canyonwalker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
canyonwalker) wrote2023-05-26 10:11 pm
canyonwalker) wrote2023-05-26 10:11 pm
Entry tags:
Leaving Grand Cayman
Grand Cayman Travelog #27
GCM airport - Sat, 20 May 2023, 11am
We've embarked on our journey home from Grand Cayman. Things are going smoothly so far... though we haven't actually left Grand Cayman yet. We've just boarded the aircraft.
The drive to the airport was easy. It's only a few miles from our hotel on Seven Mile Beach to the airport in George Town. Rental car rental was pretty smooth, too. I might have been done with it in 1 minute if I hadn't asked for a receipt. See, that forced the employee to actually process the return instead of just thanking me for the key and dropping it in a basket to be dealt with later. It took her several minutes to inspect the car, close out the records in the computer, then print a receipt.
Then there was the walk to the airport....
Yes, this was the long, scary walk the shuttle driver warned us about when he dropped us off 2 days ago. Yes, the walk is literally crossing one small street— with a crosswalk, no less!— then walking about half a block distance to the terminal's main entry. (The door is under that arch.) It was literally less than 2 minutes of walking from door to door. At many US airports it's a longer walk just to get to the tram inside the terminal that goes to the rental car station... and those are the better airports that actually have a tram!
Cayman passport control was casual. They collect a printed the immigration kiosk printed upon arrival. Security checks were somewhat casual. Not as bad as the US. But still it felt foreign having to take my liquids out of my bag again.
Once past security the airport is basically two waiting areas, one for gates 1-5 and the other 6-10. It was uncrowded when we arrived but got pretty jammed by the time we started boarding. There are at least 3 flights going out around the same time as ours.
Boarding the aircraft is an al fresco affair, as exiting it was. Everyone walks out the back door of the terminal, along a sidewalk, and then across the tarmac to their aircraft. This bit of old-school airporting is pleasant when it's warm and not thunder storming. Like happens almost every afternoon.
Lke I said, now we're aboard the aircraft, awaiting departure. We'll be home in about 10 hours.
GCM airport - Sat, 20 May 2023, 11am
We've embarked on our journey home from Grand Cayman. Things are going smoothly so far... though we haven't actually left Grand Cayman yet. We've just boarded the aircraft.
The drive to the airport was easy. It's only a few miles from our hotel on Seven Mile Beach to the airport in George Town. Rental car rental was pretty smooth, too. I might have been done with it in 1 minute if I hadn't asked for a receipt. See, that forced the employee to actually process the return instead of just thanking me for the key and dropping it in a basket to be dealt with later. It took her several minutes to inspect the car, close out the records in the computer, then print a receipt.
Then there was the walk to the airport....
Yes, this was the long, scary walk the shuttle driver warned us about when he dropped us off 2 days ago. Yes, the walk is literally crossing one small street— with a crosswalk, no less!— then walking about half a block distance to the terminal's main entry. (The door is under that arch.) It was literally less than 2 minutes of walking from door to door. At many US airports it's a longer walk just to get to the tram inside the terminal that goes to the rental car station... and those are the better airports that actually have a tram!
Cayman passport control was casual. They collect a printed the immigration kiosk printed upon arrival. Security checks were somewhat casual. Not as bad as the US. But still it felt foreign having to take my liquids out of my bag again.
Once past security the airport is basically two waiting areas, one for gates 1-5 and the other 6-10. It was uncrowded when we arrived but got pretty jammed by the time we started boarding. There are at least 3 flights going out around the same time as ours.
Boarding the aircraft is an al fresco affair, as exiting it was. Everyone walks out the back door of the terminal, along a sidewalk, and then across the tarmac to their aircraft. This bit of old-school airporting is pleasant when it's warm and not thunder storming. Like happens almost every afternoon.
Lke I said, now we're aboard the aircraft, awaiting departure. We'll be home in about 10 hours.