Arrived yesterday, just in time for Erin, LOL Happy to be back on the island, though, and it looks like Erin is not too bad and will not overstay her welcome. As I write this at 10:30 AM on Saturday looking out over Orient Bay, there are clouds, some fog and light rain and wind, but the sky is still pretty light. We're probably just experiencing some outer bands at the moment, so heavier stuff may be on its way.
The new entry form system is totally screwed up. When I went online and filled out the forms, the page kept putting in the wrong dates for things like birth date, passport issue date, etc. I had to repeatedly correct it. When we arrived, we went to the new entry kiosks/stations. We had no problem scanning our faces or passports, and it indicated that it had received our entry information online, and prompted us to either continue or review our applications. With the problems I had earlier, I decided to review the application, and what it brought up was insane. All of our information was completely screwed up. They had lost most of our flight, lodging and home address information, our passport issue dates were wrong, so we had to stand at the kiosk for several minutes and correct everything using their very slow touchscreen interface. Once that was done, however, we got the OK to proceed and had no more problems.
After getting our rental car, we made our customary stop at Carrefour in Cole Bay. We will NEVER shop there again. A few years ago we got scammed there by a checkout girl who added a ton of food to our bill. We noticed on the way out and brought it to the manager's attention. She refunded us for the extra food, but for some reason did not seem surprised at all or even slightly bothered that one of her checkout clerks was stealing from customers. Hmmm. We had been back there a few times because of its convenience, but always watch the clerk carefully and check the receipt at the checkout counter to make sure its correct. This time, it wasn't a scam that caused us to swear off Carrefour, it was the cleanliness of the store and the quality of the food. Eggs in the coolers were past their expiration date. We bought orange juice with an October 2025 expiration date that turned out to be bad. Their meats looked awful, and the entire store was just dirty. Their employees block the aisles and don't bother to move. If you ask them politely to move, they give you a glare and barely move. No more. Sorry Carrefour, we've spent thousands of dollars at your stores, but you've lost us.
In sharp contrast, we had to pick up a few more items before dinner, so we went to the Super U in Hope Estates. It is the complete opposite of Carrefour - clean, orderly, no one blocking the aisles with pallet carriers, fresh food. We'll be going there from now on.
Hopefully Erin is gone by tomorrow, and we will enjoy the beach for the remainder of the week!
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