Posts from — March 2011

On Friday Kevin, Tamara, Sage and Conrad came for a visit. Actually it was more than that, they came to cook us dinner, pamper Namma and give me a break from cooking.

Dinner on Friday night was delicious. Chicken, baked potatoes, bacon wrapped asparagrass and after dinner Sage & Conrad decorated us all sugar cookies with icing and sparkles for dessert.

Saturday morning Kevin and Tamara made Omelets, Bacon and Hash-browns for breakfast…………. Yum! Yum!

After breakfast it was time to decorate Namma’s cast. Now, we weren’t quite awake and forgot to get pictures during the cast decorating party on the kitchen floor; however afterwards I took some pictures while Tamara was giving Brenda a pedicure. Pretty colorful Eh! 

Meanwhile in the kitchen Sage & Conrad were playing with toys and eating the leftover candy sprinkles from cookie decorating.

Just before they left it was time for a silly family picture and then Sage the up and coming professional photographer took the picture of us with Kevin & Tamara.

Tuesday we started the long trek home. After leaving the Villa we headed to the St Jean Airport to catch our 10:30 a.m. flight and we left lots of time to spare.

We met Nurse Brigitte at the airport where she assisted in administering the daily dose of Lovenox to Brenda. Thanks Brigitte for all your assistance and help over the last 13 days, it was truly appreciated and helped us both deal with an unexpected turn of events on a vacation.

We checked in early and so they got us out on an earlier flight. Getting on the Twin Otter was a bit of a challenge but thanks to the crew and other passengers Brenda finally got a seat at the back of the plane. The challenge was getting her up the stairs on one leg. The stairs of course are part of the fuselage and they bounce as you climb them since they are attached with a cable. You can see what I mean in the attached picture.

One final thing it was good we got an earlier flight out of St. Bart’s since the plane immediately after us had a mechanical issue and got stranded on the St. Bart’s runway and they had to close the airport for a period of time.

Anyway, we arrived into St Maarten with lots of time to spare. Checked in with Westjet 3 hrs. prior and were able to get front row (bulkhead) seats which gave Brenda a little more leg room. Once in Toronto we were met at the ramp by a Toronto Airport wheel chair assist person who helped us get through Customs and Immigration quickly and we checked into the Sheraton Gateway at the airport. It was super convenient and we will definitely stay here again.

The next morning we were up early and discovered that our flight was cancelled/rescheduled for a little later. Anyway after a late departure and stop over in Calgary we ended up in Vancouver at 3:30 p.m.; about 2 hrs late from our original travel plans. Overall the service by Westjet was outstanding and we would fly again with them to the Caribbean.

Since we were both itching to get home we hit the road and arrived in Kamloops shortly after 9:00 p.m. I’ve got to say Brenda was a trooper and never once complained about her foot even though it was getting extremely swollen by the end of the long day. It’s good to be home.

Monday was our last full day in St. Bart’s. After much planning and coordination by both of us we decided to give it a try to get down to Gouvenor Beach for one last time.

So we packed up one of the Villa deck chairs complete with cushions for Brenda to sit on and a small beach chair for her to prop up her ankle and of course beach towels, books, water, snack, a plastic bag to wrap around her cast so sand wouldn’t get in, etc.

Getting a close parking spot at Gouvenor is always a bit of a challenge. Anyway, we got lucky and someone was pulling out as we drove in and it was not too far from the entrance to the beach. The nice thing about Gouvenor is that once you are at the beach there is a large tree to sit under right at the entrance so Brenda could be in the shade.You can see the view she had from her chair…. not too bad Eh?. Plus   I walked the length of the beach and went for a couple dips in the ocean, we stayed for about 1 1/2 hrs and then headed back to the Villa.

We had a great final dinner on the deck, a couple glasses of wine and watched the sunset. What a gorgeous ending to an interesting vacation.

On Sunday we had a visit to St. Bart’s by Donna and Bob. They sailed over on Saturday from St. Maarten and anchored in Corossol Bay. This Corossol link is a local web site that has everything about the Village of Corossol. Corossol is known for the dried palm frond handicrafts that were made by Village ladies years ago; it’s a dieing art however there is a small store that still sells a few items. The most treasured one is called a “Quichenotte” which is a bonnet worn by the ladies to hide their appearance and discourage advances by male suitors. English translation of “Quichenotte” is “Kiss Me Not”.

Once we picked ip Donna and Bob (sorry we were a little late Bob) we did a quick circle island tour and pointed out the various areas of interest, look out points, popular beaches, etc. on the island. From the look-out at the end of Colombier road Bob was able to count the number of available mooring balls for their Monday night anchorage in Anse du Colombier.

