For the first time since leaving Portsmouth, the storms finally subsided and Tuesday started with calm sea, clear blue sky and al-fresco breakfasts.

We were docked at Nassau by 8am on Wednesday. I left the ship after breakfast, pushed through the barricade of locals offering island tours, and set out on my quest.

I needed a new ‘card reader’ a gadget to help transfer photos to my laptop. I brought my very old one with me only to find that it wouldn’t work with my new laptop.

There are hundreds of duty free jewellery shops in Nassau, nearly as many souvenir shops, but only one computer accessory shop, and that is carefully hidden. After a long search a friendly policeman led me to it.

What a place, every kind of computer accessory imaginable. My luck was in…… or was it?

I had difficulty explaining to the shop assistant what I needed. She just kept trying to sell me SD cards. Eventually her eyes lit up. She reached under the counter then laid before me a card reader. “Yes, yes” I said, “that’s it, I want one of those”.

“Sorry” she said, “we don’t sell them”

(That is absolutely true)

After my disappointment, and fed up with the hustle and bustle, I made my way out of town to the beach. I walked on golden sand around a beautiful coconut palmed bay with amazing turquoise blue sea, and hardly passed another person. What a strange world.

Back on board, I watched thousands of passengers filing onto a Carnival cruise ship, children playing in the adventure playground on the top deck, and the ship departing. I wondered how much duty free jewellery went with them and how many had seen those beautiful golden sands.

We left soon afterwards during a lovely sunset on route for Colon in Panama.

A flock of “brown boobies” followed us for a while, diving for fish and presenting themselves for photos.