St. Lucia becomes St. 'Elucia'

I’m supposed to be in St. Lucia now. But my SO’s disability has declined to a point where she doesn’t have sufficient mobility, therefore sidelining that plan. Yes, the airfare had already been paid. No insurance because we’d never needed insurance before. My way of looking at it is, yes, I’ve eaten $2000 but the entire trip would have cost another $8000 for three weeks. That, my friends, is money in the bank…Why St. Lucia, which I’m now calling St Elucia (as in elusive)? During the pandemic this deep southern Caribbean Island seemed to have the best Covid protocols, with all resorts abiding by a standard system which appeared better than other Caribbean Islands. Hence the Island was more open for business, combing safety and normalcy. Moreover, from all reports and photographs the island, unlike others, is a standout with its lush forests, waterfalls, chocolate factories and Pitons mountains. Well, we never ended up going during Covid; we’d simply put it aside among other priorities. And now this cancellation (no charge for the resort). We’ll see if St. Elucia ever becomes St. Lucia! Coincidentally, on Monday, the expected day of our arrival, my computer screen randomly generated a screen saver of, guess where.

Postscript: friends whom I wrote about in the last post were delighted to obtain two $400 vouchers after their Toronto-Windsor flight was cancelled and they had to take Via Rail to Windsor. “I sent a registered letter to Air Canada on Monday, requesting a refund of the cancelled portion of the flight from Windsor to Toronto, and our train fare, and by Wednesday evening we had a refund of $800 in our bank accounts!  I’m not kidding! Pretty impressive." Sure is, that speed is almost unheard of for any business. AC is more than pulling up its socks paying refunds, a far cry from 2022 with massive backlogs from delays when people started flying post-Covid, though I've never had too much of a problem getting refund vouchers ... However, there’s a story in today’s National Post about the airline taking a Vancouver couple to court for making a similar claim. The airline says it is not seeking vengeance but testing a new adjudication process by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA). “The complaint was centered around a January 2020 flight that the couple says was delayed for 24 hours. Nearly four years later, the CTA ruled that Air Canada owed the Dyczkowskis $1,000 each and gave the airline until the end of December to pay. Instead, Air Canada has opted to challenge the ruling in Federal Court. If the airline is successful, the couple fears they could be out for more than just the $2,000 compensation they received — they could also be on the hook for Air Canada’s legal costs.”

The more I think about it, Athens (photo - sunset from Filopappou Hill) – where I spent almost two months last fall - is an ideal city. Sure, it’s large on a metropolitan scale but the central city is compact yet overflowing with activity. Hundreds of restaurants, cafes and wine bars cluster in the circumference below the Acropolis, all within walking distance. The same goes for the city’s roughly dozen museums. And in summer, you can easily hop on a tram to take you directly to beaches on the “Athens Riviera,” just south of the city. No need for a car; how perfect is that ... I've joined several Athens FB groups and find myself as an ambassador touting the city's glories. 

- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller