Initially of Simone’s famed “GOAT Tour” Melanie de Jesus dos Santos, one of many gymnasts taking part within the occasion posted her journey itinerary to social media. Melanie competes for France and is one in every of Europe’s hottest gymnasts, if not the one greatest draw of the the complete French program.
However one small element relating to Melanie that many are conscious of, she just isn’t from European France, however relatively a small Caribbean island referred to as Martinique which is sovereign French territory in the identical approach Hawaii is a part of the US. Melanie’s geographical background and the distinctive location of her hometown has not often induced a major disruption to her gymnastics profession. That was till Simone’s GOAT Tour which required Melanie to journey from Martinique to Tucson, Arizona.
The milage alone was daunting. At 3,366 miles the space between the 2 places was just about similar to the space between New York and London. However for Melanie, that was the least of her issues. Martinique has a inhabitants of roughly 375,000 folks whereas Tucson’s inhabitants is half 1,000,000.
The 2 comparatively small inhabitants facilities meant that Melanie would wish to take a collection of connecting flights to more and more bigger cities simply to get out of Martinique, after which do the reverse simply to get from a big metropolis to the smaller Tucson, Arizona. Throughout her journey Melanie posted the next picture to social media itemizing all of the locations she went by way of en path to becoming a member of the GOAT tour.
The listing options six places spanning 4 totally different nations. All of this simply to get from one level in North America to a different. Beneath I mapped out this route to present a greater geographical visualization of what Melanie endured.
The primary leg of Melanie’s journey featured a literal island hopping marketing campaign the place she went from Martinique, to Guadeloupe after which Hispaniola (Dominican Republic) earlier than she may attain the mainland.
The choice to undergo Guadeloupe was the primary puzzling ingredient of Melanie’s journey. Solely a small variety of recommended flight plans featured a Martinique to Guadeloupe connection. The 2 islands have comparatively equal populations and every has a notable airport, though Guadeloupe’s airport is barely bigger.
The journey between Guadeloupe and Martinique is a brief aircraft journey. But when Melanie had booked instantly from Guadeloupe it will have taken her six hours on a ferry to get there.
The choice to undergo Mexico was additionally puzzling as why would one select so as to add one other nation to the journey? I attempted to search out this flight plan on numerous reserving web sites and couldn’t discover any routes that introduced somebody to the US through Mexico. However I did discover a flight plan that went from Guadeloupe to Montreal, Canada. After which from Canada to Atlanta, Georgia earlier than taking yet one more aircraft to Tucson.
There have been some flight plans involving Mexico the place Melanie would enter the US through Miami, get on a aircraft to Mexico Metropolis, after which reenter the US through Seattle, San Francisco, or Phoenix relying on the choice. After which take one final connecting flight from a type of three cities to Tucson.
Whereas trying to find a Mexican connection I got here throughout a French connection. There have been quite a few flight plans suggesting a route from Martinique to Paris (Europe) after which taking a visit from the European continent again to Atlanta, Georgia after which on to Tucson. I even discovered a one-way return journey from Tucson to Martinique that went by way of Seattle, Washington.
However for each asinine flight possibility there have been quite a few smart ones the place Melanie may have entered the US through Miami, Florida and brought two extra home flights and be in Tucson. All of it is dependent upon what on-line reserving web site is used and the way far out the hypothetical departure date is.
The primary conclusion is that Melanie’s six-city tour wasn’t the easiest way to get to Arizona and I’m undecided why she needed to take care of so many cities. However there have been choices which can be significantly worse. However one factor is for certain, Melanie spent an exhausting period of time on an airplane. Each possibility had at minimal 20-24 hours of journey time when wait occasions between layover stops are thought of.
Melanie de Jesus dos Santos is under no circumstances the one French gymnast who hails from an abroad French island. It’s really surprisingly frequent amongst French gymnasts and France’s 2021 Olympic lineup in ladies’s gymnastics featured 4 gymnasts from three totally different continents.
