Since we still had the car, Matt and I decided to pick up some heavy items at a few of the bulk stores.  Our goal was to do some scutwork and then reward ourselves with a visit to Cas Abao beach.  We started out at my favorite place, Kooyman as Matt had seen some hinges on sale and wanted to pick up some Muratic Acid.  Unfortunately, the hinges were gone, but we grabbed the Muratic Acid and headed toward our second stop, Building Depot.

Tom and Bianca suggested we check it out as an alternative to Kooyman.  I was not expecting much as I had just left my new favorite store, Kooyman.  We walked in and gasped at the size of this store.  It was two stories and had to be triple the size of Kooyman.  Think Home Depot, Target, and Bed Bath and Beyond all in one clean and orderly store!  It was immense and I actually got a little lost on the 2nd floor!  We managed to get away with spending less than $100, phew, lucky day.  We will certainly come back here as the prices were reasonable, people were friendly, and just about everything you need is under one roof.

This is 1/3 of this massive building.

Each time we visited Kooyman, we passed a place called Roti Mahal.  Since we are both roti fans it became our lunch stop.  As we bellied up to the counter, they were serving a chicken roti and chicken/pasta combo plates so we just said we will take one of each.  We were served quickly and dove right in.  Our meals were a mix of Caribbean flare and Indian and they were packed with flavors!

Matt’s pasta chicken plate.

We were on the hunt for large water bottles and could not remember where we purchased them before.  Somewhere, we had found 2 gal jugs that came in a pack of 6, but where was that?  Cost U Less did not have them, so we headed to Best Buy.  Although we did not find our water, we did manage to pick up some other essential items (razors, conditioner, soda).

In an effort to break up our day, we took a break and headed to Cas Abao beach.  We had heard that this is a really beautiful beach with white sand, palapas, and pretty water.  We had passed the entrance several times so we found it with no problem.  There was a $6 entry fee, which was a first for us, but we paid it and headed in.  It was a bit crowded, considering it was not a cruise ship day, but I managed to get a few shots with no people.  We enjoyed a nice stroll on the beach and a cold beverage as a little yellow bird entertained us.

Cas Abao entrance makes a statement

Matt seeking out a quiet spot.

Friendly bird visited us–called her Cathie!

On the way back from Cas Abao, we decided to stop at Santa Martha Baai as this is one of the other anchorages we are allowed to visit with the big boat.  We wanted to check it out by car before we picked up anchor and moved Sugar Shack to a new location (even if it were only for a few days which is what we are allowed).  All I can say is “thank goodness” we checked it out first.  There is no bus stop so we would be pretty isolated (which also means no internet).  The water was pretty shallow, the channel was super narrow, and there were no other sail boats around.  Probably not the anchorage for us

Santa Martha Baai

After leaving Santa Martha Baai, Matt had noticed an abandoned hotel on maps.me so we decided to check it out!  For some reason, I am drawn to these types of places even though it makes me so sad.  The Sunset Waters Resort (this is a link back when it was open and gorgeous).  It lies on a beautiful stretch of beach, which is private to the hotel, there is a separate building which was probably a restaurant, restrooms, and water sports area.  The actual resort had a large swimming pool, swim up bar, and Jacuzzi.  Each room had ocean views with balconies and were of a decent size.

Sunset Waters Resort in her hey day.

It has been forsaken since 2009 due to financial problems and everything has been stripped, graffiti is peppered on the walls, foliage is all overgrown, and trash liters the site.  This is what it looks like now – Sunset Waters Resort .

Sunset Waters Resort today with no roof

Sunset Waters Resort pool all dilapidated. .

Our next stop was a new store called Centrum Grocery Store.    Steve had told us about this store and it was pretty darn nice.  Again, we went in looking for water and came out with spices, jalapenos, diet gingerale and a few other necessities. Still in need of water, we hit Goisco.  As you might recall, I was pretty impressed with Goisco, but today, after visiting Centrum, Best Buy, and Cost U Less I realized that all of these stores are amazing for different reasons.  Still did not find our bottled water, but we managed to fill up a few more bags.

You see, we use Pepper Plate which is a food app and keeps your shopping list on our phone. When we go shopping we take things off our list as we find them and leave the missing items on our list – you can never seem to find everything at one store when it comes to groceries.  Probably like going to Whole Foods, Vons/Randalls, and the Farmer’s Market.

Feeling a little defeated about our water acquisition, we headed back to the boat.  Luckily, I saved all of our receipts, so I looked up where we bought them last month so we could head there in the morning – it was Cost U Less!

Always good to feel accomplished

• Errands
• Discovery