Today was a very long travel day, beginning with a 2am wakeup. Uber pickup at 3am, at the airport before 3:30 for our 5am flight. The lines were extraordinarily long when we arrived at the airport, as the entire RDU tech system used by check-in agents and gate agents was down.
Somehow, even though we didn’t check our bag until 4:20, we made it through TSA and got to our gate as they were boarding. Even more surprisingly, the plane was fully loaded and boarded in time to get us off the ground on time.
Our 2:45 flight arrived at DFW early, and had a 3-hour layover. We searched for some superglue somewhere in the airport, to fix the break in my eyeglasses’ frame–turns out stepping on your glasses isn’t a good idea. All fixed, then onto the AA lounge for coffee, ‘net, etc. And our 2+ hour flight to SJD went smoothly.
The SJD airport is quite efficient, unexpectedly. Immigration was simple and quick, then on to customs. We were a bit concerned about this process, as we’ve been hearing many accounts of people coming in with cameras and their underwater housings, and having to pay a ‘tax’. Although it’s illegal, we are told that each person can bring in a single camera, and that the housing is often noted as a second camera, bringing a tax. I’d prepared for this by putting Pattie’s camera in one bag, and the housing in another, hoping we could say we each have one of those bags. Alas, we were simply asked what was in our bags, and our “dive gear” response was adequate–we were passed right through.
A driver, Gustavo, picked us up outside, and we were on our way to Cabo Pulmo, where we’ll stay until Saturday morning. It’s quite hot here, so Gustavo having been in touch via WhatsApp earlier, giving us a way to say “we’re at the curb” so that he pulled right up without us waiting more than a minute or two.
Hot, yes. And Gustavo was ready with water and beer for us. So we enjoyed a beer and great conversation with Gustavo for our 90′ drive.
Pattie and I had made this drive ourselves in December, 2019, with Tim and Tara. Much looked familiar, and then there was all the new construction which, of course, we didn’t recognize. Gustavo was really great, and when Pattie asked him to try me out in Spanish, he was game. For about 5 minutes, we had a conversation, and I didn’t totally fail.
We arrived at the Cabo Pulmo Resort at about 2pm, and got into our room. Accommodations are just fine, with a large main room with bed, table, couch, kitchen; and a bathroom. We’re quite comfortable.
Dive gear is prepared and ready for tomorrow’s dives.
