The trials of Road Town Days and just generally living on a small island

Forget I said yesterday that we were looking pretty good for charter! There seems to be more things going ON the TO DO list then coming off the to do list. All the little things you don't think about when you don't have guests on board, like, do all the fans in the cabins work? (they don't), Do all the shower pump bilges work? (they don't) and where exactly is that holding tank odor coming from every time someone flushes? (yep, a line to the poo tank!)
You get the idea anyways, all the things that need fixing when we look at the boat as a guest instead of as our home. Bleach is my best friend at the moment!
I am amazed at the different things I see by moving to a different part of the island. On our mooring in Roadtown we have the squawking parrot up above and booby birds. Bazza called me out today to look at the Oyster Catchers that were sitting (one per pole) on each and every one.

He suggested that they were hanging around looking for food, so I dutifully brought out bread only to have them turn up their pretty little noses! Guess they wanted oysters!

I was feeling a bit of cabin fever so after lunch Bazza and I went to town. You know that list we have to redo in town every few days? Off we went....After 6 weeks I have succeeded in FINALLY having my credit card from First Caribbean closed, but only once I sat in customer service for a long time and then on hold to Barbados. Don't think though that they released the hold that was on one of my CD's though as it was paid off!! Not yet me boy! Don't you be getting ahead here! They could not do it from a verbal ok from Barbados that the credit card was paid (of course not!) we did get an email through acknowledging that the credit card was paid, and they would turn it over to support for them to issue an official authorization to release the hold....Go to come back again. Since it was such a small amount that was owing on the card, I wanted really to put the money in her hand to cover it and say they really did not need to hold my large CD any longer to cover that small amount.
Went to get prescription refills for both of us old folks! This usually entails going to about three pharmacies and still coming up short. This time was no different. They appear to have a real shortage of Crestor on island. It has been like an Easter Egg hunt since we came back in August trying to get some every month! Even when I come back in a couple weeks cuz they tell me they will have more in then, it appears every other person on the island is also easter egg hunting for crestor and they buy it out just before me. A couple thoughts, isn't it bad to stop and start taking this medications?. I know that i have taken Zoloft for many years and occasionally they don't have any of that on island and that is not good to stop and start cold turkey. Me being business minded would think, "well everyone on island seems to be on these medications, let me order in double, triple or whatever so I have enough and then when all the other pharmacies run out, I will get all the business!" Makes sense to me, but I am not a pharmacy owner here and apparently it does not make sense to them. Go to come back....
We went by our cinema. You know the one, that has been going up for many many years. I really think that cinemas will be passe by the time it is finally open. In fact, looking at it today, I thought a couple things
1) that they would have to repaint it before it opened as the paint was starting to fade...

And while they were still building up on top here, at the bottom level they had all the cement from the steps and around the entrance chipped out so they must be doing maintenance already!

Then we went to a few stores. And fell over at some of the prices! I usually don't notice prices, but there was a few outstanding ones.
1) A tube of toothpaste was $7.00
2) Tube lights (you know the strands you use for fairy lights that are often used at Xmas and are about $10 to $20.00 a strand? Well they were $40.00 here.
3) A tractor sealed beam light that we buy in Walmart for about $9.00 was $15.00 in one place which was not bad then, but in another one of the chandleries it was $48.00!!!!!!!!!
4) and let me not forget the flag! Once a year, about this time we buy a new flag for the aft of the yacht. Always at the same place. When we first started buying flags here, it was about $80.00 for a very large flag, then the price of that went up atrociously, so we stepped down a size which started at about $60.00 odd dollars. Every year that flag has increased in price.
In 2006 it was $101.96
In 2007 it was $120.90
In 2008 it is $176.95!!!
Pays to keep books sometimes. I know shipping costs cannot be that much more, after all, it must weigh all of what, 2 ounces?? I hesitated for a sec wondering if I really did want a shiny new flag even if it looks nice. I could not believe the price jump. I have visions of someone sitting in the back woods of Tortola weaving this material on a hand loom (after shearing the sheep and making the yarn of course!) and using roots and herbs for colorings and that is why it is so much money.
I went to all the main grocery stores, trying to give them a once over seeing who I was going to be using for provisions this year. In other words, what was my best bet of actually getting half decent looking fruits and veg and other items that are in date? I have to tell my guests coming on this weekend that it is not looking good! There was not one that I thought, "ok, this will do it, they have most everything" I picked up items that were out of date by two months!! We came back to the pretty sunset tonight at the boat and were going to try out the restaurant across the road, Emiles, but it is not open yet, so frozen pizza it was.