Guadeloupe > The gate is already closed

It is raining outside. The weather forecast for today doesn’t look promising. A rainy day at the end of February — a perfect day to go to Schiphol Airport for a flight to the French island of Guadeloupe. From there, a cruise departs tomorrow afternoon along the eastern islands of the Lesser Antilles. For two weeks, I will be traveling with my mother around the paradisiacal islands of the Caribbean. At half past nine, we are dropped off at Schiphol. There is no queue at check-in and hand luggage control. Because we are flying via Paris to Guadeloupe, there is no customs check at Schiphol. We still have plenty of time to order coffee. Around noon, we arrive at gate D61. The plane has just landed. While waiting, we watch the luggage being unloaded and the new luggage being loaded on board. When it is our turn to board, the plane is still not ready to leave. It seems someone has not boarded, and they are searching for that passenger’s luggage. When the suitcase is found, the pilot must wait for a new time slot. We take off with a delay of over half an hour, heading toward Paris. This delay puts the connection at Charles de Gaulle Airport at risk. We have just over an hour to make the transfer. We’ll see what happens once we land in Paris. Shortly after two o’clock, flight KL 1233 arrives at the gate in France. The staff seem confident that we will make our connection. However, we are seated at the very back of the plane, and it takes an agonizingly long time for everyone to disembark. We quickly move from terminal 2F to 2E. It turns out to be quite a walk. The chance of making our flight is shrinking by the minute. Luckily, there is no queue at customs. Yet the officer closes the counter right in front of us. Other passengers let us skip ahead to another counter. On the phone, we get a message that the gate is about to close. To make things worse, gate L53 is all the way at the end of the terminal. When we almost reach the gate, someone asks if we are traveling on the flight to Pointe-à-Pitre? Yes! The gate is already closed, she says, walking away. Out of breath and in disbelief, we arrive at the gate. The door is closed. There is a discussion with the pilot on the plane. An exception is made, and we are still allowed to board. We enter the plane as the last passengers. In Guadeloupe, we will see if the luggage made it too. The most important thing is that we are on board. Only when we are seated and the plane takes off do we start to relax. We realize we made the flight just in time. Another surprise awaits. A water bottle in Rita’s bag has leaked. Everything is wet. With some tissues, we dry things off again. Fortunately, her passport remained dry. After all the events, maybe the glass of wine with dinner tastes extra good. Around us are travelers from different countries. They are also headed to Guadeloupe for the same cruise. We will probably see many of the fellow passengers again in the coming days onboard. The flight to Guadeloupe lasts eight hours. Time drags on. I play a game and watch Netflix. There is also an option to view the cockpit camera on the screen. Around half past six local time, I see the island of Guadeloupe appear. The runway is lit up in the twilight. At the baggage claim, it is busy. Passengers wait in long lines for their luggage. What is the best thing to do? Wait for the luggage or immediately go to the lost baggage desk? We decide to wait a little. A woman wearing a ‘Costa’ badge causes some confusion. She gathers passengers to take them to the ship. When I ask if this is for tomorrow’s ship, she replies that the Costa ferry leaves tonight. She looks at me uncertainly, as if I am mistaken. The cruise ticket clears things up. The Costa Pacifica departs tonight; the Costa Fortuna leaves tomorrow. Meanwhile, the luggage arrives on the belt. To our surprise, our suitcases are on the belt. How did they manage that in Paris? They only had twenty minutes as well. With our luggage, we walk relieved out of the arrivals hall. Someone is holding a sign with our name. It is Jessy, the taxi driver. In prior communication, it was unclear whether we could speak French or English.

Guadeloupe - The cruise ship at the quay in PointePitre Guadeloupe

Jessy welcomes us in fluent English to Guadeloupe and asks if this is our first visit to the island. In twenty minutes, he drives us to the center of Pointe-à-Pitre. He explains that this is not the capital of the island but the main city. The name comes from a Dutch colonist named Peter, who set foot here. Later, it became “Point of Peter.” Our simple guesthouse is located near the harbor by the cruise terminal. When we arrive, a huge cruise ship is docked at the quay. Such a ship is enormous — probably comparable to our cruise ship. Fortunately, Jessy knows our apartment and knows which door to point out, where we need to enter a code. The door opens. With a somewhat rickety elevator, we go to the second floor. The floor has holes in it. We carefully step over them. On the second floor hangs a small box with the key. Using the code we received, we open the box. The room is simple but perfectly fine for an overnight stay. Probably because many travelers arrive a day earlier, few affordable accommodations were available. In the evening, we take a short walk through Pointe-à-Pitre. In the dark, the city looks deserted and unattractive. We see no place to have a drink. Most shutters are closed. Along the quay where the Costa Pacifica is docked, we walk back to our apartment. In the room, we have a glass of wine and go to sleep.