Hmmmmm.....and I thought that the 17th would be my last post but ...... this was one of those times that the adventure just wasn't ready to be over!
It's taken me three days to get here but I am home now and all is well but....it is a bit of a story so for one final time....here goes......
As planned, I arrived at the airport in Zihuatanejo in plenty of time for my afternoon flight on the 17th. All seemed to be on track as we boarded the plane at the designated time for departure. Once on the plane things started to go a little sideways though....the crew came on the PA system to let us know that there was a minor computer problem and that they were in the final stages of correcting the issue and that we'd be underway as soon as it was taken care of. Several minutes passed (at least half an hour) before we heard anything from them again and this time it was an announcement telling us that there were IT airline staff as well as local IT specialists in attendance and that they should have everything taken care of in 10-15 minutes. This time it was closer to an hour before we heard from them again and this time they said that they didn't know if they'd be able to get the problem fixed and so options were being considered should that become the case. Another 1/2 hour would pass before the final word was issued....our flight would be cancelled and we would be put up in a hotel overnight and the airline would spend the night working on both the mechanical (computer) problem on our plane or bring in another plane or find alternate carriers to get us to our destination in the morning.
So.....we all piled off the plane (after spending a good 2 hours sitting on the tarmack) and followed our "leader" into the arrivals area where we would be able to reclaim our baggage that had all been unloaded again. Then it was another wait for the buses that would take us to our hotel for the night. It was well past 8:00 pm so we were hopeful too that there would be an opportunity to get some supper too as stomachs were beginning to rumble and babies beginning to cry.
Once on the buses....it was approximately a 1/2 hour drive to our hotel for the evening, the Melia Azul at Ixtapa, a massive all inclusive facility that is reknowned for being one of the "nicer" places. I had to laugh at this point as one of the things I have heard myself say many times is, "I'm not interested in staying at an all inclusive - my preference is the local culture and the all inclusives are a bit too touristy for my liking". Well....like it or not.....I'd be staying at an all inclusive this night! In truth, it is a lovely spot and I had a great room with a magnificent view of the beach and the ocean but.....as nice as it was in that way.....my night there simply confirmed my preference for something a little more authentic!
I enjoyed a late dinner at the hotel with three women from Salt Lake City who were also on the cancelled flight. Marilyn, Mary, Janet and I decided on the Asian buffet and in retrospect, I think it's better to eat Mexican in Mexico and Asian in Asia.
I was able to borrow someone's ITouch (thanks Erin!!) in an attempt to get a brief message to Lani via her facebook in the hope that she'd be able to contact Becky to let her know that I may or may not make my flight into Penticton as scheduled the following afternoon due to the delays....we still did not yet know just how long the delay would be.
Our group (well over 100 of us) met, as instructed, in the lobby of the hotel the next morning for an 11:00 a.m. departure back to the airport where we expected to board a plane and hit the skies in an attempt to minimize the damage the delay was causing for the connections that most travellers were scheduled to make. I, for example, had a connection from Phoenix to Vancouver and then another one at 4:00 pm on the 18th from Vancouver to Penticton on a different airline.
I know this story is likely getting a bit long but there is no other way to tell it as it was really really long! Our buses got us back to the airport where we lined up again to be re-issued boarding passes and to re-check our baggage that naturally all had to be manually searched (twice!) again. Both checked baggage and all carry on's are manually searched twice (by 2 different security agents) in the Zihuat airport! I'll leave it to your imagination as to how long that might have taken!!! Once people in the group began to receive their new boarding passes it became crystal clear that our replacement flight was not scheduled to depart until 4:20 pm so we were in for another long wait in the airport.
The clock moves so slowly when you're watching it and this was one of those times for so many people on the flight and as they watched the time crawl by they also watched their chances of making their connections with other carriers disappear. Our local airline staff had done a wonderful job of managing a very difficult situation and the airline had done a great job of ensuring that everyone's connections on the same carrier were taken care of but....for folks like me who had another connection on Air Canada from Vancouver to Penticton....we were just out of luck so it was an expensive delay!!! I had to pay for a hotel in Vancouver the night of the 17th that I never slept in as by the time our flight was cancelled, I had missed the deadline to cancel my room in Vancouver. And then to rub a little salt in the wound, I had to pay Air Canada an extra $125 to rebook me onto another flight from Vancouver to Penticton on the morning of the 19th...and then on top of all of that....I had to pay for another hotel room the night of the 18th so the delay/cancellation was an expensive night in an all inclusive for me.
But....all's well that ends well and even though my Vancouver to Penticton flight was also delayed due to another malfunction (this one with the emergency lighting), I finally made it home around noon on the 19th. There was another little glitch in the form of a very flat tire on my car when I arrived home which meant that I may not get to visit Lani today after all - a very sad turn of events as that had been at the top of my to do list since I started the trek home. Thanks to Basil and his mini compressor though - I had air in my tire and was on the road in no time so Lani and I did have a great visit after all. We shopped for baby "stuff" and I got to feel him doing his workout while she sat on the couch :) Soooo...... as I said......all's well that ends well and getting to spend a few hours with Lani and baby was a great way to end a great adventure.
Now, that really is it for this blog so....adios y hasta luego,
Lorrie
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