We've Arrived!

Yea! We’re in Mexico!

It was a very long day- but an exciting one nonetheless. Our flight was due to leave July 9 at 8:00am. We brought our two cats, Tigger and Panther, with us to go on the flight under the seat, so the airline told us to arrive at the airport 4.5 hours before departure. I asked two different employees about this and both confirmed absolutely that we had to be there early and that someone would be at the airport to deal with the cats at that time. Ha! Luckily, I have learned that we don’t ALWAYS have to obey them with respect to arrivals before flights. I did not however want problems, so I decided that 3.5-4 hours before was early enough.

Fortunately, my parents happened to fly in the night before from visiting my Sister and her family out east. They stayed overnight ( and stayed up late helping me pack and finish stuff in the house). I pulled an all-nighter getting everything packed and dealing with what would not fit but might come on the next trip. We pulled the boys out of bed at 4:00, dressed them, grabbed the suitcases and headed out the door.

We arrived at the airport and set about looking for Mexicana Airlines. They are now flying direct from Calgary to Mexico City and we were trying their service out. Because they are new and a “other” airline in Calgary (meaning they are not Air Canada or Westjet) they are kind-off off to the side and have no permanent signage. Guess what? The ticket agents don’t arrive until 3 hours before the flight –and even then they need time to set up before they are ready to help us! That was probably the worst part of the day – wasting time in an empty airport with two very tired boys, two very upset cats and a mommy who hasn’t slept in I don’t know how long.

Because we are moving and not just going on vacation, we needed to take as many personal items as possible. Each of us brought 2 x-large suitcases that all weighed exactly 50 pounds (the airline limit before you start paying $$$). We had to bring each cat in separate soft kennels and then each boy had a backpack of toys, coloring books and whatever else they wanted to help keep them busy and feel secure. I had my laptop back with important documents and my purse. So imagine this sight (because I wasn’t smart enough to take a picture)- Me, the boys, and 11 pieces of luggage.

Once we checked in, we still had two kids, the two cats, two backpacks, my laptop bag (which is pretty big), my purse and me to wander the airport with for the next 3 hours after spending about an hour walking around with all the luggage. Like I stated earlier – the worst part of the day. We had breakfast at Tim Hortons, the boys pretended to play video games (I didn’t put money in them – with their imagination – I don’t have to) and we finally went out to our gate.

Getting through security, we were quite the spectacle. They wanted to scan the cat kennels without the cats in them, so each of my sons took a cat and carried them through the metal detector. I couldn’t take a picture then, but here’s the boys holding the cats now. We definitely had all the attention of every one there. It was quite a site to see. I was a little concerned as there were two of them, and some stressed cats and an airport full of people. If one or both of my cats got away from the boys, I could have a real situation. But the boys held on tight, the cats were a little sleepy from graval, and the security people were good about getting the kennels back to us quickly. All is well.

We still had plenty of time to waste before departure, so the boys excitedly watched the various preparations involving “our plane”.

They actually did great on the flight, and only started to squabble when we got near Mexico City. Mexicana still serves a hot meal, so we got breakfast #2 (my youngest slept through it) and they took turns sitting next to the window.

Upon arriving in Mexico City, we had a couple of hours between flights to find our next gate. A very nice man, Carlos, was waiting in the walkway with a wheelchair to help those who needed it. I guess we were quite the site because he offered to help. He put both boys together in the wheelchair, both cats on their laps, the backpacks on the handles of the wheelchair and pulled my laptop bag (which has wheels). He found out where our gate was, and took us all the way through customs, translated for us, and to our next gate. He was terrific – I am truly grateful for his help. I only wish I had tipped him better (my brain was still not functioning correctly, and I wasn’t converting the pesos vs dollars very well). Anyway, I hoped he is blessed in other ways for his help. If I ever see him again, I’ll be sure to make it up to him.

What we found at our gate was very cool. Now, I don’t know if Nextel has the corner on the market in Veracruz and Mexico City or if it’s spreading through the whole country, but nowhere else in the airport did I see Nextel radios (walkie-talkies) to this extent. It seemed almost everyone at that gate had one, and was using it. You could hear the ‘beep beep’ of the radios everywhere. (For those of you who have never seen mine or me use it, there are commercials on TV where they promote them for construction or for firefighters for example). Veracruz is well known for music and food (much like New Orleans). Sitting in the gate were a group of guys playing music –just for kicks. That might annoy some, but to me it was cool. A preview of the way of life we are moving toward.

When we arrived – and all of our luggage (whew!) – we went through customs again, this time in more detail. They ‘imported’ the cats and another guy helped us get our luggage out the secure area to finally see my husband and his personal assistant. Yeah! We made a couple of stops on the way home- and it started to pour rain. We skipped the restaurant (would you believe we settled for McDonalds?) and headed home as all our luggage was in the back of the pick-up truck.

We tried to cover up the suitcases that had paper type items in them and drove home quickly. It stormed so bad we lost power minutes after arriving home. So much for the ideal arrival to our new home! Everyone was so tired, we all just went to bed.