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We had an amazing time in Montego Bay! That basically summarizes it all! The facilities were perfect for families and we followed the same routine every day. In the morning the kids played in the shallow water by the small island. We had morning cocktails of course while admiring the two playing. In the afternoon we would often go to the pool or back to the beach. The burger bar was great for early lunches and we even managed to do one a la carte dinner at an Italian restaurant. We were so comfortable with the routine that we barely explored outside of this bubble. We didn’t even make it to the end of the resort grounds on one side, but that was what we wanted. I took Kilian kayaking one morning and Kalina is finally comfortable in the water. This marked the end of our island hopping adventures in the Caribbean. We managed to visit twelve islands while in the area and only missed out on the Caymans. That was all after having been to Colombia first! It was a great trip and we won’t forget the amazing family time we had.
We are now happily sitting on an Air Canada flight taking some time to reflect. At least I am, Kilian is busy watching a movie and eating nuts, while Kalina is squirming around on Ashleigh. The next flight from Toronto to Calgary was very delayed, so we checked out the Air Canada Cafe and then let the kids play at a playground. When we finally did depart both kids went to bed almost immediately and so did we. Not surprisingly this trip included a lot of flying to get between the islands. We actually flew 23 times, slightly more than on our earlier trip which lasted twice as long! We saw an equal amount of beaches and pools and lounge hopped a ton! Beer was our drink of choice most of the time and between the trip earlier this year and this one we have tasted almost 100 different ones! It will be interesting to see the distances we covered this year once we get back home. 120+ hours of time was spent in the air this year and we checked out over 30 countries! That makes it a successful year of traveling. We spent more than half of this year abroad which was what we were hoping to do. It has been nothing short of incredible memories and moments! Now we return to the familiar, jobs and a different kind of routine. What a great year it has been! It was time for one last island getaway, we are going to Jamaica! We left early so we could properly checkout the Miami Centurion Lounge this time. There was a waiting list but it didn’t take too long before we got in. We first checked out the family room where the kids kept themselves busy with the toys. This gave Ashleigh and I a chance to book a complimentary massage at the spa. Ashleigh went first and then we swapped, while the kids played and ate fresh fruit the entire time. We then had a nice big breakfast overlooking the runway and with a bit of time left Ashleigh squeezed in a free manicure as well. Not a bad way to spend a couple hours at the airport. The kids were both excited to be able to take the sky train all the way across the terminal to our gate and we strolled right on to our plane, perfect timing! Kalina fell asleep immediately and Kilian promised to nap as soon as we took off, which he did! The flight down went by rather fast this way. The line up at immigrations took quite some time and we did plan on checking out the arrivals lounge but it was way too full. Instead we just went straight to the resort and got settled in a bit. We had burgers as a late snack and both kids went right for the beach. They made friends with some other kids from Canada and played until sunset. The beach is perfect for young kids and we even have a small island in front of us that we will check out tomorrow. Dinner was a simple affair since we had a late snack. We are looking forward to our next few nights here in Jamaica!
Our last day in Nassau was super windy so we stayed away from the beach and spent the day walking around downtown and up to a fort. For dinner we went back to the fish fry street once and then downtown the last night. It was then time to leave the Bahamas behind and board another flight over to the Cayman Islands. Our timing seemed perfect since the weather was deteriorating due to tropical storm Nicole which was forecasted to bring along some bad weather in the area. So we were glad to be on the way to the Caymans. It was aboard another British airways route so a lot of the passengers were tired from a long journey and eager to get to the Cayman Islands. A friendly lady from Guernsey sat with us in the bulkhead and entertained the kids for a while. This was great since we started to circle near our destination. We circled for nearly an hour before we were informed that we were heading back to the Bahamas due to operational issues of the aircraft. Apparently the issue was that the runway in the Caymans wasn’t long enough to accommodate a potential emergency landing related to the aircrafts issue, but the one in Nassau was. While the landing went smoothly in Nassau it was more a matter of a “what if” scenario. This was unfortunate news so by the time we got back to Nassau it was quite late and it took us a very long time to get out of the airport. An hour flight turned into three and a short journey turned into a very late night for all of us. Luckily we had transport & accommodations set up by British Airways to a nearby all inclusive resort. The next day the weather wasn’t great and some of the bottom floor rooms were flooded as well as the beach area was covered in froth and debris. It all settled down in the afternoon and the wind stopped so we could enjoy some beach time. The kids even got a bucket full of sand toys from the resort. The food and drinks were fine but we were eager to figure out our next move. We did not get another flight out the day after and this meant yet another night here for a total of two extra nights. Our plan was to only stay in the Caymans for three days so it wasn’t worth it for us to wait much longer. We took matters into our own hands, got our flight refunded and then changed another flight to get us back to Miami for our next adventure. The whole ordeal took a couple hours but it was done. So the Cayman Islands will have to wait until next time! As long as the hurricane moves well past Miami overnight we should be on our way back to Miami soon!
