Nassau, Bahamas

We had an adventure today.  Larry dropped me at Starbucks so I could do some Internet work and he went off to see how to extend our cruising permit.  He started by going to the marina where it was first issued to see how to proceed.  They told him he would need to go down to the cruise port … so off he went.  He took the dinghy down past the cruise ships and into the wall in front of the straw market (for those of you that know the area).  He tied off there and walked to the cruise port.  He located the customs area and spoke with them.  They told him he would need to go to a building next door.  Off he went again.  At that building, they told him he would need to go to the main customs office about 5 miles away.  He gave up at that point and came back to me.  He explained his ordeal.  We decided to catch a taxi off to the main customs office.  Naively, we did not inquire as to the cost of the trip.  The taxi driver charged us $25 one-way.  He said for another $15, he would wait for us.  That would mean a total of $65 both ways (with wait time)… to rich for our blood.  We paid him the $25 and sent him on his way. 

The customs people were very nice.  They explained that a cruising permit is issued for a year.  They said ours would not expire until December 2013.  URGH … we didn’t even need to go there!  Originally when we got our cruising permit, the customs lady said it was for 120 days and we would need to renew before it expired.  The paperwork actually showed it expiring in 90 days.  She had stamped our passports to expire in 120 days.  Totally contradictory information just between what she put down but even more so since the main customs office said the only permits available are good for one year!  In any case, the new customs lady redid our paperwork for us, marking it as expired in December 2013.  She also reissued our fishing license with the same expiration date.  We were done.

Instead of taking the expensive cab ride back to our dinghy, we decided we’d try the Bahamian buses (called Jitney).  We were told if we went to the 2^nd light, we could catch a bus there.  We walked and walked and finally passed ONE light.  The other light wasn’t in site.  How far were these 2 lights???  Someone pulled up beside us and asked if we needed a ride.  We thought it was a taxi but it turned out just to be some very nice Bahamian.  We told him where we were going and he said he’d be happy to give us a lift.  He drove us back to the Starbucks where we originally caught the cab.  We gave him $10 for his trouble.

It was a relief to have that day and project behind us.  We are set for basically however long we want to spend in the Bahamas and can either meander thru island to island or zip through onto warmer waters.  It’s nice to have choices!