Nancy's Oddysey

Marsh Harbor
No LL

I'll start with the bottom line. Nancy is aboard the boat with us. However, getting her here turned out to be an adventure in international travel.

To start, we have no cell phone service here in the Bahamas, so we had no direct way to contact each other.

Nan started at 0600 at Boston's Logan Airport. Her plane was delayed in Boston. As a consequence, she missed her connecting flights.

Meanwhile, I went to the airport at 10AM, plenty early to meet Nan's plane at 1PM. I brought my computer, but at the airport, I failed at getting an Internet connection. I waited until 1:30. No plane. I went to the desk and asked. They said, "Delayed. Perhaps 2:30" At 2:30, the plane came but no Nancy.

I tried a second time to get on the Internet. This time it worked. I got an email from Karl, Nancy's husband, sent at 8AM saying that Nan was rebooked to arrive on a later flight that would arrive at 5:45PM. OK, I waited more. At 5PM I checked my email again. There was a second email from Karl saying that the second plane was delayed until 8PM. Oh no.

There are no amenities at the Marsh Harbor airport. Fortunately I had a bottle of water and a banana in my backpack and they kept me from starving since I had no breakfast or lunch.

I also found something to keep me busy. Recently both Libby and I have been enthusiastically making baskets from special long pine needles. We did so much of it that we were out of needles. I spotted some of the right species of trees in a forest near the airport. Thus, while waiting I took a hike in the forest, gathered a supply of the long pine needles, than sat on a bench sorting the needles from twigs leaves and debris. It was a nice way to pass the day.

At 6PM I went back to the airline counter to ask if the delayed plane would still arrive at PM. The lady said, "Yes but it is not coming here." "WHAT," I said. She explained that it would fly to Treasure Cay and the passengers would be bussed to Marsh Harbor. In the meantime, the Marsh Harbor airport was shutting down since no more planes would come today. "Where in Marsh Harbor will they take them?" I asked. "To their ultimate destination," she answered.
"Uh Oh," I thought, "Nancy doesn't know a final destination. I just told her that I would meet her at the airport." So where should I wait for her?

Meanwhile, back in Fort Lauderdale, Nancy sat at the airport unaware. The airline neglected to tell her that the plane would go to a different destination.

After some thought, I had an idea. I asked the airline to send her a message; "Meet me at the goverment dock in Marsh Harbor. When you get near, call on VHF channel 68" I sent the same message to Karl in Boston via email, hoping that he could call Nan on her cell phone. Then I went back to the boat, ate supper, and at 8PM I moved to government dock to wait with my portable VHF radio in my pocket.

I waited and waited. It got dark. Mosquitoes began coming out. I had no idea what time her bus would arrive. 9PM passed, then 9:30. Finally, a voice came out of my pocket; "Hello Tarwathie. This is Nancy, can you hear me?" It worked! I gave the bus driver directions to meet me. It came and we were united. By 10PM we had Nancy aboard the boat.

Whew.