Internet Woes

      The rooster slept in late this morning.  He announced the sunrise at 6 AM so we didn't miss this .  . . .

Pete caught this view of  around the marina office with my camera.

The Hybiscus ~
Could there be a more
tropical flower?!

      My plan was to catch up with the blog, but I have not been able to log onto the internet.  So I was back to working on the pictures and awaiting the arrival of the mail boat for some fresh bananas and lunch meats.  

     A very large boat arrived around 11.  It was able to pull up to the dock with no problems and off loaded supplies for the store and the fuel.  I was surprised to find a car and truck also loaded on the boat along with some passengers as she is a true freighter. Word spread quickly, as everyone kept stopping in at the main office questioning the internet problems and receiving the same answer regarding the food supplies, "the store should be stocked by around 2PM."

     Most of us were looking for bananas, which were not included in this shipment, but there was fresh apples, tomatoes - both red and green, peppers, onions, lemons, OJ, wheat bread, lunch meats (packaged bologna and ham), frozen meats, frozen veggies, canned goods, medical supplies, dry goods, and believe it or not, ice cream.  Betty said it was better than both stores in Staniel Cay, even before the mail boat resupplied.

Some of the local color around the marina.

     I did mention internet problems, didn’t I.  Here in the Exumas, the service is by satellite, which means that it must travel 22,000 miles each way before we can get service.  We cannot download video, use Skype, or broadband and are limited to specific number of megagytes.  I have a 3-day card with a 750 MB limit. Unfortunately, there is no countdown on the internet use.  The Internet just shuts down when you hit you limit. There is a pop-up that does keep track, but I can’t see it.   Add to this everyone who had been issued cards today, had cards that were expired.  Once that was identified, the system kept going off line.  We later found out that Sputnik, the Internet provider, was updating the satellite.  Also, one of those college kids I mentioned, needed an item before they left for his paper due next week.  It was a video that took 2 hours to down load.  And finally, Windows Office issued 5 updates today.  All of us who have Office and tried to use the internet were also receiving the updates automatically, which also added to the jam-up.   By 5:45 PM Pete was blowing steam out of his ears!  Thankfully, we had dinner reservations with John and Betty at the restaurant.  I had to remind him 3 more times that he needed to shut down before we finally left, but we were able to be up there at 6. 

     The evening was a perfect turnaround for him.  We were able to watch a magnificent sunset from the dock.  Then we went in for dinner.  Tonight was much less hectic then our previous meals.  Once again our selections were unbelievable good. Pete tried the Pasta Fazol, which had an unusual slightly creamy base.  Betty, John and I opted for the poached lobster with a unique vanilla butter with saffron rice, while Pete had the grouper with the garlic mashed potatoes. The chef here is amazing. Everything we have had here has been exceptional.

    Once back onboard, we decided to watch one of the movies we brought along. We plugged Shakespeare in Love into my computer, then called it a night.

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete