36 hours with no sleep. We thought it would be easier than our usual trips to Europe. Not as far to fly, combined with only a 3 hour time difference would be easy...
We didn't factor in the 3.5 hour red eye flight (no sleep), 3 hour layover (sleep on the dirty floor without a sleep sack? No thanks), or the 3.5 hour flight into the morning sun (no sleep). Fortunately (?) cold airports and frigid planes helped to keep us awake. We will both be wearing our down jackets on the way home. Why do we both have down jackets packed to go to the Caribbean you might wonder? You'll have to ask Tom to tell you his story about the wife who scoffed at his idea of taking a packable down jacket to Illinois in June....
During the last few minutes of the flight we excitedly shared picture taking opportunities through the tiny airplane window with a young woman out of the U.S. for the first time. How can you not get excited as golden sand encrusted islands begin to appear where moments ago there was only water, water everywhere? Or trying to capture the iridescent, translucent green/blue shades of the Atlantic Ocean morphing into the Caribbean Sea?
Moments after de planing and wizzing through passport control, we were outside waiting for our ride to the car rental place. We passed the time spraying ourselves with the essential oil bug spray I made. We read that Mosquitos surround St. Maarten and require a serious blood offering in exchange for your stay. That and the fact that many people visiting here have become infected with a horrible mosquito borne illness over the last year or so had me researching "bug be gone remedies". Not willing to soak myself in a toxic chemical fog for 5 weeks, I hit up Pinterest for some essential oil bug spray recipes.
We survived the requisite rental car wrangling, and then we were off for the 5 minute drive to our timeshare. The 5 minutes which really was 20 in the end because we got excited when we saw McDonalds (we were supposed to be turning at Burger King) which took us to the wrong resort. Right brand, wrong branch.
Check in, pictures of the view for envious friends and family, unpack, down to the resort bar/ restaurant for a mahi mahi reuben for Tom and Lebanese salad and fries for me. I almost faint when I see the $65.00 check. For that simple lunch? Island prices are going to kill us! .... oh, wait... That's the bill in Dutch Guilder..... $32.00 US. Much better. Man, am I tired...Walk to the little local market for water and then home to shower and bed. Tom makes it until 8, I hang in until 10. The fourth time I almost drop my iPad (you know that feeling of falling as you start to fall asleep?) I know it's time to give in.
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