This is for Rena, my wonderful,
wonderful, wise friend, co-conspirator and staunch supporter. I’ll miss you
forever, dear sister!
When we holiday, we
usually like to rent a house with several bedrooms and have our friends join us
as they can.
Usually, it has
worked out great!
Ocassionally, it
hasn’t.
Our trip to
Guadalupe in 2020 was…less than perfect.
Lost luggage for six
people.
No bathroom for a household
of 8.
No hot water.
No oven.
Ongoing renovations from window installations to full-sized backhoes digging up the driveway and front yard.
Let’s just say the
first two weeks were a disaster and stop there.
Here is what we
learned…
Holidaying always looks great.
Relaxing and perfect.
When one is anticipating.
Let’s just say it’s not always so good
when one is experiencing.
And just FYI: B&B photos aren’t
always accurate. Ditto for reviews.
Always remember to pack essentials in
your little carry-on. You never know where your luggage will vacation. Often
it’s not going where you’re going.
When renting a car, make sure it’s not
to a company waiting to pick you up on Martinique. When you’re on Guadeloupe.
There’s a fair slice of ocean between them.
When your Landlady promises every day
for twenty days that you will have wifi... tomorrow, it’s really okay to begin
to NOT believe her.
You don’t have to stay home from your
day at the beach to let workmen in. They aren’t going to show up anyway. Actually
that’s not quite true. They will show
up. Right at suppertime. And stay till midnight.
The noisier the tools—the later they
stay.
One working toilet for eight people in
the corner of one of the bedrooms can suffice. It just takes a LOT of
cooperation.
A brand new bathroom (and toilet)
following a week of noise and confusion and workmen at all times is definitely
worth it. We think.
One other important thing, though, is
a door on that new bathroom. People get skittish when whatever they are doing
is public knowledge.
Just because supposedly competent
workmen have been properly engaged, it doesn’t follow that said workmen will
install the new windows in the right holes.
One can do without hot water in the
kitchen. As long as there is plenty of it in the one working bathroom. And one
has at least one big bucket. True story.
You can think of a million and one
dishes you want to make in the oven—when you don’t have one that works. Oh, and
remember to watch out for the exposed wires that are the reason said oven doesn’t
work. They can really pack a wallop.
Just because a toaster is
top-of-the-line, it doesn’t follow that it will actually…toast.
Always keep a thick, absorbent mat on
the floor in front of all the sinks. So the water will have someplace to go.
The Landlady’s idea of a beautiful
swimming pool—and yours—are probably poles apart. Nine feet of mud isn’t nine
feet of water. And back-hoes working on some remote building site are
fascinating. Back-hoes in your front yard, digging away your driveway and your only
access to your B&B are not.
Buying tools and effecting repairs
yourself is totally acceptable. And may save your precious sanity. Just don’t
expect a reduction in the rent.
When a foreman says he will come back
and build you a front step, believe him. A pallet can be a front step.
Sometimes desperate tourists are the
popular fathers of invention. Walkways made out of pilfered shipping crates
will be appreciated by the whole neighbourhood!
It’s quite all right for your washer
to discharge down the outer house wall. It’s also fine to use it as a shower.
And finally…
Just because a baguette is warm, it
doesn’t follow that it’s fresh. OR ant-free. Please be careful when choosing
your boulangerie!
Rena, we survived that holiday. In
fact, the last six weeks of it were bliss.
Or perhaps our standards had just lowered.
Thank you for this prompt, my friend. And for the gift of...you!
I miss you.
Diane
This
was Rena’s May prompt.
Please read on to see the rest of the participants!