Some things defy description. I suspect I go into things with my eyes shut most times, not actually researching where I'm going, what the place is like, what's there. Mostly it works out for me, sometimes I miss seeing some of the sights, sometimes I get surprises. I got one of those when I landed at Saint Vincent very late on Sunday night. A big surprise.
I had spent the day traveling, at the airport in Miami at 8am and arriving in Saint Vincent at 11pm. There were delays, I had a crazy itinerary that took me past Saint Vincent to Trinidad and then back to Saint Vincent, adding 4 or 5 hours to my journey. It was a little exhausting, my back pack got very heavy. Arriving at Saint Vincent at 11pm, relieved to actually be there, I was so very ready for some hot food and sleep. The customs lady questioned me about where I was staying. She wasn't smiling. It went something like this.
"Where are you staying when you here?"
"Young Island Resort." (the island bit should have given me a clue)
"How you getting to the island?"
"The island? What island? I'm on an island already."
"Young Island, it's an island, you need a boat to get there"
"Oh, no one told me that," said the idiot traveler looking a little pale.
"Well, you have to find a boat to get there, how you going to do that?" shaking her head at this idiot traveler, stamping the passport and passing her on to someone else, anyone else.
I went with my bag outside in a state of shock, starving hungry and more than a little grumpy. It had been a long, long day. The poor taxi allocator wore it. I even swore about being on an island as I grumped to him about how I was going to get there, could he provide a boat by any chance? Enter a nice young man with a taxi.
"I know the place," he said with a smile, not at all daunted by this grumpy woman and her heavy bag.
And know he did. We drove up hill and down dale for quite some time, me battling to keep awake. He pulled up at a small jetty and pointed across the water to a faint light, that's the place. He called the resort on the phone provide, no answer. I suspect we both looked a little worried. Me wondering when I was actually going to eat and him wondering when he could ditch this grumpy woman.
Then we saw the light, a small ferry coming our way. It seems that they knew I was coming and had been waiting for me despite the ferry service having finished over an hour and a half earlier. There was a young man who was charged with taking me to my room, as well as the ferry man. When I mentioned food, the young man said the resort was all closed up but there is fruit in my room. Oh no, even the bar was closed. He offered to go back across the water and find me some food, too kind after they had waited so long. I ate fruit, drank the water and enjoyed the space.
My room is a stand alone cottage with shutters all around that open to the night breeze and the sound of the sea breaking on the shore. Natural noises to lull me into a deep and restful sleep. The crickets make a racket, the sea and whir of the fan mostly drowns out their noise. The shower has indoor outdoor flow and is open to the garden and the sky. The dining room is open, sitting on the shoreline enjoying the view across the water. Breakfast was good, fish this morning along with fresh fruit and hot tea. Yum. If you want a place to recharge your batteries, I can recommend Young Island Resort.
The photos show my lovely room on the beach, the ferry coming from the mainland and the island itself, beautiful!
A bit later I write. I couldn't get onto the net or upload my photos last night so these will follow soon. The conference is finishing very late each day so I'm not getting the time to enjoy much of this place. The Eastern Caribbean is different to where I live, very different.
I had spent the day traveling, at the airport in Miami at 8am and arriving in Saint Vincent at 11pm. There were delays, I had a crazy itinerary that took me past Saint Vincent to Trinidad and then back to Saint Vincent, adding 4 or 5 hours to my journey. It was a little exhausting, my back pack got very heavy. Arriving at Saint Vincent at 11pm, relieved to actually be there, I was so very ready for some hot food and sleep. The customs lady questioned me about where I was staying. She wasn't smiling. It went something like this.
"Where are you staying when you here?"
"Young Island Resort." (the island bit should have given me a clue)
"How you getting to the island?"
"The island? What island? I'm on an island already."
"Young Island, it's an island, you need a boat to get there"
"Oh, no one told me that," said the idiot traveler looking a little pale.
"Well, you have to find a boat to get there, how you going to do that?" shaking her head at this idiot traveler, stamping the passport and passing her on to someone else, anyone else.
I went with my bag outside in a state of shock, starving hungry and more than a little grumpy. It had been a long, long day. The poor taxi allocator wore it. I even swore about being on an island as I grumped to him about how I was going to get there, could he provide a boat by any chance? Enter a nice young man with a taxi.
"I know the place," he said with a smile, not at all daunted by this grumpy woman and her heavy bag.
And know he did. We drove up hill and down dale for quite some time, me battling to keep awake. He pulled up at a small jetty and pointed across the water to a faint light, that's the place. He called the resort on the phone provide, no answer. I suspect we both looked a little worried. Me wondering when I was actually going to eat and him wondering when he could ditch this grumpy woman.
Then we saw the light, a small ferry coming our way. It seems that they knew I was coming and had been waiting for me despite the ferry service having finished over an hour and a half earlier. There was a young man who was charged with taking me to my room, as well as the ferry man. When I mentioned food, the young man said the resort was all closed up but there is fruit in my room. Oh no, even the bar was closed. He offered to go back across the water and find me some food, too kind after they had waited so long. I ate fruit, drank the water and enjoyed the space.
My room is a stand alone cottage with shutters all around that open to the night breeze and the sound of the sea breaking on the shore. Natural noises to lull me into a deep and restful sleep. The crickets make a racket, the sea and whir of the fan mostly drowns out their noise. The shower has indoor outdoor flow and is open to the garden and the sky. The dining room is open, sitting on the shoreline enjoying the view across the water. Breakfast was good, fish this morning along with fresh fruit and hot tea. Yum. If you want a place to recharge your batteries, I can recommend Young Island Resort.
The photos show my lovely room on the beach, the ferry coming from the mainland and the island itself, beautiful!
A bit later I write. I couldn't get onto the net or upload my photos last night so these will follow soon. The conference is finishing very late each day so I'm not getting the time to enjoy much of this place. The Eastern Caribbean is different to where I live, very different.
No comments:
Post a Comment