Even as a native of the Bahamas it took me 32 years of life to make my way down to see the infamous swimming pigs of Exuma. Although native, I have spent almost half of my life away from the beautiful shores of the Bahamas, and the older I get the more I realize the unmistakable beauty the islands of the Bahamas hold compared to other international locale. After witnessing the infamous swimming pigs on television shows like TheBachelor I found it quite appalling that I had never been to visit the pigs myself. So in 2016 I set off on a mission to swim with the pigs.

Lets partake in a short geography lesson. The Bahamas is known as an Archipelago of islands, with a total of 700 islands and cays, with approx. 30 of the islands inhabited. Over 70% of the Bahamas population lives in the capital Nassau.

The swimming pigs reside on their own tiny island (baller alert!) that belongs to the Exuma chain of islands in the Bahamas. The Exumas are a less inhabited group of islands with a little over 7000 residents. These islands were the sight of the infamous #fyrefestival debacle, that rocked the internet after luxury festival organizers left participants stranded and bands were a no show. For the record if I had to end up on a refugee camp, I couldn’t think of a better place than the Exuma islands.

I may be partial as a local but in my travels I have not came across many destinations that rival the Exuma chains of islands in regards to crystal clear turquoise blue waters, pristine sandy beaches and a plethora of wild life. It is no wonder why so many celebrities and magazines venture to this island paradise for vacation.

In all it is relatively easy to get to Exumas in particular from the USA. Several international carriers fly directly to Georgetown International Airport in Exuma. Delta Airlines flies directly from their Atlanta hub to Georgetown. American Airlines flies from Miami International Airport and Air Canada flies direct into Georgetown from Toronto Pearson Airport. Many people also fly into Nassau International Airport and schedule local airlines to Exuma from Nassau, a quick 45-minute flight.

I flew into Georgetown, Exuma from Nassau, and booked a 2-night stay at the Augusta Bay hotel, in Georgetown. We spent our first day exploring the local scene and island cuisine. In Georgetown a five minute boat ride across the bay reveals a local spot called Chat N’ Chill Beach Bar & Grill. You can spend the day swimming on the beautiful beaches, or laying lazily in a hammock or even lounging in the shallow waters while a stingray swims up for a gentle stroke.

Travel Tip: Boats are also available for rent in Georgetown where you can sail the shallow waters and look for private coves to snorkel and explore.

Travel tip: To truly appreciate the landscape of the Exumas I recommend renting an open back Jeep Wrangler to explore the dirt roads. Points of interest include the Tropic of Cancer beach, Jolly Hall Beach, Tropic Breeze Restaurant & Catch A Fire Bar.

On day 2 we scheduled our excursion to swim with the pigs with Exuma Water Tours. We scheduled a full day Exuma Cays Adventure Tour that involved a visit to Starfish Bay, sight-see private islands of celebrities like David Copperfield and Faith Hill, calming cave, sunken plane wreck, snorkel thunder ball grotto (James Bond film site), swimming pigs, a sand bar excursion, swim with nurse sharks and pet the local iguanas. This excursion is a must do when you go to the Exumas. It is definetly a bucket list check.

The Pigs were the highlight of our trip; they are a group of about a Dozen Pigs Adults and little piggies! They swim right out to the boat once you pull up. They are very friendly, and just want to be fed cabbages and vegetables. Swimming with the pigs I made a few friends, that made me swear off bacon for a month, which is a pretty big deal for me. Swimming with the nurse sharks at Compass Cay was also exhilarating, while petting the iguanas proved a little more daunting than expected. This adventure offers a great balance of nature and beauty.

We spent our last night at the local fish fry in Georgetown, where we listened to local music and ate native cuisine before heading back on our flight the following morning.

Travel Tip: Other options to swim with the pigs involve flying into Staniel Cay, an airport location much closer to the home of the swimming pigs and less inhabited. Also, same day powerboat adventure tours from Nassau Bahamas go daily down to the Exuma cays to swim with the pigs. 

Over the course of 16 Days, we visited 11 cities, passed through 7 airports, flew 12 individual flights, stayed in 8 different hotels, hopped on 5 trains, 2 seaplane trips, 1 helicopter ride and logged 6 different time zones. This was the honeymoon that we always dreamed about but more importantly, it was the honeymoon that we were able to afford!

