Holiday …

Holidays are pretty incredible right.

As I’m writing this I’m sat next to my Hannah as we have a drink and she gets over a nasty spout of tummy pain. It’s Thursday, and 4 days into a two week holiday on the beautiful island that is Barbados. Hannah has been on this island thirty something times now, she travelled here for the first time as a 12 year old with her parents, and has been coming back ever since, she knows the ins and outs of the island, the little private beaches, the best places to eat, the quiet spots and the hidden treasures this place has to offer.

Me on the other hand, this is my first time. I myself haven’t traveled much in my lifetime. A week in Spain, a trip to Disneyland, and a fortnight in turkey just about sum up where I’ve been in my 27 years. But this place is different to anything or anywhere I’ve been, it’s paradise.

Stepping off the plane you’re hit with the 30 degree heat like a slap. But the first thing you notice is how friendly the people are and just how laid back those said people are. As Hannah calls it, the whole island is on “Bajan time” roughly half the speed of what we are accustomed to back in the UK. The roads are old, and well used, the houses are mostly unfinished, the whole place on first impression just seems chilled. It’s different, but I love it.

From the airport we took a short bus ride to the hotel, from the outside a white, reasonably sized building, unassuming and blended to its surroundings. It certainly didn’t look like it did in the photos but the Savannah beach hotel hides a gem.

Through the labyrinth of walkways and corridors you end up faced with a long courtyard, rooms flanking either side and a winding pool through the middle. Bridges and palm trees intertwining through the pool and at the end a bar, a small resteraunt, and finally the beach. It’s stunning. It’s the Caribbean.

So far, 4 days in, we have eaten in 2 places and spent the day on a pirate ship drinking rum. We have spent one of the days on Copacabana beach in the white sand and have swam in the Caribbean sea, first and foremost though we have just been relaxing and winding down, settling in to Bajan life.

Travelling as a Spoonie couple means you carry much more than you normally would. Alongside the normal cases packed with clothes, swimwear, shoes, everything we may need for two weeks in the sun, we also come sporting a feeding pump, feeds, hydration bags, tubes, and a big bag of meds. We are ready for anything.

Today though has shown both sides of what it’s like to have and live with a chronic illness.

We started the day down at breakfast, we both ate well and had a good amount of coffee, we made our way back to the room and got ourselves ready in the little time we had to get the bus to the capital city Bridgetown to take a ride on the jolly Rodger party ship.

On the jolly Rodger we started off with a rum or two and headed out on to the Caribbean sea, a quick stop to snorkel with turtles followed by a visit to a shipwreck brought us to a stop on the west coast of the island where we ate lunch and they brought out the rope swing. Hannah and I both had the best day, we laughed, danced, drank, swam, and both swung off the side of the boat into the warm blue sea. Today is a day I’ll never forget, however cut to 3 hours later, and the toll of all the walking and drinking, dancing and swimming are taking their toll.

Hannah is in a lot of pain and struggling to get off the toilet. The pain in her abdomen is so bad she’s shaking and with her head resting on the wall of the toilet, she can’t move. All she can do is wait for it to die down, that could be 5 minutes or it could be hours, but that, coupled with the fibromyalgia pain and arthritis means she’s in for a night that most of us couldn’t imagine. Thankfully she can med and rest and in a day or so of rest, she should be back to come kind of normal, but for now, it’s spoon saving mode.

We have had an amazing 4 days and the next 10 prove to be just as incredible but as always chronic illness is always there in the background and makes no bones in reminding us it’s there.

Hannah though manages to get through it all with a smile and for getting through it the way she does I’m more proud of her than she will ever realise.

I’m just glad we are in paradise.

Jack