Diary Thursday 28th
It was an early start this morning with taxis and a shuttle bus arranged for 6am. The taxi driver’s eyes grew wide with disbelief at the site of such a large amount of luggage and several doubted whether it would all fit.
However, the adjutant did a fine job of arranging team members, suitcases and rifle boxes into a seemingly impossibly small space. Leaving us in no doubt he is the master of luggage Tetris.
We arrived at Gatwick in good time 3 hours ahead of our flight and on doing so heard reports that an accident on the M23 had caused major delays for other travellers. Our Captain’s decision for us to spend the night in a hotel by the airport was proven very wise indeed.
British Airways and the Gatwick security staff were ready and waiting for us and were extremely helpful in directing us to our own check-in desk and through security. After a rather bizarre customs check involving rifles being posted through a small hole in the customs officer’s window in order to check serial numbers, we eventually cleared all the necessary obstacles and paperwork with just enough time to grab a bite to eat and head to the gate.
The flight took a little longer than normal taking around 9 and a half hours and was smooth until the descent into St Lucia where the turbulence made it some what of a roller coaster ride.
After a short exchange of passengers we were then informed that part of the runway in St Lucia had broken up, preventing the plane from being able to turn around. Therefore our departure for Trinidad was somewhat delayed as we were towed backwards by a tractor all the way back down the runway.
Thankfully the hop over to Trinidad was very short and we were met on arrival by Norris Gomez who ensured our transition through customs was smooth and efficient. It was at this point we learned that at least one member of the team had made a strong start to the “making new friends” part of the tour receiving an illicit friend request from an overly enamoured check in desk assistant.
Luggage Tetris came into play again as we loaded our kit bags into hire cars and made our way to the Crews Inn Hotel. Many were very grateful for the car’s air conditioning having had their first experience of the humidity in Trinidad.
After checking in our first rum sundowners of the tour were well in order in the Captain’s room. Multiple rums were tried ranging from light to lip numbingly good…
Finally at about 9.30 local time and 2.30 body clock time the now very tired team gathered for a meal in the hotel restaurant before bed.