The next day the weather was great and we left early to fly back to Miami. Everything went smoothly and we even avoided Miami customs since they had then set up in Nassau. We got to the airport hotel just in time for naps and the afternoon was nice enough for a swim in the pool. We did go for a walk around as well but there wasn’t much to see in the area here with limited time. At night we ordered in and then called it a day! It was a short night and after a quick breakfast we went back to the Miami airport. We were fortunate enough to skip the line again at security this time thanks to Kalina. This meant we had enough time
to check out the centurion lounge overlooking one of the runways. We had plenty of fruit and started our day with some Prosecco. After we were all fed we boarded the short flight down to the Bahamas arriving early. Since we had some time to spare we walked to the main road and took one of the local buses into town. This gave us a nice tour of the area and coastline. Even flying in we were amazed by the colours of the water. It is the best we have seen in the Caribbean so far. The kids took a long nap, trying to catch up after a short night. We walked down a few beaches to a fish fry restaurant for a much needed balanced meal. At night we watched the many cruise ships pull out and slowly making their way to their next destination. The next day, on a Sunday our mission was to check out Atlantis on paradise island. We first got some cash and then walked to the water taxis only to find out they weren’t running until 930am. The captain felt bad and gave us three free tickets to use on our way back. So instead we took a local bus as far as the big bridge and then walked up the very steep bridge over to paradise island. It is a very pretty area, reminded us more of Las Vegas, in a good way. There are neatly manicured gardens around the colourful shops and the casino feels a bit out of place. The Atlantis hotels are massive and a maze once inside. We wandered around as much as we could. Initially our plan was to get into the areas reserved for guests, apparently possible before 9am or after 7pm only, but the running back and forth wasted a lot of time so by the time we got into the grounds, security was already checking for guests only. This limited the amount of walking we did do, but it was still a lot of ground we covered. We took our time walking back past the massive yachts and when we got to the ferry dock, we were told that it wouldn’t leave for another half an hour. We didn’t end up using our free tickets after all and instead walked back over the bridge, not just to the main road but all the way back to our hotel, a good 4kms away. Kalina passed out in the stroller and Kilian deserved a special lunch treat for all the walking he did, so we stopped at McDonald’s. The toy was his highlight of course rather then the chicken nuggets, but he was happy. In the afternoon we checked out the nearby beach before heading back to fish fry street for another delicious meal. The wait was quite long so we ended up getting free drinks! The people here have been very friendly and we often stop to have a quick chat with some of them. It is a big change from what we have found farther south. On our first day we walked down to our beach front and were surprised by the rough Atlantic waters and heaps of seaweed with garbage. It was not the sight we had expected. We tried walking along the beach to the Marriott property but couldn’t find a way through the massive boulders blocking the way in. So we gave that up and went back to our pool instead. In the afternoon we had more pool time and then went for a sunset walk on the golf course. The kids chased after coconuts which tired them out. The next day we walked the opposite way and found the much calmer Caribbean waters. The beach had black sand and tons of shells. This kept the kids busy while we relaxed for a bit. We walked the entire beach up and then went back to our place. There wasn’t anybody around again, the beach was empty and so was our place.
