{"id":1574,"date":"2016-11-22T00:39:59","date_gmt":"2016-11-22T00:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/socamom.com\/w\/alliouagana-festival-of-the-word-in-montserrat-day-one\/"},"modified":"2023-09-04T22:21:43","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T04:21:43","slug":"alliouagana-festival-of-the-word-in-montserrat-day-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/socamom.com\/w\/alliouagana-festival-of-the-word-in-montserrat-day-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Alliouagana Festival of the Word in Montserrat: Day One"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was so honored to be asked to speak at the Alliouagana Festival of the Word in Montserrat<\/a>.\u00a0I was worried that with classes on Thursdays, I wouldn\u2019t be able to get there in time to participate in everything and see the island. I was told ahead of time that just getting to Montserrat would take the entire day.<\/p>\n

Related Post:\u00a0Alliouagana Festival of the Word in Montserrat November 10-13<\/a><\/p>\n

This was a true statement.\u00a0 While I was a bit disappointed that I missed the goat water on Thursday, I was relieved that I would still make reception the hosted by Her Excellency the Governor, Elizabeth Carriere.<\/p>\n

I put on what I was going to wear to the reception and slipped a sweatshirt over it.\u00a0 It made for a pretty interesting outfit with my hair still twisted and flip flops, but luckily, when I arrived at the airport, no one was dressed to impress. My Friday morning flight out of Reagan National Airport was scheduled to leave at 6:00 am, so I had to be there at 4:00 am.\u00a0 I was surprised by how many people flew out that early. \u00a0<\/p>\n

I arrived in Miami around 8:45 am, and was back in the air by 9:50 headed to Antigua. \u00a0That gave me time to sleep, get my makeup on, and take my twists out. \u00a0I arrived in Antigua at little after 2:00 pm (1:00 pm our time).\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The airport is new and really beautiful.\u00a0 My flight didn\u2019t leave Antigua until 5, so the airport staff suggested I eat and relax at the Big Banana that was located outside of the new airport, next door, inside of the old one.\u00a0 It was a pretty short walk, but you have to go up the stairs with your luggage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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I ordered plantains and fries, and called the hubby and kids to see how they were doing.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0My next flight wasn\u2019t until 5:00, so I had about 2 hours to burn.\u00a0 They told me to come back over at about 4:30, but it turns out that wasn\u2019t exactly accurate.<\/p>\n

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My selfie for instagram<\/a>. The air in Antigua was really humid which turned out to be\u00a0great for my fresh twist out.<\/em><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t miss the flight, but my heart pounded as I ran through the airport trying to make sure that I was on time.\u00a0 I was flying SVG, and they called over from the old airport to the new one and let them know I was on the way.\u00a0 I checked in, got weighed with my backpack on, went through security, and waited.\u00a0 People were looking at me like I was crazy for rushing\u2026 It was a hurry up and wait situation.<\/p>\n

Related:\u00a0Alliouagana Festival of the Word in Montserrat: Day Two<\/a><\/p>\n

When I saw the plane\u2026 well\u2026 it wasn\u2019t much bigger than our SUV. It definitely wasn\u2019t any wider. We started walking over to the plane when the rain started.\u00a0 I climbed in and took my seat next to a lovely woman who would be attending the same reception that I was, and we chatted.<\/p>\n

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I was in the third row of four. Two across. It was about the size of a passenger van – probably smaller.<\/em><\/p>\n

Not about life and death like we probably could have with the weather and the size of that plane, but just about where we were going and what we were doing in Montserrat for the weekend.<\/p>\n

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The rain was starting to get heavy.<\/em><\/p>\n

The rain started coming down in full force and I got out my camera to document.\u00a0 Yes, I could have freaked out, but I figured\u2026 heck\u2026 I\u2019m up here now, so I may as well take in the view. \u00a0Just as I had resigned to let Jesus take the wheel, the rain stopped and the sun came out.\u00a0 It was gorgeous.\u00a0 The video recap is coming soon to the Socamom YouTube channel \u2013 you\u2019ll see.\u00a0 (At this point you may be wondering if you could opt for a ferry from Antigua to Montserrat. Not at this time. It\u2019ll be you and that little plane.)<\/p>\n

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When the clouds parted, you could see the beautiful island below. It looked like something off of television.<\/em><\/p>\n