Every time we get to a new country, we have to figure out the ins and outs of basic survival. Where to buy food, what kind of food they have available, boat parts stores, transportation and at least a dozen other things. Usually, it takes us a few days and then we have it figured out and can settle into life. This week, Grenada pushed us to our limits on something that should be simple. Something that is simple in most parts of the world….mail. How difficult can it be? You order a package, the package arrives, you pick up the package and all is well. Not so in Grenada. It starts out simple enough….order the package as usual but on the shipping address, you must put “boat in transit”. For “boat in transit”, the import tax is 2.5% versus the usual 40% tax. So, whatever you do, do not forget to add “boat in transit”. Then, DHL drops off the delivery slip to the marina. Not the package, just the slip. So we took the slip over to DHL which is located on the only main street on the island. We had to circle the town twice before finding a nook to call a parking spot but feeling successful, we made our way to DHL. Once we had been adequately temperature tested and hosed down in chemical cleaner, we waited in line. As we approached the DHL worker, she said, “I need your papers”. We handed her the delivery slip. She stared at us expectantly. We stared back. “What about your C-14 form?” We stared back some more. She sighed and stated, “You have to get your C-14 form from customs and immigration in order to pick up the packages.” She explained that we would take our invoices for what was ordered to customs. Well, that might have been simple if we had known what was in the boxes. We have a mail service in Florida and we deliver everything to that address over several months and the mail service forwards us our mail all in a big box. As we left DHL, we knew the main items in the box that were of any monetary value so we headed back to the marina to gather the invoices. Then, we emailed them over to the marina office so they could print two copies of each invoice. I walked over to the customs office and the officer took the forms so he could give me a form C-14. He came back to the window and said, “What was the shipping on this item?” Sigh. I called Bill and he said, “I don’t know. Probably about $30.00.” “Probably about $30.00,” I told the officer. “I need the exact amount and it must be on the invoice.” I grabbed the pack of invoices sadly leaving the C-14 on the officer’s desk. Back at the boat, Bill called the company and asked for a copy of the invoice that had the shipping total on it. “The invoice will be in the box” was their response. Bill explained that we could not get to the box so the company emailed us a copy of the receipt. The humorous part is that the actual shipping was $20.00 so the country of Grenada came out short on that deal. Bill forwarded it over to the marina office who printed two copies. I picked it up and took it back over to the customs officer. He looked at it, stamped the invoices and handed me the C-14 form. Success! Confident in our endeavors, we headed back to DHL with our three invoices (one for the new autohelm, one for solar lights and one for the engine alternator). Back in business! Circle town, find a parking spot, temperature check, unhealthy dousing in hand sanitizer and back in line. The DHL worker took our invoices and forms and in a few minutes came out with three large boxes. Three boxes, three invoices. Easy peasy. But alas, “I need you to open the boxes”. She handed Bill a tape cutter and pointed for him to open the boxes. First box, solar lights. Check. Second box, autohelm. Check. Third box, Pandora’s box. You would be surprised how many items you order in a 6 month period that you forget about ordering! The DHL worker held up the final invoice and stared at the box full of items. A couple of bathing suits, mosquito netting, a sail bracket, a packet of mail, it was the never-ending box. She handed us back all the papers and stated that she needed invoices for everything in the box and a new C-14. Then, she made us leave all the packages with her, even the ones that we had done correctly. Sally in tears and Bill breathing deeply, we left the store to head back to the boat. On the way, I called the sail provider in Florida to ask for an invoice for the sail bracket. The sail provider stated that the invoice was in the box. I told him that the invoice did not have the shipping listed so we needed a new invoice. He said, “Why would you need that information? Was there a problem?” “No,” I responded, “I am in Grenada and they need it.” His response, “Oh God! You’re in Grenada? You may never get your stuff!” At that point, Bill took over because I was ranting about packing my suitcase to get on the next plane out of Grenada. After finding invoices from Kohl’s for my bathing suits ($70.00) and Amazon for my mosquito netting ($6.35), Bill sent them to be printed and headed back to customs. I locked myself on the boat so that I would not commit a murder. An hour and a half later, Bill arrived with all three boxes and a bag of M&Ms to soothe the savage beast he had left behind. In the end, all this nonsense was so the country of Grenada could collect 2.5% import taxes on our items. Could they not just charge us $50.00 extra per box? They would have made more money and we would not have had a nightmare of a day. We swore we would not import anything else while we were in Grenada. Alas, the refrigerator stopped working. After running several tests, Bill determined it was the electronic control panel that was nowhere to be found in Grenada. It is supposed to arrive from the States at some point delivered by FedEx. We just heard that FedEx in Grenada may not follow the same procedures as DHL does….give me strength! Meanwhile, we have been buying bags of ice trying to keep the meat in the freezer from ruining. It has been a trying week!
We rounded out the trying week with a trip to the Royal Mount Carmel Falls. It was Sunday so on our way to the falls, we passed a least a dozen churches that were packed. Their denominations were very different from the States. Instead of the usual Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian, they had Open Bible, Four Gospels, Church of the New Testament (I guess these guys only like the happy books of the Bible!), Seventh Day Adventist, Missionary Church of Grenada and of course, the good old Roman Catholics. We figured they must church them up good because we passed by them around 10am and when we returned after 1pm, they were still churching away! When we got to the falls, we hiked along a very muddy trail until we reached the base of the fall. We climbed over the rocks and jumped into the crisp pool at the bottom of the falls. We were the only ones in the pool so it was definitely a postcard moment. This coming week, we will continue to prepare Galt for all of the projects as we wait for the materials to be delivered. So far, we have gotten very lucky to find good people who can get the materials constructed for us. The materials will take a few weeks but we have plenty of prep work to do so that will keep us busy. Here’s to wishing you a wonderful week and next time the UPS man delivers your Amazon package for free straight to your door, please give him a hug from me….I miss him so!
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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