After the nap it was already time to say goodbye to St Kitts and start a new journey with our first flight back to the mainland after being in the Caribbean islands for over a month. We boarded our flight to Miami and while everyone was on board early we had to wait for a mechanic to sign off on something. He was on island pace and showed up late of course so we didn’t leave early nor on time. The flight felt a bit long. Sitting in economy with Kalina nowadays is interesting to say the least. There is a time when flying is the hardest and she is right at that stage. Luckily we won’t have too many more longer flights. Kilian got a young aviation log to track all of his flights plus it had a bunch of games so that kept him entertained for a while along with his phone games of course. We are only laying over in Miami for one night and are leaving again in the morning! It did take us three hours to get out of Miami airport and that was with getting the express immigration lane. The airport was very busy and our hotel shuttle drove right past us. Luckily a friendly guy asked another shuttle to take us. By the time we got to bed it was very late. We had a short stay in Antigua and moved on after three nights. Our Airbnb was in a local town and there wasn’t a ton to do there. We did venture out one day, unknowingly on Antigua’s Independence Day. It was unusually quiet and we couldn’t find any buses anywhere. We asked a local and they informed us everything was pretty much closed since it was a holiday, so we walked all the way to St Johns, which was a ghost town. There was nobody around and nothing was open. Only a stray dog followed us around the completely empty streets. A cruise ship was there but people hadn’t come off yet. We managed to find a taxi and asked him to take us to Runaway beach, a quiet stretch of sand south of the popular resort area. The beach and water were pristine, beautiful turquoise waters and again, no people around! The kids played in the sand and we then walked all the way up the beach. It was quite a bit of walking that day, close to 10km! We took a cab back to our small house and then relaxed. The rest of the days we just walked around the neighbourhood and sat on our front porch listening to the kids next door play their recorder all day long followed by some oldies music at night. The stat holiday did make it a bit of a challenge to find food, but luckily we did have some groceries stocked. It was still a sad dinner of mostly hash-browns with ketchup. While it was a short visit, we are glad to have gotten out to one of the beaches. They are truly beautiful here!
We left for the airport on time and finally found the nicest lounge in the Caribbean so far! They brought some good appetizers and we had plenty of drinks. There was even an outdoor patio overlooking the runway. Our flight over to St Kitts took a total of 17 minutes and the pilots of the British Airways 777tried slamming the brakes with plenty of reverse thrust in order to make it to the terminal exit which seems to be in a very poor spot near the beginning of the runway, clearly designed for smaller aircraft. The pilots did inform us of the attempt to avoid a lengthy taxiing, but they ultimately didn’t make it so we zoomed past the terminal, turned around at the end, zoomed right back up to the start of the runway and then turned once more and finally crawled off the runway and to the taxi area which also was inconveniently located way too far from the terminal. The whole ordeal took almost as long as the flight over. Kilian had to pee the entire time of course since he crushed juice at the lounge, so I ran him to the planes bathroom as soon as we stopped, and in an attempt to be super fast dropped my sunglasses in the toilet bowl. I briefly thought of just flushing the scratched up sunnies down the toilet, but then managed to save them after all. Once off the plane we actually made up the stroller and went for a good walk to the terminal. We could tell some off the poor souls that had just spent over 10 hours on the plane coming in from London plus having to wait in Antigua for the rest of us to join, were annoyed by the stroll back. Our place in St Kitts is in Frigate Bay and was only a few minutes away. By the time we arrived, we had enough time to grab some pizza boys dinner and a few things from the store. Tomorrow we shall explore the area! After making it back to St Vincent from the Grenadines by boat, it was time to get back on the turbo prop plane back to Grenada. We had booked a round trip flight since it seemed to make sense, even though we already spent enough time in Grenada. We still had the day in Kingstown before our night flight. We took care of some errands in the morning, needed to restock some baby supplies and had subway for lunch, this time fully loaded with all veggies. The kids had their nap and then it was time to get ready for the airport. We went on a few more walks and managed to find a driver that would take us back for the same price we paid when arriving. He was an interesting character though and very eager to get going, so we ended up leaving quite early. We got to the small airport, had another sub since everything was closed at the airport and then waited in the quiet terminal. Our plane arrived from Barbados and boarding took less than ten minutes. The plane was pretty empty and we were in the air half an hour early. The kids were a bit tired but managed to stay busy. Kalina has typically no interest in the phone at all, but tonight she wanted to do the same thing as Kilian. Rather than playing games she just waved Ashleigh’s phone around saying “cheese”. I am sure she will be asking for toddler games in no time though!
