Time in Nassau is really flying by

The time here in Nassau is really flying by. It’s already Thursday and it has been over a week since we left Key West. We got back our dinghy engine today and now we just have to wait on weather again. There is a front coming through over the weekend and once the storms are over we will leave.  The weather has turned crappy again with rain moving in last night that’ supposed to last for several days followed by a cold front moving through. We’re hoping we can get some wind to sail from it but with most of the anchorages being open to one side we need to pick someplace with some protection. We’re thinking Sunday with 20 kts out of the North. Since we’re going SE that will be a great combination. Now we’re looking for shelter until Monday when the wind shifts back to east for the remainder of the week. Since all the islands run north south we will have shelter from the east winds.

We’ve been continuing to do boat chores interspersed with trips to Starbucks and visiting with dock neighbors. Tuesday afternoon I worked on back flushing the HVAC and cleaning out the condensate venture line so that it would again effectively suck out the condensate from the air conditioning process. Today I traced down some issues in the water system and got that working again. I was also able to load the engine on the dinghy, test it and get it back up on the davits for the short trip across the Bank to the Exumas.  So many projects needed to keep the boat functioning well, fix things that break and service components to stay in top shape. It’s no different than a house but in a house a lack of maintenance probably doesn’t have the potential and immediate consequences like things on board.

Nassau is a typical tropical city. Other than trade and tourism there isn’t much business. There is a high amount of poverty and the very nice properties are owned by expats or absentees. There is some domestic agriculture. Shopping at the Fresh Market store in the plaza across the street from the marina we found some fruits and vegetables that were locally grown. The Fresh Market store very much resembles a US based Whole Foods Market with fresh organic produce and nutritional packaged goods. In fact it carries many of the same products and brands as Whole Foods.

Like most third world cities the potential for crime is everywhere. All the stores have active and visible security measures. Nassau has been cited as having a very high crime rate. Guns are forbidden in the Bahamas but the murder rate is very high. The marina where we are is very safe but it has security and only one door in at night. When we walk down the street we don’t feel threatened like in some US cities. People are very friendly and everyone greets you as you walk. We’ve been enjoying Nassau but want to get out to the other islands. 

Most people who come to the islands come here on cruise ships. Everyday there are multiple cruise ships at the dock. Unfortunately, Nassau and sites on the Island of New Providence are about all they see. They see the usual assortment of shops and bars with discount jewelry, liquor and resort activities. But the real Bahamas is out there. We’ll have pix as we can get them posted. We will need wifi to post good entries.

On the agenda for today is to walk to the discount market and pick up provisions from there that we need before shopping at the Fresh Market. Next to the discount market is a liquor store that carries Havana Club which we need to stock up on. The real Havana Club from Cuba. Not the Bacardi product by the same name. Once in the outer islands buying anything is much harder to come by as there are few stores and what they have is very limited. Costs tend to reflect the scarce supply brought about by the complex logistics. Most of the goods come from the US. Items that originate in other countries usually still flow through the US to Bahamas. Nassau is the transshipment point where items are then forwarded to the outer islands on Mailboats. The challenge of course is that the Mailboats only arrive on a schedule which can be disrupted due to weather. This applies to all goods including gasoline and possibly water. Some islands have fresh water supplies, some make it and some have it shipped in. Life really is tough on the islands especially when the boats are late. Everything in the Bahamas is more expensive.

We buy groceries to eat on board because even though this sort of has a vacation tone, we’re really at home so we don’t go out to eat too much. Hopefully as we get out to the islands we’ll catch fish and lobsters to supplement our dinner. We’ve done pretty well about eating out and once we get to the islands most places won’t have any place to eat out.

Life aboard is different than life ashore. For one everything takes longer. We have ample stores aboard but we need to usually move lots of things to get to them so that takes time and then putting everything back. In a house you may just reach in a cupboard and get what you want. Also, since we usually don’t have a car we walk or bike to places which takes longer than jumping in a car and going to the local 7-11. Then of course we count on internet cafes like Starbucks for wifi. We have a Bahama phone with data that we will use in the islands when we need it but the data and phone are very expensive.

So with the work on the boat and work to live we are constantly busy in fact there are some things I would like to do that I haven’t had time for. I used to trade actively but with limited access it is very difficult and I don’t have access to the research I need. But, since we’re mostly caught up we may play for a few days. I need to find a post office to file my tax extension. Even though we have an automatic 2 month extension for being out of the country, we will need all the time we can get to get last year in order having sold 2 properties, retired and all are records are in storage. A job for another time.

We will probably have another update before we leave Nassau and then to the islands. Right now, time for more rum.