San Juan again

It is Saturday, We have been aboard the Summit for week, but now it is time to go... It is a rainy, gray day... It does not feel "tropical"...  It feels gray...

Last night we packed, placing or suitcases outside our cabin door.  Now, if you look over the rail on the dock side, you can watch the forklifts taking large racks, bins of our and our fellow passenger's bags ashore, presumably for inspection by the authorities, sorted into neat rows based on the color of the tag, for us to reclaim as we leave.

For the first time in a week I am carrying my wallet... Aboard we used our cabin card... Ashore on the islands I simply carried my drivers license and cash... Sometimes a credit card or my National park card...  Now,  I am again carrying my full wallet.  It feels fat and heavy...

We are sitting in the main dinning room, waiting for the call to disembark... We have hours to kill before our flight, with bags to carry and watch... Rather than a taxi to, then a long wait at the airport, we are taking a tour... A ship's tour of "San Juan, old and new, with airport transfer".  So we now sit in our assigned area in the main dinning room on deck 4, with our small pile of carry-on bags, green stickers identifying us as part of the tour, waiting for the ship to clear, the baggage to be off loaded, and our group to be called...  There is elevator music in the background... Not cruise music... Elevator music... We, and our fellow passengers are waiting...  We are no longer wearing shorts and bathing suits, carrying a beach bag... instead, people have overloaded backpacks, rollee suitcases (the kind that eats overhead bin space on airplanes) and bags... Jackets are in evidence...  Bright tropical colors have been replaced by black, brown and grey...

Suddenly an announcement, "tours, follow me"... We parade through the ship, lounges crowded with people waiting alongside piles of baggage.  To the gangway, off the ship, to claim bags, to visit the immigration and customs agents... Dogs at work, sniffing...  A beagle, a yellow lab, not scary police dogs, cute, friendly, happy dogs... An old joke... " if the dog stops at your bag, hope that it lifts its leg..."  The dog is not interested in our bags, Our papers are in order, we walk outside, hand off the suitcases, and board our bus for our tour.

We take off... I guide likes low gear... We travel slowly and deliberatly, rarely exceeding 15 miles an hour... We drive about the beach areas of "new" San Juan, where we find KFC's, Subway Sandwich shops, and Burger Kings... Lots of houses are for sale... Our guide thinks they are over priced...

Eventually we reach Old San Juan, where we get 40 minutes to explore the Castillo, then drive along the ocean side for a peek at El Moro... Then an hour for shopping... We have shopped earlier, so we find a cafe,Caficultura, on a square, Plaza Colon, with outdoor seating, have a snack and a beer... It was wonderful, and turns out there is a local micro brewery, Old Harbor Brewing, which makes a nice ale, and they have it on tap...

Now, San Juan airport... The tour bus has dropped us at terminal D to claim our bags, delivered here from the ship... We walked from there to terminal A, from which Jet Blue, our airline of choice for this journey operates... Along the way we pause for the required agricultural inspection.   We check bags, line up for security, and settle in to wait...  Free wifi and a beer (Old Harbor Ale again) help pass the time...

We both are busy clearing out accumulated emails.  Her sister has sent an email, noting that their brother and his wife have booked a cruise to the Greek islands... She thinks she might join them... Tina sends our travel agent a note, asking her to look into fares... It appears that literally, as one trip ends, we are planning the next.

A bit later... Our flight is scheduled to leave in eleven minutes, but boarding has not begun... In the absence of boarding announcements, guests are crowding the gate, such are the joys of flying.

We are scheduled to take off in one minute... But so far only wheel chairs and the extra fare seats in the front have been called... Take off time and we a now calling those with small children... Now exit rows... Now T+nine minutes... We have been called... We are seated, but there are still many to board... There is still luggage to stow, personal electronics to shut down...  To Jet Blues' credit, there have been no announcements rushing the boarding, so that the (now late) plane might take off on time.

Now 11:39, the main cabin door is closed its time to turn off the I pad...

A full minutes later, they announce we have reached 10,000 feet, and approved electronics are once again welcome...  On the other hand a nap sounds good...