Our one day layover in Grenada was uneventful. It was a rainy day and we went for some walks to the mall and around the grounds. The view from our room is quite nice overlooking the water in the distance. After the nap we left for the airport once again and checked in early so we could enjoy a few drinks at the lounge. The lady working initially said she was closing but we reminded her of the listed opening hours and she let us stay for an hour. The kids had a bunch of snacks and we drank our beers in the little lounge with no other people around. Our next flight over to Antigua was pretty empty and didn’t take long. The kids were tired again since it was an evening flight. This will conclude our journey from the Grenadines through St Vincent and Grenada to our final destination of Antigua. It will be nice to stay put for a few days and catch up on some laundry and have the space to sprawl out in our Airbnb. Time flies in beautiful places! We really enjoyed the plantation hotel on the beach. For one, there was hardly anyone there! We had the beach to ourselves and the pool to ourselves. The breakfast was always amazing and the setting of the place is perfect. We went on some walks to the popular Princess Margaret beach nearby, but we preferred our little stretch. The snorkelling wasn’t anything fancy, but Kilian and I got good exercise, often going out for long swims. We did meet a few people, mostly the sea faring kind or retirees. The kids did have a dance party with the local children on Independence Day which was a lot of fun. We went to a nearby restaurant for some barbecue and good times. The entire island was bumping with music that day until late into the evening. We will miss the rum punches from the bar and the mostly friendly staff. They are still way to chill or uncaring in our opinion, especially in the morning. Other travellers find the locals to be friendly, and they are in a sense, but having experienced so many other happier island cultures we are hard to please perhaps.
We left the Grenadines on Friday after a pretty rainy and stormy day. Our fast ferry never made it out of St Vincent so we were stuck to take the hour long slow boat. The seas were not terrible, but the open water sections were enough to remind us that we are not made for the sea. The kids didn’t mind at all though and Kilian thought we were flying as the boat swayed high enough to only see the sky. We got back to Kingstown, the little grimy city before dark. The cobblestone hotel had the same room ready for us and we went to bed early, still swaying. Kingstown really did wake up Monday morning. There were plenty of stalls set up on the main roads and the market was in full swing. We started our long walk after breakfast and checked out the bustle of the town before going uphill to the oldest botanical garden in the Western Hemisphere, at least according to my guidebook. We were the only people there and after declining a guided tour, we walked uphill through the gardens. We did expect it to be a bit more lush, but it was rather sparse, with only a couple old trees remaining. The highlight was seeing the endangered and also endemic St Vincent parrot. They had a bunch here in cages and the kids were entertained for a while. It is a beautiful bird indeed and would mimic the kids screams, which was a lot of fun for them. We then walked back for lunch at a nearby restaurant. After nap it was time to pack up our stuff and walk to the ferry terminal. We arrived quite early so we got to check out the little facility and also watch other boats come in. Our ride over to one of the Grenadine islands only took half an hour since we opted for the fast ferry. We arrived in the late afternoon on beautiful Bequia. Our plantation style hotel was only a fifteen minute walk away and we were greeted by a stiff rum punch and fruit juice for the kids. The place is pretty empty so we relaxed in one of the many chill areas until dinner. The restaurant, while slow made some great stone oven pizza and the sunset views were hard to beat. Let’s see how the rest of the area is over the next few days!
It was time again to start our journey to the next island, this time the islands of St Vincent and the Grenadines where we will spend some time over the next week exploring a couple places. After a quick breakfast we left for the airport and checked in. The lounge was one of the smallest yet, a tiny little room with a few couches. We didn’t have much time anyways so just had a quick drink and grabbed lots of snacks before boarding our ATR flight north. The flight time was less than half an hour and most people remained on the plane for the next hop over to Barbados. The expensive ride into Kingstown didn’t take too long, and once we arrived at our small cobblestone hotel we went for a walk around. It is Sunday so it was super quiet on the streets. Besides some homeless guys asking for money, there really weren’t many people around at all. Kingstown itself is nothing exciting, so we are only staying one night using it as our jumping off point to the Grenadines. In the afternoon we walked to subway, the only place that seemed to be open today. They informed us that they basically had no veggies left, just cucumbers, onions and olives. So they loaded on those veggies and we would have to be content with our dinner. We took a quick look at the gothic looking church nearby which was holding an evening service before heading back. Singing could be heard from various small churches also, so the town felt even quieter on our evening stroll. Our hotel has a rooftop patio which overlooks the ferry terminal and we watched a ship come in before sunset. The kids were tired and went to sleep early while we stayed up a bit chatting. We are curious to see how lively the town gets tomorrow!
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November 2022
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