Sunday the 15th saw us pulling up anchor and heading back to Royal Harbour Island. We'ed had enough of the rock and roll nights and were anxious to maybe get a good night's sleep. Once settled we took the dinghies into the dock and walked around the island. There is a resort on the end with a beautiful gym, restaurant and pool and five chalets on a quiet beach.....and it was all empty and locked up. Another development scheme that has failed in the Bahamas. On our way back to the dinghies we met the security guard, who also as it turns out was our bartender at the Shipyard Restaurant. We had a great chat with him and left very saddened by the future outlook for the islands. An all too familiar story of other countries coming in and over fishing stocks and the government not doing a thing about it. The Bahamians have to follow strict fishing regulations and the others come in and take what they want. And to top it off, the weather has been so bad this winter that the locals can't get out and fish.
Monday we left for Nassau. With the front due to hit Tuesday or Wednesday, we wanted to be on a dock to ride it out. The current forecast looks like we'll be here for a while.
The winds coming across stayed pleasantly steady at 9-13 knots, but the sea state was off the charts. We had following 2-4' quartering seas that saw us twisting like a cork making for an unpleasant 6 hours. But we landed in Nassau, squeezed into our dock space and are very comfortable here. Shortly after arrival we took a quick trip to the grocery store which is just across the street. It is a place of beauty, and the prices reflect it. Example: cranberry juice-$8; Oreo cookies -$8; Chips-$6; lg chocolate bar $5-11. Can you tell what I've been missing this trip....guess I'll have to wait to hit Florida before I can satisfy my cravings.
On the 17th we walked to the Straw Market. On the way we went to Potter's Cay which is a small local business area under a bridge. The buildings are very small providing libations and conch meals. There are also a number of vegetable stands and you can also pick up fresh conch and fish right off the boat. From there we walked to the tourist section of town with the Gucci, Rolex, Fendi, etc and too many diamond and precious stone stores to count. After a couple of beers we hit the straw market. It goes on forever and the vendors are so packed in you can't see anything and everything is the same cheap jewellery, t-shirts and straw bags. I didn't buy anything as I'm guessing most of the items are imported from Taiwan or China.
Wednesday, and it looks like the winds and rain are soon going to hit. I did manage to get out and scrub the deck. So nice to have unlimited water. We pay $6 a day whether we use it or not, so we are definitely making use of it.
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