We also stopped and showed them a couple of the Catholic Creches or Shrines that were built on the island so the people in the small villages had a local gathering spot to worship. We believe there is about 6 or 7 of these scattered around St. Bart’s.

After our island tour we headed back to our Villa for a dip in the pool and a shower; you sailors out there will appreciate the enjoyment a dip in a fresh water pool and nice long hot shower feels after being on sailboat for a few days.

We had a great Bar-b-que lunch of Filet Tournadoes, Quinoa, Potatoes and grilled Red Peppers andthen it was time for a photo and back to Corossol so they could get back to Bergybit for the afternoon-evening.

It was great to see them and we wish them Calm Seas and Fair Winds!

The roads in St. Bart’s are steep, twisty, narrow and a patchwork of concrete. However the local government is working at fixing them up a little bit at a time. They are slightly widening them, adding sidewalks and beautiful rock work along the edges; so in a few more years they will be greatly improved. However this post isn’t about the roads it’s about the variety of vehicles you see on the island. There are a lot of electric vehicles and for the most part cars and small suv’s are used. When it rains you need 4X4 to get up the hills as the concrete get’s very slippery. The first picture is our Suzuki Jimny we rented from Europcar, it’s much better shape than last years.

For years the island vehicle was the Moke or Mini-moke, you still see a few around and most have been restored, I don’t believe you can rent them anymore. Next are a few random images of a selection of island transportation.

Finally, one unwritten rule of the road in St. Bart’s is that some motorcyles, scooters and quads are exempt from all road regulations; including no passing on corners, no passing at the crest of a blind hill, no passing on the left, no passing on the right towards oncoming traffic, etc. You can also expect to have a motorcycle cut in front of your vehicle at any moment then wave and grin. Also expect to see 2 or 3 people riding a motor scooter rated for a single rider, or if you are fortunate you can see the ladies riding with their small dog, groceries or other packages sitting on the scooter floor area. For sure any use of common sense does not apply to operation of these vehicles. Helmets are not required but a surprising number of riders wear them.

La poste d’aujourd’hui est de notre Brigitte d’Infirmière. Elle visite de tous les jours pour administrer un coup d’anticoagulant. Ceci est d’empêcher la thrombose et sera très important quand nous commençons à voyager à la maison avec les beaucoup de vols d’avion. Brigitte fournit aussi l’avis médical sur ce que Brenda peut prévoir comme sa cheville commence le processus curatif. Elle a été très serviable. Entre notre Français limité et Anglais de Brigitte et quelques dessins que nous avons géré tout à fait bien. Une images de couple sont attachées. Vous remercier Brigitte!

English Translation

Today’s post is about our Nurse Brigitte. She visits everyday to administer a shot of anticoagulant. This is to prevent thrombosis and will be very important when we start to travel back home with the many plane flights.
Brigitte also provides medical advice on what Brenda can expect as her ankle begins the healing process. She has been very helpful. Between our limited French, Brigitte’s English and a few drawings we have managed quite well.
A couple pictures are attached.
Thank you Brigitte!

So we know you are all wondering what is the cost of a broken ankle in St Bart’s? Yes, we purchased private medical insurance…. more on that later.

First off were the miscellaneous pharmacy items we bought prior to going to the Hospital. You know the normal stuff for a sprained body part; ice pack, tensor wrap, etc.

Once at the Hospital the Doctors fees were very reasonable. The Doctor charged about 25 euro for examniation, assessment and treatment. Then there were the x-ray costs which he waived since there were no x-ray staff on duty the day we showed up. he apologized to Brenda a couple times and said there would be no charge since he would try to take an x-ray but could not guarantee the results or diagnosis. However and trust me on this you didn’t need to be a Radiologist to see the broken ankle bone; I believe it is called the malleole! Anyway, once the Doctor set the cast, provided a bunch of paperwork, written prescriptions, follow up x-ray schedule, etc. the final Hospital charges were just over 52 euro.

After leaving the Hospital we headed to one of three pharmacies on the island to pickup the Lovenox, Paracematol and Crutches. That bill was a bit of a shock as it was about 270 euro.

The Doctor also prescribed a daily vist by a local Infimier (Nurse) to administer the Lovenox and check on Brenda. This is definitely different; the Hospital gives you a list of Nurses and you call whoever you want. So, we tried a couple and as luck would have it our Villa phone wasn’t working or was restricted, so we ended up calling St Barth’s Properties (our villa rental company) and they contacted a Nurse to come to the Villa Sea Horse. A time was arranged for her to come to the Villa and she didn’t show up so we called the villa company gain and she had gone to another Villa Sea Horse on the island. Remember this is St Bart’s and it’s not like there are well identified streets, villa addresses, etc; things we take for granted in Canada.

