Our Favorite Freeport Moments

We have exactly one week left in Freeport! This week will be filled with things like packing, running last minute errands and of course, Matt studing like crazy. While Freeport has had its fair share of ups and downs, it did serve as a tremendous learning and growing experience for us both. It wasn't exactly how either of us had anticipated spending our first few months as newlyweds, but it has prepared Matt and I for the next step in our journey as we are now preparing for Dominica.

Here's a look at some of the things we will remember about our time here in Freeport.

The gorgeous color of the water.

Favorite place on the island - Gold Rock Beach

Survived our first hurricane.

First seafood meal.

Beautiful roses from the husband.

Many weekends were spent here at Taino Beach.

Matt studying nearly every free minute.

Taino Beach Regatta

Learning to dislike cooking a little less.

Visiting the Freeport Inn where my mother stayed in 1975.

Sunday night grilling dinner with the Womack's

The wildfire!

Seeing all new types of wildlife.

And of course the Conch.

Flying on a turbo prop for the first time.

Getting used to new neighbors.

And of course, our famous lobster.

And the lobster hunters.

Crystal clear water

Gorgeous Taino Beach

Love Banana Bay.

Still love Banana Bay.

And some more love for Banana Bay.

First crab!

Gorgeous views

Awesome blue water.

White sand beaches.

And just have to put some more of Gold Rock Beach in here.

And I know this didn't happen in Freeport, but it's by the far the cutest thing I've ever seen. Or you that you will ever see either. And I got it while I was in Freeport. So it counts. My favorite!

Bahama Problems

I thought I would have some fun with this post. There's some truth and some sarcasm. But here's a look at some of the Bahama Problems we experience.


You go to the grocery to find there's no milk that's not expired. If you do find milk, it's probably going to be $7 a gallon.

You can't swim in the ocean because there's a regatta.

You must remember to cover your drains at night. Otherwise a cockroach will come to visit.

Swearing in public is against the law.

You can't find chicken breasts at the grocery, but you have a fine selection of ox tails and pig feet.

You can't find a comfortable place to sit just anywhere.

There's no good place to find Mexican or Chinese food. There's just Chicken in Bag.

You decorate pantries and counter tops with bay leaves, otherwise you will be overtaken by sugar ants.

You can't walk up a flight of stairs without looking like you just ran a marathon.

These are your neighbors. Along with snakes. 

When doing laundry, your clothes don't dry because the air is so humid.

You only put a light bulb in one of the sockets on your light fixtures, because the electricity bill is so expensive.

You can't walk too long without being asked if 'you're doing ok' from one of the locals. Translation - 'do you want to buy drugs?'

It's hard to cool off, because the ocean feels like bath water.

Forget using a GPS, without addresses, TomTom is pretty useless.

Your new friends are a bunch of hermits.

You can't get a reliable cable signal or internet connection in the afternoon or evening, because there are too many other students using it at the same time.

Don't forget to pack your umbrella and your sunglasses. Not because it's rainy now and the sun will come out later, but because it is rainy with sunny skies all at the same time.

So we have a balcony. That has been overtaken by pigeons. Pardon the disgustingness.

You get American cable, with American advertisements, but there are no American stores or restaurants nearby to satisfy the craving.

Less than six weeks till our time here will be over. We are trying to enjoy it, and I'm sure we will look back on the time here with fond memories. But I'm definitely ready to have the comforts of home once again - i.e. decent priced toilet paper, good fountain dt. coke and no dirt bikes racing down the highway at 3 a.m.!

Just Another Day in Freeport

Ever wonder what it's like to lose power in Freeport on a hot and humid day, with no means of communication and no one else around? Well let me tell you, it's not fun.

Yes, we had our power shut off. Because we didn't pay our bill. Funny thing is, we never received a bill. Tricky thing here in Freeport, they don't have addresses. As Tyrone said, "Why you need to get mail, 'mon?"

So our electric bill went to our landlord. Who is typically wonderful, but somehow we didn't get the bill. As did no one in Sunset. Eventually we got a bill this week (Tuesday) but it came with an overdue balance from a previous bill. The one we never received. So was that not only a shock, but the other shock was the amount. Unbelievable.

So on Wednesday at about 12:30 p.m., (peak hotness) the power went out. Matt was on campus and I didn't have my Bahama phone. And Sunset is deserted during the day. So I was SOL as my dad would say.

I walked/sweated to campus just to find that the grocery store's wifi wasn't working either. Terrific. So I was really SOL. But alas, I heard Tyrone's taxi drive up. I flagged him down, and he saved the day. He drove me to the power company and helped me figure out what happened. Sure enough, a notice was put out to have our power shut off on Monday. Keep in mind, we got our first bill on Tuesday. And they eventually got around to it on Wednesday.

