Our last morning here greeted us with a beautiful sunrise.
We grabbed an early breakfast and then walked south toward town. There was a great path along the oceanfront, and it had a wonderful playground for kids. There was also a soccer field where watched a group of 4‑ and 5‑year‑olds doing soccer drills with their coaches while their parents cheered them on. It was so fun to watch and made me think about the fact that Jack will be able to do those kinds of activities before long. There was woman setting up for an outdoor yoga session. Clearly this is well used area. All along the ocean front there are colorful signs and images. Here are just a few. You see the term "Bon bini" everywhere. It means "welcome" in the local Papiamento dialect.
Back at Sunscape, Jim got in the ocean for a swim and we packed up. We had to be in the lobby at 12:15 pm for our transport to the airport. The large airport bus arrived on time. As we drove across the high bridge I noticed the floating bridge was open and I was able to snap a quick picture. The two images below, the left one is when we were arriving on January 10th and the floating bridge was out. The image on the right the floating bridge is open so a large ship can pass through.
When we got to the airport getting through security was fairly easy so there was a lot of waiting. We played cards and taught Maggie and John how to play Quiddler.
In order to board the plane we had to take buses from the terminal out to the plane. Then we boarded by walking up steps in the front and back of the plane. Jim was seated near the back and I was kind of in the middle of the plane. I tried to get on the plane with him in the back but they made me walk back to the front entrance. It is pretty weird seeing the full plane from this perspective.
There were plenty of open seats up front, so I moved and ended up with an empty seat next to me. The flight was very smooth and we arrived on time. Once we landed, we had to go through customs, which meant picking up our luggage and then rechecking it, but first we went through passport control. Thanks to Global Entry, we basically just walked through—had our passports scanned, looked at a screen that took our photo, and then the agent waved us on. It was super easy!
After that, though, things went downhill. We were told our bags would be at carousel 9, but when we got there and started asking around, we found out they had been moved to carousel 5. Once we finally got our bags, we trekked over to the “re-check” line. As you moved through that line, your bags had to be scanned; if they weren’t, you’d be flagged at security and not allowed through. Some people in our group missed that step and had to go back.
Going through security again felt a lot like regular security, but much more confusing. People in wheelchairs needed special clearances, which slowed everything down, and the staff all seemed pretty unhappy to be there. It was a challenging process. But we made it through.
We got home around 12:50 am. The flight was very smooth and arrived early! We got exit row seats so had some extra space. I was surprised what a difference that made even with my short legs. I actually slept on the flight. It was pretty shocking to be in 0 degrees after being in 83 all week. But I am sure we will adjust! I hope to see you all sometime this week! And of course can’t wait to see Jack!