A very last-minute opportunity to have a Canadian journalist go down to Antigua; say less!

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back on the seat rest; outside the fact that wearing a mask was annoying, I couldn’t believe that I was on my way to Antigua. I opened my eyes to look out the window. The sky was so blue, and the clouds looked so white. It had all happened so quickly, but regardless I was happy to be here…

I remember briefly looking at the email that came in on Friday, July 22^nd., 2022 from Nicola Blazier. I was used to getting emails from her, and usually it was to promote Antigua and Barbuda, which I did very regularly. The team at Toronto Caribbean Newspaper have always been willing to support the island any way we can, even if it is as simple as posting updates on our social media. This email was different, and it took me a minute to take in what I was reading;

“Hello Simone!! Hope you are well on this lovely Friday!  (TGIF!!). I know this is very last minute and our apologies, but we wanted to check if you might be interested?

It looks like we have a very last-minute opportunity to have a Canadian journalist go down to join in Antigua’s Carnival, July 30^th to Aug 6^th.  The itinerary is just being finalized but we wanted to see if you might be interested in going?

Please let us know.”

I nearly dropped my computer; after the initial shock, I responded to Nicola,

“I would definitely be interested in going to Antigua Carnival. I just want to ensure that you are okay with the fact that I am not vaccinated, and I believe that Antigua is open to the unvaccinated, but could you please clarify.

So excited to be a part of this, and I hope that we can make this happen. If you would like to see some of the coverage, I have done on other island trips, let me know, and I will send it to you.”

After this email, everything else was a whirlwind.  In less than a week, I had to get a passport, get a rapid antigen test, and make arrangements to head to Antigua and Barbuda. There were going to be three people traveling from Canada: Mr Anthony Joseph (Caribbean Camera Inc.), Ms Raynel Carroll (Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority), and myself. On July 30^th, 2022, we were all on the plane heading to the beautiful island of Antigua.

I arrived at the airport four hours ahead of time; check in was easy, and before I knew it, Sunwing had us flying over blue waters, and landing us in paradise. We arrived at 4:50 pm and we met our driver Paul Christian. He was a very nice man, who I learned had the exact same birthday as me. I was excited to be there, and as we made our way to our first host hotel Galley Bay Resort, Raynel shared with us what we were going to be doing that week.

When we arrived at Galley Bay Resort, we were met with cool towels, and some good ol’ rum punch. “Hmmm,” I said to myself as I sipped it down. I love the fact that it was strong, not watered down like they make it in Canada. As we waited for our trolley to come grab us, I sat down and looked out at the water. It felt great just to be here. I was looking forward to experiencing the island and all that it had to offer.

I saw a trolley approaching; as he pulled up, he welcomed us with a beaming smile. “Welcome to Galley Bay Resort; we are looking forward to having you here with us.”

He put our suitcases on the trolley, and we were taken to our rooms. It was about 6:30 pm, and Raynel reminded us that we were going to be going to Carnival City’s’ Party Monarch Competition.’ It was a competition that highlighted all the Soca artists in Antigua who had made it to the finals; they would be competing for the coveted title of Party Monarch.

This left us about an hour to wash up, eat and meet back at the front. They brought us up to our rooms, and when I walked in, I stood there in awe…