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June 09, 2005
N23.3 W75.4 Georgetown, Great Exuma Island, Bahamas
Our passage to Georgetown was uneventful, with plenty of wind. Our expected arrival time was 4pm, and we entered the treacherous channel at 1pm. We got on the radio to request a pilot to guide us through the reefs, coral heads and rocks. Nobody responded. My goodness, what are we doing in the Bahamas with a 7’3” draft?!
We safely anchored about a mile from Georgetown, and Dave hopped in the dinghy to clear us in through customs and immigration (only one can go ashore). The wind had picked up to 25 knots, and the bounce was incredible. The guide books suggested tying up at the government dock, which Dave could easily do, but could barely reach the dock 10 feet above his head. Alas, it was low tide. And he’s short. So, he carried on and found a narrow cut through the rocks to Lake Victoria. Ahhhh, no more chop, bounce and crash. Safely tied up next to the local grocery store, Dave proceeded to clear in. Easy, peazy, lemon squeazy.
The sign on the door of Immigration said plainly “KNOCK FIRST. DO NOT ENTER UNTIL GRANTED PERMISSION”. Dave knocked. No answer. He knocked again, louder this time. “Come in”. She was on the phone, planning her weekend. Dave waited, watching the unusually huge TV on a shelf in the corner. Teeny tiny office, huge TV. Not CNN, but a soap opera. It turns out we will have to go back tomorrow because she forgot her stamp at home.
Dave called Chis on the radio to say we had cleared in (except for passports, of course). A few important errands and he’d be on his way.
Secretly, Dave was just happy to see PEOPLE that didn’t look like Chis!
A short distance from the government buildings, Dave wandered into the liquor store to get some vino for dinner. The local beer is called Kalik. Didn’t buy any, but got a lesson in pronunciation: like ‘Klik’, very soft on the ‘a’. Not like ‘Gaelic’, which made the cashier’s eyes roll back in her head. Dave paid, and left quickly.
Next stop, the grocery. OH MY GOD! FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES! Okay, Dave admits that he gets stressed without a daily dose of serious fruit and veg. This was paradise. Leeks, celery, carrots, spinach, oranges, plantain, etc. Very exciting! First fruit and veg since the Virgin Islands (2 weeks). The mushrooms had “no code”, which set off a conspiracy investigation. Dave said “no code, must be free, hah, hah”. The endrogenous, unhappy cashier said “nothing in this place is free”. When the floor runner announced the “code”, she/he plugged it in and it was 8oz mushrooms, not 12oz. This set off the next conspiracy investigation. Dave tried to make the situation worse by saying “it must be free”. She/he finally laughed, probably frustrated with his glib sense of humour. Dave paid, and left quickly.
Next stop, fill the dinghy gas tank. Chis thinks someone in the Dominican Republic siphoned some gas from the tank when we were in town. Dave was embarrassed asking the local gas station attendant to fill the wee tank. He said “what are you kiddin’, gas here is @#^&%$ expensive”. US$9 later for a little over a litre, and Dave understood why the attendant had bloodshot, crossed-eyes.
Posted by dave at June 9, 2005 01:41 PM