Trip to the Sun

It takes some kind of motivation to arise at 4 am, and then having done so, to look as perky as these three. It was a long wait at the Abbotsford Airport on Jan. 11 as our 'big yellow bird' was being prepped for a jaunt south to Mexico.

We were treated to a most spectacular sunrise as we boarded the 2nd generation Boeing 737 operated by Canjet. That big wing with the yellow tip was my constant companion for the next five hours.

The flight is not pleasant for me, only because of the lack of legroom in these sardine tins. But we got lucky. We were one of the first in line when we checked in so after requesting an 'exit row seat', we actually got one and I had more than enough leg room for a change. Of course, that meant I was the 'go to guy' in case of an emergency exit, but I was up to it. These new 737's are quite nice, more spacious in width and height and brighter. If only they could get that leg room thing right.

At the half way point I got out of my hoody, unzipped the legs from my cargo pants, and changed from socks and shoes to sandals. Bring it on!

Finally, there was the Mexican coastline and soon Bandaras Bay came into view, at the top of the photo.

We soon started our descent and we saw close-up the little farm plots in the hills north of Puerto Vallarta.

And then the lush agricultural fields where they grow the wonderful food we would be eating for the next two weeks. Our destination was at the top of the photo, just beyond the plume of smoke.

Our pilot was great (any pilot who gets the bird on the ground in one piece is great in my books) and we soon discovered why he hit the brakes and reversed engines as hard as he did. (And I mean hard!) He wanted to take a short cut to the terminal so he did not use very much of the runway. But that's OK. It meant more Mexico time and sooner. As it was, the lineup to get through customs was about an hour long. After sitting for more than five hours, I welcomed standing for the wait.