Leaving Aruba is never a fun event for multiple reasons...it is a beautiful and restful place but leaving here is always a nightmare! When people tell you that you need to be at the airport 3 hours before your flight this is not a joke and in some cases may not be enough time to get you to your gate on time!!! We checked in at the Delta counter then you exit the building and get in the line for the first check point which is done by two officers outside the building. We were in this line for about 20 minutes and it is very hot by now standing outside. The lines are so long inside that they are only letting a few people inside at a time.
Once we passed the iguana above we were finally allowed into the next line which was Aruba passport control which was our shortest wait at about 10 minutes through the winding lanes. Then we head to the first security check point where as in USA shoes, laptops, liquids need to be out and go through the scanner. Another twenty minutes through here and then putting it all back together again to move on. Now the unsuspecting person thinks they are home free because you then enter an area of shops and restaurants. This is short lived however when the airline employees are walking around telling you that the luggage queues are extremely long and you may miss your flight if you don't hurry. Teresa is getting pizza for the kids as they are hungry by this time. We finally head to the next section which is now the US Customs area. You must find your luggage and get in the queues which is 7 lanes wide. One hour later and dragging 8 pieces of luggage we managed to get through the Homeland Security checkpoint. You would think that you are now finished wouldn't you? You must now drag the bags to another room where they decide who will and will not have to take them to yet another room and open them. We must have looked overly stressed out at this point because we were NOT chosen to open anything and we able to put the 8 pieces of luggage on the conveyor belt to be whisked away to the plane...finally. Again, you would breathe a sigh of relief and think you were finished but alas you now must go through another security checkpoint again on what is considered the "USA" side of the Aruba airport. Again off the with shoes, out with the computers and liquids and then put it all together again. Now you truly are finished and can go up the escalator to your gate. We left the Marriott Surf Club at 11:30 AM and we arrived at the gate just before 2 PM in time to see the Delta flight arrive at the gate a few minutes later. This is considered "low season" in Aruba so imagine what this process is like during "high season" with twice the people...I have done it and it is not a pleasant experience. Debbie and Andy got to the gate just minutes before we started boarding the flight. By the time we got on the plane, we were all exhausted and just ready to get home now. We had a first officer that came and talked to us and was very pleasant and thanked everyone for flying Delta...never had any officer or crew on a plane do that before. He said between him and the captain they had more than 70 years of experience so we should just relax and enjoy the flight. We did and said our goodbyes to Debbie and Andy as they had to go to catch their flight to Nashville to get home. Our luggage came up on Concourse F which is in the new International Terminal at the airport and I have never had that happen before. I also have not been in the new terminal since it opened a year ago. It is totally separate from the domestic part of the airport and is on the opposite side of the field. It is accessible by the airport train but actually has an entirely separate entrance building off of I-75. After collecting our luggage we had to wait for the shuttle to take us back to the car. It was 10 PM before we made it back home and everyone was tired from the long day of traveling. I have to say the kids are troopers though and did the day with a minimum of complaints. It was a wonderful week and I am always so happy to be able to show my grandchildren the wonders of the world they can experience by traveling.
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| The sign we saw when getting off the plane a week ago |
Debbie and I will be back in Aruba by ship next time in a little over a month with our ladies cruise group. It is much easier getting out of here on a ship..:-)
Fletcher the dog above left in the photo was at Savy Paws Resort this week. They have a Facebook page and I sent them a message while we were in Aruba that we wanted to see him on FB....they posted the above photo with Zoe and Luma. I don't know if he was having as much fun as we were but he sure was glad to see everyone on Sunday...even Grandmama!
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