AIR GUADELOUPE -(An excerpt)

EXCERPT
The nervousness had stopped. My heart rate was back to normal. If anything, I was preoccupied with what had just happened, still trying to process it. I followed behind Surfer Guy onto the tarmac towards the plane. The pilot, a serious looking man in his mid 50’s was standing by the door helping passengers into the plane. Surfer Guy said something in French to the pilot. The pilot nodded, then smiled. I was about to step into the plane when the pilot stopped me, “Sir, please sit in the front, next to me, enter at that door” pointing at the right-side door at the front of the plane. Rather than protest, I walked up to the door, one of the ground crew nearby, was holding the door open for me. “Here”, I asked. I handed my brief case to the ground crew who stowed it in the back of the plane then climbed into what was the shotgun seat of the aircraft. The controls were right there in front of me. It was a strange feeling to sit in the very front of the plane. I turned and looked behind me. The cabin had a small aisle down the middle with a seat on each side. Sitting three rows behind was Surfer Guy, wearing sunglasses, his long hair partially covering his face, caught my glance.  He smiled and nodded his head, then gave me a “thumbs up”. The door to my left opened, and the pilot climbed in. He turned to everyone, “Thank you for flying with Air Guadeloupe today. Our flight time to St. Barths is roughly 50 minutes. Your life vests are located under your seat. Please make sure your seatbelt is fastened. Thank you”.  A moment later, the pilot flipped the ignition switches to start the engines. As the propellers began spinning to life, he spoke into his headset, checked his avionics control panel, turned a few other knobs, and then released the plane’s parking brake.  Suddenly we were moving. We quickly taxied to the runway. I looked ahead at the length of the runway before us. The pilot spoke again into his radio. He did one last quick check of his control panel, turned towards me, moved his sunglasses slightly down so I could see his eyes. He nodded his head and winked. A second later, the plane started moving. As we hurdled down the runway, I could see the sea in the distance, seconds later, we were in the air. I looked out the window to my right. Sailboats and fishing trawlers dotted the clear, turquoise waters below. The coastline slowly faded away.

Our course was a straight line. After about 15 minutes, the pilot turned to me and motioned to the left side, his right hand covering his radio, he mouthed the words “Montserrat”. Peering over the cockpit widows, I could make out a mountainous island in the shape of a triangle, with a volcano at the top. Only a few minutes later, out the right side of the plane, the island of Antigua appeared. I had never seen anything like It before. Its indented coastline featured a series of bays and harbors, surrounded by crystal clear waters. The sea was simply remarkable. I couldn’t take my eyes away from the vast ocean beneath me. About 30 minutes later, we began our long gradual descent. As St. Baths slowly came into view, the pilot maneuvered the airplane slowly to the left, followed by one more final turn to the right. I really wasn’t prepared for the dramatic approach into the airport. We were descending at a rather steep angle, and within seconds, everything beneath us was closer including beaches, hills, and roads, as the plane descended rapidly, it seemed like we were only several feet above a traffic roundabout, when the pilot cut the engine, dropping further down the length of a hill onto a tiny runway. As we touched down, the pilot pulled a lever, immediately slowing the plane almost to a complete stop, to avoid overshooting the runway. My hands still tightly clenching the sides of my seat, as we turned off the runway onto an alleyway of other small planes before coming to a complete stop at the terminal. The pilot turned to me and took off his sunglasses. “Bienvenue a St. Barths”.

Excerpt from “Coast of Confusion: A tale of the Caribbean” by Anonymous 
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