Paradise and the Pelican Air Force

So leaving Vancouver wasn't the easiest in the first place. That Saturday turned out to be the nicest day we have had all year. I think it was around 15-16C out at the airport. Besides, I'm not a good traveller at the best of times. I did get to kill some time slamming some heaters out in the sun before getting on the plane though.

One thing I have to hand Air Transat though is that when they say a plane is leaving...it's damn leaving. Our departure time was 3:55pm. We weren't leaving the gate at that time, we were leaving the ground. It was something I just wasn't used to after years of torture at the hands of Air Canada.

It was a quick spin to Calgary on a mostly empty plane. The wait on the ground in Calgary was a pain, but again we left 10 minutes before schedule. This time with a full load. The quiet space of our first class cabin that we enjoyed from Vancouver to Calgary was shot to hell as we seemed to be joined by the Chatty Cathy club once we departed Calgary. James Bond like I reached into my bag and pulled out my noise cancelling headphones (best x-mas gift I ever got, the things are a miracle), I zoned completely zoned out of what was obviously gossip that could only be born of an oil town like Calgary. It was time to take in a movie. Being Transat we didn't have our own individual screens, so I was subjected to the movies du jour. First up...Wall-E.

The movie was quite visually stunning, although I don't really understand why people were saying it should be up for a best picture Oscar. After about 40 minutes I turned to Steve and said the movie wasn't making any sense to me. Now bear in mind there isn't a lot of talking in the first half of this movie, just a lot of beeps and boops like that Twickie character from Buck Rogers, or R2D2. Well, it turns out I was watching the movie in french, something that would become a recurring theme on this trip. I'll get to that later. Overall, not a bad movie. Whatever the second movie was, it escapes me right now.


It was finally dinner time. Being in first class we had our options of course. Steve in his passive aggressive style basically told the flight attendant that he didn't care what they gave him. I am of course far more attentive as to what is introduced to my body (no fungus, no lamb). So I ordered the chicken teriyaki. When it came down to it, Steve took my chicken teriyaki and I got the slop that they served up because he didn't care. Funny how that works, and yet hmmm, he didn't say anything about the fact that what he was eating was obviously chicken teriyaki.

We finally reached the destination and the warm, moist air filled the plane like a collective sigh as the door to the plane opened. We filed out onto the tarmac. It was about 1am at this point. It seemed quite surreal at that point, the Zihuatanejo airport is so small and it just seemed like we placed down in the middle of nowhere. We had the first two seats on the plane so we were the first through the doors. They had that entire zig zag made up out of velvet ropes that snakes through the customs area. I tried my best to bypass it, but the customs people guided me back to the opening point ensuring I had to walk the entire maze before they let me into the country. The people on the other side of the glass were splitting their sides as they watched me carve my way through the empty zig zag. They had obviously been subjected to the same treatment the week before and were now exacting their revenge.

It was pretty painless once I got through. It was just waiting for the damn luggage. Apparently "priority baggage" in spanish translates to "make sure they are the last bags on the conveyor." We finally scooped them up and made our way outside where I could search for my cigarettes like a junkie trying to find his needle. The buses were all waiting for us, and there were a lot of kids with their Corona filled coolers trying to make a buck. Everybody was bagged, we just wanted to make it to the hotel.




It was about a 30 minute ride into the resort, where 50 people had to check in at the same time. I was resigned to the fact, who cared? I was there, and I was warm, and the humid ocean breeze was tossling my hair like the hand of god itself. We got our keys and went to our respective rooms and met in the lobby for a walk to check the place out. It was oddly quiet, only the waves reaching out for the land broke the silence. It was only then that I realized it was almost 3:30 in the morning. It was bedtime.

In the morning I whipped the drapes apart in anticipation, and I wasn't disappointed. It was beautiful out. I hadn't really seen the resort in the darkness and now it bathed in the sunlight before me almost like an inviting playground of my youth. We made simple plans for the first day, pool and drinks. Nothing more, nothing less. We did have a little orientation meeting to attend first, and I had got up quite late so I missed breakfast. It was painless enough, and quite helpful. And they did have the coffee I was so craving. I quickly arranged my Marlin charter after the meeting and zipped up to the room to do my Superman change into my swim shorts. I scored us a couple of chaise lounges beside I pool and dove into my autobiography of Eric Clapton. An amazing book and an amazing life. I was well medicated within a few hours, and decided I should grab something to eat. If you haven't been to an all inclusive before, you don't really understand the dynamics of the food. It's as if they hired some cook from an orphanage in a Charles Dickens novel. The food is horrible. But I needed a "base" so I wolfed it down. I found it was better if I didn't look at it directly.

I headed up to the room for a nap, and to be close to the facilities in case the food decided to lash out at me. I had told Steve I would meet him in the bar around 6, but seat envy always gets the best of me so I was there before 5.



It was such a breathtaking spot. Ixtapa Island laid out before us, and the sun was poised to make a dash for the ocean. The amazing thing was the Pelican Air Force. They gathered in groups of 20 to 60 and made their approach from the north. They don't flap their wings but rather float and jockey for position on the warm thermals as they rise. It is quite a site, over and over again for hours as they slowly sail past the patio. It is truly a moment you want to share with somebody.

I was done with beers after about 4, and the daiquiris soon started flowing like the waterfall that surrounded the pool. I was getting used to this. I was getting used to this fast!!

To be continued.