We had booked a hotel at Gatwick so we could travel up the night before. Seems this was a good idea as the roads were apparently busy due to accidents on Friday morning.
We had spoilt ourselves and booked into the Virgin Clubhouse so our wait in the airport was so much nicer. I have to say if you are able to do it, it is well worth the experience. Space, no queuing, waitress service, complimentary spa treatment and clean loos. Also no worries about checking your flight as that is done for you. Food and drink are also part of the package. I don't think I've e ever had cocktails at 8am before!!
When it comes to flying, I get excited about the holiday but very apprehensive about the flying so being told the plane was delayed due to a technical problem was a bit worrying. Unfortunately the flight in the end was cancelled. Frustrating but I would rather a delay then being up in the air with a problem!
The next step was pretty chaotic while we were being informed what was happening, then being led through the airport, customs and baggage reclaim. Eventually we end up in a big queue waiting to be allocated a hotel room. Not quite as easy as it sounds especially as one couple seem to think they are so much better than everyone else and hold the queue up for ages demanding a better Hotel as they were booked into a 5 star in Anthua (we were going to the Hilton and this wasn't good enough for them 😬😬😬). They were so arrogant that I'm not even sure they were making an already unhappy group of people much more unhappy 😤. Although organisation could have been a bit better, the staff kept smiling and did a great job in our opinion (some people however you can't please no matter what).
We got our room however there was some uncertainty as to what seats we would get as the plan was to combine the two flights (Friday and Saturday's) on to one bigger plane. All came good in the end. We had booked premium economy as Dave won't fly longer than 4-5 hours in economy as he can't deal with being cramped for so long, again if you can ever do this, do it. Well worth the extra comfort. The place we went on was a 747 and we were allocated seats in the 'bubble'. It was great, like having our own personal space :-)). The flight was certainly one of the best I have ever had.
After a 24 hour delay we arrived in the beautiful Antgua. The sun was shining and we were on holiday 😄. We hadn't been in the cab long when the heavens opened and heavy rain came down. The taxi driver said before this week they had not had much rain and everything had been brown. For them rain is a wonderful thing.
During the journey the driver chatted, mainly about cricket to Dave 😀. I took this time to look out the window. On the face of it it seems there is much deprivation here, I am not sure if that is just my impression or reality. The houses are made of wood but many seemed to be in disrepair. As we got nearer to the hotel the buildings seemed to improve, whether these are people's homes or holiday homes/lets I don't know.
It was stil raining when we arrived at the hotel however it was warm. The rain seems to rain hard for 5-10 minutes then stops. The hotel room is basic but clean and has a great balcony overlooking the sea. One of our first visits was to the supermarket to get some bug spray which we spray the room with as we leave to hopefully keep away the midges and gnats.
We have been here a day now and have started to unwind and relax. There are two swimming pools and we are right on the beach. The sea is amazing and warm. The staff are smiley and friendly which adds to the experience. We are hoping to get some diving in but as yesterday was Sunday, we've not managed to book anything yet.
It is now 5.50 in the morning but I've been awake since 3am. I did sleep from 9pm though, I think my body clock is a bit out but nothing a blog and a book can't help 😃🌴🌴🌴
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