We’re off on an adventure! We booked a trip a while back to sail from La Cruz to Mazatlan on the Mexican Pacific coast. The trip is with Cruisers Academy, run by YouTube legends Brady and Blue of SV Delos fame. Brady will be our skipper whilst Blue looks after their beautiful new daughter Kaia back home.
After a false start (a fire at a electric substation resulted in Heathrow Airport being shut for 24hrs) we decided to get a hotel at the airport a couple of days later so that we could slow travel by train to the airport instead of waking up stupidly early again to get an expensive taxi. We really should have done that last time. Slow travel is always better. Unless there’s a bus replacement service. Then it’s 50/50 :)
It’s going to be a long day, up at 0245 to walk from the hotel to the airport to checkin. Only to find that a) the check-in desks didn’t open till 4am and b) the check-in desk for Air France had not moved from C->H but from H->C meaning we were waiting in the wrong area so ended up in a long queue to check-in after all. The trip will be LHR->CDG->MEX->PVT. That’s London, Paris, Mexico City, Puerta Vallarta!
All good though, the flights had automatically been rebooked and I was slightly worried that we couldn’t check in to the last leg. So it was a slightly anxious time but everything worked out fine as always and we were good to go.
Excitingly, for me, Heathrow T4 (at least) has new scanning machines bringing them to the same excellent state as Helsinki which also has machines that mean no laptop or liquids need to be pulled from the bags. I’ve never been through Heathrow security so quickly!
The flight to Paris was very smooth and as pleasant as these things go. I even got a nap which is always good on long journeys. Air France +1
Sadly it’s a 4hr layover but the seats are comfortable and the environment pleasant.
The 12hr flight to Mexico City with Air France did indeed feel long, but it was comfortable and drama free. I managed to get a few hours sleep off and on, watched a couple of films and read a bit. Landing in MEX was turbulent, and the wait for luggage is always frustrating as people crowd round the belt instead of hanging back and leaving room for people who’s cases have actually appeared. We were the last ones waiting for the bags and when they didn’t arrive we checked with the baggage folk who claim our bags have been transferred to the flight to PVG, contradicting what we’d been told at Heathrow. Ah well, fingers crossed!
A short shuttle train to terminal 2 later and we had a coffee and refreshments before going through security. That was easy enough.
Had dinner in the airport, honey-glazed salmon for me as the rest of the menu was meat based. That might just have been a poor choice of restaurant, we’ll see. Had a couple of Margarita Pepino - basically used cucumber infused simple syrup. Odd but very welcome at that stage of the trip.
The flight from MEX to PVR was short and filled mostly with exhausted but restful sleep. On arrival it was super simple being a domestic flight and our bags came out in a timely manner. Worrying for nothing, not that I ever worry that much.
Got a taxi from an “authorised” vendor in the airport rather than trying to find one outside and paid over the odds at 1225pesos. However, the driver, Tamas, was awesome and I learned a lot about the religious festivals and party season in December and Jan, decline in religiosity even in Catholic Mexico, and marijuana legality (medicinal) in Mexico. He wouldn’t leave us until Dewey met us - not wanting us to be stranded bless him.
Dewey walked us to Lintika and showed us our berths, where to get water and how to use the fancy electric heads. Then it was to bed for what I’m expecting to be a very disturbed night.