And it's LIAT Airline again, or is it?

Paul & Carol friends of ours picked us up at the ungodly hour of 5 .15 in the morning to take us to the airport to catch the 7.35 plane, or should I say planes to take us to Puerto Rico in San Juan. So far everything was going well! Our luggage (always a worry when you watch it disappearing behind the check in desk here) trundling it’s way along the black conveyor and into that hole in the wall. "You’ll be able to collect you luggage in San Juan," she gaily said as with trepidation we both watched the cases going away from us! Well nothing we can do now, so off we went to the departure lounge. A bit of background information for you now. The locals all joke about the local airline LIAT, saying that the initials stand for Luggage In Antigua Tomorrow; or Leaves Islands Any Time, and other things which are better not to put in print!!!!! So the direct flight from St Maarten, (which left 10 minutes early) only had one extra stop in St Kitts before arriving in
Antigua. Yes Antigua is quite the wrong direction! So the flight changed its number and was then scheduled to take off for San Juan . Sitting in the upper departure lounge watched the cases were lined up near the aircraft, and joy of joys, could actually see our cases. Always a bonus. It means they have not yet been lost. Watching the pilot walked round the small propeller aircraft, kicking the tyres in much the same way as a prospective buyer of a new car does as he walks round it appraising it’s worthiness. Well; so far so good. None of our usual problems. The flight was called, and I mean actually called because there is no board where passengers can see the status of their flights. And you have to have your ear tuned into their local dialectic accent to understand what’s being said otherwise it’s so easy to miss. And again through security. Out on
the tarmac, all the passengers were then asked to go and identify their luggage. Now have you ever heard of that? Identify your luggage? And then it started to go wrong! The handle of my case had been ripped off! Oh well! What can you expect! On board, they then discovered that half the passengers weren’t here . A go slow! Even the pilot announced that this delay was NOT, and I repeat NOT a LIAT problem, he omitted the words 'this time’ though. Yes, even slower than normal if that’s possible. Or it may even be a strike by the security staff, who knows what’s happening. Even the pilot doesn’t know! And that’s saying something. So the pilot & I took a photo opportunity outside the aircraft along with the line up of cases. So here we are, sitting in the plane at 11.45 waiting for the rest of the passengers (who are only forty or fifty yards away), when we should have left at 10.10. Ho Hum! As they say here, “it is what it is!” what more can I say. Except we will now lose the best part of one day in Old San Juan while sitting here in the tarmac in Antigua. Now isn’t that something!

The hotel we were going to is described by National Geographic Magazine. Please click in the link and see what our hotel was all about
 http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/hotels/2009/best-hotels-caribbean
 thus: The Gallery Inn, Old San Juan, P .R.

'Art and intellect collide atop Old City walls facing the Atlantic. Six antique houses connect via wandering hallways, 19 garden areas, five active art studios. Local musicians practice on
Steinway grand. Tertulias—discussions on politics, art, local culture—on most nights. Blue cobbled streets of Old San Juan just around the corner. 24 rooms.'

Now most of us who have travelled know what all the international hotel chains are like. The Hiltons are not really that different to the Marriott or Sheraton groups. And all the other chains try to model their rooms on the same designs for both aesthetic reasons and ease of maintenance. So the hotel we booked ourselves into was definitely, definitely not like that! In fact I'm sure it’s one of a kind. Built from a derelict ruin over a number of years by a bunch of ’Happy Clappy’ artists and possibly their stoned friends who went to one of the big “Do It Yourself ” stores and bought the remnants of what was left over after the ‘Big Sale’ had finished . And not knowing how to put it all together decided to make and install a lot of sculptures; other artistic pieces; lots of tapestries and wall hangings; rugs and of course, hundreds of pictures instead. But in terms of being able to screw a plug socket to the wall... ? Hmmm, I think not. But having said all this, it
was a really, and I mean a really lovely interesting hotel. No TV, but thousands of books, oh yes, and four big parrots in residence which the owner Jan would bring out and perch on whatever she wanted to. One, called ‘Campeche’ seemed to be the most fun; (named after a famous Puerto Rican painter) was just so funny. He would talk and call to you when he thought he wasn’t getting enough attention. “Ola Ola” he would shriek over and over again while dancing on whatever he was perched on. And this was really often. In fact, the owners have a trick to keep it quiet when they want it to shut up! Animal lovers, close your eyes now! They own a huge water pistol called a ‘Super Soaker’ which can squirt a jet of water over thirty feet . So once the bird
starts going off on one shouting and squawking, out it comes.... the SuperSoaker. Well, if you could see a bird know it’s done something it shouldn’t, and stare at the red water pistol, it’s quite amazing how its character actually changes and it shuts up immediately. On the brighter side
though, he has a wonderful personality. Loves drinking coca cola from the can and red grape juice from his own little plastic cup. Please click on the pictures which will both turn into wonderful short videos. Please click on the link which describes the wonderful hotel so much better than I can. It really is worth doing. Oh! Nearly forgot. One night, the waitress came all dressed up as Charlie Chaplin, and wouldn’t speak.... doing everything in mime. Can you
imagine ordering your food like this? Well, we managed beautifully, and it was just so entertaining as well. Hope you like the pictures and videos of this as well. And then because they liked us they gave us a free upgrade from a great room, to what I can only describe as a brilliant one . All you have to do is click on the picture and it should open the video.

