2 NOVEMBER 2005
Time flies, I am not sure where it goes down here but it definitely drifts away somewhere! Wednesday morning now, I
am up early, sitting at the Gingerbread Inn awaiting breakfast & coffee service to begin. This last week has been the
start of the “big picture”! This past Friday I received a call from my attorney announcing that my Alien Land Holders
License had been approved by the government. Not only was this the news I had been waiting for, but the fact that it
was approved in less than one month from submission was unusual. For one, my attorney on St Vincent and one other
attorney here on Bequia are the only two attorneys in the opposing political party of the current Prime Minister. This
equates to road blocks for any government approvals for them (this of course was disclosed to me only weeks ago!).
For two, a couple from Philadelphia informed me about a month ago, that they had JUST received their approval after
NINE months and another English couple who had their application sent in about the same time as mine, are yet to
hear anything. So, good karma, that’s all I can hope!!
With the news of the license, I retracted my rental agreement (with ready consent from the bank – no sense doing
more paper work than necessary!!) to move into the house early and I have been tracking down laborers to get some
work done prior to my moving in after closing which will hopefully be the first of next week. With many recommendations
from all that have done this before, I started three guys working yesterday. I played “goffer” and while they stayed
busy getting started, I ran around to the various hardware stores getting the requested things they needed. As much
as everybody warned that one needs to really stay on top of workers here, in just the first day, these guys did an
amazing job. One went to town cutting a big opening in the concrete wall between the kitchen and living room (to create
better breezes through the rooms and to have a counter/bar area). There is now a big pile of concrete in the living
room, but the hole is cut and makes a huge difference. Another guy got most of the bedroom painted and the third
trimmed and mowed the whole front yard. They were eager to start again today but instead of 8/9am as yesterday,
they wanted to begin at 7:30 – so early rising for me, but no complaints when I have good workers, eager to work.
I will be flying back to Florida on the 12th of November to purchase all of the items and supplies that do not exist down
here. Those things, along with my belongings from California will then be loaded into a container and shipped down.
Although I am not certain how long I will be in South Florida, I will be bouncing around between Vero Beach and Miami,
collecting ‘stuff’ and visiting dad & Dollie and friends along the way. Let me know if anyone will be in the area around
that time (I should have my cell phone back on my LA cell number (310.347.5600) while I am there. After this trip, I will
likely be canceling that number.
Well, that’s the main update for the week!! I am now off to find concrete filler, a gas canister for the stove and other
miscellaneous tasks while tracking down an electrician. Send me emails with updates about your lives, as well – I miss
everyone and cannot wait for guests! I must say though, I already have guests booked for the holidays this year and
may have guests in one of the apartments through January. (nice to know, seeing that I have not even closed on the
property yet!) Keep in touch!!
© 2006 AQUA on Bequia