Georgetown After Regatta
Ambler Isle
V and S
Mon 4 Apr 2011 00:37
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After the annual Cruiser's Regatta comes to an end,
Georgetown settles back into being a Bahamian town. Many have already left
the harbour. Others leave daily. I am surprised that folks leave
just as the water is getting warm, the days getting long. The VHF radio is
not as hectic as it was weeks ago. We spend idle days cruising around in
the dinghy and lounging on the beach. Our good friends Jim and Janie form
Pirate are here, along with two other motor yachts. We have
shared dinners, beach days, even made a "girls' day out" complete with
pedicures. It is getting warmer suddenly, 75 when we waken. Mid 80s
by day. The water is finally 78 degrees. We entered Lake Victoria
under the tiny bridge at low tide, raising the motor as we went. A visit
to the local Exuma Market found a "weekend sale" in progress. Strawberries
were $3.99 per quart. Almost the price in the US. We scooped up peppers $6
a pound, romaine $5.99, tomatoes $2.50 lb, apples .90 each, oranges 2 for $1,
and ICE CREAM $10 for a half gallon. We ran into Paul and Melanie,
friends who own the house on Elizabeth Island, Top of the
World. We promised to get together soon. We stopped and
chatted with other boaters we knew. As we walked down the free dinghy dock
provided by the market, a "rasta" man, wearing his uncut hair in a pouchy hat,
greeted me. I said hello. He began to follow me down the dock,
chatting about life in the Bahamas, just ordinary pleasantries. When we
got to our dinghy, he noted that we must be on a big yacht. "No," I said,
"Not a big boat." (Our dinghy is rather striking among the smaller
inflatables favored by most cruisers.) He persisted, "You are the
crew?" "No, " just ordinary boaters." "How many aboard?" This
last question bothered us. Why would he care how many were on our
boat? And what was he doing on the dock used only by cruisers? Valt
suspected he was up to no good,or at least leading up to a request for money and
quickly ended the conversation. We have never met panhandlers here in the
Bahamas. Everyone who wants to work has plenty of jobs available. It
was a strange encounter, and I hoped it was not a sign of a change in the
Bahamas. Or was it just a curious man making conversation? Back
under the tiny bridge we saw Donald, the Bahamian baker, who waved as we went
by.
We stopped along our ride to pick up some DVDs of
various regatta events to copy. Then we dropped off a CD to copy recipes
another lady was offering. We noticed Jim and Janie sitting on lounge
chairs at our nearby beach, and decided to join them. There is always an
exchange of movies, music, books. Everyone is eager for
entertainment. Jim and Janie were going to town tonight to listen to a
Bahamian band play at Two Turtles. We declined, after a day in
the wind and sun we were ready to have a quiet supper and evening at home.
The sky and water were a gorgeous red orange as the sun settled beneath the
horizon.
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