The Unplanned Plot Twists of My Puerto Escondido Farewell Tour

Boy, do I have a story for you! Travel is never easy, but getting from Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, México to Seattle, Washington, USA was particularly troublesome. The day started unexpectedly just after midnight with a loud noise coming from all around me, like the earth was grumbling, followed by the bed shaking. Earthquake! It was a magnitude 4.1, so not bad, but very close by. The Pacific Ring of Fire is active right now. Back to sleep.

Pack last minute items

My flight isn’t until noon, so I have time to sleep in before my friend picks me up at 9:30am. I’m still recovering from a case of food poisoning (my fault as I left a mayonnaise-based meal out too long in the tropics, put it in the fridge for a couple days, and ate it anyway… lesson learned), so grabbed an extra pair of underwear for my backpack just in case. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but as my FIL says, “Never trust a fart.”

I had been conserving homemade Belizean-style hot sauce all week so that I had enough for breakfast. Unfortunately in the tropics, the instant you take something cold out of the fridge, it gets all damp with condensation. That glass jar with my last bit of precious-precious salsa picante slipped right out of my hands as I tried to remove the lid and shattered spectacularly all across the kitchen floor! Glass shards everywhere! There is a step-down into the kitchen, but glass still managed to find its way into the living room. Everywhere!

After tip-toeing barefoot through the condo to find a broom outside, I cleaned everything up without cutting myself even a single time. Breakfast definitely lost its spice. With breakfast done, I packed up the microwave that I had purchased when I got to Puerto. My friend said he would take it. Then, as I was packing the very last of my stuff (think toothbrush and fridge-hardened coconut oil), I stepped painfully onto a piece of wayward glass. Right up into my heel. I had to pull that sucker out. Sigh. I texted management to warn her about the glass.

To the airport!

It was so wonderful of my friend to pick me up to take me to the airport! He’s so nice. He did think I was a bit crazy for heading there so early before my flight. I have bad airport luck, so I like to go early. Better to be two hours early than two minutes late. Well, he was right. The airport check-in wasn’t even open yet. My flight info recently updated and shows a delay of 10 minutes, but I still had plenty of time for my layover in Guadalajara. No worries.

Then I checked in my bags… and my companion got the dreaded “SSSS” mark on his paper ticket. That means that somewhere along this trip, he will get extra screening. Someone is going to go through all his stuff! What a pain. The internet says that the mark is random, but he feels very singled out. I like the one in Cancun, where you push a button to determine if you get screened or not. That feels more random.

Time to drink a liter of water before going through security. As usual, all the scuba gear gets a once over to make sure it’s not dangerous. Even with the added scrutiny, security is super fast. Now to wait an hour for the flight to start boarding. That’s when I get the text… flight delayed 40 minutes. Crap! My layover is getting extremely tight. I hear my name over the intercom. That can’t be good. At the counter, the gate agent tells me not to delay in Guadalajara but to go straight to my connection. Sigh. That’s code for I’m going to have to run to my next gate.

And now we wait

Finally, a plane lands and unloads on the tarmac. Time to go. The boarding starts. Wait… did they say now boarding for México City? But I’m not going to CDMX! I ask a bunch of people, including the gate agent, just to be sure. I would hate to stay seated as my plane takes off. Nope. Not my plane. The waiting continues. Even if I can make it onto my connecting flight, there is no way that my luggage will make it. More waiting.

Finally, the call goes out to load for Guadalajara. Unfortunately, my digital ticket is no longer on my phone because it has expired. I quickly download a new copy in a panic while in line. Then, it is a very long walk all the way around the tarmac to the plane, where people load from both the front and back of the plane. I’m in row four, so it’s the front for me.

The flight is super fast, but we still don’t make up any time. I’m going to have to run for my connection. I let the flight attendant know about my short layover. Many others are in the same situation. They announced this to everyone in the hope of getting us off the plane first. To my utter surprise, everyone remained seated once the seatbelt signs had turned off. I have never seen that in my entire traveling life. Not a single person stood up to get their bags!

