In years past, I’ve posted photos of George Town- all the hot spots. Haha.  You can look back but here’s some from this year. We seldom bring the phone/photo device into town; why risk anything awful happening?  On calm trips in when we might be expecting a call or whatever, I try to remember it.

Our 90 days would expire March 8 so on a calm day we went to the Immigration office to request 60 more days.  Thirty would be sufficient, but in case not, we didn’t want to worry. Peace and Plenty still wasn’t serving lunch when we walked in with hopeful faces on March 6, so now where? Precious few choices in town. Driftwood Café is cute but the menu too limited for Russ so BLU came to mind. It overlooks Kidd Cove and is on the Exuma Docking/ Exuma Yacht Club/EYC property. Last year we called it EYC BLU but this year it’s just BLU. Hard to keep up.

 

Immigration is a short walk west from the dinghy dock. Extensions are considered Monday to Friday from 9:30 to noon only, so we made sure to arrive shortly after 9:30. A woman (not the stern guy with sidearm) behind the walled-in counter and an empty waiting space got me thinking good thoughts. You must bring your passport and your entry paperwork, then you must each fill out a new immigration form (that narrow long piece you may know from plane or any trip abroad). Russ planned ahead and got two immigration forms last year so we had those filled out already. But still one more form; you each need to fill out a single sheet and tell, among other basics, why you want an extension, why you are in the Bahamas (vacation is the closest choice) and how much time you are requesting. Politeness is essential try not to allow any pirate traits to surface. 🙂

Fortunately the powers that be were in a good mood that day and Russ made sure to wear a collared shirt, so our 60-day extension got approved very quickly in Bahamian time. Ah, life is good.

A short time later after lunch at BLU, Russ got a much-needed haircut at Vanria’s Salon which is located (Bahamians pronounce it with the accent on cated) in the same building as the Immigration Office, tucked in the corner. You’d miss it if you weren’t in the know, but she does advertise which helps too.

Our time in George Town would be far shorter and not as fun without Cort’s Place. One time we got to tag along on a short road trip that lasted three hours! Cort’s boat (a Twin Vee center console cat) needed pampering at the boat place so we agreed to meet at 8:30 at Minns where the car is kept. Early, yes, and the perfect opportunity to drop off laundry at where else? The Corner Laundry! I’d been hand washing and hanging dry everything but towels, so we gathered up every towel – and between bath, hand, kitchen, seating and rag we have plenty-for pampering (WDF) at the Corner Laundry. “Done by noon”- really?  Perfect- we might not need to dinghy back in if they were done while we’d still be in town. 🙂 We can hope.

We met Cort and grandson Max (age 27 and a West Coast salmon fisherman with his Dad) at Minns and headed out for places known and who knows!

In the photo below you can see Peace and Plenty hotel. The “Doctor of Libations”, Lermon Rolle was promoted from part-time bartender to Greeter/Maitre’d/Bell Hop and we were happy to reconnect with him during the Regatta Variety Show lunch, bringing greetings from Ida Patton at Black Point. The guests checking in that day must have really been wondering what the heck they’d gotten into.

Prime Island Meats was our first stop and with the size increase, we like it more than ever. Cort seldom shops at Exuma Market anymore as the meat market offers a wide selection of meats, both fresh and frozen as well as lots of frozen seafood. We snagged 4 lobster tails, 4 fresh sliced (from a huge roll) burgers and boneless chicken breasts.

Garden Center next stop!  Not far from the meat market, but set back from the road so you can’t see it.   So many carefully tended, lovely plants greet you once you step out back.

Garden center owner starts almost all his plants from cuttings at his home. Formerly from New Providence, he’s owned and operated the garden center for nearly 20 years. Today, Cort was looking for 2 porch chairs. Success meant stuffing them into the trunk already full of groceries, but Russ and Max were up to the challenge.

The road through town is one-way so our return trip took us by the Corner Laundry. We all agreed it was chancy but why not try? Wowza- all done and folded for only $12! To put that cost into perspective, the average cost in the Bahamas to do your own wash and dry is $8, plus your detergent.

Two Turtles sits across from Regatta Park and was the perfect spot to relax after our busy morning. :-). Yes, I asked for an iced tea or lemonade. No, they had none. A weak G&T then? The bars around tend to make strong drinks, so I figured weak would be just fine but I would have liked the piece of lime left in the drink!

With two very productive days under our belts we felt good and although departure day loomed ahead we still had hopes of seeing our friends again. We also hoped to cross paths with a certain Grand Banks up the road a bit.