Side note, when the woman looked at our bill, she asked if we had a commercial building because the amount was so high. That's comforting. Needless to say they're looking into why it was so high.

After getting back to the apartment, we called our landlord who said he would come and turn our power back on for us. Thank goodness. He also said we've had the highest bill he'd seen. Even more comforting.

Just one more experience to add to our list.

We've also been under attack. By sugar ants. In our pantry. Before, the sugar ants were on our counter tops and sneak out when we would have food out. But the last few times they were in our pantry. Leading to us throwing out a bunch of food. Which feels like tossing dollar bills into the garbage - $20 bills mind you.

But mom came to the rescue, and suggested to put bay leaves around the pantry - on the floors, shelves, etc. So we put them out yesterday, and I haven't seen one since. Excuse me while I go knock on wood.

I may have been a little over zealous with the bay leaves, but as long as it gets the trick done, I'm fine with that.

So beyond the excitement of our electricity, we are enjoying Katie and Dan's company this week! They leave tomorrow, but it has just been wonderful having them here!

I also tried a new receipe for southwestern stuffed peppers. Thanks Pinterest! Delicious! 

And tonight it was Chicken Fajita Bake. 

I've been on a Mexican food kick lately if you can't tell. There aren't any good Mexican restaurants here, so we're having to make due! 

I've also got this sinus infection/cold/headache thing going on. We went to the drug store to find some good meds, but just found that the Mucinex D is $40. So I stuck with the off brand Dayquil. Only in the Bahamas...

Matt's next Mini is quickly coming up! He had his last class this week, as they just have review sessions next week. The test is Thursday. Friday is a holiday here, so no classes for Matt and I have the day off. We will be renting a car with the Womack's to go out and explore parts of the island that we wouldn't normally be able to see! I call Not It on driving though. This driving on the left side (don't say wrong side, or the locals will get on you) throws me off!

6 weeks till we're home!

Freeport on Fire

One thing I won't take for granted anymore? Firemen. I should clarify - Firemen who actively fight fires with high tech equipment.

Today, Rachel and I had a work day. I worked on my stuff, and she worked on her launch of her new jewelry shop, A Different Kind of Flair. (I'll have more on that later!)

Our work days are so nice. We can both sit and work together with company rather than being holed up in different apartments while our husbands study.

But today added a little more excitement than I wanted on a Thursday.

We got a text from Rachel's husband who was on campus asking if we could see the fire. Neither one of us knew what he was talking about. So we walked out the door to find this.

Oh, that fire.

It was a brush fire. It stretched for nearly two miles at one point. It was an extra breezy day in Freeport, so the wind really picked it up. We'd walk out at one point and see a new blaze in a completely different place. As you can see, it burned right through the neighborhood by our apartment.

Unlike in the United States, we didn't hear an overflow of sirens or horns. We heard one truck. One time.

It was a little odd.

As in the States, people will flock to watch something like this. Not here. No one seemed to be phased by it. None of the locals anyway. Very strange. Almost eerie. 

I started to worry a bit when I could smell the smoke inside the apartment. 

I packed an emergency bag with our passports and necessities just in case we needed to evacuate. 

We walked outside to more clouds of smoke. The fire stretched from the right side of Sunset outwardly behind us for a couple of miles taking out the brush and foliage on its way. 

Then I really got nervous when the wind shifted. We started getting ash blown onto us while we were outside. 

We waited awhile, and went back out to find out how close it was actually getting. 

That's a little too close for my comfort. Still - not hearing the firetrucks - even though they may have been there. We could, though, hear the crackling of the fire and see the waves of heat. 

So what would anyone do in this situation? Go for walk and watch the blaze.

And this is what we found.

Two firemen and a police officer watching a telephone pole burn in a big pile of brush. 

They weren't trying to put the fire out, so we were hoping this portion was mainly contained at this point. But interesting to see nonetheless.

The main area behind Sunset had cleared, so we walked around to see the damage.  People were out in their yards seeming to be so nonchalant about a major brush fire coming within yards of their homes.

We started to get into areas that had burned, and found an area that was sparking back up. So the guys went and put some dirt on it. That Eagle Scout sure does come in handy.

You can see there are some areas that were still smoldering. This was around 5:30 p.m. We first heard about the fire around 2 p.m.

Here is a TV that got scorched.

There was so much trash in this area of brush. So believe it or not, this wasn't the only TV within 10 feet.

I'm not sure what caused it or how many homes were damaged. One street we walked down had the brush burned all the way up next to a row of houses. We're not sure if the backside of the home was damaged at all. But it had to at least have had heat, smoke and water damage.

That's another thing. If this sort of thing happened at home, it would have been all over the news and social media. But we don't have that here. There is a newspaper, so we'll see if it's covered tomorrow.

Regardless, we are safe. I think the majority of the fires are out. And we still have power. So far anyway. I'm not holding my breath it will last all night.