Grotto Bay Resort

Despite taking a mirrorless camera with me, photographs have been exclusively posted from the iPhone because my card reader was in the suitcase that didn't arrive.  I've been very relaxed about the photography but on the last morning I actually used some filters and set the camera on a makeshift tripod to do some 'proper' photography.

As mentioned yesterday we were picked up from the hotel and taken across to the airport.  The original plane we flew in on was sitting on the tarmac, away from the main terminal.  Various reports suggested that Airbus engineers had been dispatched to inspect the craft.

We were way too early for the check in desks to open.  L F Wade International Airport is very plush and we were directed to a bar and the outdoor rest area, complete with its own golf green and chipping area, table tennis, pool, basketball ring and some comfortable seating.  While we don't usually drink before a flight we stayed with friends we had made over the last couple of days and got a few rounds.

We were one of the last groups to go through check in and we already realised the flight was going to be late taking off.  The plane was a different seating configuration from the original flight but we managed to get a couple of seats with plenty of leg room.  The new crew and pilot were careful to try and put us at ease after our recent experience.  The original crew were also on board to return to the UK and some of them came through the cabin to chat to passengers.

The flight took off about an hour and a half late.  Those that travel regularly will appreciate that the cabin crew are released to start their service shortly after take off.  Not this time, the captain came over the speakers to say that there was some turbulence noticeable ahead and it would be a further 20 minutes before the seat belt signs were turned off.  Extra care was being taken!  It did beg the question if they could see turbulence using their systems, why on earth did we find ourselves in the situation on the original flight?

Thankfully the flight was uneventful.  Chatting to my neighbour in the next seat, she told me that she'd stayed at the same hotel as the flight crew and that according to what she had been told, the drop we experienced was about 200 feet.  The captain and flight deck crew were completely unaware of the carnage that had taken place in the cabin behind them.  Apparently, they don't experience the same sort of G-forces that occur further back in the plane.  Perhaps that is why they didn't come on the speakers straight away.  It seems that it was only when they looked as the screens showing images of the cabins that they realised the extent of the situation.

As time passed another day started somewhere over the Atlantic so this story will end in tomorrow's post.