Posted By: RunnernReader
The Long Way home: March 21, 2020 - 03/16/2021 08:15 PM
It seemed a long way home…
March 13th, 2020 … we’d been in SXM for 6 weeks of our 8 and the noise from home (Canada) was heating up with Covid info.
Familiarity with SXM (after 20 years of extended stays) was breeding a lack of concern for us. If we’re stuck here, we knew what we’re doing and we could cope.
Then Canada decided to shut down! Yoikes, but we were still fine here!
The BIG THEN, our son, connected with the Canadian medical association, emailed, saying “Come home NOW!” Further, WestJet, on which we had a confirmed flight home for March 25th, posted that their last flight to SXM would be March 23rd. Now, we panicked!
What to do … Started to SEACH!
Initial search, gave us ONE OPTION: St Martin to PANAMA City to DC to Toronto, 27 hours.! More YOIKES. Out WestJet flight was about 5 hours!
Panic was setting in … then… inspiration … a middle of the night search .. and remembering that although living in Canada, we were fortunate enough to live 45 minutes from the Buffalo airport…. We gathered the new plan ….
Search revealed only a few seats on a flight from SXM to EWR and then also a few seats from EWR to BUF on Friday, March 21st. We grabbed two seats! (our friends from Connecticut grabbed the last two seats). The subsequent flight to Buffalo was almost full as well. Also booked, a pick–up from our Canadian Airbus to home on arrival.
FRIDAY, MAY 21st .. SXM airport: all was well:; only one seat free on the flight to Newport. Tense on board .. one person coughing! People we’re stressed!
Newport was close-quartered, no masks, no distancing! MY wife was without shoes for 40 minutes in Newark security because of scanning of personal laptops. More stress!
NEXT FLIGHT EWR to BUF: Flight supposedly close to full (200 peeps); only 15 passengers made the connection!
BUFALO: 11:20 PM: met by our Airbus staff who crossed early to meet flight for 12 passengers. Only three were there.
Crossing from US to Canada@ 1:10 am: Border closed at MIDNIGHT (still closed almost 1 year later) but open to Canadians only: met by security and regarded as the LAST BUS to cross the border. Freezing wind hollowing off Lake Erie over the Peace Bridge and I was in SXM shorts!)
(NOTE: folks arriving later that night had to walk across the long bridge because taxis could not cross the bridge going to Canada and taxis from Canada could not cross the bridge to meet these folks.)
MARCH 22: we drove my wife’s car to YYZ (Toronto) to retrieve my car from Park’N’Fly and drive home again! Then, 14 days of self-isolation! WHEW! REFLEIF!
Missing SXM this year; but BOOKED for 10 weeks next year! Hallelujah! Se ya’ on Orient Beach!
March 13th, 2020 … we’d been in SXM for 6 weeks of our 8 and the noise from home (Canada) was heating up with Covid info.
Familiarity with SXM (after 20 years of extended stays) was breeding a lack of concern for us. If we’re stuck here, we knew what we’re doing and we could cope.
Then Canada decided to shut down! Yoikes, but we were still fine here!
The BIG THEN, our son, connected with the Canadian medical association, emailed, saying “Come home NOW!” Further, WestJet, on which we had a confirmed flight home for March 25th, posted that their last flight to SXM would be March 23rd. Now, we panicked!
What to do … Started to SEACH!
Initial search, gave us ONE OPTION: St Martin to PANAMA City to DC to Toronto, 27 hours.! More YOIKES. Out WestJet flight was about 5 hours!
Panic was setting in … then… inspiration … a middle of the night search .. and remembering that although living in Canada, we were fortunate enough to live 45 minutes from the Buffalo airport…. We gathered the new plan ….
Search revealed only a few seats on a flight from SXM to EWR and then also a few seats from EWR to BUF on Friday, March 21st. We grabbed two seats! (our friends from Connecticut grabbed the last two seats). The subsequent flight to Buffalo was almost full as well. Also booked, a pick–up from our Canadian Airbus to home on arrival.
FRIDAY, MAY 21st .. SXM airport: all was well:; only one seat free on the flight to Newport. Tense on board .. one person coughing! People we’re stressed!
Newport was close-quartered, no masks, no distancing! MY wife was without shoes for 40 minutes in Newark security because of scanning of personal laptops. More stress!
NEXT FLIGHT EWR to BUF: Flight supposedly close to full (200 peeps); only 15 passengers made the connection!
BUFALO: 11:20 PM: met by our Airbus staff who crossed early to meet flight for 12 passengers. Only three were there.
Crossing from US to Canada@ 1:10 am: Border closed at MIDNIGHT (still closed almost 1 year later) but open to Canadians only: met by security and regarded as the LAST BUS to cross the border. Freezing wind hollowing off Lake Erie over the Peace Bridge and I was in SXM shorts!)
(NOTE: folks arriving later that night had to walk across the long bridge because taxis could not cross the bridge going to Canada and taxis from Canada could not cross the bridge to meet these folks.)
MARCH 22: we drove my wife’s car to YYZ (Toronto) to retrieve my car from Park’N’Fly and drive home again! Then, 14 days of self-isolation! WHEW! REFLEIF!
Missing SXM this year; but BOOKED for 10 weeks next year! Hallelujah! Se ya’ on Orient Beach!