Back in the saddle

Vacation was lovely. As expected, we spent a great deal of time at the beach on cushy chaise lounges under a big umbrella staring at the water. That was interrupted by occasional swimming, eating, drinking, and reading. It was just what we both needed. We had lovely weather except for a little bit of rain near the end of the week. We ate very well, if very expensively. Perhaps we can just accept it as a given that where people are speaking French they are probably also preparing good food.

The trip back was rather bad--American Airlines, delays, long lines, missed connections, etc. We left the hotel at 1 PM Saturday and my head it the pillow (in my own bed, thank God) at 330 AM on Sunday. Total frying time was 4.5 hours; you do the math. Even after all that, I was tremendously grateful that we did not get stuck in San Juan as most of our fellow travelers did.

Would I go back? Yes. The resort was lovely, situated high on a hill overlooking Anse Marcel. We had free beach privileges at the resort down below.

Lessons learned? Avoid American Airlines. In the Caribbean: travel on weekdays; avoid flying through San Juan; expect all flights (especially on the weekend) to be intentionally oversold and delayed; arrive at the airport not one minute less than 2 hours before your flight; allow 1-2 hours for immigration, baggage claim, and customs. Never go to any airport without food in your carry-on luggage. The sandwiches that I made before we left the hotel saved us.

So, I'll post a couple of pictures over the weekend. It wasn't a very good photo vacation for some reason. For now, I'm back a work and very grateful to have had some time away. I think I was a lot more burnt out than I thought given how much better I feel now (even after 3+ days of work).