For starters on January 1^st 2014 I married the love and my life and the woman I plan to spend the rest of my life with. 

Let’s back it up a bit....

I have always been a planner, saver and all around Frugal McDugal. However, I try to abide by one main philosophy in life and that is to pay for experiences over possessions. As a result, I always knew that I wanted my honeymoon to be an enriching experience that I would cherish for the rest of my life.

So after several years of dating, while vacationing across France, I proposed in Paris, right in front of the Eiffel Tower. I remember it like it was yesterday. 

The date was October 6^th 2013, the Eiffel Tower and Parisian landscape illuminated the night sky. It was the day I had been preparing, saving and yearning for over the past year, and as the remnants of my dinner churned in my stomach, half-way ready to jump back up my throat, my nerves were a shambled mess. In between the time of question ask to answer my heart froze in the silence, and then she said it. She said Yes!!! Two months later we were married, and set to begin our lives together.

*Context* My wife and I dated for two years long distance before getting engaged and subsequently married. So from the moment I popped the question the race was on to get married as quickly as possible so that we could begin our lives together. At the same time, we both wanted a wedding that provided us an opportunity to express our love in front of our family and friends but provided us a long lasting memory. As a result we settled on an intimate ceremony surrounded by our loved ones. With the hectic nature of planning a wedding in such a short time frame, we agreed to put off the honeymoon until we could afford to plan an unforgettable adventure together.

*Disclaimer* As a red blooded man who knows his role [stay in your lane] the extent of my ‘planning’ for the wedding involved saying “yes” or “I agree” to any important decisions.

From the moment we said "I do" the planning for our honeymoon began. Our strategy? Get as much as we could for free! We spent the next 2 years signing up for select travel rewards credit cards that helped us execute our plan by using a combination of sign-up bonuses and strategic spending. As a result we were able to plan an amazing trip that allowed us to stay in several cities, (Dubai, Maldives, Zurich, Milan, Venice, Orvieto, Rome) got half-off our plane tickets, got all of our hotels for free excluding the Maldives and had the adventure of a lifetime.

For less than $3500 dollars we got to see the world with and experience we will never forget it!

Over the course of a little over two weeks our free-planning landed us in Dubai, after an 18 hour flight (Half-Off: Barclay Arrival) where we stayed 3-nights in the Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm  (Free: Hilton Honors), took a helicopter ride, enjoyed a desert Safari inclusive of camel rides, hawk training and a ride in a vintage 1950s Land Rover.

Next we spent four days in the islands of the Maldives in an over the water Bungalow (SO FREAKING COOL!!!) with a private Jacuzzi. The highlights of the trip included a seaplane ride to and from the island oasis, snorkeling, swimming with sharks and a sunset boat cruise. We ended up paying for our entire hotel stay in the Maldives because we chose an All-Inclusive option.  Our research showed that individual meals can average over $100 per meal, the all-inclusive option proved to be the most cost effective.

Our next adventure took us exploring Europe by train. First stop involved spending a day exploring Zurich, Switzerland with a stay at the 5-star Park Hyatt Zurich (Free: Chase Sapphire). A 3-hr train ride later we were in Milan, Italy where we stayed one night at the 5-Star Park Hyatt Milan (Free Chase Sapphire) and enjoyed the beautiful city of fashion. Another 2-hr train ride to Venice, ‘the floating city’, were we stayed 2-nights at the Hilton Molino Stucky (Free: Hilton Honors), where we enjoyed the romance and beauty of the city on the water.

We were scheduled to go directly to Rome from Venice, however while we were in Dubai we befriended some fellow travelers that invited us to visit them in Orvieto, Italy at a family orchard. As a result we detoured our plans for a day and spent a lovely evening in the charming Italian city of Orvieto. The following day we resumed our journey to Rome, where we stayed two nights at the Hilton Garden Inn (Free: Hilton Honors). Rome was a lovely enriching experience of culture, cuisine and history that included the Coliseum, Roman forum, Trevi Fountain, and Vatican. Our return trip involved a short overnight stay back in Zurich at the Kameha Grand Zurich (Free: Hotels.com Rewards) before our return stateside.

