Mark has been cutting and coloring my hair since we left the States but he has let his grow mainly because I don’t know how to cut it and don’t have the tools.   There are hair stylists in the Bahamas and there were several shops in Georgetown.  However, being very frugal with all of our expenses, Mark didn’t get a haircut while we were there.   Our friend JoAnne on Ultra has a hair cutting tool and she came over to show me how to cut Mark’s hair.  She did a great job.  It seemed fairly easy, so hopefully the next time he needs a haircut I can do it myself.

We are still near Sampson Cay, waiting for a part to arrive from France via Ft. Lauderdale, sent to Staniel Cay.  Shipping cost about three times what the part was worth, but we had no choice as it is a switch we need for the electrical system.  It was sent from France on March 29, arrived at 6 am on March 31 in Ft. Lauderdale and it took eleven hours for a UPS truck to get it a short drive away to Catamaran Company.  This morning at 9:40 a delivery person from CatCo delivered it to the Watermakers, Inc. offices.  This is a plane service that flies people and cargo to Staniel Cay and Georgetown.  They have two flights a day and our package missed the 7 am flight but we assumed it would be on the afternoon flight.  Not only wasn’t it on the flight, no one seems to know where it is now!!  This is very very annoying, especially since we paid $25 for “same day” delivery to Staniel Cay.  Hopefully tomorrow it will arrive.

We have about a one hour dinghy ride to Staniel Cay to pick it up.  I don’t mind that much as there are some grocery stores in Staniel Cay and I need some fresh vegetables.  By being delayed at least another day, we will be going to Staniel Cay after the once a week delivery to the stores, which will be on Friday.  We got quite spoiled in Georgetown at Exuma Market - a real grocery store with most of what we would need.  Prices were still high there for some items, but other items were subsidized and very reasonable.  The three romaine lettuce hearts (in a package) we have been using for salads were $4.95 there and over $7.00 in Staniel Cay.  They don’t give you a itemized receipt at these smaller stores, so you’re never sure what things cost.  Usually they aren’t marked.  You have to ask if you want to know, and usually you don’t want to know.  Before we came here, we thought we would have trouble getting fresh fruit and vegetables but they are available for a price.   

What is not available here are some of the snacks we like, such as red Tootsie Pops and Sweet Tarts.  I’m also down to about 4 or 5 more Frappuccinos from the mix I got at Sam’s Club.  I’ve tried to ration them but they are very good - almost exactly like the ones at Starbucks.   Mark has kindly let me have them all or the mix would have been gone well before now.

This morning we had to lift the anchor and move a few hundred feet.  Our chain had wrapped around some pieces of coral.  After some maneuvering at slack tide so we could clearly see the bottom, we got the anchor up and moved to where there weren’t pieces of coral on the bottom but just a sandy floor. 

The weather is back in the 80’s and it’s sunny with very light winds.  Hopefully it will stay like this now and we won’t have the strong winds we’ve been experiencing. It seems silly to use the word “wind chill” here, but when it’s in the 70’s and the wind is 20 kts, it feels cool.  Today, however, it is nice enough to comfortably go snorkeling.  We scoped out some coral reefs a few days ago and will probably go there this afternoon.