I had a long but mostly pleasant expedition.

I gave myself 90 minutes before my shuttle pick up to put the last few items in my suitcase, shower, stash my computer, gather my things and then head downstairs where I found the shuttle just pulling up.

Only one other passenger, over in Noe Valley. Against my suggestion the driver followed his GPS which took a rather circuitous over the hill and up the entire length of Church St to Day St.

But we made it okay and I arrived at Aero Mexico an hour earlier than I’d allotted time for. (The curse of having had a former airline ticket agent for a mom is always getting to the airport WAY early)

But it made it possible to book a coveted exit row seat. Unlike ‘Murrican carriers, they don’t charge extra for that seat.(they also allow two full size suitcases at no extra charge and include free alcoholic beverages with the meal. I’d forgotten what it was like to fly without being squeezed for every fucking penny!)

One of the first things I noticed at the gate is that Aero Mexico divides the passengers up into groups so that the two outer window rows board first, followed by the two middle seat rows, and then the two aisle seat rows.

It makes for very efficient boarding with less people to climb over.Far too sensible for ‘Murricans to adopt.

The flight was pretty uneventful though I was given a nice view of the Glen Canyon dam and the Grand Canyon just as the sun set.

Flying into Ciudad Mexico at night really showed what a massive metropolitan area it is, though I would have liked to see Pococatepetl.

Unfortunately, once I was in C.M. things went a bit less smoothly. Though I had a 2+hr layover it was just enough time to claim my suitcase, pass through customs*, and get to the gate.

*(I was allowed to bring in the 14 different types of apples and pears though. My hosts were very pleased.)

I paused to send a couple of emails and was so distracted that I only heard the final boarding call.(missing it would have meant a 12 hour layover with no way to call my hosts in Merida. Whew!)

This time, however, I was far less fortunate with my seating. I had been assigned the window seat in the very last row. You know, the seats that don’t recline. On top (or beside) that were my two row-mates who were even wider than I am.

Even in the dark Merida is a lovely city.

I went out and bought an Android cell phone and was only able to access it with a couple of hours of intervention by two lovely young women at a TelCel phone store.

I would have ended up throwing it across the street.

I have been taking lots of pictures but won’t be able to use them to illustrate these posts until I get to a computer or figure out how to use the new phone to do it.