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Guadeloupe |
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March 22, 2008 Heading To The Caribbean |
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We all somehow stumbled out of bed in time for our 6:00 AM Delta flight from Philadelphia to Atlanta and then on to Guadeloupe. I knew the flight from ATL to PTP would be smooth and uneventful because the plane was only about 2/3 filled and there were open seats on the emergency exit rows so Pascal and I could enjoy the flight without our knees being pushed up our legs! In addition, our flight was unlike others we have been on because it was FULL of families on their way to vacation, so everyone was walking around and talking to each other. |
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We arrived more-or-less on-time at Point-a-Pitré (their airport is VERY impressive and modern – not the type you normally expect in the Caribbean where it’s open air or you walk across the tarmac to you plane). We made it through Immigration with no trouble and our luggage was there in moments. |
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Making our way through Atlanta Hartsfield Airport |
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Chloe, Estelle, & Victoria watching a movie... |
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...while Mélanie, Pascal, & Jonathan play cards. |
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The car we wanted, but it was just too small. |
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Unfortunately, I couldn’t say the same about our car situation. Apparently I was grossly optimistic about my hopes to rent a Citroen C2 convertible (thought that would be lots of fun to drive around the island). The problem is that this car’s category was just a wee bit too small – would have been fine for just me and Kathie or the three of us with minimal luggage. With our three big suitcases and all our carry-on things, there was a snowball’s chance in Guadeloupe of this happening! All the sadder because we would have been driving an Mini Cooper S which was REALLY fun to drive around the parking lot before we decided to do the smart thing and upsize it to a very unimpressive Ford (I think there were at least four squirrels under the hood powering it!). |
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While Pascal went back to the airport to get Marie-Laure and talk to the police, I got some local pizza for the girls, all-the-while trying to alleviate their concerns that Mommy wasn’t there. Around 9:00, I saw a figure walking past the window - Kathie trying to see if this was the correct house. Turns out that they had been unable to find Marie-Laure and went off shopping for groceries before trying (and failing) to find her again. Within thirty minutes, Pascal and Marie-Laure returned as well and we were finally able to get three concerned (and exhausted) little girls to bed after a VERY long day!
Tomorrow: A nice quiet start to our trip! |
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From here, things got a bit frustrating (and at times, a little scary). Pascal and I drove our wondermobile to the villa with the girls while Kathie and Mélanie were to go grocery shopping and then to the airport to pick up Mélanie’s sister, Marie-Laure. We made it to the Résidence Hoteliére de la Pointe Batterie to pick our keys with little problem (other than almost burning out my clutch because the car had so little power on the steep volcanic hills!). We made our way to the villa with Laurent, the owner, and started to unpack the car and check out our new home. By around 6:30, we started getting a little concerned. The ladies should have been at the house by then, but when Pascal called his sister-in-law on the phone, she was still sitting in front of the airport. By 7:00 we were really getting worried and had a new concern—feeding the girls. |