Flying the Fourth

Starting in July, I switched to the International Division. Some of my trips were international before, but those were trips to Mexico and Canada that did not go large distances over water. While it means less relative seniority, (I am roughly 1400 out of 1450 people) the trips are generally better, with a bidsheet that covers Japan, Europe, South America, Hawaii, Caribbean and Central America. Now the prime trips are hard to come by, but at my seniority as a Spanish speaker I can hold Central America and Caribbean trips.

I am sitting a reserve rotation this month and they called me out for a three day flying over the 4th of July. We overnighted in Cancun, Mexico the first night and Grand Cayman the second night. It was nice to be to these destinations again after an absence of many years.

The first day, we did one leg to Cancun. Our hotel in Cancun in phenomenal. I had a room that faced the pool with the beach behind it. I am not really a sun or pool person, but it was overcast out, thankfully, so I went and sat by the pool enjoying a couple of beers. For dinner, the crew met up at a local restaurant and I had pizza (not very Mexican I know).

The next day we had a much longer day, flying first to Miami, then a turn to Puerto Plata (it's in the Dom. Rep.) and then on to Grand Cayman for a short layover. It was actually an 11 hour layover which is short to an international crew, but for me, that was a long layover on domestic!

When we arrived at the hotel, the waiter arrived with welcome drinks (I know what you are thinking, but there was no alcohol in them.... I guess that part is BYOB) and we enjoyed the tropical ambiance of the hotel grounds before retiring for the night.

The last day we flew back to Miami where we sat for a while. We ate at La Carreta, the best Cuban food ever in case you are in the airport, and then were delayed a bit because our plane was coming in from Havana (on a charter). We flew back to Cancun, then home.