St Martin

Bequia relaxation

Josh still with us

Dodging rainstorms in Brazil

deforestation in Brazil

confusion in Guyana

Caribbean airport

We left Belem Brazil early Sunday morning, partially because we could and partially to avoid the fuel guys. Up to this point we had been charged up to $4.95 Brazilian reals per litre ($2.91 Cdn), but here they said $4.95 reals or $1.81USD per litre. I asked them twice and then quickly opted to pay in USD. So the next morning I was sure they would be waiting by the plane for because of the error, but they never showed up.

We filed a flight plan all the way to Guyana, with a fuel stop in French Guyana. We made a few circles over the equator before we flew on. It was wonderful to hear the controller in French Guyana say, “Oui Madam, vee vill do zee best vee can to assist you”. The weather had been pretty poor out of Brazil but minimum VFR levels were holding so we continued on. We landed in Guyana in good weather and good time but spent 3 hours alone in the airport clearing customs because the French Guyana flight services copied the incorrect form for us to show. The officials brought in 6 people that all said “Give me five minutes”. Finally they copied the form I brought, whited out the old information, put in what they wanted and lectured me that it was the responsibility of the departing airport to provide me with enough copied forms for the next destination. So I asked “How many copies for the Guyana?” The response was a predictable “I don’t know!”

When we woke up it was poring. Poring, poring! I have not seen rain like that in a long time. Since we couldn’t leave we decided to tour Georgetown. The poverty was appalling and our cab driver regaled us with stories of drug lords, corrupt politicians and youthful thugs. We had been looking forward to entering Guyana to speak English again, but the accent was so different Josh and I swear we understood more Portuguese. I had forgotten how difficult it was to function when you did not know the language.

We left Guyana under a VFR special. Good bye South America. However, we were in for a surprise when we arrived in Trinidad. Here we found out that we needed a handler or an agent. This person charges you $250-$350 to walk you to immigration, customs and fax in your flight plan. We still had to fill out the forms ourselves and be there, but for some strange reason we are not allowed to deliver them ourselves. It was a remarkable process that results in very many cranky pilots, I have been told.

Flying out over the Caribbean we finally got a good glimpse of the spectacular water that everyone talks about. Our first stop was the island of Bequai where the water was very warm. Josh found lots of shells and coral and was amazed by the number of fish he saw. There were palm trees by the beach, where Josh picked coconuts and drained the milk. Predictably the plane will weigh much more leaving here from all of Josh´s treasures.

We left this morning for Aruba. Flew over Dominica where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed. Looked for whales that they said were about but we didn´t see any. We then landed in Saint Martin, the most dangerous runway in the world according to http://www.oddee.com/item_93109.aspx. It was unbelievable, not only was the runway short but it was busy, we were number 12, yes twelve for landing not to mention the two airliners that took off and the 4 waiting to take off. To top this off there was only one controller covering both ground and air AND another runway on a different island. It was utter madness; I had to slow my descent as the 747 in front of me had to backtrack. I almost thought that I had to overshoot. The beach was nice and people exceptionally friendly here. Everyday we are getting closer to home.

Barb