The Sea of Humanity
Renee begins today’s update at the airport
Taxi???
Karl, Terrence, Andrew, Thecia, and mucho luggage
Today actually started yesterday for the Akumal team. A big thank you to all of our sponsors who helped us at the last minute by making sure we had all of the necessary items required for the expedition. A special thank you to our family and loved ones who have been very supportive of our efforts in preparation for this project to include taking us to the airport in the early hours of the morning. Your sacrifices do not go unnoticed and we appreciate all you do.
Arrival in Cancun began yesterday for some of the team members. Things have changed since our last visit to the Cancun airport. Twelve or more planes lined the tarmac side by side, not including the aircraft at the usual gates. They had us park so far away from the terminal that the passengers were bussed to the terminal after disembarking the plane. Upon entering the immigration area, Terrence and Renee surveyed the room in order to evaluate which line seemed the most promising in terms of waiting time. Shortly after making a seemingly wise choice the weirdness began. It would seem that our intrepid team had inadvertently chosen the aisle reserved for the clinically insane. During the time spent waiting to visit the immigration officer we were entertained by an individual gyrating about in a free form dance that only they could hear the music to. Then this person would whip around to wave at imaginary space people that were evidently following them. Unfortunately the person had evidently been consuming large amounts of intoxicating substances during their journey and each time they pirouetted they nearly melted our facial features off with their atomic stank breath! If you are laboring under the impression that we are exaggerating the incident let me set you straight. When students on spring break are staring and taking pictures you know you have set a new standard in strangeness! Terrence and Renee were amazed by the mere 45 minutes they spent in their immigration experience. Once through immigration they proceeded to the baggage claim area followed by a personalized guided tour of the customs area by the Customs Officials. After a thorough luggage search Terrence and Renee exited the airport unscathed after a total time of 3 hours. Karl greeted the team just outside the doors. He was happy to have relief from baggage watch as he had been at the airport since 10:30 AM. Thecia emerged shortly thereafter and the entire team headed over to an airport restaurant for a bit of lunch. Andrew arrived slightly tardy and received a warm welcome from the team. All of the luggage was loaded into the van and Roberto escorted us to Villas DeRosa’s where a delicious dinner awaited us. Weariness set in very quickly and the team dispersed to prepare for the next day’s adventures.
Team Members
- Andrew Pitkin
- Renee Power
- Karl Shreeves
- Thecia Taylor
- Terrence Tysall