halfway across the island. I went to the party with my friend and co-worker Pam (who has been pictured in many a Bahamas Update already) and both of us did the parasail ride. By the way, all these pictures are hers, seeing as I stupidly left my camera at home on the day of this party.
And after a quick parasail ride, what better than to cool off and have a frosty lager. But wait... should I get a hamburger from the outdoor grill, a sandwich from the pig-roast on the beach, or see what's on the buffet table upstairs? This dude Nygård had thought of everything, and everywhere you looked there was something for you to eat, drink, do or see. Now that's the perfect host. Too bad the entire day went by without ever once meeting him (although we did see him from time to time at a distance).

The party was an all-day affair, with people arriving from 1pm till early evening. Upon arrival at the entrance of the gated community where Mr. Nygård has his property, a fleet of buses took us onto the grounds (about a 20 minute ride) and deposited us for the day. The party lasted until midnight when the same fleet of buses drove everyone back to their safely parked cars. The whole experience was like being at some sort of all-inclusive resort (we even had special wrist bracelets to verify that we were on the invite list).
As the day wore on and the sun set brilliantly over the sea, a DJ began spinning and his sets were interspersed with (if you can believe it) wet t-shirt contests for the ladies and a hard-body contest for the men. The music was lame (DJs here tend to play the same "hit" 5 times a night just cuz it gets people moving - however briefly) but there was still plenty of food and drink to keep everyone satiated. And the atmosphere of the place combined with all the libations made everyone start to feel VERY uninhibited. There was already plenty of topless bathing but one girl had taken to body-painting the outline of a bikini onto herself and spent the entire day and night wandering around completely nekkid! Ridiculous but highly entertaining.

Other libertarians kept things moderatley salicious by comparison. We even met one group, from a clothing optional resort in Florida (who were guests of the estate that weekend), who went nude parasailing. I felt so prudish by comparison.
The Nygård event culminated with a huge display of fireworks choreographed to music that blared from the outdoor speakers. It was quite the spectacle. The fireworks were set up in the water about 30 ft. from the beach and we all filed outdoors to watch them from various terrraces, balconies and stairways. It was great. Then a full-on Junkanoo band started up from the far side of the estate, and wove its way through the crowd to lead everybody back inside to the dancefloor. FYI: Junkanoo is the island music here in The Bahamas that is played at special occassions throughout the year (mainly at Christmas and New Years) and the incredibly loud drumming, cowbell-shaking, horn-blowing, butt-wiggling mix is somewhere between a fire-dance and a New Orleans rag. But the most spectacular part of Junkanoo is the incredibly colourful costumes the musicians wear, which are hand-made and decorated with feathers, beads, sparkles and bright bright colours.
Then it was chill time and soon we were politely asked to file out to the busses that would take up back to our cars outside the gated entrance. It was a great day and I certainly saw a lot of familiar faces (including my neighbour, the loverly Natasha, pictured to the right). I also met a few charmng oddballs, screwballs and meatballs along the way, but at a party like this you're always bound to meet a few. I can't wait till I get invited to the next Nygård bash, which is apparently a New Year's Eve tradition.
So that's about it here on the Nassau front. Life continues to pass by at incredible speed (is it August already?) but the hours at work can be deadly dull and clock-watching is a major passtime in the office. My only other big event is my trip to Miami this weeknd, where I will be escorting a friend to a family wedding. It's great to escape the insanity that is Nassau, and breathe the air of a civilized society, but events like the Nygård party make living here in The Bahamas a unique and memorable affair.

Later,

B.

and just to make you all jealous, click here to see the monotonous weather forecasts I bravely put up in this place. What?... hot and sunny AGAIN?!!

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Saturday July 28th probably passed by uneventfully in your part of the world (wherever that may be), but here in Nassau, on that sunny afternoon, you were either at the "Party of the Year" or you were NOT! And believe me friends, I was THERE! The party in question was the annual summer bash hosted by, and at the estate of, none other than Finnish-born, Canadian-raised fashion mogul and multi-millionaire Peter Nygård.

And what a pad! Words cannot descibe the jaw-dropping uniqueness of this place. It's a vast acreage of faux-Inca, pseudo-Babylonian, architectural spectacle with Mr. N. lording over it like a tropical Hugh Hefner. Think of Playboy mansion meets The Lord of the Rings, and you'll begin to get a faint impression of this place. Wild!
The house is huge and there are several "guest" rooms. The picture to the left is the from a balcony looking out over some of these private suites. Each one comes with a bed, a television, and a view of the sunset over the Caribbean sea. Decorating the rooms, and the open air halls that connect them, is a huge array of unique sculptures (see the cobra below) and one-of-a-kind hand-carved wooden furniture. As well you'll run into a few parrots sitting contentedly on their outdoor perches, a gaggle of peacocks that have free reign over the territory and the ubiquitpous security guard who tells you which rooms you may and may not enter. Apparently this place has been profiled on "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous" and in the pages of "Architectural Digest" but seeing it up close and for real is much, much better.