Once she arrived she gave Brenda the shot checked her ankle and made a schedule for regular daily visit. The Nurse is paid for mileage and cost of administering the shot. Mileage is about 25 euro perday and the shot is a little over 5 euro/day for a total of about 30 euro/day. that doesn’t include Saturday and Sunday when there is an additional charge for the weekend of somewhere between 8 – 10 euro.

Then there is the Blood work. The Nurse took a blood sample on day #2 and delivers it to the Laboratory. The lab e-mails you directly with the results. Another blood test will be taken one week after the first to check the platelets for coagulation. The total for the 2 blood test with Lab work, Nurse fee, delivery to Lab, etc. will be about 130 euro.

So, what kind of total cost are we getting to??????

Well, roughly if everything remains stable we should be somewhere around 800 euro. Now this is kind of eerie but just before we left we got an additional 800 euro from the bank just in case we needed it. We never dreamed we would be spending it this way. By the way 1 euro at the bank will cost you about $1.40 Canadian currency.

One final note we purchased our travel medical(One World Travel)  through BCAA. Overall the plan is quite comprehensive, we paid for additional coverages, etc. However like most insurance companies the first focus is about not spending any additional dollars…… we’ve come to expect that. However, it would have been nice sometime during one of the half dozen calls I’ve made to them for one of their agents to say “So, how is Brenda doing? Is she resting comfortably?” Enough said!

After one week at Villa Sea Horse we moved to Villa Poirier. We said a sad goodbye to Dean and Judy who helped us move to our Villa for the next 10 days. They have been a tremendous help and we really appreciate their love and support.

Villa Poirier is much smaller and is more like a traditional St. Bart’s home.

The view is phenomenal, totally unobstructed and very panoramic. We can clearly see St Maarten and Anguilla; the lights in the distant in the evening are spectacular.

It has two small bedrooms, a small bathroom, nice size living area and galley kitchen with everything we need to be comfortable for the next 10 days.

Outside is a pool, a hot tub and sun deck. This continues on to a wrap around deck to enter the villa  where there is a dining table that sits so you can dine and look out over Lorient Bay.

In addition in the distance we can watch the planes approach St. Jean Airport. This picture was taken at the airport of a Twin Otter on final approach as it starts to dive over the hill where the runway starts.

We’ll provide more posts and sights from around the island in the days ahead.

On Wednesday morning the weather looked like it was changing for the better and the winds were dying down, so we headed off to Colombier Beach.

Colombier is at the far end of the island and is only reachable by about a 1 mile trail along the cliffs of the ocean. In many places the trail has been carved out of the rocks, complete with steps, an abundance of loose rocks/gravel and lots of places where it is very easy to slip and we all at times were finding the footing difficult. Unfortunately about 100′ from the end of the trail Brenda slipped and at the time we thought she really badly sprained her right ankle.

Unfortunately she had to hike out and with a little assistance from us we got her back to the car and back to villa where we could ice it and elevate it. The pictures are pretty dramatic of what it looked like when she first took her shoe off, later in the day and the next morning.

However after much discussion we thought it best to go get it looked at by a Doctor. The Hospital in St Barts is quite small but very efficient. After a few minutes the nurse came out to take us into the emergency room and then a young Doctor arrived. When she explained how it happened and the fact she walked all the way back on the trail the Doctor said “you must be very strong for pain”. He apologized because the radiologist was not in today, however he would attempt t take an X-Ray. After a couple tries he was able to get a clear picture and sure enough poor Brenda’s ankle was broken.

The Doctor applied a fiberglass cast, prescribed crutches, Levonox for blood clotting and  pain killer. Total bill so far was only 52 euro.

We then went to the Pharmacy and purchased all the drugs and crutches the bill was now about 268 euro. Thanks heavens for medical insurance.

Anyway she is resting comfortably however as you can imagine she is quite “bummed out” about the whole series of events.

We’ll provide updates in the days ahead.

While downtown in Gustavia we stopped in a St Barth’s Properties to see if we could check in early which should make it easier to move to our next Villa. The picture below is how you have to park vehicles due to the narrow streets.

We are staying at Villa Sea Horse with Dean and Judy. It is located at the east end of the island near an area called Grand Cul De Sac. The villa is quite large with 2 bedrooms with ensuite and large walk in closets, separated by the kitchen, living room and outside seating area. This show one of the bedrooms at one end of the villa there is another one at the exact opposite end. It’s very open and looks out to the ocean.

One of the best features of this villa is the pool; by St Bart’s standard this is a large pool, most are plunge pools, this one you can actually swim laps. Plus the view is pretty nice.