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ATLANTA Nothing much to say about Atlanta, just more of the same: All the same stores and restaurants that you see everywhere and lots of traffic and construction. Yuk!
Finally it was the dreaded day to take Ziggy on the plane. We got up early to give us plenty of time to turn in the rental car, and check Zig in and get through security. I was trying to think positive but somehow I was worried. We had all our papers for Ziggy, having taken him to the Vet days before we left and the vet and Larry both checked what papers were needed. To get Ziggy into the Bahamas we were supposed to have a “clean bill of health” certificate dated 24 hours prior to entry. Of course that is next to impossible so our vet pre dated the certificate. Well, we got to airport, turned in the car, and headed up to the Delta counter with all our “stuff” and thinking we were doing good in time until….and here’s a copy of my email sent to one of our good friends that pretty much describes the following ordeal (no need in reinventing the wheel here).. Hi We made it, but I must tell you it was the trip from HELL! We got the jerk of all jerks at the Delta ticket counter in Atlanta. He wasn't going to allow us to get on the plane because he said we didn't have a "climate acclimation certificate" for Ziggy! We had called the airline more than once weeks back to find out specifically what they needed and that was never mentioned but of course "we were lying" the ticket agent more or less said because they (Delta) "always tells you that you need an acclimation certificate, everyone knows that!". This wasn’t true of course. We even checked with our vet and the vet double checked and no mention of this “climate acclimation certificate” was ever mentioned. Of course again, the ticket agent said "the vet was lying or doesn't know his job". This guy was insulting to say the least and it was all I could do to keep my cool. Larry kept his cool though and persisted and asked what do we have to do to get this sorted out. The agent said we could call our vet and have him fax them a copy of this certificate. So we called our vet in San Juan Island on our cell phone, still standing at the ticket counter, and just our luck, their office was closed that day. So we called his emergency home number and no answer, and then we called the emergency vet number at another office. They too had never heard of this "certificate", but again, the agent says to us "all vets know about this", he must not be a very good vet. Realizing we were getting no where with this guy, we asked for a supervisor. She wasn’t much better as she strolled out with an attitude because she was "getting ready to go on her lunch break” and didn't want to be bothered with us. We amazingly got the same rude attitude from her also. It was unbelievable. In the midst of all this we had to prove to the ticket agent that we had a return ticket from the Bahamas. It had to be proof on paper. Larry had made the reservations the other night by email so had no paper work. The only way to get past him on this was to show him "proof on paper" he said. Luckily Larry had his lap top with him and was able to boot it up to prove we had an email confirmation by showing him our email from Continental and surprisingly considering how difficult this guy was, he accepted that. He said very huffily, “they will not even let you through customs without it” (of course they never asked when we got to the Bahamas). I tried to reason with this jerk and told him we did everything we thought was required and drove across country to fly out of here so Ziggy wouldn’t have to fly a long flight. He then laughed in my face as if I was lying and said “he never heard of anyone driving across country to a dog!” Then the next thing with this guy was that our bag was too heavy, (filled with dog food and etc.) It went on and on with this guy. We stood at the counter for an hour trying to reason with this guy and again made him call for another supervisor. Again the same supervisor came again grudgingly out again, at a snails pace though our plane departure time now was getting stressfully near, and again she argued with us. Seeing that we were not going to go away she finally said she'd call some vet she knew to get a phony certificate and within minutes he faxed it to her! By now time is running out and we're not sure if we can even get to the gate to catch the flight. (And there was not another flight that day or the next if we missed this one.) So finally we were a go, but did we have enough time to get to the gate and catch the plane? It was really iffy. The ticket agent said we had to take Zig to the Security Clearance area to have him and his carrier checked out for who knows what (drugs? weapons?), whatever, and when we got him there we couldn't get him through because the agent never put the dam destination ticket on the cage! Larry had to go back to ticketing and get it from him. All this was at the last minute with only 15 minutes to get to our gate, plus go through our security and then take the tram to the farthest terminal E! So, finally off Ziggy went and Larry gave the guy taking him to the gate a tip to make sure he got to the right place and in time. Now, we were in such a horrible rush that we didn't notice that the ticket agent also didn't give us a claim stub for Larry's bag! (So Larry has no bag here in the Bahamas, and no clothes but what he was wearing from a 35 degree climate!!) We didn’t discover this mishap until we got to the little Eleuthera airport. We finally got to the security line and it was massive!!! Beyond belief really! When I saw the line I realized there was no way we were ever going to make it in time and I just completely broke down and started crying because now Ziggy was on his way to the plane which was leaving in 15 minutes and there was no way in hell we could get through this line in time to make it. I kept imagining Ziggy arriving in the Bahamas and nobody to pick him up. Larry got in line to get a place and I just went from person to person trying to find someone to get us to the head of the line, but it was one rude rejection after another, until finally I found a nice black security guard woman and she understood the situation and got us to the front of the line. It still took forever to get through the x-ray machines and then my stuff had to go through twice as a punishment because I put my purse on top of the lap top! "You are not supposed to do that!" We then had to run to the tram as all the terminals as you probably know in Atlanta are reachable only by tram. We had to wait for it to arrive and then ride it to literally the end of the line with five tediously seemingly long stops until we arrived at our stop! Once we got to the terminal E we had to run for ever to the gate. I thought we both were literally going to have heart attacks! No kidding! When we got there the plane was delayed 20 minutes or we never would have made it and which we thought was a blessing until it turned into a 3 hour delay and that was not with out boarding the plane and sitting for 45 minutes then de-boarding, changing to another, and all the while we were expressing our concern about where Ziggy was during all this. We wondered if he was out in the freezing cold somewhere or whether he still on the original plane. Did he ever get on our plane, etc. as there was so much confusion? They confirmed to us finally he was on the right plane and nothing to worry about. When we finally got on the plane that was actually going to leave we still all had to wait another 30 minutes for the Co Pilot to arrive! When we finally took off and the stewardess came by for drinks and we ordered double drinks of vodka with a splash of Bloody Mary mix even though it was in the middle of the afternoon. It did a pretty good job calming our nerves. Once we arrived in Eleuthera and de-boarded we watched in horror as they unloaded Ziggy and put him on the baggage cart which was parked right below the jet engine that was still running at an ear drum piercing pitch! We had to watch him like this until they completely unloaded the plane. (I haven't noticed any hearing loss so I think he’s OK). WE were only able to give him one tranquilizer which by now you realize was surely not enough for the duration of this ridiculous 7 hour ordeal when it was supposed to be only about an hour and a half flight! So when we arrived in the Bahamas that’s when we discovered Larry's bag was missing and for the first time ever he packed his essentials in the checked luggage because we had so much “stuff” to handle because of Ziggy. Of course, his meds, and etc. are missing, not to mention underwear, hot weather shirts and shorts, swim suit, and to find his size in a small isolated island like this will be a complete challenge. We don't have high hopes for finding his bag because we were never given a stub for it and our ticket agent proved that he could give a twit about helping anyone especially us. He probably discovered our bag and sent it off on the next flight to Bangladesh. In fact, it seemed he had some sort of vendetta for us the minute we arrived which we found quite incredible. The only think we can think is he lives in Atlanta, which is over crowded, suffers from terrible traffic and freezing dreary weather and everyday he has to check in all these people going to wonderful warm climate places and maybe he resents it. We can't figure out any other explanation.
