An Adventure Tale in Two Stories: The Boat is Rocking (Steve) and A Wild Ride (Debbie)

THE BOAT IS ROCKING

My first agenda arriving in Mexico is to deal with culture shock. There’s an expression…. it’s Mexico,….. which means that a lot of unexpected things happen. For me I experience a flood of changes both outside and inside that rock my boat, my tiny little egoic brain struggles to bring order to the chaos, but then there’s more and more chaos. The rowboat of consciousness starts to rock strongly and can feel dangerously close to tipping over for me. This happened on our flight to Guadalajara. Here’s the story…..

Leaving from Raleigh gave a hint of the day to come. Our driver Andy took a wrong turn in the new construction around the airport and we found ourselves driving between construction cones and going away from the airport. It was a sign that we were in for adventure. 

When we got on the plane at Atlanta, the Delta agent told us that we might get turned around at Mexico City because we didn’t buy a return ticket.

I started sweating it, but I wasn’t going to buy another ticket. When we got through customs without problems in Mexico City I said wheeeee!!!!!

We did have one big surprise when we got to Mexico City, We were asked for our boarding pass, and we didn’t have one so we had to go out of the airport and check in again. To our surprise they bumped us off of the flight to Guadalajara. They said we bought the cheapo tickets and that’s why they bumped us off. We always buy the cheapo tickets so that didn’t make sense. We learned we’d been placed on standby and there were 15 other people  ahead of us on the standby list.

I told Debbie to start crying and she wouldn’t …..so I did. 

They were going to put us in a hotel in Mexico City and schedule a flight out the next day. 

“But our bags are already on the plane”  I whimpered. “ And we have travelers insurance so you’ll have to pay for our hotel and our meals and our cab”

I hate taking taxis, because my mother told me never to get in the car with strangers.

I put on my big boy pants and imagined that she was mother Mary, and said, what would you do if you were in our situation. After a few minutes she took pity on us and she moved us up to first place on the standby list   Which was very nice of her since we had booked the flight 5 months earlier. All 15 of us Standby people made the flight.  Relieved and happy. 

What’s the lesson? There is none. It’s Mexico. And we are here 🎉🍀🎉🎈❤️❤️❤️

A WILD RIDE

It always makes me nervous to be too prepared. On Wednesday,  before we flew to Mexico on Sunday, we congratulated ourselves for being DONE. Even our bags were packed. Just a short list of last minute to-do’s. Nothing major. Then the craziness began. Our well pump stopped working. No water for around 30 hours. We received last minute requests for repairs at a rental house. My dermatologist insisted I order medication to use as soon as we got to Mexico. The problem was the meds would arrive Monday and we flew out Sunday. You get the drift. Still we managed to tie-up the loose ends with a sense of humor. We hummed “we get by with a little help from our friends”

Sunday morning arrived and…

Thus began…Our typical adventure. 

I felt a little confused when I did the online check-in and they said the check-in was complete, but couldn’t issue boarding passes. The story began to unfold when we were told in Atlanta that they might refuse entry in Mexico City since we didn’t book our return flight in advance. They still wouldn’t issue boarding passes and made our remaining flights stand-by status. 

Let the good times roll!!!

We got bumped in Mexico City, had to go outside the terminal and enter again, go to special services to plead our case, learned there were 15 people on stand-by and this was the last flight of the night!!!

Thankfully we are seniors thus ensuring great respect in the Mexican culture. And I had purchased flight insurance. Eventually the AeroMexico desk clerk said she would list us as #1 and #2 on the wait list. Hope!!! Then we made the run back through check-in and waited with LOTS of people to learn our fate. Steve DID NOT want to take a taxi out into Mexico City at midnight 😫. Ditto! 

Long story short…we made it. 

Mostly because we were on AeroMrxico and they are so nice 🥰. Never underestimate the kindness of strangers. Or the power of raw hope. 

All along the way we were communicating in rusty Spanish with our driver, friend Sandy, and AirB&B host to make sure that IF we arrived LATE we would have a ride and a way to enter our casita.

Quick start immersion 😍

I am certainly a bit biased. But my take on the flights illustrates a big difference in culture. The originating flights were American based, profit-oriented business. Just overbook the flights and let the chips fall where they fall. The last flights, domestic Mexican, were about service to others. Especially the older population. I am so grateful for this kind and gentle culture.

Lest you think we landed in warm and sunny Mexico I must tell you that despite previous experience, the very first day it rained buckets. Big buckets! This is RARE. We have been visiting for 8 years and it rained more in one day than all 8 years combined.

Oh well, expect the unexpected Hope for the best. And enjoy the ride. Even if it’s a wild one.