Destination: Oaxaca - Day 4 - The Return Journey

9/6/16, “The Return Journey”

En route, NYC Airporter 612

This will be a very brief entry, just a formaility, in fact, as I don’t have much new to report, nor do I have any more reflections.  It was a very familiar return journey, but, as always, it had some unfamiliar events.  The first time I had flown from Benito Juarez, I made a rookie mistake by writing my entry before getting my boarding pass, and I was denied ticketing due to not having checked in sufficiently in advance of my flight.  I made a stink with Delta the next morning, and they put me on a flight that afternoon, and I managed to get free admission to the lounge but I had to spend almost 24 hours at the airport, and I missed a day at work.  Never again.  I learned my lesson.

Last night I had gotten my boarding pass before my entry, so I was in good shape.  I then wanted to engage in another one of my Benito Juarez traditions and get a donut from Krispy Kreme, but they had just shut down and put away all the donuts.  Alas.  I knew that the first class lounge would have food, but I really wanted that donut.  There was almost no line at security, so I breezed through.  As I was putting my stuff on my conveyor belt, I saw that the guy in front of me had left his passport, an American passport.  I called out, “Su pasaporte!”  It was an American passport.  English would have worked.

I then headed to the first class lounge, and I think it was the same lounge I spent the day three years ago on that fateful Tuesday in May.  The food spread was disappointing, but the drink choices more than made up for it.  I just got some tortilla chips, along with a sparking Ciel (what Coke calls Dasani in Mexico).  Later, I got a rum, which I didn’t even finish.

I then headed to the familiar Gate 60, and we were soon boarding.   I had a little trouble falling asleep, but I think I got two full REM cycles on the flight, the bare minimum I need to function in a day.  We were soon woken up to let us know that we were making our descent.  I don’t know if I was just tired or if it really was, but it seemed the longest descent of all time, followed by the longest taxiing of all time.  I felt like I could have gotten another full REM cycle if they hadn’t woken us up, but I was probably just imagining it.

I was the first one off the plane and, with Global Entry, was out of the airport within 10 minutes of leaving the plane.  It was still before 7:30 AM, and I thought I might be able to make the 7:30 AM bus to Grand Central, but I was unfamiliar with the setup at Terminal 1, and I was waiting on the wrong side.  Additionally, the ticket agent was not in uniform or at his post, so I couldn’t find him.  The 7:30 AM bus left without me, even though I was standing just one platform away.  That was annoying.

The next bus would be at 8 AM, so I went to grab a coffee.  Not long later, the bus arrived, and I got on, claiming my favorite seat in the back.  I had learned the trick now.  Put my bag on the second to last row and sit in the last row.  Then, assuming the seats aren’t needed, wait until the bus leaves the terminal and fold down that second to last row after removing my bag.  Then, I can use that row as a leg rest and even sleep if I want.  That is exactly what I will do shortly.  I sat down in the back where I, after we left the terminal, proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so that I can publish and hopefully get a little more sleep.  I will also now formally close out this trip.  Next stop: Rome to celebrate my 29^th Birthday Bash with a Roman holiday.