An American in Cuba: Day 1 Florida Bound
We live in an area that offers access to two potential airports – Austin and San Antonio, TX. San Antonio is slightly closer and our usual go to airport, especially since we like to avoid Austin traffic whenever possible. Southwest Airlines offered flights from both airports. My husband didn’t really like the idea of flying out of Austin instead of San Antonio. I was insistent that I preferred the times available plus it was slightly less expensive. He agreed to my request so we booked our flights from Austin, including a return flight that he was concerned we were cutting too close to our return charter from Havana. We had been advised not to book any flights earlier than 1:30 – 2:30 just to be on the safe side. I chose a 1:50 flight home. Once again I was very persuasive! He did get to talk me into checking baggage instead of traveling with just carry on luggage!
We had our time planned to leave the house Saturday morning and though we were concerned we were leaving the house a little later than we had planned we arrived in plenty of time. As we were walking to security I said “ I wish we had TSA precheck status. We got into line and then we were told we did have TSA precheck. Yay we got to keep our shoes on! We had a breakfast taco from Salt Lick and then sat down to enjoy our wait. I laughed because we had to come to the airport to try Salt Lick bar b que. We’ve been to the restaurant a couple of times but never wanted to wait for two hours to eat there. We both had a nagging feeling that we had left something behind. Suddenly realization hit me. I had left my allergy drops at home and we tried to find a way to get them to Florida. My mother was willing to overnight them to us. FedEx showed they had same day service when I looked on line so I called and asked Mother to try to do it. Unfortunately FedEx told my mother that is not a service they offer and no one else would in town either. I was so distracted that morning medicating animals and consoling my teenage daughter who was having a major life crisis that I just walked out without them. Oh well, at least I remembered everything else I needed. I would just have to call the allergy center when we returned home to see how much damage missing a week of drops would do. They had been very insistent that I should not travel without them. (Fortunatley when I returned home I learned no damage had been done).
We soon learned that flights to San Antonio had been diverted to Austin as the runway was closed in San Antonio due to a plane emergency. No planes were getting in or out of San Antonio for an undetermined amount of time. Suddenly flying out of Austin looked like a great plan! The flight was uneventful and we arrived a few minutes early.
Our hotel was literally at the airport. Kind of cool, kind of strange. It had the appearance of a resort hotel with a lovely pool area and gazebo areas but one side had the air traffic control tower and tram and the other looked out onto airport parking garages. It was certainly convenient though.
We went shopping in the airport and got my husband some sunglasses (since he forgot his). We then headed to our orientation meeting. Of course we needed to go back to the room to get our folder first. The elevator required you to put your room key in to get to your floor. We stepped into the middle elevator and inserted the card. The elevator jumped then nothing. It wouldn’t move and doors weren’t opening. Yes, I panicked. I think my husband was shocked by the amount of panic I exhibited so quickly. For some reason I just knew we were going to be trapped. It’s amazing how fast panic and claustrophobia kicked in for me. The doors finally opened (I feel certain it was only a matter of seconds but it felt much longer to me). We got out and then got back in with a group of people. Everything went fine then.
In the meeting room it was our first opportunity to check out our traveling companions. I have become averse to “group” travel. It seems groups always have that one person who is so annoying that it ruins the trip for everyone. I think all the travelers were checking out our future companions. There is always a bit of apprehension when you realize you will be in close quarters with a group of strangers for several days. It appeared to be a diverse group. Maybe a thirty year age span not including one teenager traveling with family. For some in the group this would be their first time to travel outside the country and they clearly had not traveled much but fortunately there were no obvious annoying standouts. We would later learn that the majority of the group was very well traveled and the majority avoided group travel.
The orientation meeting is where we learned that getting there will be half the fun. There will be a lot of standing around and waiting. Lesson #1 – Cuba is a land of lines. Fortunately the travel agency would do the first part for us. We would be taken to what Suzanne, our Carlson escort, referred to as the “dark side” of the airport after the initial travel documents were taken care of. We were to expect to see pallets and bicycle parts and all kinds or strange things on the baggage carrier with our luggage and to be greeted by large crowds waiting for families’ members to be bringing them supplies. Expect dim lighting. Be prepared to turn in health documents to the nurse in an old fashioned white nurse’s hat. Many times we were told, “Do not make eye contact with the nurses. Just put your form down and keep walking.” “No you don’t have a cough, no you don’t have a rash, no you haven’t been near anyone who does!” We continued to hear don’t make eye contact with the nurses from several people the next day. Suzanne also explained how we would be able to bring home rum and cigars. U.S. customs allows citizens to bring home $100 of rum and cigars. A box of cigars can run $400. She explained how we would legally be able to bring back that $400 box of cigars. Lesson #2 for travel to Cuba- be prepared for change. We learned at this meeting that part of our itinerary had changed because Chanel would be there and was given our lunch destination but hey maybe we would get to see the fashion show. We learned we are very lucky to have not had our hotel bumped. When Obama came groups that had been booked for months were bumped from their hotels and taken two hours outside of Havana. Apparently this is common practice when a “better offer” comes about.
Afterwards we headed into the airport where we had dinner at Carrabas with a very strange waiter then headed back to our room to get final Americancharges on our electronics. Interestingly a show was on TV that was a special about Cuba. A local newsman had recently visited and met his family who had stayed behind. We actually visited some of the areas he featured in his show.
We went to sleep looking forward to what the next day would bring. It sounded like a long day of travel lay ahead for a one hour charter flight but we were ready!