One of the reasons we’re here is to go shopping! Yes... shopping, and coming from our island to a huge mall such as the ‘Plaza des Americas’ is like putting a child in a sweet and toy shop. Just don’t know where to look or go first. So much to see here. All over the mall they had 1950’s & 1960 Chevy Corvettes. Just amazing how beautiful they look in comparison to today’s peas in a pod cars. The modern cars mostly look the same and are completely soulless. But these were something else. Even Dyana loved them. Went to one of the famous forts that repelled all invading forces over the 16^th/17^th & 18^th centuries. It was so hot though that we couldn’t take it
all in, so will just have to go back there someday.
Oh! I must tell you about us going dancing one night. Were told about a local Latin/Salsa dance club. Arrived at 10.30pm expecting it to be all up and in full swing. No such luck... we were too early! The musicians started arriving just before 11 .00. it had a small stage onto which eleven musicians shoe-horned themselves onto, and once ensconced, another three male singers turned up to do the vocals. It was fantastic. Not only were they just brilliant musicians, but the dancers, particularly the females; perched on their eight inch high heels with platformed soles. The latest style in shoes you know! Well one woman, and I’d like to put it nicely, could easily have, dare I say, lost quite a lot of weight, had a dancing partner who was definitely ‘smaller’ than she was. Quite an incongruent sight. But as soon as the music struck up; she transformed! Metamorphisized, out of herself and into a tippy twinkle toes ballerina except in the salsa fashion. What a fantastic light footed dancer she was. Just wondered how with all her weight and size she was able to do what she was actually doing. So it taught me another lesson; which was... Never judge a Book by its Cover. So we had yet another great night out.

And here we are some three days later, and guess what! We’re on our way home from San Juan,
sitting her in the international airport and the trouble they’ve been having in Antigua has not been resolved: So the flight we should be on and taking off at 2 .25 doesn’t even arrive here until 4.30. Ho Hum. So what’s new? Luckily we were going to have a five hour wait in Antigua for our connecting flight. You never know when you might just need that extra time.

Travelling with us is a really different experience. Never a dull moment. Wow! Took off nearly three hours late, all but for 5 minutes. And now we’re in the air. In a propeller driven Dash 8 aircraft with just over fifty passengers. And guess what. Yes, more trouble. We’re not going to where we thought we were going to! Antigua. Was announced.... had our tickets checked along with everyone else’s.... Probably doesn’t make sense to you, but thirty five minutes into the flight the pilot decided to go to directly to Dominica, not Antigua where we were all heading. And this is so far South that we’ll only be getting there at about 6.20 if we’re lucky, and he doesn’t change
his mind again. The reason apparently is because the airline (LIAT you remember the one first mentioned at the beginning of the blog) can’t land at this airport at night; so instead of the passengers on our flight having to transfer to a Dominica flight in Antigua (hope you’re keeping up), he’s going to take them there directly . Maybe if I ask him nicely he’ll take us directly to St
Maarten a well?. What do you think. Anyway, the chances of them (whoever they are) sorting through and then unloading the correct luggage in Dominica. Taking off again and this time going to where we all thought we were going in the first place and getting us to Antigua for our connection back home to St Maarten are slim to say the least. Looking out the aircraft window now, and knowing we’re flying in completely the wrong direction and with the sun going to be setting quite soon; I just feel we’ll be somewhere else, and not at home tonight. As we say in the Caribbean, it is what it is. And with lots of pushing, and hustle and bustle made it back to Antigua just in time to see the other flight boarding for what we presumed to be St Maarten. The right time, and also the right aircraft! So rushing through, was told to go to the gate immediately! More rushing! And got to the gate panting with passports and tickets in hand. “Oh no,” she said, looking at the tickets, “you’re flight has been delayed for an hour.” So what’s new I ask myself. And finally, a friend told me (be it right or wrong) the LIAT in Arabic means and I’m sure you won’t believe this, FLYING CARPET. Now isn’t that something.