{"id":12336,"date":"2022-02-23T11:19:36","date_gmt":"2022-02-23T16:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=12336"},"modified":"2022-03-04T13:35:07","modified_gmt":"2022-03-04T18:35:07","slug":"ill-never-make-that-mistake-again-live-and-learn-i-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=12336","title":{"rendered":"I’ll never make THAT mistake again! Live and learn…I hope."},"content":{"rendered":"

You’d think that after more than 65 years that I’d have just about used up all the stupid moves available to me.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

They say that “experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want”.\u00a0 Ok, so I had yet another experience and I hope I learned.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Well, two days ago I discovered that there is no reason to keep my wallet, with all my credit cards, insurance cards, driver’s license, a good amount of US dollars and other items in my with me at all times.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I wasn’t thinking about the fact that you can’t exchange Greenbacks for Euros here or that I had no need for my US drivers license…or that my various insurance cards are not valid here.\u00a0 In spite of all this I went everywhere with all that stuff in my wallet.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I also never thought carefully about what would happen if I lost my wallet, which I did.\u00a0 I have no idea exactly how it happened but I don’t have it anymore with plenty of US cash, about $150, and about $80 Euros, or my three credit cards and debit card, etc, etc, etc…<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Where did I loose it?\u00a0 Hard to say as Brenda and I walked all over the city, stopping at green grocers in the market, along with various other stops along the way.\u00a0 Sadly, as Brenda did most of the credit card transactions that day, I have NO IDEA when I lost it as I can’t just think about the last time I used it.\u00a0 None, nada…<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It might have dropped out of my pants pocket, which I generally keep zipped closed and fallen in the water when we were heading back to Pandora in the afternoon or it might have dropped somehow when I was pulling my camera out of the wheelie bag that we were dragging everywhere.\u00a0 I have no idea.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Anyway, I spent several hours that night compulsively poking through Pandora, time and time again, hoping against hope that my wallet was stuck aboard somewhere weird.\u00a0 \u00a0They say that doing the same thing over and over and yet expecting a different outcome is a marker for insanity.\u00a0 Fair enough…<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At this writing, two days later, still no luck.\u00a0 I also retraced my steps from that day and again, no luck.\u00a0 Not that I expected anyone to turn in a wallet stuffed with cash and other valuable things, well valuable to me…\u00a0 I even lost my membership card from the Antigua and Barbuda Royal Navy Tot Club.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I called Bank of America and they said that as long as there are no weird transactions posted, that we can keep using the same cards (Brenda’s of course but the same account).\u00a0 \u00a0 Dud I mention that I lost my wallet?\u00a0 Thought so…<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The nice guy at BOA also told me that they could send out new cards and we’d likely have them within about 5 days, allowing time for them to make their way through Customs in Martinique.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Anyway, so far so good, with no suspicious transactions.\u00a0 Fingers crossed.\u00a0 As you can imagine, I was really upset when I could not find my wallet and didn’t get a lot of sleep that first night.\u00a0 However, after spending some time on the phone with the, ever so soothing, BOA rep, I felt a lot better.\u00a0 He suggested that one option is to do nothing and hope that no weird charges are posted as that will trip the canceling of the card, which would be bad.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Not sure what I will do so for now, perhaps nothing, that’s easy, and I’ll just keep my fingers crossed…<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So, back to Fort de France, where we are currently anchored.\u00a0 \u00a0 The last time we were here was two years ago, less than two weeks before the pandemic shut down everything.\u00a0 And, once again, this weekend, Carnival will kick into high gear, for the first time since our last visit.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Brenda and I are not certain that we will be comfortable with being in the midst of thousands but we will have to see how the week progresses.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The view from the harbor, with a modern city on one side and a French fort to the other, offers an interesting contrast of old and new with tropical rainforest in the distance. <\/span><\/span>\"\"The city skyline is dominated by the St Louis Cathederal, constructed in the late 19th century, the sixth cathedral to occupy that spot.\u00a0 It’s five predecessors, the first built in the 17th century were all destroyed by earthquakes or hurricanes.\u00a0 This one is constructed of cast iron which has held up well for more than 100 years.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>\"\"In spite of many old buildings there are also ultra modern office buildings to the north.<\/span><\/span>\"\"And an ancient fort to the South.\u00a0 Every morning at dawn, dozens of locals swim off of the beach, making their way about a half mile out to a channel marker and back.\u00a0 The group seems to be overwhelming women that talk loudly as they make their way out to the buoy and back to the beach, clearly taking their time, chatting the entire way.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>\"\"The fort dominates the southern side of the harbor and at the very end there are design features that look just so French.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>\"\"I can almost hear a French soldier up on the wall tormenting the English, just like in the Monty Python movie, The Search for the Holy Grail<\/em>.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>