We had a great night for sleeping as the anchor was in deep and held well.  In the morning, we loaded up the dinghy with two propane tanks and headed into town as today was the one day of the week when the propane tanks can be filled.  We were third in line, getting there over an hour early for the 11 am arrival of the tanker.  We were concerned that they might run out, but it appears they had enough for everyone.  It only cost $11 for each tank. That was a great price. The photo above is of the line about 15 minutes after we left it, and they were filling them quickly, so there were at least 30-40 cruisers filling their propane tanks today.

We also went to the bank.  We had heard you could write a check and get cash, but we had to use their ATM machine. You have to pay cash for almost everything, so we needed a fresh supply.  We are able to use American dollars, which are equal to the Bahamian ones.

We also needed to pick up our mail at Exuma Market, which is a grocery store. (Blue building in photo)  They accept mail for you even before you arrive, so our box of mail and two boat parts arrived several weeks ago. The mail room area was very organized, so we immediately got it.

While in the grocery store we were pleasantly surprised at the cost of their food.  We spent $102 and got quite a bit.  We found a large Sam’s Club size bag of mozzarella so we can have pizza again.  That was $27.  We also got four more bags of flour, two bread and two all-purpose.   I think we’ll also get a bag of whole wheat.  Those prices were not too high either. 

The fruit and vegetable truck had arrived today, so there was a large selection.  They had Granny Smith apples, which isn’t our favorite but at least it wasn’t the Red Delicious we’ve seen in other stores on the small islands.  Baking potatoes were just 99 cents a pound.  We bought ice cream, although that was $10 for a gallon I believe.  Still, it’s a treat to make chocolate shakes.  We also got some snacks, hot chocolate (great to have in the dinghy after snorkeling), bacon (only $3.50), lettuce, tomatoes, cream cheese, salsa, sausage (for pizza), and more

Exuma Market offers free wifi, and doesn’t even ask for a donation like the other “free wifi” places have.  There are numerous wifi cafes here and with our excellent wifi extender I picked up quite a few wifi signals from the boat. Two of them worked by paying for a card, but we didn’t get the prepaid card today.  We’ll go in to town again in the morning to get them and I’ll upload several new blog and photo pages then. Garbage disposal is free.  You just have to carry it a few blocks to a dumpster.  That was a nice surprise as we’ve had to pay $2 to $4 a bag elsewhere.  There is also free water here and it’s very convenient to get.  At the dinghy dock, there is a hose and you just bring jerry cans to fill them up.  You don’t even have to get out of your dinghy.

We walked around town and went by some stores, but didn’t go into anything else.  Some didn’t open until noon.  We did check a liquor store and will go back to get wine.  I had to take a picture of the Citty Wick pizza because my maiden name was Wick.  I’ll have to check if it’s my relatives.  Actually, I doubt that a Scandinavian is running a pizza place in Georgetown, but I suppose it could happen. 

They are still predicting 50 kt winds Friday night into Saturday, so we moved to a more protected anchorage.  There are many anchoring areas here, and I guess people move around as the weather dictates.  The winds will be from the NW and then the S, so we have hills on either side of us and also put out two anchors. 

The fuel docks are out of diesel, so we’ll have to bring our jerry jugs to the gas station and fill them up.  That’s fine - it’s probably cheaper.

Every morning, there is  a “cruiser’s net” on channel 72.  They have general announcements,  the local stores come on with reminders about their shops and special events, new arrivals can come on and announce that, cruisers can ask if anyone has something they need, and someone gives the latest weather forecast.  Cruisers aren’t allowed to sell anything they brought into the country, but I suppose some money does change hands. 

The weather continues to be very warm, although we did have to turn on the heat tonight to take the chill out of the air.  The temperature inside and outside was in the low 70’s tonight but it felt chilly due to the wind.