Emotional Ups and Downs of Flying/Stuffing My Gut in Mexico

Emotional Ups and Downs of Flying/Stuffing My Gut in Mexico

Thursday, Mar. 9, Mexico City

Well, I made it to Mexico with lots of emotional stress. Here are the ups and downs:

Down: Setting my alarm for 3:50 a.m. on the night of the 6th.

Down: Getting up at 3:50 while still wanting to sleep.

Down: Paying for an expensive taxi because public buses do not run so early

Up: Getting to the airport in time

Up: Being only second in line for checkin and getting through security easily

Up: Boarding on time and ready for take-off

Down: Hearing an announcement that Curitiba airport (where we are scheduled for an intermediate stop on our way to Sao Paulo) is closed because of fog and we have to wait

Down: Getting warm on the plane and worrying whether the fog will life soon, since I only have 2 hours for my change of planes in Sao Paulo

Down: Being told we should leave the plane and return to the terminal since there is no idea how long the delay will be

Up: Being told that they are considering flying straight to Sao Paulo so that those of us with connections can make them

Down: Knowing that enough time has passed that I definitely will be late for my flight if we go to Curitiba

Up: The announcement that we should board for a flight to Sao Paulo which will then continue to Curitiba

Down: Announcement and quick turn around in the air stating that Curitiba has opened and we can stop there after all on the way to Sao Paulo

Down: Realizing while on the land in Curitba that we cannot arrive in Sao Paulo until time for my plane to take off for Mexico City and knowing there is only that one plane per day.

Up: Actually landing 15 minutes before my plane is scheduled to take off and thinking there might be a chance they would hold it for me

Down: When we get to the gate and stand up, being told that an international flight is disembarquing next to us and rules do not allow a domestic flight to disembarque at the same time; we must remain seated for 10 more minutes

Up: Passagengers across the aisle seeing my ticket and saying that they are going to Mexico, too (and they speak Portuguese); realizing that 3 of us make the plane being held more likely

Down: Finding out we have to exit and then go through emigration and security before getting to our plane.

Down: Trying to enter emigration and finding out that our boarding passes lack a sticker that is necessary and must be obtained at the ticket counter.

Down: Seeing long lines at the checkin counters

Up: The other man walking to the front and telling them we are late for a Mexico plane schedule to depart at that time

Up, but fearful of the time: Rushing through emigration (line again) and security without knowing if our plane has departed or is waiting and not even knowing what gate it is at

Up: Seeing a screen saying that our plane at Gate 22 is delayed

Down: Realizing the delay is not to wait on us but is for another reason and starting to wonder if it will make me get to Mexico after dark without a hotel reservation

Up: Departing only 1 hour late meaning that we should arrive around 5:45 p.m. in Mexico

Down: The plane looks crappy. My seat has no electronics to allow me to hear sound if I want to see the films.

Up: No one sits in the middle seat, so I can plug into their sound system

Down: My seatback declines slightly and won´t stay up for takeoff or landing

Down: My dining tray pops apart when lowered, so that the top portion bows as I try to eat my lunch

Down: The lady across the aisle and about 8 other people around me do not have electronics either (just holes where they should be) and complains and complains. I join in telling the man they shouldn´t sell the seats if he is telling us the truth that it is a leased plane with a contract that does not allow them to change any of the electronics. He never explained why my seatback and tray weren´t fixed.

Up: We made it to Mexico safely.

Up: Although it was dark as I arrived at the hotel, they had a room available.

Since then, I have thoroughly enjoyed the good food here. I was so tired of the bland offerings in Argentina and Chile. I ordered breakfast yesterday (a migas kind of mixture of eggs, peppers, onions, tortilla chips, etc. served with black beans and topped with cheese) and kept bouncing my leg in anticipation of their arrival. Umm, they were so good. For lunch, I had cream of zuchinni soup and a pork rib in a dark red salsa with rice and refried brown beans which was served with half a pitcher of strawberry water. For dinner, I had a torta--French bread filled with a layer of refried beans, shredded seasoned pork from the Yucatan, a layer of sliced pickled onions, and a layer of mashed avocadoes. This morning, I had a mixture of eggs, tortilla chips, and shredded chicken topped with a creamy orangish-color sauce with beans. I can't wait for lunch today!!

I return to Texas tomorrow.

Spending Update for Brazil: I was in Brazil for two days spending $66.37 for a daily average of $33.19.