“We’re all just going to need to figure out a way to live with it”. Ahhhh, finally the blessed words out of the mouth of Grenada’s prime minister. The country was unlocked this week, restaurants were reopened as were all businesses and beaches. Curfew is still in place but we all know that curfew has nothing to do the prevention of spreading germs but with the control over citizens….but I shall not digress. So, back to $1EC wing night on the beach at Coconuts Restaurant! I am not sure who was happier, the staff or us, so we will call it a tie. My only sadness was that they did not have my favorite wing sauce (mango spice) due to the abrupt reopening of everything but they promised they would have it for me this coming week. We took two friends with us and for only $40 US dollars, we had 12 beers and around 40 wings among us. What a deal! The trip to Coconuts was our reward for getting motivated enough to continue the final push on our boat projects. Bill has successfully removed the port side fuel tank and installation of the final new tanks should be completed this week. Once fuel tanks are completed, that leaves us the new autohelm installation and we will be ready to go! With the most recent weather report that stated an extremely low chance of any further hurricanes forming in the region, the boaters are all ready to be on the move again. By the end of the week, we will have lost at least five more neighbors so our dock will be almost empty. Pool discussions have turned to next adventures and destinations which is certainly a lot more interesting than solving the world’s problems. Our current plan after we return to Grenada from our usual Thanksgiving trek to the States is to head to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I had never even heard of St. Vincent and the Grenadines until we got to the Caribbean. Evidently, the Grenadines are very beautiful and have crystal blue water like the Bahamas. I have been mapping out our route so we will be ready to get on the move in December.
We thought we might be on the move sooner than later this week. When we checked into Grenada, we were given a slip of paper for the boat entry that we must renew monthly. We were also given a form that stated our arrival date and our planned departure date in December. What we were not given was the very important piece of information that our Visa to stay in Grenada only lasted for three months. We were in the pool one day when someone mentioned that they needed to extend their visa. “What visa?” we asked. “The one that lets you stay in the country for more than three months” was the reply. You could see both of us calculating our July 2nd arrival date to the current date and then the realization that we were officially illegal aliens! Next steps involved driving to the immigration office, filling out a form and paying for a three month extension. Not one person in the immigration office scolded us or even mentioned the fact that we had been in the country illegally for a week. I guess as long as I showed up with a credit card, they were happy to have us. In order to pay the fee, I had to go into the treasurer’s office that was shared with the government Printery. I tried to discern what the purpose was of the government Printery but alas, there were not enough context cues in the waiting area to make that determination. I did figure out that if we were ever in desperate need of pink copy paper, the Printery had us covered. Along all the walls and shelves were reams and reams of pink copy paper. From floor to ceiling. No other color was within view, just pink. Bill guessed that paychecks were printed on pink paper but even if that were so, it would take them years to use all the pink paper. If you have concerns that you might get a pink slip with you next paycheck, no worries…there is no possible way there is any pink copy paper left in the United States! The final mystery of the week was revealed when I cleaned the front cabin. The front cabin on the boat is used for storage and is the “catch all” area especially during project time. As I shoveled out the mess, dusted and reorganized, I found an abundance of storage container lids. No sign of the matching storage containers, only lids. When you live on a boat, one thing is certain….nothing ever really disappears unless it falls overboard. I searched the boat and found that every storage bin on the boat had a lid on it. Then where did all these lids belong? I personally bought every storage container that we use on the boat prior to leaving the states. Each container had one lid. Each lid went with one container. But alas, I have a pile of unmatched mystery lids. Ah, much like the missing sock in the dryer, something to ponder this week….
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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