Yo no quiero morir sobre México
Why does it take an act of pure evil to make Americans remember to
be patriotic? I'm guilty of this. I've always considered myself
patriotic. When there is nothing threatening your country, its easy
to forget what your country and your people mean to you.
After our wedding, we drove home together and unpacked some gifts
and packed our bags for the honeymoon. Neither of us had ever
traveled out of the country before. It was exciting and somewhat
scary to take a step that had never been taken before. I had wanted
to go somewhere in the US that I had never been. In my mind, seeing
the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, etc would be really interesting.
We've both been to Florida countless times to see the ocean and swim,
so I was more interested in something different. We talked about it
and Lesley really wanted to go somewhere tropical and I agreed. After
talking to some travel agents, I found a nice week long getaway to
Cancun, Mexico. Neither of us knew any Spanish. We both had taken
some French in high school, but that was certainly going to be no help.
We drove down to Atlanta where we had a direct flight to Cancun. The
flight down was pretty uneventful other than the fact that the peanuts
provided on the plane were the worst tasting things I've ever tasted.
Whoever decided to put vinegar and lime together had to be out of
their mind. It was funny to watch everyone on the plane open their
little pack, take a handful and spit them all out back in the pack.
As soon as we landed we were surrounded by people trying to get us
to go to timeshare meetings where we would receive all of these
wonderful gifts and certificates. We declined and one guy said to me
'Okay Mista rich guy!!'. Our resort was all inclusive which means that
everything you eat and drink in the hotel is free, except for the mini
bar in the room, which had outrageous prices. We were on the 4th or 5th
floor overlooking the ocean right on the beach. It was beautiful. The
most crystal blue water I've ever seen. It was right off of a postcard.
First thing we did after eating a nice lunch was to go visit our on-site
travel agent. We went through several booklets deciding on what we wanted
to do for the week. We picked out some cool places to go. One was the
'Jungle Tour' where you drive your own miniature boat down the river out
into the ocean where you snorkel over corral and see exotic fish. Another
thing we did was the 'Captain Hook Show'. When you arrive at the dock, there
are two very authentic looking pirate ships. One is Captain Hook's and the
other his worst enemy (name escapes me). In the beginning, the guests get
to play games and drink. Then steak and lobster dinner is served. After
dinner, the tables are removed to make a dance floor. The whole night, the
ships pass each other several times and the highlight is when the ships enter
into a battle, shooting canons at each other. They pull up to each other and
members of each crew change ship to do choreographed battles. Our captain
won the battle and defeated Captain Hook.
By far, my favorite site seeing adventure (Lesley least favorite) was going
to Chichen Itza, a Mayan ruins site. On the way there, we drove through
non-tourist areas in Mexico where daily life was going on as it had for
centuries. Most things here were bartered on the streets. We passed by a
school house we could see inside and all of the children were wearing their
little uniforms and sitting in a circle taking their lesson. The entire trip
to the ruins, our tour guide would stand up on the bus and talk about what we
could see outside. Every time he spoke he would throw in this line, 'Hello
senoras, the land we are going to know today is the Maya.. Chichen Itza... No
senoras, not chicken pizza, Chichen Itza'. After we arrived, we were
taken on a tour to the main areas, then we were let loose to go back to
what we wanted to see in more detail. The Great Pyramid was incredible. To
think of the age of such a thing and imagine how the built it was mind boggling.
It made me really want to go to see the Egyptian pyramids. The ride back was
long and we were tired. It was extremely hot at the ruins and we were drained
of energy.
We got back to the hotel and ate at one of the restaurants there. After we ate
we went back to our room and Lesley decided to turn the tv on. We arrived on
Sunday and this was Tuesday. It was the first time we had turned the tv on
the entire time we had been in Mexico. All over the news were images of the
World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. It was a complete shock. We tuned
in just as they were going over the entire events in order of how they
happened. And each time they showed the next turn of events, our jaws dropped
even farther. We watched the news the whole evening. We called home to see
what people there thought and what they knew that we might not. Everyone was
worried about us, because they knew we had flown just 2 days before.
The next morning we went down to our on-site travel agent and he was swamped
with people trying to find out details about getting home. All flights had
been canceled until further notice. We weren't supposed to leave for another
4 or 5 days, so we figured it would all be straightened out by the time we
had to go home. This agent was actually on the Chichen Itza trip with us the
day before and when we asked about the WTC news, he told us that all of the
guides on that trip knew what had happened the whole day. He said they had
chosen not to tell us so that there was no hysteria, etc. I was pissed off,
but in hindsight they were probably in the right. People would have been
freaking out when there was nothing they could do.
