YYZ to PVR - Part Two

Actually, it was easier than you might think to find 8 kilos worth of "stuff". Both of the large pockets outside my suitcase were packed with toiletries so I unlocked them and dumped the contents into my new bag. I opened my knapsack and removed the large ablution kit in there which was filled with more stuff. Then I unlocked my suitcase, unzipped the top, reached in and pulled out a phone and my blow dryer. I was hoping that was enough and headed back to the same check in station as before. My suitcase weighed a little over 32 kilos but she let it pass, along with my new bag holding the remaining weight. Then she calculated that I was 20 kgs over @ $7 per kilo for a total of $140CDN. Good thing I had my trusty VISA card! I was finally ready to go through the security gate and passed without incident. I forgot to mention that my laptop slipped off the counter and fell on the floor, while still in the case, so I needed to find a quiet place to check it out. I had to be at Gate 39 by 12:15PM but already late, I decided to stop and fire up my laptop. It worked perfectly! *WHEW*

After stopping at Starbucks for the most expensive bottle of water and cookie I've ever purchased, I wandered over to my gate and found most seats in the immediate vicinity to be occupied. The flight had nearly sold out which is pretty amazing when you consider the weather in Toronto is almost the same as it is in Vallarta right now: hot and humid with occasional rainstorms. I located a relatively vacant area near Gate 40 and sat down to wait for the final boarding call. I never get in line when they call my row. I would rather wait in the airport terminal than sit on the plane. Eventually, I boarded and discovered my seat in row 12, one row behind the line of bulkhead seats. The seat in front of me remained vacant as the flight attendants sealed the door so I planned to move up after take off. Unfortunately, one of them brought an older gentleman down the aisle and placed him right in front of me so I was stuck in my original seat, with two adolescent boys next to me. The boys, as it turned out, were extremely well behaved and pleasant, playing cards or watching the movie throughout the flight without one single bathroom break! However, the old guy in front of me insisted on reclining his seat to the maximum so it was a cramped flight for me. But we watched two movies and before I knew it, we were starting our descent into PV. Being close to the door, I made my way down the mobile staircase to the bus in no time.

Anyone who has ever landed in PV and had to be bussed into the terminal knows that the best spot on the bus is near a door so I grabbed the seat closest to the rear door of the bus and eventually, we pulled away from the plane to make our short journey towards the terminal. Once there, the guy beside me jumped off the bus and started heading in the wrong direction. I just ignored him and followed the hand signals of the woman waiting at the doorway. She wanted to check my FMT (the tourist card that everyone completed on the plane) but I explained, in Spanish, that I wasn't a tourist, that I lived and worked in Vallarta and that I had an FM3. She let me by with a smile and a nod. First in line at Customs means you're first to the luggage carousel and I didn't have to wait very long for that either! Just long enough to tell the woman standing beside me, with her husband and three boys, that I worked in an awesome store called Viva! LOL I also warned them away from the timeshare enclosure right outside the doors and they were very thankful. I arrived at the red light/green light station (red means you open your luggage, green means you sail on through!) and gave the guy a big flirty smile along with a "Buenos Tardes" in my best Mexican Spanish. He let me pass without pressing the button!

Once in the terminal, I headed towards the ticket booth to buy a taxi ride into town but was waylaid by a guy motioning me through the doors into his waiting taxi. Being happy to be rid of my bags, I put up no argument when he informed me that the ride cost 200 pesos (remember that I only paid 60 pesos to get to the airport in June -- what a racket!). The plane landed around 5:15PM local time, approximately 4 hours and 15 minutes after take off, and I made it to my apartment before 6PM. Jeff helped me haul my suitcase up the stairs and I took in all the changes since I've been gone: matching end tables in my living room, a new kitchen cabinet with two doors and two drawers plus a huge three drawer dresser upstairs! I dumped everything for a quick shower and then headed out for dinner with Jeff to Machi's BBQ, a local place with good food, cold beer and a 40 peso dinner special every night of the week! We had prime rib burritos and a few well deserved cervezas. Then I got it into my head that I needed some cash and feeling in need of walk, talked Jeff into coming with me to the Scotiabank on Juarez. After I withdrew the maximum amount, we stood around talking in the air conditioned booth housing the banking machine. Neither of us noticing the frantic beeping of the machine. By the time we clued in (it was reminding me to take my card back), the machine had sucked my bank card into its mechanism. *sigh* If this had happened in Toronto, I would probably be freaking out but what the heck, this is Mexico and the bank opens Monday morning at 9 or 10AM. I'll get it back mañana ... :)