The Rescue and a Walkabout – Gwada - Cream Puff

Hanging out at the souvenir shop waiting to be rescued

So here we are, stuck in the middle of nowhere at Cascade aux Ecrevisses. The key to our rental car is lost. Everything we brought with us on our day trip is locked inside the car. This includes our rental car agreement with the contact information of the local agency from who we rented. It is late and will be dark within an hour. It is close to 5pm and everything closes on this island at five, including the rental car agency.

Cindy (our friend) grabbed her cell phone at the last minute before getting out of the car. Other than this, we were all empty handed, except for the camera. We hiked into the park to see the falls. At some point between the car and the falls, I lost the key. I know this because I checked my pockets before jumping into the water. We retraced our steps hoping to find the key fob on the ground somewhere. No luck.

At the entrance to the park is a souvenir shop. We asked if anyone had turned in a key. No luck. The lady working there speaks a little English and tries to help. She explains there is no cell service in this area and to make a call she would need to go to the top of the hill. But, we don’t know who to call because the paperwork is inside the car. We try calling the marina since the rental car agency is down the street from them and is included in their Welcome Packet. But, there are two rental agencies in the marina complex and we don’t know which one is ours. The marina has staff that speaks English. We reach the marina. Marlene tells us she will try to help and asks us to call her back in fifteen minutes. It is at this point Cindy (my Cindy) remembers there is a small sticker on the back of the car. Thank goodness it has the phone number. We write down all the information about the car and give it to the lady at the souvenir stand. She walks up the hill, calls our rental car agency and tells them we are stranded because we lost the key. They tell her they will send someone out with a replacement key. We all hug her. They tell us to stay put. I am wondering if this is a joke. We call Marlene back at the marina and she tells us she also reached them and confirms help is on the way.

Remember the good old days when you could buy a replacement car key at the local hardware store for about $2. Well, those days are long gone. I have never lost a fob before but have heard they are expensive to replace. When the person showed up from the rental care place, he said I would have to buy a new fob. I fully expected I would have to do so. When we got back to Cream Puff, I Googled the cost. Ouch! Somewhere along the trail to the waterfall is a $455 car key. I really miss the good ‘ol days of $2 car keys.

One of the things I love about being in the Caribbean Islands is the color. I love photography and I love to capture vivid colors. In the islands, this is not hard to do. Opportunities for good pictures are everywhere. The four of us: Cindy, Cindy, Doreen and myself all went on a walkabout in the capital city of Pointe-a-Pitre. Armed with a camera and trying not to lose the car key we enjoyed the offerings of this beautiful city.