One Grand Adventure Finished And Another Waiting In The Wings

After 2 weeks of fun and relaxation, we were finally homeward bound with one grand adventure finished and another waiting in the wings.

It was nice as the plane didn’t leave until 3:45 pm so there was no need to get up at dawn as we had to when we left.

After packing, making sure we had all our receipts and hadn’t left anything in the car we had one more toot on the flute before shutting the suitcases.

Walking into town for breakfast the sun was starting to chase away the clouds and it promised to be another lovely day in Todo Santos.

Breakfast is always an interesting start of the day, as normally the menus are all in Spanish.

I have eggs figured out (huevos) but it appears that most of those dishes come with onions, peppers, refried beans and a few tortillas. 

More than my stomach can handle first thing in the morning.

One safe bet was French toast or pancakes as on the menus the spelling was the same in English as in Spanish.

This morning I had pancakes but they brought them with a plate of fruit (papayas, bananas and pineapple) and they were yummy.

I’ve been ordering tea to Rob’s coffee and both of them have interesting twists to them.

Coffee can come in any form from instant to mud (literally what looked like mud at the bottom, weak, strong with no consistency whatsoever.

Rob got around this by buying a bottle of Baileys and augmenting the coffee which started the day outright.

As I mentioned, I ordered tea which can mean many different things.

I gave up trying to ask for something specific like black tea and just let the teabags fall where they may.

Some mornings I got black, others green, sometimes flavoured green or black teas and there were also days of herbal teas thrown in. You just never knew and it was always a surprise.

Getting back from breakfast we packed up the car leaving behind the topper (that we got for the bed).

This is the second time that we’ve given it to the lady that cleans the room and they are just ecstatic with the gift.

That might be our mission when we go to Mexico is to give away toppers to as many hardworking women as we can.

As usual with a holiday you acquire things along the way like extra water, pop and beer that you can’t take on the plane with you.

Rob gave a 2-litre bottle of water to a gardener that was cutting away bushes and the man was so grateful. These are just simple things to us but seem to make such a difference to others.

Gathering up the beer that was left Rob thought he might as well give that to the man as well but he wasn’t there.

Rob tucked the box under all the leaves that had been cut and when the gardener came back to clean up there would be a surprise for him.

Nice to be Nice!

Heading down the highway we were a little early so we stopped by the little store and got one more of the strawberries and cream delights and got a taste of strawberry juice.

Strawberry juice consists of strawberries and basil and is delicious. I would have never of thought of the combination but I can hardly wait to try it.

Next, we stopped off at the surfing beach to see it one last time, walk in the water and listen to the waves pounding on the beach.

For the past week, we had been at non-tourist beaches and I had forgotten about the salespeople.

As soon as we hit the sand we were offered a massage right there on the beach ($20 USD for 1 hour).

No thanks, no time.

Walked a little further (about 8 feet) and this time a lovely girl cornered Rob wanting to know if he wanted a massage. Same price different part of the beach.

Next, I was assailed by a man selling hats and another peddling jewelry.

No thanks, no time.

Then a lady came up to me wanting to know my name and where I was from and did I have children and was this my husband meanwhile shaking my hand and telling me her name.

I must admit. I’m not a very good candidate for an ambassador for Canada.

Wanting to say “none of your business” I explained we were on the way to the airport and the suitcases were full.

She just drifted away… I still have no idea what she was selling.

Time to go. This was not the last memory that I wanted of Mexico but it was realistic.

We had a good drive to the airport, returned the car, got our tickets and were on our way.

Now… here is an interesting fact.

When we bought our tickets they were $189.65 USD per person for basic (back of the bus) and if you wanted to upgrade to the main cabin (the difference is you get to choose a seat) the upgrade was $45 USD per ticket when you bought online.

Now if you wanted the comfort seats to purchase online was an extra $160 but if you upgraded at the airport it was $20 USD per person. A saving of $140!

Gotta know that Rob was happy. 🙂

Not sure if the company saw any of the money as we saw the person tuck it away in his shirt pocket but we just considered it another tip to a more comfortable journey home.

What we didn’t realize was that behind us was a family with a small child and a baby that cried the whole 4.5 hours.

Poor little tyke… I’m sure it was due to the pressure in their ears because as soon as we touched down the crying stopped. None too soon.

But, there is always a bright side.

Luckily Rob had earplugs in his suitcase and the sound was down to a muffled cry.

We had a three-hour stopover in Seattle, which was just as well.

Going through customs was easy but then we somehow took a wrong turn and got out of the secure area of the airport and ended up having to come back in through security again.

We could hear this man long before we got up to the scanner and he was like a barker at a circus.

Step right up, take off your shoes, everything out of your pockets, liquids in the trays, electronics in a separate tray and have your ticket ready.

He was so funny and seemed to enjoy his job that he lightened up the line and made us all smile.

Rob and I both got a patdown after we went through the scanner.

I just got the backside patdown, but Rob got the full treatment which he said was an interesting experience. I’m paraphrasing. 🙂

Turns out the supervisor was there watching all the TSA agents so they were doubly attentive to details.

Short flight home arriving to a cool 36 degrees and a few patches of snow on the ground.

Finally getting in our door at 12:45 am, we turned up the heat and got the fireplace going.

Put the hot water bottles in bed to warm it up and slept in our own bed.

Luxury!

One adventure over and who knows what the next one will bring.