Well, we got off to an early start, cab at 6AM and a quick ride out to O'Hare. The plane was full and, sadly, full of fairly annoying passengers. We've been luckier in prior rides, but we DID sweet-talk the gate agent into letting Claudette board with the two of us, swearing (truthfully!) that she had the middle seat in our row.
Linda had packed plenty of snacks including a full-slices-of-sourdough (Carolyn) smoked turkey breast (courtesy of Tom) sandwich for each of us. As it was a 4-hour ride, we tucked into a good chunk of that and, finally, set down in Puerto Vallarta. It was a little unnerving to taxi past several planes that appeared to be loading/unloading way out on the tarmac, but we snuggled up to a jetway thank goodness.
One picks up one's luggage and then repairs to immigration/plant control. Linda and Claudette set off down the hall to the luggage carousel, leaving me beside a pillar with our various carry-ons. The drug-sniffing dog came by and went RIGHT to a plastic bag in Linda's tote. It was, thankfully, empty ... the dog's handler asked me if there was food in it, and I could truthfully say that it HAD contained a very good sandwich -- homemade bread! -- and the handler gave the dog a treat and off they went. Little did I know there was still half a sandwich in the bag elsewhere ... the dog always stopped by as they made their rounds, but the handler didn't pursue. Linda finally realized the danger and tossed the remaining part of a sandwich. What pestilence we could visit on our neighboring country with a home-made sandwich remains a mystery, but at least we didn't get arrested for attempted snack smuggling.
Once your have your luggage, you proceed through an inspection point where you, personally, press a green button. Either a green arrow or a red one lights up, presumably truly at random. OF COURSE Claudette gets the red arrow, meaning she must have her luggage inspected in detail. OF COURSE she's bringing presents for the kids in Martha's family, and though she had every receipt, was audited in excruciating detail (those pesky employee discounts). An hour-and-a-half later, having had to assist the inspection crew in voiding a receipt for a whopping $29 (oh, retail experience comes in SO HANDY) ... finally we could seek out our transport to the resort.
It seemed quite possible to us that it would long ago have left without us, but we were more than pleased to see a fellow in the proper uniform. And we were the only folks IN the van, so we sweet-talked the driver into stopping at a grocery store for us ... ahhhhh ... some adult beverages at regular retail. Life is good! All we needed for dinner was guacamole & chips ... and off to bed after a long & testy day.
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