To answer the question “Why did I spent 2 months planning a wedding & 2 years planning a honeymoon?”

My wife spent her entire life planning the wedding of her dreams [Insert husband here]. My gift to her was the honeymoon worthy of the fantastic way she makes me feel, so I decided to give her the world or at least as much of it I could fit into 2-weeks.

This trip was a hectic adventure. It also was not easy; it required extensive planning and research, 3am flights, plane sleeping, running to catch trains, a lot of Jet lag and overpriced bottled water. 

*Travel Tip* when you get an opportunity stock up on cheap bottled water, DO IT!

Did I mention we found out my wife was newly pregnant shortly after we booked our trip? That made it even more of an adventure and in the end we created a memory that will last a lifetime.

The only question left is “Where to next?”

I know a lot of websites tout the benefits of using points and credit cards to get insane trip deals for a fraction of the cost. I am not a travel expert, and I can’t rack up 150K points in one year to get a first class ticket to the other side of the world. But with a little careful planning I was able to make one person’s dream come true, and to me that’s all the reward I need!

Photo credit: Lel4nd / Foter.com / CC BY

This post has probably been a long time coming; I have just been avoiding it because it forces me to confront a reality that I don’t like to relive. The fact that the one person who believed in me even when I did not believe in myself, is not here to share in these major milestones of my life. The person to whom I refer is my grandfather, James Audley Wilberforce Carey Sr. Lately, I’ve been thinking about where my life would be without this man and the role he played in my life, and the endless possibilities are increasingly disparaging. As an adolescent I admittedly was full of rage, and lost in a sea of anger. Call it traditional youthful rebellion, call it adolescent anger or just call me an idiot, take your pic but not unlike most teenage boys I often let my anger consume my entire existence and would lash out at those around me. As a result I was suspended for fighting in high school three different times and was on the verge of expulsion. Looking back at it now, I could not tell you why I was so angry, or why a relatively intelligent young man would constantly put his future in jeopardy over idiotic arguments. But what I can tell you is that, if it were not for my grandfather, I would never have overcame my issues with anger. Understanding the breadth of my actions and how they affected the person I cherished most in this world altered my perspective. It was just jolting enough for me to give pause and really examine my actions in reference to my past, my present and the probable future within my current trajectory.

           

Have you ever had someone believe in you even more than you believe in yourself? For those of you who have, you’ll understand that it’s the most invigorating feeling one can have. I am sure its similar to the pride a father feels when his son thinks he is superman. My grandfather was a simple, humble man. He did not stand very tall, and was not someone of extreme wealth but what he lacked in stature he proficiently supplemented for with character. As a scientist now fulfilling my passion, I am eternally indebted for the role my grandfather played in this natural progression of my career path. He cultivated my curiosity, a fundamental trait in my role as a research scientist. As a child with a natural curiosity, he spent countless hours answering every question I could muster, promoting adventures into understanding and educating my young mind on the ways of the world.

           

The climax of the relationship with my grandfather came when I set off for college. As a young 17-year-old boy from the small islands of the Bahamas, with not a lot of worldly experience, setting forth in the world to attend University in the USA, was a daunting challenge. I knew that I had goals in life; at that time I wanted to become a medical doctor and knew that the journey began with college far away from home. A few days before I set forth on my journey (A journey that I seem to still be traveling) to Ohio (God only knows why Ohio), my grandfather sat me down and told me firstly that he was proud of me, secondly he believes in me, and that he expects great things from me. As a man of not many words I knew exactly what he meant, his affirmation of expected greatness was not an overzealous expectation for me to become the next Rhodes Scholar, but I knew that what he was telling me was that if I lived up to my potential then I could become whatever I desire. That was his version of greatness, having the strength to pursue my own desire. Which I now view as a simplistic, but profound outlook on the essence of greatness.