Are you forgetting something?

The flight attendants pointed at very specific people (me included) with short layovers and helped get bags down from the overhead bins. The second those doors opened, we were off, with everyone else still seated and not crowding the aisles. Amazing job everyone! But partway down the tunnel, my companion realized that he had forgotten his backpack, with all that expensive scuba gear, under the seat! Crap! Crap! Crap!

They don’t let you back on the plane. Luckily, he has been practicing his Spanish and was able to get a flight attendant to grab his bag for him. It only took a few extra minutes. And then we ran… and ran… and ran. We had landed at C30 (I think) and our connecting flight was at B13. Guadalajara has a big airport! We ran and dodged people… but we made it! They had just started loading the plane. I was on, just like that.

However, remember that “SSSS” mark I told you about earlier? Yup, my companion got pulled out of line for further inspection. Like a full search. So I’m on the plane all hungry because we had to skip the amazing recommended lounge that I had been looking forward to. I didn’t even get a chance to buy anything at the airport. Now I’m nervous because the plane is almost completely full, and I’m starting to assume that they might not let my companion on. Is he gone forever? Do I leave without him or get off the plane?

Panic!!!

A full 30-minutes later, he finally sits down next to me with a sigh of relief, and off we go. And our bags made it! I have AirTags so I can tell when they are on the plane with me. It’s truly remarkable that our bags made the connection, and I just can’t believe it. I’m so hungry. Unfortunately for me and my stupid intestines, I can’t have the glutens and the only thing available on the menu without it are chips and an energy bar. I guess that’s my combined lunch and dinner. Sigh… and service is delayed due to turbulence. Why do I travel again?

We all land safely in Seattle without dying, but have to wait in a queue of planes for 20 minutes before we get to our gate. Luckily, I have Global Entry and was through customs in seconds. I said “gracias” to the agent by reflex. Oops. Luckily, they didn’t ask to search my phone or anything. I’ve been hearing horror stories about US customs lately. I don’t want to lose my Global Entry for liking someone’s post online. Crazy times we live in.

It was quite an adventure hunting down my in-laws in the sea of traffic outside the fancy new international terminal at SeaTac Airport. I thought I was going crazy because everything looked so different, and I’ve been to this airport a million times. That area is all brand new. It was very nice of my in-laws to pick me up. Plus, they fed me at their place. I ate everything! It’s interesting being back in the States. I’m super happy to be able to drink the tap water again, but I’m having a very difficult time remembering that toilet paper can go in the toilet here instead of the trash.

I don’t feel so good

Within days of being back, I packed up all my stuff again and headed into Seattle to puppy-sit for a friend. She has the cutest Cavapoo you can imagine! And she was nice enough to take me out for sushi (sushi!!!) before she left for México. It’s like we just traded places! It’s only for two weeks and change, but it gives me a chance to get all my doctor’s appointments out of the way.

And I found a meetup for people who want to practice Spanish! I had a really great time and met some fun people. Unfortunately, within a couple of days of getting into Seattle, I started to feel very ill. Yup… I got The Covid. Test confirmed. This is my very first time getting The Rona. EVER. And I’ve been tested so many times as I used to work at Seattle Children’s Hospital, and we got tested a lot.

This thing is so painful with full body aches, sore throat, cough, fever. I’m so tired. So stuffy. I can’t smell anything, and my taste buds are all muted. One eye has gone all goopy. My brain feels like it’s covered in cotton. It feels like someone is sitting on my chest. Sorry, friends. We will not be hanging out. Luckily, my doctors were super understanding, and I was able to reschedule everything. I have an ocular oncologist who books out six months in advance, so I’m extremely grateful. Plus, I pre-paid for the appointment because the hospital gives a 30% discount when you pay early.

I already miss all my friends in Puerto Escondido. Hopefully, we will meet up again. I won’t be in the States long before I’m heading to Sanur, Bali, Indonesia. This will be my first time in Southeast Asia, and I’m both dreading the flight and excited about the adventure. Wish me luck!