Sunday, October 30, 2005

SIX DAYS IN CANCUN

Day Six - Ticket to ride.

It's late. After midnight, so officially it is day seven. I am not in Cancun any longer, but now in a city some 200 miles away called Merida. It is rumored that there is an airport here. 38,000 of us feel like we are in some bizarre scavenger hunt. Looking for the allusive ticket out of here.

Now this is where it gets weird.

The airport is closing down and we are ordered to get the heck out of the parking lot. We are not allowed to spend the night. As always I am clueless as to who is ordering us to leave. Military? Private airport meanies? Anti-American activists?

We load up in the buses and vans and take off. Following each other out into the dark night. It must be after 1 am by now. We are all tired, cranky, and humorless. It is rumored that we are going to the parking lot of a movie house. Rumors, rumors, rumors.

We travel down the highway, across parts of the highway that are under construction but still being used. Very bumpy. We travel a long ways. I feel we are just going to drive around all night until the sun comes up and we are allowed back into the airport to begin our vigil again.

We are at the mercy of Funjet. And the foreigners are getting restless.

We do arrive at a parking lot. It is the parking lot for a Boston Restaurant! I ask the van driver if Joe and I can find space in a less crowded fan (I saw one at the airport) to lay down and get some sleep.

"Why would you want to do that when you can go into this nice restaurant and eat all night. Open bar?"  He had a very good point.

And that is the way it was. Very strange. They had a pizza buffet all night long. Drinks were on the house, but only non-alcoholic. Thank goodness there was not a crisis in this area, the bar was open and the drinks were flowing.

It was 2 am.

I was still fretting about Israel and Bella, but my fears were calmed when they walked in with Bob and Judy. Joe and I found an empty booth, he slept on one side, I on the other. At 330 am we fell into another dead sleep.

Awake at 6 am.

Back on the road to freedom.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Funjet doesn't sound like it was too much fun. I guess you can't blame them for weather but I would think that they would try to get people in there to help their passengers. I would have many questions for them once I got home.

Anonymous said...

Finally seeing light at the end of hte tuennnel

Anonymous said...

"Now this is where it gets weird."  Hah...sorry.  Laughing as if it hasn't been weird enough for seven days!  ;)

SO EXCITED to read about Israel and Bella!

Anonymous said...

It seems someone was in charge. Although they didn't keep you informed all too well, it seems that they took somewhat good care of you. Thankfully!

:-) ---Robbie

Anonymous said...

It truly is a mad, mad, mad, mad world!  
Sam

Anonymous said...

It's another tequila sunrise.