What a jouney!
From arriving at St. Nics to getting to Gatwick was anm adventure in itself, let alone 3 weeks in the Dominican Republic.
Up at 3am to be ready to pick up Nigel, Paul, Fran and Nick and be at St. Nics for a 4.30am departure.
The minibus driver was a strange man, he had bought along a young lad to help him with the luggage. At some point he was talking to Fran about who we were picking and discovered that there wasn't room for his lad, so he accused her of not communicating properly. she took it very well. He discovered on ringing his boss that there was 16 of us altogether. So he had to send the lad home. Apparently it was our fault and cost £20!!
We picked up Gemma OK at Leicester Forest East services.
Then the adventure began. The bus decided that it had had enough and broke down. Richard heard the driver telling his boss that the front axle had gone again!
We limped off the motorway at J19, not before a police car with a blue light stopped us wanting to know why we were travelling in the hard shoulder.
The driver wasn't the brightest or most helpful of chaps. His boss (Gary)msaid taht he would come down in a second minibus. Hannah rang up her mun who was a godsesnd on the internet looking up lots of numbers. Paul and Hannah were busy on the phone to see if we could get alternative transport. As we thought an hour and a half wait for second minibus was too long. Unfortunately that is what we had to do, as there was no alternative. Working together as a team, our first team building exercise, was to come up with an alternative. To drive to Luton and catch the train, hopefully 8.10am. We thought the M25 was too big a risk.
Rachel and Jonnie who were waiting at Northampton services made their own way to Gatwick.
Tim at Gatwick who was from mission direct with our tickets was kept fully up to date. Last check in was 10am.
&.15 saw the second minibus arrive the trailer whizzed off the first bus and onto the second. Only trouble now is that J19 you can't get on to the M1 southbound. So north we go to J20 then back down south. Our driver is now sllpy and wavering a bit across the road. Paul discovered that the Luton train stops at Harlington first. We were not going to get to Luton for 8.44 as 8.10 has been and gone. Harlington at J12 for 8.33. We arrived at 8.26am.
Paul bought all the train tickets on his credit card and onto the train we piled. Hannah and I stayed with the luggage. Someone asked if we were emigrating!
Lizzie who was already at Gatwick was dispatched to find the route from the platform to the check in desk. They are going to hold the desk for us.
15 mins before we arrived at Gatwick we discovered the train had a loo, Praise the Lord, but no coffee!!
Lizzie was waiting at the big clock, never saw it, we all piled out and ran. With encouraging words from Fran, "RUN, COME ON, MOVE IT" and "OUT OF OUR WAY WE'VE GOT A PLANE TO CATCH". We got to the check in desk, bags checked without weighing, they didn't care, ushered through security and the a mile or so run to the departure gate where there was a queue!!.
Chris, Richard and Tom had the luxury of one of those little electric carts!
We were told that if we had been a small group we wouldn't have been allowed on. Praise the Lord. Through him today we have achieved the impossible. There isn't a plane to the DR every day.
We left England in the rain and we arrived in the DR in the pouring rain, although it is very hot and humid.
There was confusion over the rooms at the hotel as they had only been given our surnames and I was originally sharing with Andy Dodds! Now sharing with Ruth.
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