Oh, island in the sun...

It's really hard to believe we've been here in Jamaica for a week! The time has passed so quickly and we have barely gotten started on enjoying the things to do here. We have done a myriad of boat chores and just gotten organized. Over the next week we should complete our repairs and be on our way to sightseeing and fun.

A restored colonial building across from the marina that now houses an assortment of small businesses.

We arrived on the Wednesday before Easter and here the holiday is a big deal. For most it was a four day weekend featuring parties and celebrations. There were parties on the beach next door and in clubs around the Bay with music going until the morning hours. The market was supposed to be closed but there were vendors about so while businesses being closed kept us from getting some things done we were able to keep well stocked with food.

Having a jerk chicken lunch and a Red Stripe in a little place down by the market. Food was good and yeah beer.

Our first major order of business was to repair the damage to our boom so we could move on. I was able to take everything apart and assess each damaged part and cleanup what was left. Working with Graham and Jason at Oxford I was able to get a source of supply and order the parts making arrangements to expedite their shipment. Like in the Bahamas importing things is not easy and I believe we are all set to go pickup the parts from Jamaican Customs in Kingston on Friday of this week, 21 April.

Sunset across the Bay from the marina.

The marina building.

The marina we are staying in is designated a duty-free zone for parts and supplies for boaters. The only issue is that the parts arrive into Kingston, several hours away, and to ensure they meet the requirements to qualify for duty-free a customs officer and import broker need to escort the parts to the boat the cost of which of course exceeds the duties on most small items such as what we purchased. So we will pay the duty. But of course you can't just go to Customs and pay the fee and go. In order to pay the duties you need a Taxpayer Registration Number issued by the Jamaican Government which we obtained today. As Vinny Gambini would say, it's a procedure thing. I could have FedEx clear but it would take several more days and cost much more.

One of many local Rum Bars.

Towards the repair work I was able to get the boom vang tang straightened although I ordered a new one. We found a guy that had a little shop and he was able to straighten the stainless steel tang. It took hours trying to find him and it was only through the effort of one of the marina employees taking us there that we actually found him.

Since we arrived we have enjoyed the abundant produce available from street vendors. The local markets don't really sell much produce because it is all available outside. Mangoes, papayas, bananas, pineapples, watermelon, tomatoes, beans, etc. from many different vendors at very reasonable prices.

The marina from across the water by the I scream store in the park. The marina is surrounded by a large urban park.

When we got here we weren't sure how prices would be and although they aren't really cheap they are way better than the Bahamas and generally not bad. The Jamaican Dollar is worth about .8 US cents. A thousand Jamaican dollars is US$ 8. Figuring out prices for purchases is mind-boggling. For example the other day we bought 3 pounds of papayas at J$200 per pound. The cost was J$600 which is about $2.40. In the US papayas are usually $ 2.99 a piece when you can find them and although that is a reasonable price it takes a lot of cash to buy things. Today we bought a pound of Grotto Bread (really good too) for J$175 or about $ 1.40. We go to the ATM and get J$10,000 and it's about US$80. Reminds me of being in Italy with the Lira when it took about 900 or so to a US dollar. Doing the math is easy, its just carrying around wads of paper money, There are several ATMs near the marina and there are always long lines because of the need to get cash.

A sunken sailboat by the park shore near the marina.

One of our other major errands was to get a Jamaican Sim card for our unlocked phone so we can get data service away from the marina. There are 2 competing companies here, Digicell and Flow. We went with the Flow. We were able to buy the SIM card, get 3 gigs of data and 300 minutes of voice for about J$1,900 or US$12. Minutes for calls anywhere in Jamaica or to the US and Canada are billed at about J$2 a minute or about US$.15.

Two of the performers on Saturday night at Syds.

We have also been enjoying socializing with other cruisers. There aren't all that many boats here and some have come and gone since we've been here but we've gotten together with others on several occasions. A few regular happy hours and a couple dinners out. On Saturday night we went with friends Michael, Tammy, Serge and Charlotte to Syd's for a very light dinner with local poets and performers featuring their works that was quite interesting. Then on Tuesday night after the long weekend 11 of us went to Camp Soldier for local cuisine at the top rated restaurant in Port Antonio. Camp Soldier is run by a guy that was born in New York and served in the US Army until retiring and moving to Jamaica. He also has what he calls a wall of heroes with some memorabilia and he lists the names of veterans who ate at his restaurant. We need to go back and see if he added my name.

Part of the wall of heroes at Camp Soldier.

Our gang gathered by our table.

Getting around is not especially difficult except the streets wind about and places are tucked in behind other places. On the streets it's obvious we're not local. Unlike the Bahamas where everyone knows and is related to everyone else Port Antonio has a big population. But cruisers are obvious among the large population of African descent.

After seeing the flat and barren Bahamas for months it really is nice to see lush green hills filled with huge fruit laden trees and massive tropical vines. The smell of jerk meats grilling is everywhere and the hot sun makes a cold Red Stripe beer a friendly sight. It will be hard to leave here.