Something happened on Taino Beach in the Bahamas

                                                                                             Soo Yong Kim

   All kinds of travels are very enjoyable by sea, land and air. Through journey, our lives become abundant in many ways. The school of journey teaches us a lot and we flourish by learning in various ways. Our body and mind become sound by relaxing ourselves from hectic work schedules.

   My nephew and his wife invited me and my younger sister on a cruise excursion from Miami in Florida. We had never gone to Miami before and we were so excited to see it. Moreover, we had never traveled to the Bahamas and we were thrilled.

   They booked a sightseeing cruise and the next day, early in the morning, we were off on a cruise ship. As soon as we went aboard, we unpacked our luggage in the designated cabin and fell sound asleep. Several hours later, I woke up and ascended to the deck above our 6th floor cabins.

   When I looked around, I was attracted and fascinated by the beautiful turquoise ocean. It surpassed my description. The sun shined on the constant rolling and dazzling sea. I burst into exclamation with ecstasy. I shouted, “This is a paradise”!

   My sister called me, “It was time to get off the ship”. It was Taino Beach. The Bahamas is known for its stellar beaches. With over 2,000 breathtaking islands and cays, and the clearest water on Earth, it’s no wonder visitors come here from all over to sink their toes into miles of pure white, and in some places pink, sand! It is the very definition of paradise.

   Before we went to the hotel, we wanted some cold drinks. We were very thirsty. We bought Bahama Mama Punch. It was made from many fruits. It was so delicious that we drank whole cups of punch at a gulp.

   First of all, we wanted to see the beautiful beach and sea. We went out to the beach and under the beach parasol made of straws, we lay ourselves on beach chairs and relaxed ourselves.

    Suddenly, we felt dizzy and itchy at the same time. My heart beat fast and my sister had the same symptoms. Maybe, we imagined that due to poisoned food, we were stricken with illness. We had big red rashes all over our bodies and our faces were flushed. We lay upside down on the chair and two legs faced the sky and we shook our legs.

   If people had seen us, they might have thought that we were out of our minds. There was nobody around us, and we couldn’t tell anybody about our physical condition. There were people on the beach; however, most of them were swimming. They were not within a stone’s throw. We thought we were on the verge of dying. I talked to my sister and prayed to God together. He will take good care of us and heal us. We kept praying. He listened to us. About two hours later, we recovered our senses. On the way to the hotel, we stopped by snack shop and explained everything we underwent after we drank the punch.

   They told me that cocktail punch was mixed with liquor and we must be overcome with liquor. We were surprised to hear that the punch was cocktail punch. All my life, I have never drunk liquor and my sister as well except one incident to me. At last, we figured out why we suffered such an unusual phenomenon. We were intoxicated!

   When I was in my childhood, there was a wedding feast for my oldest sister at my home. My mother made Makgulee which was some sort of soft liquor made from rice. Its color looked like milk. She put it in a big jar. I didn’t know it was a liquor. I thought it was some kind of a soft drink. I drank one bowl of Makgulee. Guess what happened! I couldn’t forget what I went through with liquor. Since then, I have never drunk liquor, even a sip.

    Before sunset, we went out and walked along the beach. On the pier we stopped walking and sat on the bench. We beheld the sunset’s glowing colors in the sky. It was beautiful. Sunlight reflected on the waving sea. The scene of the sunset was picturesque. I wrote a poem about it thinking of my late mother and a happening engraved in my mind in my childhood.

   We gave thanks to God for everything. I won’t forget the wonderful memory on Taino Beach in the Bahamas throughout my life.

   I came to know that ‘Song of Bahama Mama Cocktail Punch’ was very popular in America.