|
If you have details of a good
second-hand bookshop or book exchange within easy reach of anywhere in
the world that a boat can safely be moored, we'd love to hear from you.
Between us all we can build a useful resource for voyagers in need of a
good read on a cruiser's budget. It's a small list now but there are
some great places on it...
|
|
CARIBBEAN
|
BEQUIA, St.VINCENT & THE GRENADINES: The Porthole Restaurant and Bar has
a grocery store attached to it and a large collection of books,
most of which are in English, for exchange. You'll find it on the waterfront in
Port Elizabeth, where the road from the main business area fizzles out...you can
dock your dinghy on one of the two wooden jetties a little further along and
walk back or pull your dinghy up on the beach right in front of the building!
One of the best books we got from there was a biography of Wallis Simpson, along
with a trilogy of Ruth Rendell mysteries.
|
|
SINT MAARTEN, SIMPSON BAY LAGOON: Lagoonies, the 'yachtie' bar, there
is a corner of the saloon crammed full of books. We saw plenty of Danielle
Steele and other books with a large female following, as well as more Robert
Ludlum paperbacks than we've ever seen accumulated before! We picked up a
couple of Sidney Sheldon novels we hadn't seen before, another Gerald Seymour
and a few other interesting looking books.
|
WEST INDIES, TRINIDAD, CHAGUARAMAS: West Point Mini Mart at Peake's
Boatyard in Chaguaramas has a shelf full of books in English to exchange on a one for one basis. Apparently the Launderette at Power Boats next door often sports a selection of books in Scandinavian languages
and in the Galley Bar at IMS boatyard there are books in several languages for
exchange on the shelves below the television.
|
|
EUROPE
|
AZORES, HORTA, FAIAL: Mid-Atlantic Yacht Services the
local chandlers, opposite the marina, have shelves sporting a variety of novels
available for exchange on a one for one basis.
We must, reluctantly, admit that we didn't see anything that took our fancy when
we stopped by out of season, there were a lot of romantic novels and little else
besides but things are probably better in the summer when a thousand or more
yachts pass through.
|
|
SPAIN, TORRE DEL MAR, 22K EAST OF MALAGA: Passing Time is
a large bookshop with a wealth of second-hand books in many languages. You can
take books back and get a refund of half the purchase price which is cheap in
the first place! The shop is a fifteen-minute walk away from the port of La
Caleta, Velez-Malaga. You'll find Passing Time in the centre of town opposite a
large parking lot separating it from a row of apartment blocks. We have quite a collection of seafaring books from this
one, accumulated before an Atlantic crossing to ensure adequate entertainment on
the way.
SPAIN, ALMERIMAR MARINA, ALMERĶA: Ursamarine
which, on the face of it, is a yacht brokerage, has a wonderful selection of
paperbacks at the rear of their premises and will give partial refunds on
returned books
|
|
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
|
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, USA has various 'thrift' shops
selling all kinds of goodies at very low prices
The
Goodwill Store is on Massachusetts Avenue, a couple of blocks down as you head
towards Boston from Central Square. Books, in particular are a
great deal there: paperbacks are US$0.50 and hard-covers US$1.00 each! We have a handsome book
named, simply,
'Emma Hamilton', about Horatio Nelson's beloved, her life and her death in utter
poverty.
The book was in a huge canvas 'bin' full of books in perfect condition at US$!
|
|
|
|
|
 If you know of a good book exchange or a bookstore where second-hand books can
be purchased inexpensively, let us know and we'll add them to this list - in
time we may have a pretty good directory for travelling bookworms!
|
|
|
|
|
