Going to America
A year afloat: to the Caribbean and back
Sam and Alex Fortescue
Mon 16 May 2011 22:00
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Plan A is back on. Summer Song is going to America
after all. The Skipper today underwent a grilling at the US embassy here in
Nassau and emerged triumphantly waving a visa. Or, more accurately, the promise
of a visa tomorrow. The embassy has my passport still, hopefully not being
microbiologically examined for exposure to Cuba, and I'll get it back, plus a
visa, tomorrow.
After an unpromising start, which involved arriving
later than planned for the consular appointment in a lather of sweat and dust,
blond afro flouncing under my Cuban sombrero, the whole process appeared to be
little more than a rubber stamping exercise. This, in spite of the fact that the
Bahamian customs had inadvertantly written 'Varadero' on all my paperwork,
believing that to be the name of the boat, and not a city in one of America's
terrorist enemies. Also, despite my looking like a close relative of the late
Osama in the photo I submitted. So awful was this picture that it clearly
provoked hilarity among the consular staff as they divvied up the applications
in front of a room full of nervous applicants. Happily, though, I wasn't dropped
straight into the 'do not admit' tray.
The only fly in the ointment now is Alex's need to
procure a new US passport. Her campaign to achieve this kicks off tomorrow.
Being technically a US citizen, we're hoping this will not present a major
bureaucratic hurdle.
In the meantime, we've been seeing the sights of
Nassau. These include a pretty colonial-style centre (redone in the manadatory
cruise-liner fare of Colombian Emeralds and duty free liquor stores), a cricket
ground, nice beaches, dozens of restos specialising in cracked conch and red
snapper and a zoo. Zoos don't normally figure on our itinerary, but this one has
an exciting speciality. It hosts the 'world famous' marching flamingoes,
possibly the only such beasts successfully trained to respond to a limited range
of orders from a drill sergeant. It has to be said that the poor flamingoes,
bred from wild pairs in some of the out islands of the Bahamas, seemed to
respond less to the commands and more to the physical threats handed out by the
sergeant. But for all the ridiculousness of trying to herd a bickering flock of
2m tall birds, they were a spectacular sight in their bright pink livery (see
below).
With luck, this will be our last post from Nassau.
We plan to slide off towards the Exuma islands tomorrow afternoon, crossing a
long stretch of shallow bank to get to this near-deserted cays. It should be a
week of lounging on beaches, snorkelling, fishing and barbecueing. Tough life,
oh yes...
Queen Vic, in front of Nassau's parliament
building
 Typical purveyor of cracked conch and crab
fritters...
 Alex posing after a steep climb from the Nassau
Cricket club
 Sly-looking macaw in Nassau zoo
 Feeding endangered Bahamian parrots
  Nassau's "world famous" marching
flamingoes
   Government House
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