But, I must say, even though I have the biggest swollen eyes from crying at the airport, it was all worth it, as it's so beautiful here and we're glad to be back. We love where we are staying and will tell you more about it in the next few days. It is totally fabulous! Hope all is good with you! Signed the Crazy Travelers. (3 days later) Still no suitcase but we found a little store down by the harbor that actually had something Larry could fit into. We got him some funky shorts with way too many pockets and two Nautica Golf Shirts (that look like seconds) and a T-Shirt with some local beer advertisement on it. We found some sandals and he’s already gotten blisters from them but at least we got him some shoes to wear. We're hoping the bag will come today on their next flight. If not, surely it's gone to who knows where. The only major loss was his meds, shaving gear, some Faconnable clothes that I splurged on for him, otherwise probably it’s probably a good thing the bag was lost. :) Oh and I managed to rummage through all sorts of dusty shelves in the little harbor store to find him some underwear too. Not the type he usually wears but will do. The cook at our rental house has a little booth near the harbor landing where she sells shells, and other tourist stuff during the day, and said she has a Jesus t-shirt that would fit him just fine. I think I might have to get it for the heck of it. It's got to be funny. Ziggy seems just fine, and has made his lover babe a regular thing already (thank God we brought her). He has a wonderful yard completely fenced in to watch the harbor activity and lots of places to lounge in. The house is located right on the harbor and we can see all the action, the ferry that comes and goes from Nassau, the little island freighters that bring the supplies, the local fishermen, and of course the yachts, bigger and fancier each year. The house is old (1836?), but charming and beautiful. It's decorated typical East Coast style with a bunch of cottage type wicker furniture that looks fine but is not too comfortable. We have several patios and decks on several different levels to watch the sunset or lounge, and have great views of the water and sunset. There is a stone BBQ pit and a surrounding stone circular bench in the back of the garden and a hammock nearby stretched from two palm trees and all of this is surrounded by fragrant flowering tropical plants. We are surrounded by other old colonial homes that are all beautifully restored like ours and painted in fantastic pastel colors. We awoke our first morning to the sound of roosters, doves and the distant voices of the black fishermen. It's warm and not too sticky but we have ceiling fans, screened French doors, and AC to choose from for comfort. The nearby grocery store is small as a pocket, and called Piggily Wiggily which the name is somehow very appropriate, and has all the essentials and like most places, when the freighter comes in, that's when to get the stuff fresh. They take MC or Visa but charge and additional 5% for the convenience. It's ridiculously expensive too but so what we’re on vacation. We walked on the beach yesterday and Zig had a ball, and the water is cool but so beautiful and the sand is still that amazing soft, silky pink. The beaches here in the Bahamas are truly what I describe as pure paradise. We checked out the marina where we kept the big boat 2 years ago and it looks wonderful but we were glad we didn't have to worry about having a boat there, you know, getting here, the cleaning and upkeep, etc. :) Well, that's the jest of this place so far. We're supposed to get rain tomorrow and had an almost full moon last night which was beautiful reflecting over the water last night. That's this place. I'm glad we're here but already dreading the flight to Florida already. I'm going to check into alternative local airlines instead of crappy Delta and Continental. Yo mon, Little Pot Cake
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THE
FLIGHT
Well,
we are here, though several times during the airport ordeal we considered
chucking it all in and heading back home which tells you how bad the
experience was as our drive was quite an ordeal also. 
Anyway,
we have a maid that comes everyday, and the gardener it seems everyday too
(mostly at the crack of dawn) (garden is beautiful by the way) and the
cook comes at night. She will cook whatever we want; we just have to buy
the food. She comes at 6:30 and by the time the dinner is ready we are
ravenous and it tastes so delicious. It works out well because of Ziggy
and I don't have to cook or clean up as she does it all. I think I could
get used to this. I'm going to buy some Caribbean lobster today and she
told me the fisherman that catches the best fish to get fresh grouper, so
we'll get some fresh fish the following night. Sunday is everybody's day
off (as they are very religious around here) and we can either cook or go
out.