Sunday, September 19, 2010
A layover in the MEX labyrinth (Surf Trip part 3)
Our plane arrived at Mexico City at 7 a.m. local time and we attempted to make our way to immigration/customs area, so we took a right out of our gate and started walking down the terminal corridor. We occasionally saw yellow or green pictographic signs indicating open luggage or plummeting aircraft, but nothing indicated where immigration might be. We eventually found ourselves in a large open area of shops, with the airport entrance on one side and a terminal walkway on another. In front of the terminal walkway was an immigration desk with a long line, including three American coeds who had been on our flight. We entered the queue, thinking that this must be the place.
while we stood in line we began to question whether this was, in fact, the correct immigration desk, due to the flood of people joining the line from the airport entrance. After the American women where turned away and pointed back where we came from, we exited the line and followed them. As we were walking back down the corridor, we saw a previously hidden hallway with a customs immigration sign. We would have had to make a u-turn on our original trek in order to have seen this corridor. Anyway, after traversing up some stairs, across a suspended walkway and back down some stairs, we found ourselves in the immigration area. No other passengers were there, so we made our way quickly through, walked down the exit hallway and found ourselves right back where we started, in the Mexicana terminal corridor near our arriving flight's gate.
We continued past our gate in the opposite direction and after a long walk eventually found the Mexican equivalent of a giant food court, where we ordered semi-American Egg-McMuffins from a McDonald's. After about an hour, we made our way back down the corridor (toward our original gate) and boarded our flight to HUX (Huatulco). The flight was uneventful and we stepped out of the plane into 90% humidity and walked down the tarmac to the thatched roof buildings where our bags were to be picked up.
Everyone else's surfboards arrived before the luggage, but mine came after the bags for some reason, so we had to wait for it. I picked up the surfboard bag and made my way to the security area, where I was asked to press a red button. This button apparently triggers either an electric shock or a treat for a capuchin monkey, who then lights a red or green light, depending on whether is shocked or pleased. Bob and Nick had gotten the treat light, but I got the angry monkey light and was forced to go to the side to have my bags inspected.
Having finally exited into Mexico proper without damage to our bags, we stood by the curb waiting for the taxi that the Wavehunters trip promised would take us to a hotel, where the Salina Cruz team would pick us up. We guessed that the local taxi union had a pretty strong lobbyist to get that law passed. However, a van pulled up and we were told that we would be taken straight to Salina Cruz from there. Sweet! While our stuff was loaded, we met Robin and Tek, two other surfers headed for Salina Cruz. We also saw a pair of Salina Cruz bound surfers get pulled back inside that the thatched hut buildings to meet with immigration, whom they had failed to find in the Mexico City Labyrinth...
while we stood in line we began to question whether this was, in fact, the correct immigration desk, due to the flood of people joining the line from the airport entrance. After the American women where turned away and pointed back where we came from, we exited the line and followed them. As we were walking back down the corridor, we saw a previously hidden hallway with a customs immigration sign. We would have had to make a u-turn on our original trek in order to have seen this corridor. Anyway, after traversing up some stairs, across a suspended walkway and back down some stairs, we found ourselves in the immigration area. No other passengers were there, so we made our way quickly through, walked down the exit hallway and found ourselves right back where we started, in the Mexicana terminal corridor near our arriving flight's gate.
We continued past our gate in the opposite direction and after a long walk eventually found the Mexican equivalent of a giant food court, where we ordered semi-American Egg-McMuffins from a McDonald's. After about an hour, we made our way back down the corridor (toward our original gate) and boarded our flight to HUX (Huatulco). The flight was uneventful and we stepped out of the plane into 90% humidity and walked down the tarmac to the thatched roof buildings where our bags were to be picked up.
Everyone else's surfboards arrived before the luggage, but mine came after the bags for some reason, so we had to wait for it. I picked up the surfboard bag and made my way to the security area, where I was asked to press a red button. This button apparently triggers either an electric shock or a treat for a capuchin monkey, who then lights a red or green light, depending on whether is shocked or pleased. Bob and Nick had gotten the treat light, but I got the angry monkey light and was forced to go to the side to have my bags inspected.
Having finally exited into Mexico proper without damage to our bags, we stood by the curb waiting for the taxi that the Wavehunters trip promised would take us to a hotel, where the Salina Cruz team would pick us up. We guessed that the local taxi union had a pretty strong lobbyist to get that law passed. However, a van pulled up and we were told that we would be taken straight to Salina Cruz from there. Sweet! While our stuff was loaded, we met Robin and Tek, two other surfers headed for Salina Cruz. We also saw a pair of Salina Cruz bound surfers get pulled back inside that the thatched hut buildings to meet with immigration, whom they had failed to find in the Mexico City Labyrinth...