So the rest of our week was weird. Two or three times per day, we would
go talk to our agent and find out that they had no information whatsoever.
There were people in there that were really really angry, but there just
simply was no information about when flights would resume. We tried to go
on with our vacation, but all the uncertainty was always looming the rest
of the week. I believe it was Sunday that we were supposed to go home, but
we didn't get to. Some flights were getting out, but they were flying the
people out that were already delayed first. So people who were supposed to
be gone on Tuesday, got the first attention. The hotel gave us an excellent
rate for the extra days we were there. Everyone was very friendly and
sympathetic. So after 3 extra days in Cancun, we got a call saying that
we must leave the hotel immediately, because we are booked on a flight home.
We already had everything packed for the most part due to the possibility of
a short notice. We were happy to be going home. So we arrived at the airport
and stood in line for what seemed like forever to find out that we weren't
booked on a flight. We were on a standby list. There were thousands of people
at the airport spread out everywhere. You could tell that people had been
camping there. We sat down and assumed that we had come here for nothing, but
they kept calling names of people on the standby list and eventually they
called our names. We couldn't believe it. Then they told us that the plane
would be leaving in minutes and we had to run across the airport. After
reaching the gate, we were told that they didn't have a flight crew for our
plane. How could things get any better? I think we sat at our gate for
2 hours. We met several people who were married on the same day as us
and were there for their honeymoons as well. Finally we got to board a
plane... a plane full of very nervous people. During mid flight, the
flight attendants blessed us with some vinegar/lime peanuts that everyone
spit out. A few hours later, we were over Atlanta and then we landed.
Everyone on the plane put out a deafening cheer, because we were finally
home. There was a story going around that people were really getting
searched by customs. We didn't get checked at all. We just went right
through, got out to our car, and drove to our friends' house who lived
about 20 miles south of the airport. We spent the night with them and
drove home the next day.
Back home, there were American flags flying everywhere. No stores had
any flags left. In a week's time, the country had gone from bland earth
tones to the red, white, and blue. I have never seen so many flags on
display my entire life. I hated that it took something so awful to draw
us all together, but it really felt good to be united. We made it home
safely on our flight, but to all of the people on September 11th that
didn't make it home, I hope you're in a better place.
be patriotic? I'm guilty of this. I've always considered myself
patriotic. When there is nothing threatening your country, its easy
to forget what your country and your people mean to you.
After our wedding, we drove home together and unpacked some gifts
and packed our bags for the honeymoon. Neither of us had ever
traveled out of the country before. It was exciting and somewhat
scary to take a step that had never been taken before. I had wanted
to go somewhere in the US that I had never been. In my mind, seeing
the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, etc would be really interesting.
We've both been to Florida countless times to see the ocean and swim,
so I was more interested in something different. We talked about it
and Lesley really wanted to go somewhere tropical and I agreed. After
talking to some travel agents, I found a nice week long getaway to
Cancun, Mexico. Neither of us knew any Spanish. We both had taken
some French in high school, but that was certainly going to be no help.
We drove down to Atlanta where we had a direct flight to Cancun. The
flight down was pretty uneventful other than the fact that the peanuts
provided on the plane were the worst tasting things I've ever tasted.
Whoever decided to put vinegar and lime together had to be out of
their mind. It was funny to watch everyone on the plane open their
little pack, take a handful and spit them all out back in the pack.
As soon as we landed we were surrounded by people trying to get us
to go to timeshare meetings where we would receive all of these
wonderful gifts and certificates. We declined and one guy said to me
'Okay Mista rich guy!!'. Our resort was all inclusive which means that
everything you eat and drink in the hotel is free, except for the mini
bar in the room, which had outrageous prices. We were on the 4th or 5th
floor overlooking the ocean right on the beach. It was beautiful. The
most crystal blue water I've ever seen. It was right off of a postcard.
First thing we did after eating a nice lunch was to go visit our on-site
travel agent. We went through several booklets deciding on what we wanted
to do for the week. We picked out some cool places to go. One was the
'Jungle Tour' where you drive your own miniature boat down the river out
into the ocean where you snorkel over corral and see exotic fish. Another
thing we did was the 'Captain Hook Show'. When you arrive at the dock, there
are two very authentic looking pirate ships. One is Captain Hook's and the
other his worst enemy (name escapes me). In the beginning, the guests get
to play games and drink. Then steak and lobster dinner is served. After
dinner, the tables are removed to make a dance floor. The whole night, the
ships pass each other several times and the highlight is when the ships enter
into a battle, shooting canons at each other. They pull up to each other and
members of each crew change ship to do choreographed battles. Our captain
won the battle and defeated Captain Hook.
