A Week In St. Lucia

Windjammer resort

    After the bus left, Sandie decided she has to go use the restroom and left for a bit while me and our remaining family member wait for someone to come pick us up. 4 minutes passed, Sandie came back just in time when a van pulled up in front of us. A young man in a white collared shirt stepped out of his vehicle to talk to Sandie. She told him where the whole entire family and the wedding guests are staying for one week. Then the man began loading our luggage and suitcases in the back, Tina, my parents, Sandie and I climbed aboard. While my dad is in the back with Tina; I sat with Sandie and my mom in the middle. Sebastien sat in the front passenger seat. He was about to buckle his seat belt, until he realized there is a steering wheel in front of him. 

"Oops, I'm in the wrong side." Sebastien laughed, and got back out of the car. 

Sandie, Tina and I looked at the front to see what he meant and laughed along. Apparently in St. Lucia, the driver sits on the right side, which is completely the opposite of how it is in Canada because the driver sits on the left. That was kind of funny. Sebastien got back in the van on the opposite side, just as our driver hopped in, closed the car door and started the engine. We all left the airport and are now on the road. The ride wasn't very long as I thought.

   After what seems like a 6 minute ride, the van came to a stop. Up ahead of us is a helicopter, very loud and engines running. Beside it is another man, who was probably waiting for us. Everyone unbuckled their seat belts as our driver got out of the van and pulled the car handle as it slides open before going to talk to the other man at the helicopter. I waited for Sandie to step out before I get off next, followed by Tina. Then, my mom carefully tries to get down by starting with one foot on the car step while holding one of the car seats. When everyone is out of the car, my dad asks Sandie about the helicopter. He had to speak up over the loud noise. "Sandie, where does this helicopter take us?"

"We use the helicopter to fly to our resort!" Sandie explained.

   Our driver ran back to us and told us to follow him. Then we all started walking. At this point, Sebastien pointed something out. "Guys, look! a plane is landing!" He pointed in the sky. We stopped in our tracks and turned. There, I see it. An airplane  going down to the airport. Is that someone's plane? I wondered.

Sebastien seems to recognize it. "That plane came from Montreal. My parents and Vince are here!" He told us. Sandie just looked on in astonishment.

"Wait, that's the plane your family and the other half of the wedding guests are in?" I asked. I did not know that.

"Wow! they are finally here, huh Sebastien?" my mom asked him. Seb laughed in agreement. My mom seems really happy just as he is. Then we all continued walking.

   As we got closer, the engine of the helicopter is immensely loud. I could barely hear anyone speak. The man that will be flying the helicopter welcomed us and opened the door. Everyone stepped up the steps, which are a little bit high. Once we all got in, each of us were given headphones to make the roaring engine a little bit quieter. Our pilot waves bye-bye to our driver and closed the door. Next thing I knew, we're lifting off the ground. The feeling of flying in a helicopter is slightly petrifying. How fast it's going and how far off the ground we are. I can see a lot of trees and bunch of places down below. As we're flying, I noticed that there is a little bit of mist and tons of hills. I turned to see Tina recording the helicopter ride on her phone as we make our way to the resort. The ride in the helicopter took approximately 3-4 minutes, before we made it to the other side and started landing. We landed on the ground, a couple feet from what looks like a bright red, small shack. Everyone all unbuckled their seat belt, removed our headphones and climbed off the helicopter. We then walked up the stone steps with Sandie leading us, went around the unoccupied shack where a third man in a uniform is waiting for us from behind.

   He happily shook Sandie's hand as she told him our destination. "We're going to the Windjammer resort, do you know where that is?" Sandie asked him.

 The man nodded. "Yes, of course. I can take all of you there." He told her, before leading us down a little hill to where his vehicle is. 

   It looks like grey Mercedes-Benz van, which seems to have lots of room and be able to hold more than 5 people. Everyone all climbed aboard and got their seats as our driver closed the door and hopped in the driver seat. As we take off, Sandie asked him how long is the ride to the resort. Apparently, it's almost half hour, according to the driver. Then he and Sandie exchanged a few questions, as she told him about the wedding being held at Windjammer. During the whole ride, I just looked out the window for a view of the streets while my mom asks Tina something that I did not pick up. Whenever my family has a conversation with each other every-time we're on the road or travelling somewhere and I'm with them, it's sometimes easy for me to zone out when I'm not part of the conversation. Other times, I will pay attention for a little bit in the car whenever Tina or Sandie talks to our parents about stuff, even having a discussion about whatever is important. Then, I'm back in my own world until we arrive at whatever destination we were heading to.

   After 30 minutes in the car ride, we have arrived and our vehicle came to a halt. I tried to lean forward to get a good look, since the roof of the car is blocking most of the view. The whole resort is white. People are walking around and about.

"Okay, we're here!" said my mom, happily. "Let's go!" She seems really excited to see the rest of the resort. 

"Mom, wait!" Tina told her. 

   At last, the door slid open. Everyone carefully got out. I exited the car next after Tina, who got out first before me. Then when I got out, my dad got out of the vehicle next. Then lastly, my mom got out. We all walked inside and head over to the check in desks. We registered for our rooms. Sandie and Sebastien are together in one hotel suite; me, Tina and my mom are in a different suite. Based on what Tina told the lady at the desk, all three of us will be sharing the same suite with Tuan, Bao and Elizabeth together. With this many people in one suite together, I hope there's enough space.

Finally, we're all set. Sandie thanked the lady and turned to us. "Okay, all done! Here are the cards to our rooms." She gave one each to Tina, one to my dad and kept the third card in her hand. "Here's one more mom, Tina and Anthony, one for daddy and one for me and Seb. Be careful not to lose it!"

Okay, so quick explanation--if I didn't tell you guys yet or you guys did not know, Seb is Sebastien's nickname. I'm assuming his friends and family members call him that. I never knew that it was his nickname until today.

"Let's go see the rest of the guests!" Sandie said, leading the way. "We're gonna meet up with them in a room!"