Monday was just as hot and humid as we were doing some cleaning and tidying on the boat. Hazel arranged to collect me at 11.15 am to go to the supermarket so once the boat was clean I went off to meet her at the security gates. Hazel arrived bang on time after her daily walk down the beach with her dog and we went off downtown. I was struck again by the way everything is very spread out, in a US style, car based way in Grand Bahama and I suppose how it is now going in the UK now with out of town shopping centres. Nonetheless the roads were very good, the best I think I have seen in the Caribbean and everywhere is really tidy and well kept with lots of lawned areas. Hazel was telling me about the ex-pat population in the Bahamas, many for the ship yard, though as everywhere else outsiders working in the Bahamas must be brought in for skilled posts which cannot be filled by locals.
We did a few errands for Hazel and then went to the City Market supermarket, the same brand as we had been using in Nassau. The prices seemed a bit lower here if anything. I was also quite interested to see for the first time, hurricane supplies for sale such as camping gas stoves, weather radios etc. I gather from Hazel that Grand Bahama has been rarely directly hit, but did suffer a hurricane I think 7 years ago. The problem it seems is rarely the actual hurricane passing but the disruption to utilities which often goes on for sometime after, so people have since then been installing generators and stock pilling bottled water etc in preparation.
Hazel helped me back to the boat with the shopping and stopped for a drink and a look round. Kevin was hard at it filling the water having completed the engine checks and washing the outside of the boat. We said good bye to Hazel and vowed to meet again when we return. We had a quiet afternoon onboard. Obviously as Kevin has washed the boat it rained all afternoon!
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