St. Lucia

The first stop on our trip was St. Lucia on December 23rd. We were intransit there for about 4 hours (according to our itinerary but it turned out to be more like 7). I was very happy when I got my itinerary because I used to live in St.Lucia (from 1996 to 1999) and I wanted to see my close friend Donna. We hadn't seen each other since 2000 when I had gone back on a business trip, but had kept in touch through the years. It was also an opportunity for her and Lucas to meet.

She met us at the airport and we had lunch together at a beachside bar and restaurant that used to be called Waves. What's funny is that she said the last time she'd been there was when I lived there and we'd gone together! It was wonderful to catch up with her and reminisce about the three years I lived there. We were really close, not a day went by that we didn't at least talk on the phone, and we spent many memorable Saturday afternoons on my verandah talking, drinking wine and eating chocolate or cheesecake, when we were supposed to be doing our sewing assignments for a sewing class we were taking. lol

Donna and I enjoying a drink and a chat at the seaside

Then the nightmare started! We got back to the airport at 12:45 with more than enough time to catch our flight to Grenada at 1:20 (we were already checked in etc.). Well the airline kept pushing the flight later and later and we didn't leave until 5:30! If they had only said something earlier we could have spent more time with Donna and do some sightseeing so that Lucas could see some more of the island. Instead we spent over 4 hours in the uncomfortable overly air-conditioned departure lounge listening to barely understandable announcements.

The regional airline LIAT (Leeward Islands Air Transport) is known for not being on time, hence the many nicknames we have for it: "Leaving Islands Any Time", "Late In All Territories" ; but it was much worse than usual. This story isn't over yet, the saga continues tomorrow!