Freeport and Lucaya
The six of
us decided to go into Freeport and Lucaya to do some touring and stop in at a
Bahama Telephone Company (BTC) office to establish telephone service. We
already had a cell phone on BTC; however, we were having difficulty with
obtaining data service using the phone as a hot spot for our computer. Frank
and Carol had a phone but needed a new sim card for BTC. Claus and Marie needed
a cell phone and service. Claus arranged for us to have a rental car.
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| Out of Business - Hurricane Matthew |
The rental car showed up at 9 AM as requested. Claus volunteered to be the driver. After completing the necessary paperwork and getting a brief orientation on the rules of the road for driving in Bahama, we were on our way.
It was a sad
sight when we entered West End Settlement.
Hurricane Matthew really tore the town apart. Almost every building
sustained significant damage. Rebuilding is underway; however, it will be a
long time before the work is done. Many
of the people here are poor and have little means to pay for repairs. It was
indeed a tragedy and reminded Dwayne of his visit to New Orleans shortly after
Hurricane Katrina devastated that city.
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| West End - Hurricane Matthew |
About 5
miles down the road we heard a popping, crunching sound as the right rear tire
ran over something. Soon, it was evident we had a flat tire. We discovered there was no spare tire or jack.
We used our one working phone to call the rental agency to report our situation.
While we were on the phone the owner of the rental car agency pulled up behind
us. That’s service.
The rental
car agency owner thought maybe the spare tire was mounted under the van we were
renting. No, there was no spare. The van he was driving also had no spare or
jack. Another fellow pulled over to render assistance. He had a jack but no
spare. Also, he remarked, “No problm, mun. De tyre ony flat un de bottm!” The solution was for us the use the van the rental
agency owner was driving. So, off we went with a different van. No problm.
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| No Problm Mun |
Getting
around was a bit confusing as most of the roads have no signs telling you the
name of the street. We had a map which did have some street names but since
there were few street signs it wasn’t worth much. We used the advertised shops,
restaurants and places of interest located on the map as landmarks to navigate.
For example, “There’s the hospital and over there is the Wendy’s. So, this must
be Lowe Street. Watch for a KFC and turn left there to get onto McIntyre Street
for the BTC office.” Also, driving here
is under English rules – drive on the left side of the road. Be careful to get
into the proper lane when making a turn. We didn’t encounter any traffic
signals as the round abouts move traffic through intersections.
The cars are
generally older vehicles imported from the USA. Both vans we had were Chrysler Town
and Country models and had high mileage. They were clean and as the rental car
agency pointed out, the island is small so they won’t get a lot of miles added
each day they are rented. The agency owner said he paid $5,000 for the one we
started out with and the import tax was $4,812 which was almost as much as the
cost of the van. The primary source of income for the government is customs
duties and the Value Added Tax (VAT). There are no income taxes in the Bahamas.
We rented the van for $80 plus gas.
Eventually,
we arrived at the Freeport BTC office. We got immediate and efficient service
from well trained and courteous employees. It was quite a different experience
than at AT&T or Verizon back home. Soon we were on our way for lunch.
We went to
Lucaya to take advantage of the $2 Tuesday drink special at the Agave
Restaurant. This place was very busy as three cruise ships were in port and it
was filled with tourists from the cruise lines. We lucked out and got a table
right away but had to wait a while before our waitress took our order. The food
was good and reasonably priced. Dwayne had the jerk chicken with peas and rice.
Carla ordered coconut shrimp. The $2 drinks were well worth more than their
price as they had a goodly amount of alcohol in them. We had a couple of drinks
each with our meal. Be Happy.
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| $2 Tuesday at the Agave Restaurant - Lucaya |
We took a long walk after lunch checking out the local vendors’ stalls and stores located in the “village market” which was catering to the cruise line passengers. We also headed down to the Grand Lucaya Resort to check out the facilities and get a good view of the entrance channel for the Lucaya marinas. It is likely we will spend at least one night in the Lucaya harbor sometime before heading back to the States. It is always good to know what to expect entering a harbor for the first time. The entrance here is so narrow, you are supposed to radio the harbor master to request permission prior to entering. There is no anchoring in the harbor. You have to go to one of the marinas and take a slip.
Frank and
Dwayne made a stop at the duty free liquor store to check out prices. A liter
of Jack Daniels was $80. Beer was $50 a case for the local brew. A case of Bud
was going for $65. Dwayne heard the Bahamian rum was good and discovered it was
not only very good but also very cheap. A liter of Ricardo Gold Rum was $10.
Looks like our drink of choice for Cuba Libre. Unfortunately, the Coca Cola is
more expensive than the rum.
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