there and back again

So, there I was in the final stages of booking my Lufthansa reservation to Kiev for early February when I received an email from my cousin Dan.

"Would you like to join Patty and me on a two-week trip to Yucatan?"

The answer was easy. And you know why. My last two trips with Dan and Patty for a month touring southern Mexico in 2015 and two weeks of Colombia coffee country in 2017 were some of the best travel days I have experienced. They have a jeweler's eye for life well-lived. So, I immediately cancelled Ukraine and switched to the more-sybaritic expectations of Mexico.

There are very simple ways to get to Yucatan from the Pacific coast of Mexico. Airplane. Bus. I even considered driving. In the end, though, I drew a Steve option. That means my choice was far more complicated than it had to be.

Because I had already cancelled two flights that would have kept me on track with my mileage program, I booked a flight on Alaska. That meant that I had to fly to Los Angeles, spend the night there, and fly to Cancun the next day -- with all of the testing and immigration nonsense that accompanies treks across international borders these days. And, when the trip in Yucatan was over, I would reverse the process staying in Los Angeles for three days because of the limited flight schedule to Manzanillo.

Considering how Alaska's mileage program has been degraded now that it has joined a new alliance, I am not certain the choice had even a grain of wisdom. But it did add to the adventure.

The only fly in the ointment was the Cancun airport. Several airplanes had arrived in the same time slot discharging what appeared to be one of Attila's auxiliary hordes into the immigration lines. I had forgotten it was Spring Break season.

Living in Mexico has taught me a little about the rewards of being patient. I did not need to exercise it in the immigration line. It was as efficient as entering Europe through Frankfurt. Customs was another issue.

I smugly skipped waiting for luggage because I was traveling with a small carryon. That did not keep me from lining up with the rest of the luggage-burdened passengers for over an hour to have my luggage x-rayed. Hundreds of people. Two x-ray machines.

But, soon enough, I was disgorged in the Cancun sunlight to be greeted by my cousin traveling companions -- Dan and Patty -- who whisked me off to Valladolid. Where we will meet Carlos and Teresa, our hosts for the next two weeks

That is where our tale will take up tomorrow (or some day in the near future).

And I hope you will enjoy the trip as much as I did.