FREEPORT
Freeport is also one of the Bahamian islands. By now, I had grown somewhat accustomed to the fact that we were mostly touring the Bahamas, just hopping from one island to another. The name “Freeport” evoked colonial times, leading me to believe it might be a place rich in history. Since it belonged to the Bahamas, I naturally expected it to be well-developed. A bonus from our perspective was that it had a dock, meaning no tedious tender operations. Guests could disembark quickly, giving us more time to explore the local sights once we got off. However…
However, a big surprise awaited me. Freeport was a story unto itself. All my assumptions about this place were wrong, starting with the name. “Freeport” didn’t signify a colonial struggle for freedom, despite that being the first association. In English, “Free Port” can mean a duty-free zone, which is what I initially thought. Unfortunately, it can also mean something else entirely. In the second translation, it literally means a Free Port (as in, costing nothing), which was precisely the case for our company. I got this information from our all-knowing manager. The company pays absolutely no docking fees here. And as is the way in the big business world, that was the primary reason for our arrival. For us, and for numerous other ships, since most operate in this region and almost all have Freeport on their itinerary.
Logical Thinking and... Containers
From a business standpoint, one can’t fault them. It’s smart and shrewd. Fine, that’s their business; we would surely find something to do in the port, some distraction of our own. That was my second assumption. However, that too was wrong. As we approached the docking area, another surprise followed. There was no sign of a proper port. Very strange for a tourist island. Instead, everything around the ship looked desolate as far as the eye could see. And the port itself? It was packed with stacks of massive shipping containers. This wasn’t a guest terminal at all; it was a cargo hub for loading and unloading goods! Do I need to mention that the containers were mostly Chinese? By now, that surprised no one. Everything else, however, was simply unbelievable.
How is this possible?
The idealized image of the company that I had self-imposed upon arrival was slowly beginning to fade and vanish with every other port we visited. From the tourist paradises of some stops, through the wilds of Belize and Honduras, to this – a container terminal in Freeport. We offered it all, even though I had expected only the first option: the tropical heavens. Okay, it is what it is; we’ll manage. We’ll find a sports bar, grab a refreshing drink, and kill some free time. Yet another wrong assumption. Once we stepped outside, even the ubiquitous shopping mall that usually “assaults” guests as the first line of defense in every port was missing. Watches, bars, souvenirs, diamonds, t-shirts? Outside, literally, there was nothing!
I was totally baffled. What on earth were the guests supposed to do here? Help unload the cargo ships?