USA to The Bahamas
My hopes for a good sleep did not materialize. I fell asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow because of the previous sleepless night. Then a strange noise entered my dream as if water was splashing somewhere nearby. I ignored the noise unwilling to wake up and drifted back to sleep. The splashing soon was accompanied by flopping sounds. I thought drowsily that was odd and made an effort to disregard them too. At some point, sleeping became impossible. I opened my eyes and peered into the darkness. The noise was coming from the backyard of my condo. I got up to investigate the source of disturbance.
A big black dog was thrashing a garden hose. That explained the flopping sounds. The dog looked like he truly enjoyed the entertainment provided by the ruptured hose. He jumped and attacked the hose from different angles. Water burst out of the hose in all directions which accounted for the splashing sounds.
The dog eventually got tired of playing with the hose and left. I went into the flooded backyard and waded through the ankle-deep water to the tap. The dog broke off the rusty pipe and water was coming from the wall. There was nothing I could do to stop the running water. I sent Sonia, the condo owner, a text message. I tried to call her too. Not surprisingly, she did not answer her phone at 3 a.m. I had to wait until morning.
My sleep was ruined; I decided to use this time for something productive and talked to my friends and relatives in Russia. It was daytime in Europe. When I was done with my WhatsApp calls, Sonia and her husband showed up. They looked in disbelief at the damage. The dog pulled the hose with such strength that he ripped the pipe out of the wall.
Sonia’s husband shut off the water and went to call the plumber. I meant to make myself coffee. The condo had a well-appointed kitchen but now I did not have water and I could only go out for breakfast.
Everything in the Bahamas opens late. Tourists usually have breakfast at their hotels. I walked until I came to a small shop that served very expensive teas and sandwiches. I was hungry and did not want to look for another place, so I ate there.
Fort Charlotte was the first thing that I was going to see. The British built 3 forts on the island. This fort was named after the wife of King George III. It was supposed to protect against Spaniards but the fort was never used in a battle.
The fort was closed because of the pandemic. I was not allowed even to come close to it. A stocky security guard said that I was welcome to visit the souvenir shop which did not make sense. The fort was in the open and the shop was a closed space if it was about spreading viruses. I took photos of the fort from a distance and walked to Downtown.
Cruise passengers were disembarking in the harbor and heading for the craft market and shops. I checked the market too, did not see anything interesting to buy and crossed the street to the Pirates of Nassau Museum. The sun was already high; it was getting hot and the museum provided a relief from the heat.
Nassau was the main pirate base in the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy from 1690 until 1720. The museum tells the history of piracy in the area. Its fantastic exhibits are designed mostly for children but what adult can resist a chance to listen to stories about hidden treasures and pirates’ life!
After the museum, I wandered around Downtown looking for a laboratory to do a Covid test for my next destination. The test fees were outrageous anywhere I asked. They started from $150 and could be up to $270 if I wanted a guaranteed result within 24 hours. I did Covid tests all over the world and cannot cease to marvel at how the cost of the same test differs from one country to another. For example, France and Barbados provide free Covid tests to anyone while their neighbors charge over $100. Why do they assume that people who come to the Bahamas are stuffed with money? I finally found a lab that did the test for $99, probably the cheapest on the island, so I decided to stop looking and got it done there.
The rest of the day after lunch, I leisurely spent on the beach. My honest intentions at first were to have a good swim. A few locals sat in the shallow water as if they had been in a huge bathtub. I viewed them with disdain. Beaches are for swimming and not for lying in water, I thought. When I entered the warm crystal-clear water myself, it felt so relaxing that I sat down like the others and let that bliss take over me. Really, there was no need to move my arms and legs after all…