Mrs. ItchyFeet Now I know you all love my travel stories, and I hope this one delivers. One of my Seattle, USA friends says these stories encourage him to stay at home! I hope that’s not the case for everyone, but I have some very interesting experiences getting from one place to another. It doesn’t help that I travel pretty low budget. I’m not traveling first class by any means. So let me tell you about how I arrived in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, México from Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia!
The packing… sigh
And of course the absolute worst part of traveling full time is packing up everything I own with the forethought of my specific airline’s luggage weight restrictions. Plus, I must make sure that liquids (yes… I’m bringing Aguardiente samples for my in-laws!) and cooking knives don’t accidentally make their way into my carry-on. That would be a no-win situation for sure! Packing takes me days, I tell you.
While living in Medellín, I had purchased a large stock-pot and several jars for making pikliz and kimchi. Plus, I had some leftover food that I wasn’t willing to take with me. If I have to, I’ll leave all of it in the rental unit, but I like to see if neighbors would like anything. I had met this wonderful older gentleman in the elevator a while back. He gave me so much expert advice about the area.
I wandered up the stairs to check with him. The gentleman’s partner was there, and she was all over the stock-pot, jars, and foodstuffs! He offered money, which is so nice. I turned him down, but I did hit them both up for information on a taxi to the airport. There was a concern that I would need to get more cash out in order to pay for the cab. We chatted for a while and exchanged numbers in case my taxi situation went poorly and I needed more help. People are so wonderful sometimes!
Why is my leg getting cold?
After cleaning the apartment thoroughly, and eating dinner (yup… it’s a late night flight… sigh), I headed down early for the taxi pick up. He was very prompt and away we went. At some point, I began to feel something cold along my leg. After feeling around, I realized that my water bottle had leaked inside my bag, all over my laptop, and all over the seat. My laptop was fine, but that seat was very wet.
I tried drying the seat with my sweatshirt, but it was a lost cause. Luckily, he didn’t seem to mind as I explained the situation to him in my broken Spanish (it’s not pee! I swear!). Lo siento! I gave him a very large tip and with that, all my Colombian cash was gone. My plan was to get to the airport early, but not too early because their lounge closes at 9pm and the airport is notoriously cold. My neighbor warned me that I would likely need a jacket and long pants as it’s up in the mountains and isn’t climate controlled.
Traffic can be horrendous with the drive to the airport taking anywhere from one hour to many hours. I, of course, planned on the many hours stuck in traffic, because you never know. To my surprise, the taxi ride only took 30 minutes (so fast!). Now I’m at the airport four hours before my flight and the check-in desk doesn’t open until three hours ahead of departure. Oh, and I just (just now!) got a notification that my flight is delayed by two hours. Sigh.
Is anything open?
At this point, everything in the airport is closing for the day. With nothing to do, I just chill in front of where I might be able to check-in my bag and people watch. Turns out, I’m not the only one who didn’t know about the delay and soon I am the front of a very impromptu line. Lucky for all of us, the airline opened up and started moving people through based on the original departure time and not the new one… which just slipped another hour… to 5am… sigh.
I had a good time with security as the passport scanning computer was down. She dutifully scanned my passport and showed me (with much amusement) that the computer was clearly not working. So I got to just head on in anyway. That glitch probably would have shut down the airport in the States. To be fair, they already checked my passport when I got my boarding pass. It’s just a formality at this point.
Sitting in the waiting lounge, I see it’s pouring down rain outside and loads of us are watching the poor workers on the runway. It really is freezing cold in this airport (my neighbor did warn me…). It is necessary to wander around just to keep warm. That’s when I find a random lounge up some random stairs that is open 24/7! Not on my lounge finder app. I’m in! Unfortunately, it is absolutely not any warmer in that lounge than the rest of the airport.
This is good rum!
They had a fun selection of rums, one of which I had never tried before because it’s made in Cuba (Havana Club). It is delightful! Apparently there is a competing brand with the same name sold in the States, but it’s not as good. Interesting. I also try to warm up with some hot tea, but it is no use. My traveling companion sees me shivering with blue lips and lends me a jacket for a bit. I’m no longer built for the cold! My parents (from the snow-capped mountains) would be disappointed.
A couple seats away, there is a guy sprawled across a couple of chairs snoring so loud that people are moving away from him to try to get some peace. He needs a CPAP machine for sure. Staff in the lounge keep stopping by to try to wake him up. He legit will not budge. How is he going to catch his plane? I think that we are all worried. They finally get his attention by forcefully shaking his arm until he wakes up with a dramatic start. They gave him his own room after that.