By far, my favorite site seeing adventure (Lesley least favorite) was going
to Chichen Itza, a Mayan ruins site. On the way there, we drove through
non-tourist areas in Mexico where daily life was going on as it had for
centuries. Most things here were bartered on the streets. We passed by a
school house we could see inside and all of the children were wearing their
little uniforms and sitting in a circle taking their lesson. The entire trip
to the ruins, our tour guide would stand up on the bus and talk about what we
could see outside. Every time he spoke he would throw in this line, 'Hello
senoras, the land we are going to know today is the Maya.. Chichen Itza... No
senoras, not chicken pizza, Chichen Itza'. After we arrived, we were
taken on a tour to the main areas, then we were let loose to go back to
what we wanted to see in more detail. The Great Pyramid was incredible. To
think of the age of such a thing and imagine how the built it was mind boggling.
It made me really want to go to see the Egyptian pyramids. The ride back was
long and we were tired. It was extremely hot at the ruins and we were drained
of energy.
We got back to the hotel and ate at one of the restaurants there. After we ate
we went back to our room and Lesley decided to turn the tv on. We arrived on
Sunday and this was Tuesday. It was the first time we had turned the tv on
the entire time we had been in Mexico. All over the news were images of the
World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. It was a complete shock. We tuned
in just as they were going over the entire events in order of how they
happened. And each time they showed the next turn of events, our jaws dropped
even farther. We watched the news the whole evening. We called home to see
what people there thought and what they knew that we might not. Everyone was
worried about us, because they knew we had flown just 2 days before.
The next morning we went down to our on-site travel agent and he was swamped
with people trying to find out details about getting home. All flights had
been canceled until further notice. We weren't supposed to leave for another
4 or 5 days, so we figured it would all be straightened out by the time we
had to go home. This agent was actually on the Chichen Itza trip with us the
day before and when we asked about the WTC news, he told us that all of the
guides on that trip knew what had happened the whole day. He said they had
chosen not to tell us so that there was no hysteria, etc. I was pissed off,
but in hindsight they were probably in the right. People would have been
freaking out when there was nothing they could do.
So the rest of our week was weird. Two or three times per day, we would
go talk to our agent and find out that they had no information whatsoever.
There were people in there that were really really angry, but there just
simply was no information about when flights would resume. We tried to go
on with our vacation, but all the uncertainty was always looming the rest
of the week. I believe it was Sunday that we were supposed to go home, but
we didn't get to. Some flights were getting out, but they were flying the
people out that were already delayed first. So people who were supposed to
be gone on Tuesday, got the first attention. The hotel gave us an excellent
rate for the extra days we were there. Everyone was very friendly and
sympathetic. So after 3 extra days in Cancun, we got a call saying that
we must leave the hotel immediately, because we are booked on a flight home.
We already had everything packed for the most part due to the possibility of
a short notice. We were happy to be going home. So we arrived at the airport
and stood in line for what seemed like forever to find out that we weren't
booked on a flight. We were on a standby list. There were thousands of people
at the airport spread out everywhere. You could tell that people had been
camping there. We sat down and assumed that we had come here for nothing, but
they kept calling names of people on the standby list and eventually they
called our names. We couldn't believe it. Then they told us that the plane
would be leaving in minutes and we had to run across the airport. After
reaching the gate, we were told that they didn't have a flight crew for our
plane. How could things get any better? I think we sat at our gate for
2 hours. We met several people who were married on the same day as us
and were there for their honeymoons as well. Finally we got to board a
plane... a plane full of very nervous people. During mid flight, the
flight attendants blessed us with some vinegar/lime peanuts that everyone
spit out. A few hours later, we were over Atlanta and then we landed.
Everyone on the plane put out a deafening cheer, because we were finally
home. There was a story going around that people were really getting
searched by customs. We didn't get checked at all. We just went right
through, got out to our car, and drove to our friends' house who lived
about 20 miles south of the airport. We spent the night with them and
drove home the next day.
Back home, there were American flags flying everywhere. No stores had
any flags left. In a week's time, the country had gone from bland earth
tones to the red, white, and blue. I have never seen so many flags on
display my entire life. I hated that it took something so awful to draw
us all together, but it really felt good to be united. We made it home
safely on our flight, but to all of the people on September 11th that
didn't make it home, I hope you're in a better place.