But just opening up his private orgy palace to the inquiring gazes of a couple-a-hundred of Nassau's social A-listers was not all the Mr. N. had on the agenda. There was a myriad of activities, festivities and general carrying-on available to all and sundry that day. There was a beach volleyball tournament, kayaking, billiards, tennis, girl's pool volleyball (occassionally topless), sea-doo rides and even two boats that were taking people out parasailing. And all of it was au gratis, free of charge and complimentary. Now that's my kinda price tag.
As you can see by the picture on the right I gladly took up the parasail rides being offered and for those of you who have never done it let me just say that it is a rush, but not in the "extreme sport" sort of way. In fact there is no exertion required by the rider at all. You just let the wind take you up and the boat driver and the forces of nature do the rest. It was great floating effortlessly over the Caribbean Sea, and the colours of the water from that height are extraordinary. I could also lookout over the land and see halfway across the island. I went to the party with my friend and co-worker Pam (who has been pictured in many a Bahamas Update already) and both of us did the parasail ride. By the way, all these pictures are hers, seeing as I stupidly left my camera at home on the day of this party.
And after a quick parasail ride, what better than to cool off and have a frosty lager. But wait... should I get a hamburger from the outdoor grill, a sandwich from the pig-roast on the beach, or see what's on the buffet table upstairs? This dude Nygård had thought of everything, and everywhere you looked there was something for you to eat, drink, do or see. Now that's the perfect host. Too bad the entire day went by without ever once meeting him (although we did see him from time to time at a distance).

The party was an all-day affair, with people arriving from 1pm till early evening. Upon arrival at the entrance of the gated community where Mr. Nygård has his property, a fleet of buses took us onto the grounds (about a 20 minute ride) and deposited us for the day. The party lasted until midnight when the same fleet of buses drove everyone back to their safely parked cars. The whole experience was like being at some sort of all-inclusive resort (we even had special wrist bracelets to verify that we were on the invite list).
As the day wore on and the sun set brilliantly over the sea, a DJ began spinning and his sets were interspersed with (if you can believe it) wet t-shirt contests for the ladies and a hard-body contest for the men. The music was lame (DJs here tend to play the same "hit" 5 times a night just cuz it gets people moving - however briefly) but there was still plenty of food and drink to keep everyone satiated. And the atmosphere of the place combined with all the libations made everyone start to feel VERY uninhibited. There was already plenty of topless bathing but one girl had taken to body-painting the outline of a bikini onto herself and spent the entire day and night wandering around completely nekkid! Ridiculous but highly entertaining.

Other libertarians kept things moderatley salicious by comparison. We even met one group, from a clothing optional resort in Florida (who were guests of the estate that weekend), who went nude parasailing. I felt so prudish by comparison.
The Nygård event culminated with a huge display of fireworks choreographed to music that blared from the outdoor speakers. It was quite the spectacle. The fireworks were set up in the water about 30 ft. from the beach and we all filed outdoors to watch them from various terrraces, balconies and stairways. It was great. Then a full-on Junkanoo band started up from the far side of the estate, and wove its way through the crowd to lead everybody back inside to the dancefloor. FYI: Junkanoo is the island music here in The Bahamas that is played at special occassions throughout the year (mainly at Christmas and New Years) and the incredibly loud drumming, cowbell-shaking, horn-blowing, butt-wiggling mix is somewhere between a fire-dance and a New Orleans rag. But the most spectacular part of Junkanoo is the incredibly colourful costumes the musicians wear, which are hand-made and decorated with feathers, beads, sparkles and bright bright colours.
Then it was chill time and soon we were politely asked to file out to the busses that would take up back to our cars outside the gated entrance. It was a great day and I certainly saw a lot of familiar faces (including my neighbour, the loverly Natasha, pictured to the right). I also met a few charmng oddballs, screwballs and meatballs along the way, but at a party like this you're always bound to meet a few. I can't wait till I get invited to the next Nygård bash, which is apparently a New Year's Eve tradition.
So that's about it here on the Nassau front. Life continues to pass by at incredible speed (is it August already?) but the hours at work can be deadly dull and clock-watching is a major passtime in the office. My only other big event is my trip to Miami this weeknd, where I will be escorting a friend to a family wedding. It's great to escape the insanity that is Nassau, and breathe the air of a civilized society, but events like the Nygård party make living here in The Bahamas a unique and memorable affair.

Later,

B.

and just to make you all jealous, click here to see the monotonous weather forecasts I bravely put up in this place. What?... hot and sunny AGAIN?!!