It’s like midnight now and so many hours past my usual bedtime. With my alarm turned on, I manage to get a couple of hours of sleep before the approximate loading time for my 5am departure. I was really hoping that the flight would be warmer than the airport. Nope. Why wouldn’t it be!?! So cold. However, I achieved a tiny bit more sleep on the flight before this gorgeous pink sunrise over México City (CDMX) woke me up.
What’s in the bag?
After landing safely in CDMX, I grab all of my bags to head through customs. There is a security person walking around with a really cute dog sniffing all the luggage. I’m assuming he is a drug-sniffing dog, but he immediately paws at my checked bag and I can assure you that I did not bring any drugs from Colombia. Promise! The security guard asks if I have food in the bag. Yes I do! Herbs and spices and coffee and fermented black beans (don’t ask). She’s nice about it but she tags my bag for inspection, but doesn’t tell me where to go next. She gave the pup a treat for picking out my bag correctly.
Now I’m thoroughly worried that customs are going to take my spices. I have quite the collection at this point. I think everything I have is okay to bring into México. Sometimes it’s up to the agent to decide. After getting in line for some machinery that will scan my luggage, I spot the dog scratching at someone else’s bag. The owner of the suitcase exclaims loudly that he has pepperoni in there! The inspector’s pup was very chuffed to get another treat. Good dog!
Okay, so my bag goes through the machine and gets flagged. I promise I don’t have anything illegal in there. Do you have anything metal? Yes! Cooking knives and a giant honing steel and some other cooking gadgets and electronics. So they open my bag to take a look at my metal items and completely ignore the spices. Interesting. Works for me! Now usually at this point, you drop off your checked to continue on with the trip. I must have missed something because I ended up outside of security and you can’t go back. Sigh.
Just ask for help
Now I’m lost and my shoulder hurts because I lifted my bag onto the inspection table like an idiot, instead of asking for help. Plus, I’m so tired. It takes a bit of wandering around before I finally figure out where to take my luggage to be checked back in. After that, it’s even more wandering around to find the security line I need to be in to get into the domestic terminal. I hate going through security because they all have different requirements.
I’m used to USA rules with shoes off, tablet and kindle left inside my bag, and liquids out. But, here, it is the complete opposite! I was glad to keep my shoes on but I had to keep taking the bags out of the machine again and again over concern for electronics. I felt bad for holding up the line, but luckily everyone was so nice. Security was also very concerned about the scuba gear. Another passenger helpfully explained in Spanish that it’s for breathing underwater. It’s CDMX and there is not much diving in the mountains.
Now to find a lounge for breakfast and coffee. No wonder I’m having so many issues. I need coffee! The first lounge is full… the second lounge is also full… third lounge won’t let me in until three hours before my departure time… the fourth lounge allows me in but charges for nearly everything. Sigh. At least they have free coffee and some eggs with beans.
Do you have change?
The lounge is really loud, so three hours before my flight, I head back to that third lounge that now lets me in. They have free drinks and fruit and snacks… and the best Bloody Mary that I have ever tasted! It’s not Tajín on the rim, but something very similar, only better. Delicious. There was some confusion the first time I tried to order, and I ended up with a club soda, which is gross. I drank it anyway. Waste not, want not.
The people working in the lounge are so nice. Using their tip jar, they helpfully change out my 500 peso note for smaller bills so that I can pay for the taxi once I get to Puerto Escondido. Sometimes taxi drivers “don’t have” change and that can be an issue. I have a good time people watching. Now that it’s not too early, I text my good friend who moved to CDMX six months ago.
I had grand plans to visit him while in town and see some of this massive city, but our schedules didn’t work out. Maybe I’ll visit some other time. My flight out was uneventful. The plane was tiny and thankfully warm. Upon landing in Puerto, we exited onto the tarmac and into the tropical hot-hot. It’s slightly humid but really not bad as this is the dry season. My luggage also made the voyage, and I headed into the taxi office just to the right of the airport exit. They take credit cards and give you a paper ticket for the driver. I could have skipped getting change, but at least I have a tip for help with my luggage.
So many hills!
The ride to my new home was super fast and cost Mex$250 (US$12.50). Here’s the thing. I spot the entrance to the hotel that houses my condo and tell the driver that he can let me out there. After he leaves, I realize that my place is at the top of the hill just past the entrance. Sigh. I curse myself the entire trek, struggling with all my luggage in the noontime sun. He would have happily driven me up there.
The condo is adorable… but the fridge is broken. Proper broken. I had an entire schedule planned out for walking to the store, getting a crap ton of groceries, and then paying for a taxi back. That won’t happen until the fridge is working. The owner is sending someone over soon to get it fixed. I guess I’m eating out for the next couple of days. But the weather is amazing, and the ocean is gorgeous. I have already seen so many whales! Plus all the geckos and iguanas and anoles. And a crocodile! I have so much to tell you. Well worth the adventure getting here!
