George and Deborah's Great Adventures: Off To Antigua

Well this is different! I’m off on an adventure without Deborah (at least initially). This first 2016 blog entry is being written from the galley of the Blue Pearl, at anchor in Hermitage Bay, Antigua. This was not something we had planned, nor did it take a long time to hatch.

Our winter plan mostly comprised staying close to home and using our skis more extensively than recent years. We have enjoyed ski days at Grouse, Baker, Red, and Big White and then we received an invitation we couldn’t refuse.

Over a few drinks with Pam (home from the boat for a visit while Glen did some boat repairs) she suggested that Jinder and I go down together to visit Glen on the Blue Pearl (http://www.thebluepearl.ca/p/about-us.html) . The suggestion was made on Sunday night and by Tuesday, tickets were bought and here we are a week later.

Deborah will join us in about a week's time. She and Pam will fly down together and replace Jinder who must return to his real life as a working man.

But before I get ahead of myself there were a few lessons learnt along the way.

Lesson One

I bought the airline ticket on Tuesday and on Thursday morning I woke up in a panic because I had forgotten where I put my passport at the end of last year. Relieved I found it in one of my many secure storage sports in the house but when I opened it panic set in again. It was two months out of date. It expired in January. At that point I had one and part of one business day before I was scheduled to fly. On to the Internet and then off to the Surrey passport office hoping to get an expedited issuance.

By the time I got to the front of the line it was 2 pm. First off, I failed to bring a paper copy of my airline ticket to prove my urgency (apparently a must). Thankfully the clerk accepted my phone’s email notice (but she was clear in stating she didn’t have to). She said the most critical part of the urgent process were my references. I used my cousin Randy. Mistake. Although the forms don’t state it, you cannot use a relative for a reference. My second was friend Mike. What I also didn’t know was that your reference must be available by a phone for the 24 hours of the urgent application process. Mike was in Costa Rica. I could feel my blood pressure rise. I phone Jinder but he was on the golf course and the cell reception was bad. I phoned Jim and he was just home from the course and willing to wait by the phone. I phoned Glen (Chilliwack Glen) and he was driving to the ski mountain but would be in cell range (maybe). The clerk told me to go home and hope security made contact with them and return the next day). I left but not with confidence it was going to happen.

At 2 pm Friday I had a new passport. First lesson learned. You can get a passport in 24 hours but the price is an extra $100 and way too much stress.

Lesson Two

As usual, I bought a one-way ticket. One-way tickets provide the flexibility for both the return date and route. It is always what we have done in our retirement travels. I bought the ticket from the Air Canada website and checked in on line Sunday morning. The boarding passes didn’t print but we had been having printing problems the last few weeks so I decided to proceed to the airport and print them out at an AC kiosk.

When I got the airport it still refused to print. I went to the counter where I was informed by a polite AC service rep that Air Canada was refusing to let me board the plane and their system had a block on printing my boarding passes. It seems that despite selling me a one-way ticket to Antigua, it is illegal to enter Antigua without a return ticket. The only solution was to buy a return ticket at the counter (for the highest possible price) and they would let me board. So I shelled out the $1000 for a one-way return ticket and on the plane I went. They assured me that I would be able to cancel within the first 24 hours after purchase but the clock was ticking from the exact time of purchase. The attendant told me that I would have no problem cancelling at the airport in Antigua, once I had cleared immigration with my return in hand.

It looked very cold in Montreal on a stop over!

It all sounded convoluted but workable until I landed and discovered there is no Air Canada reservation/customer service office in Antigua. Air Canada does not have a presence of any kind in the country. Without a phone I resorted to Gmail phoning home to Deborah begging for help. Fortunately she was able to get through to Air Canada and the return ticket was cancelled without penalty fees before the 24 ticking clock expired.

With those things behind me it was a relief to see Jinder walk out of immigration from his separate flight and then to see Glen in Jolly Harbour waiting for the two of us to exit the taxi. On to Murphy the dingy and soon we were sipping beers on the deck of the Blue Pearl watching our first Caribbean sunset in what is surely going to be a great get away.