 |
| 1999 GMC Jimmy |
If someone is going to
spend a serious amount of time in Saint Thomas, then a car is needed.
Not just any car, but one that is able to respond on these curving,
hilly, narrow and rough roads, something like a truck, a jeep or a
SUV. Jim, since he's been living here during the past 12 winters,
has a small SUV.
Sunday morning he got up,
late as usual, and cleaned up the car, checked out the oil, the water
and the battery. The car has been sitting for 6 months, and it
started on the first try. “OK,” he said, “it is ready, lets go
for breakfast”. We went down the driveway, bumping, rocking and
shaking, on a road over grown with tropical plants. On the main
highway to Red Hook; going downhill in a car with right hand drive
but staying on the left side of the road, it's like ridding in the
front car of a roller coaster: “Ahhhh!”
Our first stop was at the
gas station and just then Jim noticed that the battery was losing
power. He put gas in the car and drove back to the house as fast as
he could. It would be a problem if the battery went dead and the car
had to be tow. Well, thanks to the holiday our friends were at home
so we borrowed Skip's car to run some errands, including finding an
alternator.
So, we went down the hill
again , bumping, rocking and shaking, the roller coaster thing again:
ahhhh! This time we drove to the community of Tutu, to the island's
only big shopping center and went to Advance Auto Part, where
anybody from the US would go first to find a car part. I was shocked
because stores in the States would have a clerk at the door says
hello and ask if you need assistance. In other words, customer
service. Here we have what I call “customer non-service.” The
store wasn't too busy, the clerks were doing something on the
computer, talking on the phone and eventually taking care of a
customer. After a 30 minute wait at the desk a woman asked if she
could help us find anything. It was a long wait to find out that they
didn't have the alternator.
Next morning Jim got on
the laptop to find other auto part stores. He called two, Rodriguez
and Industrious, that didn't have the alternator in stock. So he
phoned a mechanic named Jim, who suggested trying Caravan Auto part
in Saint John. He did, and yes they had it!. Saint John is another
USVI island 5 miles away. We needed to take the ferry from Red Hook,
but how do we get there since our car is broken. The good thing is
that Jim has friends everywhere he goes, so this time he called
Chuck, who gave us a ride. The next ferry was leaving at one o'
clock, and after a 45 minute wait we boarded for a beautiful boat
ride to St John, we even had birds gliding alongside the boat. What a
gorgeous day for that 15 minutes trip, on the clearest waters I've
ever seen.
It will continue...
