Caribbean Tour - 2010

"We Jammin" - Getting Ready for Carnival

Trinis are getting ready for carnival. You can feel it in the air and see the preparations going on - they're knocking, banging, hammeing, putting up, fencing,tents, booths, stages. The Savannah is being walked all lover by exercisers preparing body and mind for the biggest jump-up festival....and, of course, Beyonce to top it all off.

CARIBBEAN TRAVEL - NO FEAR!....AND NO TIME FOR FEAR

Just imagine - 12 rows of double seats. You stand at the front of the plane and see very clearly everyone who is in there with no problem.......and especially when there are only 6, 8 or 10 passengers travelling - quite often the case.
The LIAT Dash 8 is certainly not the smallest plane I have travelled in but none-the-less it can be a bit scary at first.
When the situation occurred for the first time in the past I stood at the front of the cabin and thought "Hmm. This is the first class, so where are the rest of the seats?
You get used to it really fast, however, when you are taking two and three flights in the same day. After a while you're walking across the tarmac with great ease and literally bouncing up that short flight of steps.
Even the initial determination of not flying after dark quickly goes through the window when you have no other choice. The idea also of not flying for too long in such a plane has to be forgotten. When you have no choice, the hour and 20 minutes for example from Antigua to St. Vincent just has to be accepted. With some flights being oh so short there's hardly a minute to blink, or think, too hard. Average flying time between islands is as short as 25 minutes.
And, guess what, LIAT's reputation to "Leave Island Any Time" is nearly a thing of the past. All flights "Left Island On Time" and in some cases arrived earlier than expected. In one particular case it both left and arrived earlier than expected almost leaving me drinking tea and socialising with friends in the upstairs cafeteria. It was one mad dash through immigration, security and to the departure gate to jump in just before the doors closed.

TRINIDAD - WE'RE HERE!!!

Last lap, would you call it? En route home.
Dominica was great, Antigua exhilarating and St. Vincent a real BLAST! Who would believe so much could be done in one short Vincy day. Flying from the leeward side to the windward side, visiting schools along the way and taking in some of the most awesome coastal scenes too - the Grenadines look like just a stone's throw away, lying - or sitting - out there, so majestic and fairy tale-like. Picture postcards could not look better.
Presentations on the subject "Skills You Win; No Skills You Lose" have gone over very well in each island with the subject matter sparking interest and lively discussion and participation from attendees in meetings in each territory.
Nearly did not reach T & T last night as LIAT left early by 25 minutes - once again we all arived and deplaned in the fashion statement of the moment - the blue LIAT raincoats - rain, rain, rain beautiful rain met us as we landed.
But, who has ever heard of a plane leaving EARLY? I literally raced through the departure terminal and flew through immigration and security just in time to jump into my seat before the door closed. The last voice I heard before leaving the departure gate was asking "Is your name Angela?" Yes, was the answer. "Well please get on that plane; now!" (very gently but very firmly)..... more stories on Caribbean travel ...to come.

Rain! In Antigua

Who's ever heard of such a thing?
It was a set of blue rain-coated LIAT travellers who stepped out onto the tarmac to board 361 destined to Dominica in the pouring rain at 6 in the morning. Yes, 6a.m. Morning flights are very early in the eastern Caribbean! So be prepared to be up and out real early. Hitting the road by 4.30 to reach in time.
With an hour long plus winding trail of a road to reach capital Roseau It's essential to be on that first flight if you want to be on time for early meetings. What a whirlwind of a day - meetings, meetings, meetings, radio interview, TV appearance and sight seeing in between. The blue rain coat came in very handy in Dominica also....more rain. What's going on here? This is the Caribbean, and, to prove it, two cruise ships where in port. Rain or no rain,tourists swarmed the capital taking up every inch of space available.
Early departure again tomorrow morning. Wish us luck. No more rain please.