           

At this point in my life I was wholly uncertain of myself, and my own capabilities. I constantly doubted myself about whether or not I would complete my goal of becoming a physician or even just completing my undergraduate degree. But through out the years I have always looked back to that moment, and I have reflected on my grandfather’s belief in me. Honestly, it is that same belief that has helped to guide me through undergrad, graduate school and still drives me today as I undergo postgraduate training. Having someone believe in you beyond your own belief in yourself is a very powerful feeling, it can make you achieve accomplishments you did not phantom to attain. Lately I find myself reflecting on this belief, and wondering where would I be without the people who believed in me. Honestly it is not an easy answer, but that feeling of overwhelming support has helped guide me through the highs and lows of this roller coaster we call life.

           

But having something or someone to believe in is a fundamental aspect of human culture isn’t it? Religions, all religions, are based upon the ideology of Faith and believing in a higher power/purpose. Faith alone is a powerful emotion that has been described as fulfilling, revitalizing or even overwhelming. At the core of faithful living is the power of believing in something you can not see, hear or touch and believing it has a power that you can not control and do not understand but exists. At its core values faith is believing in the unbelievable.

           

Additionally, we are constantly confronted with the life affirming power of overwhelming belief every day. Avid sports fans channel this belief system through their favorite teams when believing that their support for their teams, no matter how far away, has a direct impact on the play and outcome of the game. Most athletes would tell you that when their fans are cheering them on they feel the energy transform them. They can feel the support that pushes them to levels beyond their own belief. And just like the power of having someone believe in you is transformative, the power of having someone or something to believe in can be just as impactful. As human beings it is no secret that we crave a higher purpose, this is why countless religions have existed since man began walking the earth. Countless Gods, countless religions, but all require one thing, faith. If you take a human being, and sequester them away from society/civilization and allow them to grow in isolation when you come back many years later they will have formed a belief system/religion stressing the need of human beings to crave something to believe in.

Now I know you are wondering how as a scientist, can you tout the powers of faith and believing when you search to de mystify most spiritual encounters. However, I argue that science in itself requires a powerful belief system. Over the past several centuries science has evolved to a level where we understand more things about human evolution than ever before. However, if you look back to the early scientists, they required a strong belief system in order to make the marquee discoveries of their day. One example is Edison and electricity, an invisible force that at the time could not be quantified however he was able to harness it into the light bulb. Albert Einstein believed whole-heartedly in the existence of gravity and the laws that bound its existence even without direct evidence. As a scientist it takes a strong belief system to pursue the unknown, to believe that you can prove what no one else has shown before, in essence science requires faith.

As human beings we spend a lot of time and energy, challenging one another’s belief system and attempting to debunk one belief over another (i.e. Which religion is the right religion, is one God/denomination the right one). But I challenge you to believe, not in the unknown or unseen but to believe in someone who is important in your life. Whether it is a family, friend or stranger, believe that they have the capacity to achieve that which they doubt. Life is full of non-believers (i.e. haters), but by my estimates having one person believe in you is enough to battle one thousand haters.

And although my grandfather is no longer walking this earthly plane I can still feel the power of his belief in me surging through my veins on a daily basis and for that I am eternally grateful. I can only hope to impart a similar affirmation on to my loved ones.

Dedicated to James Audley Wilberforce Carey Sr.  thanks for helping me become the man I am today

Photo credit: phalinn / Foter / CC BY

Women undergoing breast cancer treatment face incredible social and psychological stress regarding cancer treatment. A study published in the journal CANCER by the American Cancer Society indicates why it is important for women to have a support team while undergoing cancer treatment. This study suggests that women, particularly African Americans are more likely to experience functional disability or the need for assistance with daily activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, toilette, feeding, shopping etc.

Dr. Cynthia Owusu, of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland sought to determine the racial differences in functional disability among older women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. This study revealed that African American women were four times more likely to have functional disability compared to Non-Hispanic White women. These studies suggest that African American women may be more likely to experience persistent functional decline after treatment further worsening their survival outcomes.

 Cancer treatment is a multidisciplinary approach. Over the course of diagnosis a patient may have several doctors; family doctor, radiologist, general surgeon, breast surgeon, surgical oncologist, plastic surgeon, pathologist, medical oncologist, oncology nurse practitioner, oncology nurse, radiation oncologist, radiation oncology nurse, and social worker. And as in the hospital, care is permitted through a team of doctors, nurses, technicians and administrators, the at home aspect of cancer is just as integral to overall recovery. Having a caring support team promotes a positive atmosphere for healing.