Life Aboard SERENADA: Love the Canadian Polar Bear

I did my happy dance today :) This special celebration was for the success of tethering our iPhone to our MacBook, and thus enabling me to keep blogging from our boat, and allowing us internet access for skyping, email, etc. We will not be constrained by WiFi access, though we may be constrained by BTC (Bahamas Telecommunication Corp) service availability in the islands. This feat consumed me for almost two days, but was made possible only with the help of two fellow cruisers. Rito was kind enough to lend me his copy of Mac's OS X version 10.6, and Rob (aka the Canadian Polar Bear) who managed to push all the right buttons to set up the needed software settings, after I'd almost given up and was close to tears. THANK YOU Rob! The next round is on us, when our paths cross again.

Bimini has given us our first taste of island life. There are no big box stores here. Every retail outlet is very small, and on island time .... they might be open or they might be closed. The supply boat comes in on Thursdays, so that is the day you can get fresh produce. This week, however, it's coming in on Friday (island time). Water fill ups cost about $.40 - $.60 / gallon, as there's no fresh water source on the island, and it's either brought in or made by a reverse osmosis process. The Biminites are very friendly and very laid back. This will be our fourth night at Brown's Marina, yet no one's concerned about collecting fees from us. I tried to pay ahead when we first arrived, but the owner was preoccupied with another task, and asked "You be here a few days? 'Get you another time." They drive on the other side of the road here, which is barely more than a single lane; so you've got to watch out for yourselves when you're walking.