Caribbean

 Sunday, February 22: “The Flights”

We had a 6:00 am departure flight from Louisville but American Airlines delivered us to Chicago almost three hours late.  We waited at the gate as our departure time was pushed back.  We waited on the tarmac in Louisville for our turn to take off.  We waited again on the tarmac in Chicago because our gate hadn’t been cleared.  The long and the short of it was that we missed our connecting flight and so we then missed our cruise ship in New Orleans.

Once we deplaned in Chicago we went directly to the American Airlines travel assistance desk but the wait time to talk to someone was well over a half hour.  It was then that we learned that we had been automatically rebooked through Dallas but our plane had already left.  Our new flight would have arrived in New Orleans after the ship had sailed so it didn’t do us any good.  Unfortunately, our luggage did make the flight.  American Airlines wouldn’t deliver it to any ports of call so all of our things were sent back to Louisville.  Unhelpfully, the travel assistant said, “this is why you should never book your flight for the same day that you set sail.”  She was trying to blame us for this mess and there was no apology for delivering us to Chicago almost three hours late.

We we done with dealing with American Airlines.  Since we booked our flight through Norwegian Cruise Lines we called them and asked them to rebook us.  The first port of call for our ship was at the Porta de Maya in Mexico.  Our travel agent booked us for a flight to Mexico City for Sunday night.  There were a lot of hotels to choose from on the Hilton app so I picked one in the tourist section in the belief that we would be safer there.  By the time that we arrived at our hotel we had been traveling for fifteen hours and we slept soundly after a stress-filled day.     

Monday  February 23: “Chetumala”

The drug lord, “El Mencho,” was killed by the U.S. and Mexico in Puerto Vallarta.  Even though Puerto Vallarta is over five hundred miles away from Mexico City, El Mencho’s cartel was getting its revenge by bombing tourist areas, hotels, and even a Costco.  In an abundance of caution, the Mexico City police were on high alert and I woke up to the sight of at least a dozen police cars, with their lights, patrolling around our hotel.  Maybe staying in the tourist section wasn’t such a great idea.

We arrived at the airport early for our flight to Chetumala.  When we landed we found ourselves in the smallest terminal that I have ever been to.  I am proud of us because, at this point in our journey, we did not panic even though we had every right to do so.  My phone wasn’t working for some reason.  We didn’t have our luggage or a hotel room or even a cab for the ninety minute drive to Porta de Maya.  It was then that we knew that we had to depend on the kindness of strangers.  There was only one woman who spoke broken English at the terminal and she worked for a local cab company.  She arranged for a car to take us to a hotel that sat next to a Walmart. Further, she assigned a driver to pick us up the next day to take  us to the port.  It reaffirms my faith in humanity when this total stranger, who struggled to communicate with us, took the time and effort to work out the details of our trip.

Because my phone still wasn’t working, we had no reservations for the hotel and took the risk that there would be a room available for us.  Luckily, they had a room so we checked in and then walked to Walmart to buy enough clothes to last us for two weeks on our cruise.  When we got back to our room I opened my packages and it turns out that one of my two outfits was too small, so I ended up wearing the same set of clothes for the whole time that we were away on our cruise.       

Tuesday  February 24: “Costa de Maya”

Our driver arrived early but, because he didn’t speak a word of English, it was a quiet ninety minute drive to the port.  Our ship hadn’t come in yet so we had to wait for almost two hours outside of the gates because security would not let us in until we had a place to go.  Finally, we got on board and went straight to the bar to get a drink. 

February 24 to March 8: “The Cruise”

We had been to a lot of Caribbean ports before so we barely left the ship and, if we did leave, it was only to buy our grandson a onesie.  Aside from that, we played a lot of trivia, read, worked crossword puzzles, and drank a lot of strawberry daiquiris.  The only event that was notable was when we arrived in Panama there were about a hundred protestors outside of our ship because President Trump had threatened to take over the canal.  It was a peaceful march but it was a reminder that other countries have a lot of problems with the foreign policy of the United States.

Sunday, March 8: “The Journey Home”

We didn’t bother to pack at the end of the cruise but instead left our Walmart clothes in our cabin.  Fortune continued to frown on us.  The line to get through security in New Orleans snaked around the terminal and then into the attached parking garage.  It was so bad that the line made the national news and it took us about an hour and a half to get through it.  Then, after we boarded our connecting flight in Tampa Bay, we sat on the tarmac for over an hour because the airspace on the east coast was crowded.  We arrived in Louisville two hours after our schedule landing time and it took us about twelve hours to get home.  I am beginning to question why we travel so much.

“Funny Quotes”

• At our first port a woman, who was trying to sell us a tour package, approached us and asked, “what are you looking for?”  I was feeling a little salty so I replied, “a prostitute.”  She replied with, “that is not available.”

• There was a sign posted in one of the shops in port that said “we will not bargain down our prices unless you dance naked.”  I said the the lady at the counter, “I am will to dance naked.  Do we do this here or do you have a special room for that.”  Without missing a beat the lady said “ain’t nobody want to see that.”  We both laughed as I am sure that she has heard my joke many times before.

• There was a saleswoman on the ship who was trying to sell us a piece of modern art.  It was a naked lady made out of glass with the head of a rabbit.  When she pressed me, I said “I may buy it because it will look really good in my garbage can back home.”