11th
island in the sun
DAY 1
had a few snafus at the airport this morning. first, I couldn’t do self-check-in because my middle name is on my passport but was not on my itinerary/ e-ticket. such bullshit! I had to get in this snaking line that took close to an hour to get through. and second, while in line, I thought I’d listen to my ipod to pass the time only when I fished my ipod out of my bag, one of the earbuds was irrevocably broken! ugh. horrible thoughts of one-eared ipod listening threatened to ruin my morning but, miracles of miracles, as I was walking to the gate and had given up hope of finding a place that would sell headphones I like (I went thru so many different ones before finding these perfect Sony ones), lo and behold, like a mirage in the desert, was a Best Buy vending machine! yes, a vending machine that dispensed earbud headphones and ipod cases and memory cards and lord knows what else. what a brilliant idea! without thinking twice, I purchased the newer version of the ones I had and all was right again.
broke.
geek dream.
saved.
the flight was almost uneventful. I wound up getting an entire row to myself which was amazing and facilitated the napping I’d plan to do but not long into the flight, two rows ahead of me, a woman got sick. from what I could hear, she had horrible motion sickness and was dizzy and nauseous. there happened to be two doctors on board who attended to her and thank god didn’t think it was anything bad enough to turn around for. they gave her some gum to chew and some oxygen and that’s about when I dozed off. for the next four hours.
this is the way to travel.
clouds get in the way.
and now I’m here, in lovely Barbados. after settling in and reconfirming my surfing lesson for tomorrow morning, I slathered on the SPF, put on my bikini and headed toward the deck overlooking the beach. the water and the sand and the clouds… just incredible. I took a few photos and then spent the next 15 or 20 minutes talking to the nice London bloke in the deck chair next to me about photography and jobs and weather and travel. he was on a day layover on the way to visit his mom in St. Vincent. wish I had family who lived on a sunny island in the middle of a crystal blue sea. I’d be here all the time.
saw some doggies on the beach so went down to say hello and take their photos. there were three of them, just roaming around and digging and looking for handouts. they looked sad and scraggly. I wish I’d had some food to give them. maybe tomorrow.
after the short walk on the beach, I got a daiquiri from the bar and read a bit. I don’t know why I’m always lugging hardcover books on vacation with me but Malcolm Gladwell is always worth it. never fails to entertain.
as the sun was setting, there was a sudden, brief rainshower. I took shelter in one of the cabanas before finally heading to my room where I made the mistake of getting in bed with the computer and then closing my eyes for a moment… before I knew it, it was about 10:30.
the room is great— comfy king size bed, ipod radio, flat screen tv & dvd player (I borrowed “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” from D.)… I could get used to this :)
note to self: get more than 2 hours sleep the night before your next trip.
