Now look what you made me do!!!!

[OUV11112]

Day 8

This was our homeless day as we had to be out of the room by 11.00 AM. We packed up so that we would be ready to go and then hit the beach. We went for a bit of a walk but the blisters on my heels prevented me from going too far. I got them from walking on the beach on the second day.

Lunch was at Roots Bambo. One of the other guests told us that they have boneless jerk chicken. Surprise, it was not on the menu but they did have it. We split one and it was a large carry out container with lots of chicken, rice and peas and a salad. It was very good and plenty for two. $851 JA plus $400 JA for two beers while waiting for it to be brought out. It is so cool to walk down the beach in your swim suit with no shoes and be able to get a meal to stay or to go. After writing this I now realize one aspect of why hanging out on 7 mile beach at a non A/I is more relaxing than going to an A/I. No service at most A/I lunch locations without shirts and shoes. On the beach no shirt, no shoes, no problem!





The rest of the afternoon was spent on the beach enjoying the last of the sun. A few couples we had met offered their rooms for us to shower in and get ready but we just hit the beach showers and got changed in the washrooms. We walked slowly to the front desk to repack some things. We were then told that our flight was delayed for 2 hours. We had booked Engelbert to pick us up at 5.50 PM and did not think it was fair to hold him off, even thought I am sure he would have said no problem, and meant it. We went over to The Italian Café for a quick pizza and a beer. $950 JA. Walked back to the resort and Engelbert was waiting for us. It was a good drive back with more pleasant conversation. Engelbert wants his son to come live with him so that he can help him with school and show him the ropes of the tourism industry. He dropped us off at the airport, handshake for me and a hug for my wife.

Now we knew that it was going to be a long wait at the airport but that was no problem. We bought some duty free, wandered around for a ½ hour and settled in to a bar at the departure gate for me to partake of a few last Red Stripes, watch a couple of soccer games and for my wife to have a nap. After 3 beers I figured it was time to go grab a cat nap. We wandered down the departure lounge and found some seats well away from everyone and laid down for a nap. I get woken buy someone sitting on the other side of the bench I was sleeping on, leaning over to plug in a laptop. ARE YOU KIDDING ME! There are 300 empty benches in the airport. They when announce a gate change that will be closer where we were. Half of the herd migrates down to the area even though there is still an hour to go. We also find out that there is another delay in the flight so instead of 9.50 it will be 12.40. “Grumble, grumble, curse, curse - I am never flying with these guys again, don’t they know I have a ride waiting for me……..” You get the picture.

12.40 comes and goes but the plane is at the gate. They make an announcement and it sounds like she is using the speaker from the McDonalds as you can only make out ever 3rd word. The jist of it is that one of the passengers on the inbound flight became very sick and they needed an ambulance. They had called ahead but it still took a ½ hour from the time the plane reached the gate until they arrived. They then had to stabilize him before taking him off. It is now 1.30 or so and the pilot comes off the plane to make an announcement that they used 4 tanks of oxygen and this put them 2 below the minimum needed to fly. They were working on it but the fittings that they had in Mo Bay were not the same. He did not want to board the plane until they were assured that they could be filled or replaced. More “Grumble, grumble, curse, curse, curse – I should have flown Air Canada (That would have been smart because they went on strike the week before!) I am going to rent my own jet next time (That’s not a reality when you obviously stayed at The Negril Have A Nap Motel!)

We finally got to board at around 3.00 AM but the fun did not end there. They were still having trouble with the last oxygen tank. The pilot came on the intercom and apologized as he would not have boarded us if he had known it would still be this long. They had promised him that it would be arriving shortly. I wanted to ask him if he had ever been to Jamaica and did he know that the definition of shortly can be interpreted many different ways! We finally took off at 3.55 which was the time we were supposed to arrive in Toronto.

My wife and I did not care that the plane was late. We had more concern for the poor person that started the day thinking they were going on a dream vacation and ended up in a hospital. What a dramatic experience it must have been for his family/travelling companions. We were going home safe and sound having had a fabulous vacation and we had our health. There is no using getting bent out of shape for things such as a flight delay that you can’t control.

We arrived home at 9.00AM instead of 4.00AM and were greeted by our dog and within an hour or so by our daughters, who finally rolled out of bed. Our oldest had gone shopping and there was food for a couple of days, a couple of bottles of wine (and a box of wine in the fridge for herself) and a six pack of Red Stripe. Life is good