A 7:00 AM wakeup time in San Juan is equivalent to 3:00 AM in San Jose. After a very quick breakfast, we dragged ourselves to the airport for the penultimate leg of our trip—a flight to Beef Island on Cape Air airlines. It was getting very close to take-off time when they finally called us to board. We discovered that we were the only two passengers. Monday is a slow day.
We had our pick of seats so Glen volunteered to be copilot. Although he promised not to touch the dials or foot controls, I was still a bit worried. He was tired and he could fall onto a control. Fortunately he did not.
I love the view from small planes. They don’t go as high as jets so there is more to see. This flight was just at the top of the clouds, which were beautiful. There is often turbulence at this altitude, but the ride was smooth.
I saw many islands, large and small, and their turquoise beaches.
After 40 minutes in the air, we landed. It's not often that I get to see the pilot's view of the runway! All in all it was an uneventful, but very scenic trip. With only two of us on the plane, there was no wait for our bags.
We were whisked through immigration and customs. Donovan, a rather tall, thin, young Black man with dreads drove us in an American car on the British side of the road. (It is the British Virgin Islands.) Within 5 minutes we were at a small dock where we hopped on a boat for the last leg of our journey. We were the only two on this boat, but that’s not surprising because this is Guana Island’s boat. It’s the only way people get to the island (unless they come on their own boat).
At the end of our 15 minute ride, Ricky met us with cool, damp towels so we could refresh ourselves. I love the yellow shirts that the staff wear because it goes well with the turquoise water.
Our room wouldn’t be ready until 3, so they plunked us on White Bay Beach with a cocktail.
After an hour, they fetched us for a lunch of Rainbow Runner and veggies. The restaurant is on the top of a hill with a spectacular view of White Bay and a salt pond that has flamingos.
Almost as if on cue, an iguana showed up in a nearby bush. With tail included it appeared to be almost 2 feet long. I hope to get a better look as the week goes on. I now know there are iguanas on Guana.
Finally, at 2:30 we arrived in our room. I unpacked and Glen promptly fell asleep. This is our porch. More tomorrow!
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