Going All the Way to Grand Cayman
May. 15th, 2023 03:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerGrand Cayman Travelog #3
GCM Airport, Grand Cayman - Mon, 15 May 2023, 12pm
In my previous travelogs we'd started out for the Cayman Islands and gotten only as far as Houston. This morning we got up early, just ahead of my 6:30 alarm, to pack quickly and Uber back to the airport. We didn't waste the effort on the free hotel shuttle because we preferred to pay $15 than an hour of our time again.
We arrived at the airport only to see lines out the terminal doors and down the sidewalk. Fortunately those lines were for baggage check— and we didn't have bags to check! We chose to go only with carry-ons this trip. That means there's some stuff we chose not to bring; mostly dressier clothes like slacks and loafers. We put our trust in nobody really caring if we wear shorts even to evening soirees.
Our flight today was delayed, too. Houston seems to be a shithole for on-time flights. At least we got there last night. I found out from a colleague that two of my colleagues from San Francisco were also connecting through IAH, and their (later) flights yesterday were canceled. And they're not just anybody; they're the head of our global sales team and the CEO. 😱
The flight was uneventful once it got underway. I got an empty middle seat next to me; so did Hawk. Imagine my CRO and CEO giving those up for us. 😂 I watched a movie, The Crimes of Grindelwald. It was... a movie.
We landed on Grand Cayman just before noon and did the customs shuffle, tropical style. "Tropical style" is walking the long distances of the customs shuffle outdoors instead through long, enclosed. featureless corridors. We scanned our passports, posed for pictures, and answered questions at the spiff computer kiosk, then waited in line for a slow moving human to read all the paperwork the computer had already checked and cross-referenced.
Now we're in the arrivals hall, waiting for a driver to take us to the hotel. The transport company asked us to wait for [name of my CRO] and [name of my CEO] to come out of customs. I told them they didn't board the aircraft. It's taking them a while to confirm that... even though my travel coordinator says she told them 3 hours ago. Well, we're on island time now. We can wait 15 more minutes.
GCM Airport, Grand Cayman - Mon, 15 May 2023, 12pm
In my previous travelogs we'd started out for the Cayman Islands and gotten only as far as Houston. This morning we got up early, just ahead of my 6:30 alarm, to pack quickly and Uber back to the airport. We didn't waste the effort on the free hotel shuttle because we preferred to pay $15 than an hour of our time again.
We arrived at the airport only to see lines out the terminal doors and down the sidewalk. Fortunately those lines were for baggage check— and we didn't have bags to check! We chose to go only with carry-ons this trip. That means there's some stuff we chose not to bring; mostly dressier clothes like slacks and loafers. We put our trust in nobody really caring if we wear shorts even to evening soirees.
Our flight today was delayed, too. Houston seems to be a shithole for on-time flights. At least we got there last night. I found out from a colleague that two of my colleagues from San Francisco were also connecting through IAH, and their (later) flights yesterday were canceled. And they're not just anybody; they're the head of our global sales team and the CEO. 😱
The flight was uneventful once it got underway. I got an empty middle seat next to me; so did Hawk. Imagine my CRO and CEO giving those up for us. 😂 I watched a movie, The Crimes of Grindelwald. It was... a movie.
We landed on Grand Cayman just before noon and did the customs shuffle, tropical style. "Tropical style" is walking the long distances of the customs shuffle outdoors instead through long, enclosed. featureless corridors. We scanned our passports, posed for pictures, and answered questions at the spiff computer kiosk, then waited in line for a slow moving human to read all the paperwork the computer had already checked and cross-referenced.
Now we're in the arrivals hall, waiting for a driver to take us to the hotel. The transport company asked us to wait for [name of my CRO] and [name of my CEO] to come out of customs. I told them they didn't board the aircraft. It's taking them a while to confirm that... even though my travel coordinator says she told them 3 hours ago. Well, we're on island time now. We can wait 15 more minutes.
