The Rains came down

Then the rain came and the floods came.. and did I mention the small quake during the night?? No?? well I slept through it anyway LOL! But, seriously, the east of the island is suffering floods after being inundated for hours. I hope it doesn't continue much longer. I feel so guilty for bringing unprecedented rain to this paradise island.

Wednesday's child

A lovely morning, and I had a very good sleep so that makes it an even better morning! Tonight I will be meeting the brothers and sisters at the Kingdom Hall in Mani, Mayaguez which is very exciting :)

The first morning

Well I can say without reservation that I had the best night's sleep I've had in a lot of years. No matter that I was exhausted, that the temperature didn't drop below 78 all night, that I was in a strange home (as in new, not as in weird) and any other reason for not sleeping well. I woke at seven PR time (about lunchtime UK) and felt like a completely new woman! Thank heaven for the island of enchantment. I feel in love with it already. Sylvia and Sylvita are lovely people and have made me very very welcome. I really feel like family here. I know I am going to love this place more and more. There are homes in all the colours of the rainbow, and combinations of the colours, and under the bright blue sky they don't look over the top at all, just pretty and a bit rundown in places but different and bright and cheerful and so much better than grey old Carlisle! Can you imagine a street in Cumbria with 20 houses all coloured like a child's box of crayons??? It's wonderful :D

ah...

But the water has gone off due to a burst pipe somewhere so we can't take a shower or do the laundry today. Not to worry. Always tomorrow. I refuse to stress over anything! This is my holiday and if I have to live in a towel for two weeks I don't care :D

Taxi ride... or rollercoaster, which is better value, which is scarier????

Finally I find a taxi driver who is prepared to take me the two to three hour trip to Hormigueros on the other side of the island from San Juan. Apparently this is not a usual request, so even though they have a set tariff for the journey, the drivers need incentives to make the trip. I agree an incentive and we set off for a very strange, not to say 'white knuckle' drive across Puerto Rico's Cordillera Centrale. I don't mind the way vehicles change lanes without indicating, or speed, or the driver trying to read something while driving at 60+ miles per hour, or the fact that the roadworks are poorly signposted, unlit and suddenly come out of nowhere... I also don't mind the fact that it is a good indication of the standard of driving that most of the cars we pass have dents along the sides like a rite of passage has been observed along the highway at some point... The time I really got worried was when the driver (and several other vehicles) started driving along in the lane reserved for emergency vehicles. I won't dwell on the near misses with other vehicles or the fact that my driver spoke only a little English and I spoke only a little Spanish.

On the plus side... he was kind enough to buy me a bottle of water at the garage where we stopped to refuel. The gasoline as they call it was only about one dollar per litre.. very very cheap... so that explains a bit why so many Puerto Ricans take their cars on trips of a few hundred yards or less!

Anyway, I arrived safely eventually at Sylvia's after driving around for about an hour in the dark looking for the street. Home sweet Home!

The Trip of a lifetime

Monday, wee small hours and Eli and I are not only awake, but up, showered, dressed, packed and ready for the shuttle bus to the airport by 7.05am!!

The staff at the airport are extremely helpful, and supply labels for the wheelchair and removable parts in case the footrests come off in transit :D

by 9.40 I am on my way to the gate and headed for the plane. Lovely staff, lovely day, only difficult bit was saying bye to Eli. We haven't been this far apart EVER so it is a big wrench, but one that is healthy for both of us.

The plane is fairly comfortable, and even though I can't see much of the outside from where I am sitting, on the centre aisle, I enjoy the trip. The food could be better but I'm hungry so I'm not complaining!

Touchdown at Antigua, and finally I get to sit by the window for the last leg of the trip and take some photos. If they come out I will be posting them on here because the scenes of the islands and the boats down below are truly beautiful!

Now landed at Puerto Rico and waiting at the airport for a taxi to take me to Sylvia's house... more to follow.

A day of rest

Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest, and so it proved to be. Eli and I surfaced about mid-morning, too late for breakfast. Eli ate the leftover pizza from last night's supper and I eventually persuaded her we needed some fresh air and we went and bought a sandwich or two for my lunch. A lovely bright sunny day in London with all the daffodils out around the hotel making it look really pretty. View from the room is trees and fields, so that's fantastic, only half a mile from the airport!! Lazy day today, did us both a whole lot of good. Early start tomorrow so we ate dinner early so that we could get to bed before midnight. I hope I can sleep!

The journey begins

Saturday at last!

Mum came to the railway station to see us off to London. Eli and I finally finished the packing with about five minutes to spare before the taxi arrived to collect us. Now the hard part begins. The train to London won't be too bad, we have done it before.

Ah, well I spoke too soon. Got on the train and they had not booked us a wheelchair space, despite me having specifically requested one. Not to worry, there was a spare one so we got in the space, after moving a crowd of kids and sundry luggage out of the way to fit the wheelchair in the designated area. Next problem, the toilet goes out of order about Kendal so now we have a few hours travel with no access to a loo!
Bless you, Virgin Trains! At least the staff have their wits about them. They detrained us at Warrington Bank Quays and took us along the platform to another wheelchair space, with a working toilet nearby. Only problem was, it was in first class. That wasn't a problem, actually :D

Taxi from Euston to Victoria, train to Gatwick Airport, shuttle bus to the hotel and FINALLY we get to our rooms to find there is only a double bed made up, with a sofa bed needing bedding. On raising this issue with the desk, we are told we can have a twin disabled access room (which was actually what I ordered!!) and are moved down to the ground floor. At least everything comes to he who waits (or she, in my case). The dinner was good, but a very long wait as it was a very busy time in the restaurant. Bed was very welcome, after I repacked my bags. Only to find.. problem! I had, in my rush, not packed ANY CLOTHES for the days in London!! So it was just as well that I didn't feel like going anywhere...

Always at the last minute....

Well, Friday is here and there is still so much to do! Packing is not yet sorted, I don't have a money belt, or a few other things I really need. So much has to be finished by tomorrow so we can leave for the train. I need to get a move on! No time to post today. Maybe tomorrow....?

Preparation

It's Thursday. Usually, on Thursdays, Eli and I look forward to a visit from Alex, our friend who lives on the next street. The three of us are learning Japanese with Harumi-sensei, and use one evening a week to try and have some Japanese social time. We are not yet able to speak exclusively in Japanese, but we use as much as we are able to practice and improve. Sometimes we eat Japanese food together, or play Scrabble and try and use some Japanese words using English letters, or romaji. Often we just chat about things Japanese, anime, manga, problems we are having with parts of the grammar or vocabulary. It is always a very pleasant evening together. Tonight is different. We had to cancel at the last minute, which I was not happy about because I hate letting people down. However, circumstances conspired against us. Alex leaves for Japan this weekend, so I was hoping to see him before he left, but it was not to be.

I will be away soon on my holiday, my first foreign holiday EVER. I am a bit nervous because I will be travelling alone, and flying over the Atlantic to the Caribbean to visit friends in Puerto Rico. It is known as the Island of Enchantment, and I expect to find it very different, not just because of the language (they speak a version of Spanish based mostly on Castillian but with local variation) but because of the climate and the scenery. I am looking forward to exchanging cold grey Carlisle for sunshine, palm trees, soft sandy beaches and rain forest, mountains and turn of the century spanish architecture.

For tonight though, Thursday, I have so much still to do. I am not yet packed, but have sorted much of what I will need to take with me. Tomorrow I must pack because Eli and I will head off to London by train, the first stage of the journey.

I will post here as often as I can while I am away and let you know how things are going.
Buenas Noches!