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Whenever I have to get up at a certain time, I always seem to wake up one hour before. Unless, of course, I rely on this fact, then I sleep right through. Since I needed to use the CPAP last night *and* I don’t want to carry it in my backpack all day, I needed to wake up at 5:45 to put it in the carry-on bag. So, of course, I woke up at 4:30. It’s going to be a bitch getting back on Pacific time.
But, everything worked out. We got up, I got some breakfast, and we got everything out of the room. We even remembered the Ginger Ale in the mini fridge. We got down to the meeting area early, and… well, we’re not quite to Saint Lucia yet so we’re going to be running a bit late. No problem. They really are just going to ‘warehouse’ us on buses until it’s time to go to the airport anyway.
A drive through Vieux Fort and up the west side a bit through a couple of fishing villages we’d seen before. We drove through the volcano again (from the other direction this time). But just a view from the bus. We ended up at the <something> State House plantation (can’t remember the name and can’t find it on the map), where we were just going to hang out for a bit but not much information was given. We all came in and sat down. Nothing happened. Then some dancers started dancing.
Over time people got up and moved around a bit as we realized we were just hanging out. A few nice plants to see. A kitty came by at one point. We learned about the Nuni fruit. Inedible, but good for curing what ails ya apparently (but smells and tastes terrible)
There were 5 buses of 10-15 people each. There is one bathroom (stall). We cleverly lined up for it early.
There was a snack being served in the house. You had to walk past the dancers to get there. As I did, one of the ladies snagged me and taught me a step or two. Pretty basic and I only screwed up a few times. Kind of fun. I asked her her name and it was something like Cynthedelia. Not quite that but something complex like that. It took me 3 tries to say it right (and I can’t remember it exactly now). But anyway, she then asked me my name, and I said ‘Bart’ (of course). It sounded so pathetic compared to hers. I wanted it to be something like Bartolomeo or something. But at least she didn’t have any trouble pronouncing it.
We drove back through the fishing villages. We stopped in one to kill time and visited a church there. It’s kind of nice. And we wandered through the streets around it a bit. It was weird and the people were giving us funny looks. It’s not a particular tourist stop. A bus pulls up, a bunch of old white people get out, wander around with their cell phones taking pictures for 10 minutes, pile in the bus and move on. A lot of ‘WTF was that’ looks.
In the second town, we stopped at a little ‘art center’. Marion found a nice magnet with the madras material that is local to the island (not made here but traditional here). It was by the ocean and had a nice view
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Then a bit more driving around Vieux Fort to kill time until it was time to be at the airport. 12:30 for our 3:30 flight. But 100+ people descending on the small airport at once caused a bit of a backup in the system. It took us a bit to figure out what line we were supposed to be in, but it moved pretty quickly. Our bags were under 50lbs (or at least they didn’t charge extra) and the passport review was cursory.
So, now what? We found the ‘food court’ and Marion got a coffee, and we ran into Scott and Susan. As we chatted with them, they told us their credit card gave them access to the ‘lounge’ and they could bring guests, and did we want to go? Marion was not feeling it, but I talked her into it. A much nicer place to wait. And we enjoyed chatting with Scott and Susan some more.
Then a cattle call rush to the plane. Out on the tarmac and up the stairs. And voila, we were in Miami. It was a many miles (it seemed) walk to customs (seems like that’s true everywhere). But the nicest US customs agent we’ve ever had. I wondered if we were really in the US.
And our bags made it! And, no custom forms required, which was nice. Our flight was actually about 30 minutes early getting in, and with customs being surprisingly quick, we actually got to the D terminal (where the Portland flight left from) with about 20 minutes before the flight we were originally on left for Portland. We could have actually made it. We also could win the lottery but the odds of both are about the same. I’m REALLY glad we chose the ‘stay overnight’ route. It was a much calmer experience.
Marion figured out how to get the Best Western shuttle. On the drive we found out that tomorrow is the biggest cruise ship day of the year! Hence the $350 hotel room for a Best Western (I was wondering). They have no restaurant. And this is now a problem since we are very hungry.
The hotel had a map of nearby restaurants, but the pickings were pretty slim (Subway, iHop, etc.). We were headed to an Irish Pub. We stopped on the way at a Quickie Mart but our attempt to get food failed when they didn’t speak English (or acted like they didn’t) when we tried to get a salad. But Marion fooled them by talking Spanish back. But still no luck.
Farther down we found the Pizza Hut. The hotel guide said it was delivery only, but the tables seemed open so we went in. The Pizza Hut guy was nice. And the pizza was good. (We finished a whole one). But the lady ahead of us when we were waiting to order was writing a book it seemed. She was ordering in Spanish so I don’t know what the deal was. But it entailed a very lengthy conversation. Move along, we’re hungry! I can’t be responsible for what happens if either of us gets too hungry. Ever watch The Hulk?
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