The easterly winds were blowing hard and not predicted to subside. From Georgetown it would be at least four days of hard sailing and motoring to reach the island of San Salvador where Pete Rowell and Connor had friends. With only five days left in their vacation, this simply would not work.
We spent Easter Sunday in Georgetown, making plans. There was no public transportation to the island from Georgetown and no private boats traveling that way we could book passage on. The group settled on chartering a private plane to get across. Pete Hinman opted to stay with the boat in Georgetown. After three months of constant companionship, a little alone time dear indeed. I tagged along to San Salvador.
The flight was fun, no baggage check or airport security, just walk right through with the pilot. Our ride was a little twin engine prop plane with seating for six. Megan rode copilot and the only scary part of the flight came when the pilot let her fly without warning the rest of us. We went immediately into a steep nosedive. The ocean below loomed up to filled the windshield. The deep roar of the engines rose to a high scream. Objects in the cabin began to rise up and float around weightlessly as we shrieked helplessly into the void. Not really, but Megan did get to fly for a couple seconds, which was scary.
We landed safely in San Salvador, Pete and Connor's friends Mike and Melissa picked us up in their Isuzu Amigo and we raced off for a quick tour of the island on our way to their beach side home. Everyone in this small island community, we learned, had a nickname. Mike's was SweetDick. Melissa's was MikeWife. They insisted that we call them by these names for the duration of our stay.
SweetDick and MikeWife were excellent hosts, sharing their home and the beautiful island on which they lived with unfailing enthusiasm. The four days we spent on San Salvador were a wonderful blur of delicious food and beach combing, swimming, spear fishing, and spelunking.
Megan played with puppies at the dump.
Pete, MikeWife, and I drove bulldozers.
We all agreed it was a fantastic time and even I was sad to have to return to my normal life.
Message in a bottle, EPIRB set off on the porch, whale puke, Space Balls beach combing, UncleTom and his gold cave, goats, Groupers family, Lighthouse, Octagon house, Convertible trucks, Reading, The Last Waltz, Cigarette rationing, special bush elixirs, Sunsets, Sleeping on the beach, Spearfishing, AMAZING food, Vodka drinks, Liscense plates, Gearce Research Center, Spelunking, Antique bottle search, all over Sunburns, Hinman finds the Seagull fuel cap, mad dash to the airport.
ReplyDelete"Normal life" heh.
Don't forget Francis!
ReplyDelete