Yesterday I went in to buy some fuel to top off our tanks before our westward passage. With two other cruisers our agent explained to us that there is a 15 dollar charge for a fuel permit issued by the port captain and that the international charge for diesel at the pump is 5.00 dollars per gallon. The locals have subsidized fuel at 1.25 dollars per gallon and are eager to sell you fuel for maybe 4.00 per gallon….delivered at night. Get caught and there is a 1000 dollar fine to the cruiser. My friends decided to pay the fees and the extra cost so our agent was commissioned to obtain the necessary permits. They can’t be shared. Today we went in to get our permits and our agent shared the good news and the bad news. He has the permits. The bad news is that the port captain has suspended all diesel purchases by cruisers. The obvious reason is that he prefers to spread the wealth and let the taxi drives who fill the tanks and deliver them to the boats (illegally) share in the pie. I suppose he gets a part as well. So now we have to arrange fuel illegally or start a 3000 nautical mile trip with tanks that are only partially full. The agent also informed us yesterday that the municipality has now decided to charge for use of the main dock. It went from 5 dollars up to 20 dollars per person to use the dock while your boat is here. They have a port authority guard on the dock policing the action. These island have gotten so expensive that you have to be affluent to come here. However, international law requires that any boat can enter the area for 3 days and be able to purchase fuel without entry costs. I expect that more cruisers will start insisting on their rights even though the locals will try to force on them expensive agents and costly port formalities.

Today an unknown (to us) cruiser came by and offered us a dozen ripe bananas. Nancy made some banana bread and then another cruiser we didn’t know came on the radio announcing that he had extra propane and that if anyone wanted to top off he would fill their propane tanks. I went over with some banana bread and met a very nice couple while my propane tank was gravity filled.

The cruising community is in general very willing to help anyone with a problem and there is a plethora of talent aboard these boats. If you have a problem you can’t solve you can get on the radio at any time and request help and it’s likely that someone will be there with a helping hand. It seems to me the more remote a community is the more assistance you can count on from your neighbor.

More to Follow from Nancy