Stuart and Frieda's Mexican Adventure Part 1

Please note that the lack of pictures is due to the fact that our camera broke after getting hit with a wave on the second day.

Last summer the company that Stuart was working for had an incentive that if he sold X amount of systems during the months of July and August he would get an all inclusive trip to Mexico. He sold enough that I was able to go as well. It was a blast and we just got back but it was a bit of an adventure to say the least.

On Feb. 11 we dropped the girls off with Stuart's parents and stayed in a hotel in Toronto overnight. It was a very nice hotel right across the street from the airport. So close in fact that we walked over the next morning. So far things were going as planned. We were early, getting our bags checked, boarding passes and had lots of time to get through customs before our flight left for Phoenix. And then we hit the US customs.

I was approved to get into the United States but Stu had to go to the "Secondary Inspection" area. (Not nearly as scary as it sounds.) After waiting for over an hour and missing a flight we were informed that Stuart was missing the appropriate documents that he needed to go through the US. Even just for a one hour layover. Unfortunately we were now stuck in Toronto. Usually if there's a problem with customs you can reschedule your flight and just by pass the States. However, we were flying US Airways who basically told us to get lost, sorry but we can't help you if you can't come into our country, have fun trying to get to Mexico. (Only more politely.) Unfortunately we were now faced with a dilemma. Would Stuart be able to get into Mexico? Or would they turn him away just like the States did. The United States is the only country that requires that specific documentation but we couldn't be sure until we got to customs.

Being the Type A personality that I am, I didn't handle this information so well. Stuart however did. He took control while I followed behind, stressing (freaking out) about what we should do. After two hours of running between Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 at the Pearson Airport, talking to every travel agency in the airport, talking to every airline in the airport (it would have really helped if aeromexicano and mexicana were in the same terminal), realizing that the travel agency that booked the trip didn't have a customer service number, Stuart's brother Andrew found us a series of flights on line.

So instead of flying to Phoenix and then to Mazatlan and arriving that afternoon we were now taking a flight to Montreal then a flight to Mexico City. After spending the night in Mexico City we would take a propeller plane to San Jose and then another plane to Mazatlan and get there the following night. However, it was the best option the didn't involve us taking a weekend vacation somewhere in Canada and freezing our buns off.

Have I mentioned that flying scares me? Mercifully the flight to Montreal was only 42 minutes so I barely had time to start freaking out. However, the flight to Mexico City was six hours. And one does not go through Mexican customs until one actually arrives in Mexico. After much thought and some prayer we decided to fly to Mexico and take our chances with customs. I won't lie I was terrified not only of flying but taking this huge flight and then turning around and flying back home because they wouldn't let us in. I took far more than the legal amount of Gravol right before boarding the plane and spent most of the flight sleeping. However, I did wake up as we were coming over Mexico City. I have never seen anything like it in my life.

Mexico City has over 30 million people living in it. That's roughly the same size as Canada. Flying into the city, there was nothing but lights for as far as the eye could see. And there are no building codes in Mexico so the blanket of lights was twice as compact as anything you would see in Canada. Closely packed lights of millions of homes all the way to the horizon except for these huge black spots that were the tops of mountains. They had just built this gigantic city around the mountains!

It was even more amazing once we got into the airport. I have never been anywhere outside of Canada and the United States. For the record I am very much aware that I won the lottery by being born in Canada but had never realized how truly lucky I was until I stepped into Mexico.
It was a very stressful half hour as we waited to get through customs but get through we did. We tried not to look to excited that we got through just in case the authorities got suspicious and we got interrogated. As soon as got into the main airport the smell hit me. Now the entire country of Mexico has a certain smell: sweat, dirt, mud, spices, heat. And the Mexico City airport smells just like the rest of country but with the lovely smell of open sewers. That's not to say that the building isn't clean. It's very clean. They have cleaning staff who's entire job it is is to sweep the floor. (More on that later.)

We were then faced with the problem of finding a hotel at 9:00 at night with absolutely no Spanish skills. There was a Hilton in the airport. I told Stuart that we were staying there that evening. Smart man decided not to argue with me. The Hilton was nice. Smelled funny and the water was undrinkable but it was nice. I tried to brave going to a MacDonald's in the airport but as luck would have it two high school football (soccer) teams arrived right before I did. I gave up waiting after 15 minutes.

The next day we checked out at noon and headed down to the airport for our 2:00 flight. Just as we got to the main level we heard an announcement letting us know that this was the final boarding call for our flight! We started running as fast as we could. I was in flip flops and I kept falling out of my shoes. People were staring and calling in Spanish but we kept going. When we got to the mexicana check-in we explained that we just heard the final boarding call, we had tickets for the flight but we didn't think it left for almost two hours. The agent behind the counter explained to us that the flight was not full but was too heavy. He could not let anymore people onto the plane or else the extra weight could cause the plane to crash. (Who knew) Stuart quickly explained that we were Mazatlan and the agent told us that he had a direct flight going there that would not leave until 6. I was excited. We could check our stuff, put the carry-on in the lockers and then tour Mexico City for a while. The agent quickly excused himself and came back moments later with good news! He had a direct flight leaving for Mazatlan in 15 minutes could we run? Of course. Quickly he got us our boarding passes, informed the flight that there were two more passengers who were going to make a run for it and excitedly gave us directions to the gate. However, I had no idea what he was saying other than I had to run upstairs. We had five minutes.

There was no way I was going to make it in my sandals so I pulled them and took off behind Stu. Running barefoot through the Mexico City International airport isn't something I ever thought I would do. Neither is yelling at airport security to hurry up, stop talking about your weekend and x-ray my bags. I was in the lead not 100% sure where I was going but running down the hallway with my luggage. Even though I was barefoot I kept slipping across the floors. Finally I saw a man in an orange vest yelling "Mazatlan?" Everyone was staring as I yelled, "Yes, yes we're coming." Skidding to a stop, out of breath we gave them our boarding passes, luggage and passports. Then we stumbled into our seats. Only then did we realize that our tickets were for first class! It was a very comfortable ride to Mazatlan. The Mexican country side is gorgeous especially with extra leg room, sandwiches and fancy drinks served in actual glasses.

Once in Mazatlan we took a cab to the resort. It was a very humbling experience driving through the city. The poverty was astounding. Every building no matter how small had bars over its windows and doors. Everything was made of concrete with peeling paint. Garbage was everywhere. Children and adults walked through the traffic selling goods and services trying to make a living. I felt kind of bad when we finally got to the resort. The poverty I had just witnessed was so much sadder when I realized that I was going to be staying in a five start resort.