Friday the 13th was a lucky day for us despite our fears about it. With the thought of getting up at 0400 to drive 2 hours down to Heathrow and then a very long day flight we feared the worst. Instead it was lucky 13 for us as everything went right to plan without any hitches. The kids were a bit of a handful on the flight as they usually are on day flights. They don't like to sleep on day flights and they did very little sleeping. By the time we got off the plane after 13 hours cooped up, a lot of people told us how impressed they were with how good the kids were and I just assumed they thought some other kids on the plane must have been mine. The attendants were really good and played with them while we were on the ground in the Bahamas during our stop over. Alex was even invited by the Captain to sit in the cockpit and thought that was really cool! Alex and Ellie also impressed everyone in terminal 5 at Heathrow as they each pulled their own trolley bag through the airport. We were also lucky as we checked in as several of our bags were a few kilos overweight but the lady at the desk never even flinched.
We knew things were looking up as we came in to Nassau, the Bahamas to land as we saw the beautiful shades of blue and the reefs as we landed. That is when the smiles began. We also knew we only had an hour on the ground and then a short flight to the Caymans. We had fantastic views of the blues surrounding the island and the coast as we swooped down to land in George Town. It was a short ride and we were home by the beach. Emma's firm is putting us up for 30 days in a holiday condo on seven mile beach called Villas of the Galleon. We have breakfast every morning on the patio listening to the water on the shore and watching the cruise ships pull into the harbour. The beach starts right at the bottom of our steps.
Saturday morning Emma went to pick up the rental car her firm is providing us for our first thirty. Initially they had a Jeep Wrangler all ready for us. While most of you may think this is the perfect car for the Caymans, it is not the perfect car for 2 kids and a large double pushchair. They found us a more appropriate vehicle and when Emma checked it out she discovered the parking brake (emergency brake, depending on what parts you are from) didn't work. When she pointed it out the man said don't worry about it, the whole island is flat! And he is right too we haven't needed it! We do miss having the mountains which surround you wherever you look in Muscat though. The highest point on the island is about 60 feet above sea level and that is the top of the Ritz-Carlton which is right next to us.
Even amidst paradise and holiday goers we have had lots to get done. We have spent a large part of the week looking for a place to live. We have seen lots of lovely places and have decided to rent for a while until we are fully settled before we think about buying a place. The kids have been very good being dragged from house to house, many full of toys belonging to the owners that they can't just stay and play with. Hopefully by tomorrow we will have made our final choice as we only have three more weeks left in our beachfront condo. We have also been looking for nursery schools for the kids. This is proving more difficult as there is a big shortage of nursery spots on the island. We think we may have found somewhere to start soon and may have spots at a beautiful Montessori for Alex and Ellie starting in September.
We are quickly finding our way around as it is not a large island. The Caymans is a British Overseas Territory. The only way you would know is we drive on the left side of the road. The cars however, are about half right side drive and half left side drive. It is only really a problem at the drive-thru as they are all set up for vehicles driven on the right side of the car. Electricity, TV, stores and most of the accents would lead you to believe you were in the U.S.
Emma starts work on Monday so the long break is quickly ending. Eric had an interview for the head of maths post at St Ignatius Catholic School. The interview went very well and they asked him to come back and teach an A level class. That also went well and Eric has the job as head of maths to start in September with the new school year. Everything is falling nicely into place.
We have had lots of fun with the kids playing at some wonderful parks, on the beautiful beaches and tonight we had dinner at a popular weekend hang out spot. The second largest skate park in the world is here in the Caymans and you can have dinner and watch the big kids skate. You could see it in Ellie's eyes that she already wants a skateboard of her own! There is also an artificial surf park next door. Alex and Ellie had a great time playing with all the kids as it is a big family hang out in the evenings on weekends. We have the kids begging to go to sleep before their normal bedtime, which is good, as the first few mornings they were up very early because of the jet lag. (Our first morning they had us up at 0230.) Most evenings we sit and watch the amazing sunsets and many evenings the old pirate sailing ship heads across the sun as it fades away.
No comments:
Post a Comment