LSCC Caribbean tour: Day 1
I don’t think VIPs even get their own titled check-in desks
The bulk of the tour party, known as the elite group, have now safely arrived at Crown Point, Tobago! All were duly counted out by Monarch Airlines at our dedicated check in point and in by the Toucan Inn, there being nobody in the party capable of doing so after a 7 and a half hour flight that had also been delayed by an hour. We used the flight time profitably, selling some additional copies of the tour programme to members of the general public (for chari-dee, of course). Hopefully they didn’t include any of the limited edition set that has some of the pages in the wrong order – although these do, of course, have a rarity premium attached to their re-sale value.
The motley crew (and fortunately not the cabin crew) in position just before takeoff.
The late afternoon sun persuaded some of us into a 15 minute walk to the local beach and the refreshing qualities of the warm Caribbean waters. It tok a lot longer to walk back after we nobly tested the clutch of bars around the crossroads at the hub of our bit of Crown Point. I was briefly heartened by an ad for the local Carib beer that claimed it was “Real Beer” but the term clearly has a different meaning over here. What we did find was that Carib’s other brand, Stag, is a more satisfying experience.
The group enjoyed an excellent meal the The Toucan, with tour shirts distributed by tailor and outfitter John Griffiths, but there’s always at least one embarrassing moment in every day. This time it included the whole party as we all ‘hit the wall’ simultaneously at around 9pm and had to retire to bed with the bars still open for several hours. At least that sets us up for the challenges of day two, described in the programme as “Chill, hangout, beach”, and, of course those still set to BST could confirm that it had in fact been a very long day.
Become a Member
Become a member of London Saints from as little as £5.