Getting ready for our annual vacation to sweet St. Lucia is one of my most enjoyable events of the year, and it always starts at Mom’s home. I take down our suitcases from the cupboard in Mom’s room, and then we gather our clothes and pack. Before I pack my things, I ask Mom to tell me whether they match, whether they are clean and whether they look okay. Once she gives her stamp of approval, I do the finishing touches. My job is to make sure that all of our documents are in order, and Mom looks them over to satisfy herself that everything is ready.
In 2018, Mom and I spent July 21 to July 30 by the sea, and I kept my voice diary morning and evening.
Chairs, Umbrellas and a Quiet Bay
On the morning of July 21, the first day of our holiday, I asked Mom my usual question: what do you see in the bay? A few sailboats, she said. The water was very still and the tide was out. On the beach were the umbrellas and the chairs, as always, but no bodies yet, only a few people walking. The palm trees were there, and we were getting a light breeze. I could hear the wind rustling the leaves and the waves rolling in.
That evening, the cicadas were singing in the background. Mom said it was very dark, with only the boats and their lights on the water. Someone was jogging, and I could hear two ladies chatting and laughing on the beach. There was a couple on the beach too. Very nice.
The Fruit Boat and the Oriental Restaurant
The next morning, after a slight rain shower, I asked Mom about the boats that come by selling fruits. Not yet, she told me. It was still early, just a little after nine. Mom was busy hemming her skirt because it was too long, and the scissors were a bit dull. That evening, after a nice meal at the oriental restaurant, all we could hear were the cicadas and the sea, with a siren somewhere far off in the distance.
On the morning of July 26, the fruit boat was finally out there. “The boat with the apples is patrolling,” Mom told me.
Where Have the Birds Gone?
This year, something was missing. On the morning of July 22, there was no breeze and I could not hear the birds at all. “Neither birds,” Mom agreed. On the evening of July 24, Mom said it was a funny thing: the last time, we used to see a lot of birds flying in the tree, but now there were none, and she did not know what had happened. On July 25 there was not a bird to be heard. That’s not nice, I said, but it was nice to hear the waves. I do like to hear the waves. The birds were not all gone, though: on the morning of July 29 I could hear some, but not many.
Our Kitten Friends
We made up for the missing birds with kittens. On July 23 we saw a kitten, and on the morning of July 24 we met a black and grey and white kitten. Mom told me it was looking up at the other one in the blue house, where it had come from. And on our final morning, we saw three lovely little kittens running around under the trees. One of them was golden and white, and one ran right into the office!
An Italian Dinner
On the evening of July 25, we had a very nice Italian dinner and met our waitress, or maybe she was the maître d’. We had calamari and breaded chicken with spaghetti, and a nice ice cream dessert. There had been a shower just before dinner, and afterwards, as a slight breeze came up, I could hear music somewhere in the background.
The Sea Was Not Happy
The evening of July 26 was different. The waves were pretty high, and I told my recorder that I did not think the ocean was very happy. She was not in a good mood that night, and she seemed very disturbed by something. I did not know if it was a storm coming. “I hope nothing brewing,” Mom said. I thought that if something was brewing, the winds would have been pretty high, and I had not heard anything on the weather. At one point she seemed a little calmer, though Mom was not so sure, and by the next morning the waves were not as rough as the day before. Mom watched a lady walking a dog on the beach and decided she must be living over here.
Our Uninvited Guest
Now, I have to tell you about our visitor. On the morning of July 28, I explained that we had not recorded the night before, because we were not feeling well and we were afraid of a rat that had been visiting us for the past week. That evening, I said that we hoped our good friend would not come to visit that night. He did.
On our last night, I reported that I did not think our visitor had come by, because we had plugged the holes so that he could not come through. We had a nice roast beef dinner, and Mom asked me whether bitters had alcohol in it. A wee bit, I told her.
And on the morning of July 30, I told the story. Mom outsmarted the rat! She put Coke bottles into the holes where our friend usually came up, and he did not come. We think he was outsmarted. I still wonder where he went.
Goodbye, Sweet St. Lucia
We had our final breakfast of a nice omelette and hash browns, with tea and juice, and I think the guys put the chairs out on the beach. Then it was time to say it: bye-bye, St. Lucia. It was nice, and we’ll be back next year.
St. Lucia is an island with spirit, personality, warmth and a perpetual welcoming smile on its face. From airport to hotel, and from supermarket to mall, it has always been the same for me. I consider myself so very lucky to keep going back.
From Curb to Cabin
That fall, I wrote about something that never quite goes away for me when I travel alone: the anxiety of travelling as someone with a vision impairment. It does not really matter how helpful the agents are, or how much notice I give the airlines and the ground assistance companies. The anxiety is always there.
It all starts before I get to the airport, and it does not end until I am safely in the car of family or friends. From the curb to the check-in counter, and from security to the gate, everything is so stressful. Then aboard the aircraft until touchdown, then customs and immigration, then finding my luggage. And on the return journey, it is no different. Travelling internationally is harder still, because I cannot know beforehand what I am going to encounter.
My podcast, Curb to Cabin Canada, is about what actually happens to blind and low-vision passengers when they fly, and each episode follows one part of the air travel journey, from the curb outside the terminal to the seat in the cabin.
Previous trip: St. Lucia 2017
Next trip: England 2019
All of my trips: Travel Diaries
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA
Global Leader In Disability Rights, Digital Accessibility, And Inclusive Policy Reform
Turning policy into progress for people with disabilities.
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