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| Au revoir St Barth |
After a crazy month inundated with translations for an impending deadline, together with preparation for an equally imminent house move, I finally breathed a sigh of relief when the time came to catch the island ferry for a flight to Paris. Little did I know what was in store …
I was greeted by a suspiciously quiet ferry dock and soon found out from a nonchalant ticket vendor that, not only was my ferry ‘en panne’/out of order, but its sole competitor was ‘en carénage’ – in the boatyard for annual cleaning!
So I was left with the final (more expensive) option – to catch one of the two aeroplanes operating on the island. Given the ferry situation, I knew I would be at the end of a very long queue. I felt numb with anticipation; it all seemed rather surreal or rather like a bad dream. I calmed myself by thinking it was not a disaster, hoping and praying that the situation would be resolved. On arrival at the airport I was immediately informed by one of the two airlines that all their flights were full, so was advised to try the second option whose queue snaked all the way out of the airport. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and my hopes were starting to wane, when I felt a tap on my shoulder – a seat had ‘magically’ become available on a plane just about to take off! Suddenly the world seemed a much better place and I felt like kissing this considerate chap, who even ignored the weight of my heavy luggage. It is strange how such a situation can put life into perspective.
I was so grateful to be en route to Paris and had every reason to finally relax and enjoy the flight. So much so, I think that I was the only passenger on the plane who was indifferent to the unscheduled diversion to Lisbon, on account of an ailing passenger. I did of course feel sympathy for this poor person, but fell back into a deep sleep, appeased with the knowledge that the plane would eventually land in Paris, no matter how long the journey would take.
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| Paris at Dawn |