I have decided to do something a little different this time. Usually I am full of song and poetry. My inspiration this time is to just share what life is like when we go to Mexico. Of course, every year it is so different, so this will be about traveling with me in February, 2013!
Where to start. For the past ten years, we have been staying in the same place but last year, it was sold. To make a long story short, we contacted our friend who owned a place across the street and that is where we are very, very happily living. I will share more about her, but first I want to ask her permission to write about her, her lovely family and place.
Yesterday morning was the beginning of our adventure. Awaking at 5 a.m. we arranged for a taxi to pick us up and then swing over to Tristan and Jenna’s because they were flying to Toronto/New York City, the same morning. Our flights took us to Calgary, Houston and then finally to Cancun.
Let’s just say that it mostly went okay with a few exceptions. As we were coming into land in Houston, we hit a very, very thick bank of clouds. Being prone to claustrophobia, I focused on reading my book instead of the endless clouds outside the window. In fact, if it had been the world of clouds, it would’ve touched my fancy, but it really was just one long brushstroke of white/grey. Anyway, the stewardesses said we were landing shortly. We heard the wheels go down and then at the last minute, the plane suddenly started climbing again, right back into those thicker clouds. Needess to say, it got very, very quiet in the airplane and there were no messages being spoken to us. It felt like eternity, still flying through these clouds wondering calmly what was up? Finally the pilot came on and said, we didn’t have enough time or space to land and it was too foggy, so we are going to try again. It must be quite a challenge flying this huge plane through a feeling of nothingness, preparing to land it safely on the ground you can’t even see. So….finally we landed and I was grateful. However, we had only 10 minutes to catch our next flight on the other side of the airport. The stewardesses tried to ask those who didn’t have tight connections to wait, but that was too good to be true. So between me and another woman behind me, we were calling out pleading for others to let us through to catch our flights. The aisles opened and we ran. It felt like The Amazing Race. I was going strong, well kind of, running with a large shoulder bag (which will be a funny story for another time) pulling a pink carry on with wheels. The line up started like this: Jill dashing, Rod kind of dashing and then the two young people. It soon became clear that age was winning and I started laughing telling them as they passed all the information I just shared with you: it felt like The Amazing Race and age was winning. They started laughing carrying all their things running by. I said when you get there before us, please have them wait for us….it was a delightful moment…..we just made it with not food, which we were planning on buying in Houston!!
We took off and when it came in for a landing this time in Cancun, the plane was going faster than I ever experienced and this sweet little Mexican man was sweating next to me, crossing himself excessively. When we hit the ground, our faces were pressed by the forces and all we could hope for was that there was enough room to stop and adequate brakes. Both were plentiful. What a ride.
So that’s how we arrived….it was hot, humid, and muggy, and it simply was such a span in temperatures that we’d been experiencing lately. Winnipeg was minus 30, windchill factor minus 45. Victoria 9 or 10 and here
Current Weather 17:00 CST
Plus 25°C
- Feels Like : 31
- Wind : 15 km/h
- Humidity : 61%
- Pressure : 101.19 kPa
- Visibility : 13 km
What does it mean to any part of your bodily functions when you go from minus 30 to plus 30….such an interesting experience.
It is always a transition to arrive in Mexico for us….the culture of being outside, the warmth, the ocean and our every day lifestyle…..for me there’s a feeling of jumping off a cliff into the water at the lake, which is not something I have never been known to do…..you just have to jump in and start swimming…….
We arrived late by taxi, put our bags in our new apartment and took a long evening walk. We were gifted with arriving at a place where our favourite musician was playing his guitar and singing. It was lovely. We feel fast asleep in between worlds and cultures.