We're footloose in Mexico!

Sunrise December 23rd on Isla Mujeres

"How do you plan to get from Isla Mujeres to San Miguel de Allende." My cousins asked.

"The same as any trip. First a golf cart ride to the Ultramar, a boat ride to Puerto Juarez, then a shuttle van to the airport, then an airplane ride, then another shuttle to my hotel. It's a piece of cake!" I quipped.

Well, the gods got even with me for my cheeky response.

Our journey started with four close friends Julie and Rob Goth, and Chuck and Marcy Watt taking Sparky and me plus my three heavy suitcases to the passenger boat. It was Sparky's last golf cart ride for awhile but he doesn't know it yet. Boo the Cat didn't come with us. A couple of days ago the Fairy Dogmother Eileen Regn and her hubby Doug said they would be happy to adopt her, leaving me with one less thing to stress over. I was so thankful not to have to deal with relocating a semi-feral kitty.

Hasta luego! 

At the Ultramar terminal I started to walk to the boat, and there was Elmo! Waving goodbye. My crazy friend Freddy Medina was wearing the Elmo suit and holding a sign; Elmo loves Lynda. That was my undoing. I bawled like a baby, my face crumpled with emotion. Why is it that in real life crying looks nothing like the tender tears leaking from the beautiful eyes of the leading lady? There's nothing pretty about the way I cry.

More friends hugged and wished me well as Sparky pulled me towards the boat. We climbed to the upper deck where we could wave goodbye to everyone. Elmo was still dancing and waving.  Yadira Velázquez and Diego Medina videoed the event, and watching it made me cry all over again.

On the Cancun side I pointed out my suitcases to the porter and he said, "yes don't worry, I will bring them for you." I wasn't concerned, this isn't the first time that I have traveled from the island and asked the porters to deal with luggage. Sparky and I headed up the ramp to meet the driver for CARM, our shuttle driver for the ride to the airport. I turned my head and checked for the porter who was loaded down with bags - and then I noticed - mine were still on the dock, about to be put back on the boat by a helpful deckhand.

I didn't know I could run that fast! I dashed past the security, the ticket agents, waving my arms. No! No! The guy finally realized I was yelling at him and stopped.

Bye-bye for now, Sparky and I

Once we got the bag thing sorted out, the shuttle to the airport was easy and smooth. At the airport another porter took my bags and we zipped through the check-in. Without thinking I bought two small bottles of water before heading to the security check.

Ten feet away from the little store was a huge sign - no liquids! Well, of course. Sparky and I drank as much as we could then we added our two bottles to the overflowing bin of full, new bottles. That little tienda must make a fortune selling water to travelers.

At the security check I asked the attendant if I had to take my computer out of my carry-on bag.

Oddly, she said no, it wasn't required. I stuffed my purse, jacket, and other items into a bin, added the carry-on bag to the conveyor belt then asked the guard how he wanted me to deal with Sparky. Take off his harness, add it to another bin, and let him walk through, then I should walk through. Okay, done.

Finally all done with the security stuff

But things were about to get interesting. The suitcase with my camera, computer and backup drive had to go back to the beginning with everything electronic taken out. Unfortunately Sparky's harness was still a little way back on the conveyor. The flight crew had arrived, and deposited their things a head of the plastic bin holding his harness. I held Sparky while I explained the problem, and someone eventually handed me his leash. I had visions of my sociable pooch visiting with everyone in the terminal. We started back at the beginning with all my stuff, pulled the electronics out and tried the whole thing one more time.

No, we were pulled aside again. Now the suitcase had to be carefully examined because I had two items that concerned them. One was a large piece of amethyst that has been in my family since before I was born. My dad found it in Ontario in 1940, and it has been in my possession since my dad died when I was seventeen. I am very attached to this one last memento of my family. Apparently the concern was it could be used for a weapon. I Spanglished my way through that situation and was able to keep it.

The other item was a square plastic container of ashes. Yes, my sweetie is with me. I knew from my trip to Canada in May, with some of his ashes, that I couldn't use the original wooden box. Clear plastic is the recommended means of transport. Again I had to Spanglish my way through that. Thankfully he was able to continue the journey with me. Lawrie would have been very unhappy if he had been confiscated by customs officials.

The Volaris flight was almost an hour late, but eventually Sparky and I and my small but heavy suitcase thumped our way out to the plane and up the stairway to our seat. I paid a premium to get 1F, and priority boarding. I wanted the extra legroom so my travel companion would have space to sleep. Other than the incredibly uncomfortable seats, with little if any padding, the flight was uneventful. However, when the flight attendant was about to close the doors, she warned everyone that this was their last chance to get off the plane if they were on the wrong flight. Seriously? Three separate people had checked our tickets, but Volaris had obviously had incidents where people were on the wrong flight, otherwise why mention it? It gave me goose bumps. Was I headed to Guadalajara? Mexico City? Or Leon? Two weeks ago I got on the wrong Ultramar boat and ended up at the farthest end of their route in the Cancun hotel zone. Yeah, that's another story.

Waiting for me at the airport was the San Miguel de Allende shuttle service operated by BajioGo. It's a 90 minute drive from the airport in Leon to my destination. Our driver, Jose, was professional and friendly. We had an interesting chat about living San Miguel and about his family. According to Jose, San Miguel de Allende has about 370 fiestas a year that just naturally require fireworks. Oh boy, Sparky is going to love that.

By the time we reached the hotel at eleven at night, Sparky was asleep on my lap. The poor little dude was worn out, but before hitting the bed we had to walk a few blocks to let him stretch his legs and deposit his pee-mail for the other dogs to read. The area where we are staying is clean and vibrant with restaurants, bars, and interesting stores.

The street where my hotel is located.

This morning Sparky woke me up at 5:00 a.m., again. It's one hour different here, so I actually got to sleep in until 6:00 a.m. Don't tell him that.

Right now he is asleep, but hungry and chilly. Thank you Rose-Marie for the sweater. Sparky is wearing it right now.

Today's mission is to find some dog food that he can eat. He has tummy issues with a lot of the commercial food. It will mean leaving him in the hotel for a bit while I do a food run, but so far he's been calm and okay with all the upheaval in his life. Fingers-crossed he doesn't bark and upset the other guests.

"I is cold and hungry." 

Merry Christmas from San Miguel
Lynda and Sparky

~

Don't panic shop at the local 7-Eleven.  

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