Back in the USA – 5/12/2013
May 21st, 2013 by rallyadmin
The flights left and in a few hours, I was in Medellin boarding a flight to New York’s JFK. This wasn’t the most direct route to Charlotte but it got me there the soonest. We hadn’t been gone that long but the thrash at Martha the Exporter had taken it’s toll. I really wanted the break and a week down looked like a great idea to me.
John’s flight left about 4 hours after mine so we parted at the airport in Cartagena. His flight was just about as gymnastic but at least he wasn’t flying past his destination to get to Ft. Lauderdale. But, whatever the final destination, we both looked forward to a week off.
I really wasn’t happy about flying to New York and waving to Charlotte as I went by but the alternative flights came in late in the day so clearing customs at JFK seemed like a good idea at the time. Looking back on it, I have no idea why I thought that clearing customs wouldn’t be a bummer. How could US Customs at JFK at 6:30 in the morning not bee a bummer? It was.
To be fair, it isn’t the fault of customs or the airlines or the airport. JFK is just too small to handle the traffic that it handles. There just isn’t any more room for more counters, more queues or more helpful people trying to keep the lines moving. At least the US citizens and permanent residents have their own somewhat shorter line that does move faster that the foreign tourist line. When you walk into the immigration hall, the sheer mass of people qquickly convinces you that there is no way that you’re going to make your connecting flight.
But the line does moves and eventually you get to the counter and hand your passport to the officer. The usual questions: where have you been? Colombia. Anywhere else? Yes, Chile, Peru and Ecuador. What were you doing? Driving a car around the world.
That stops him cold and he starts flipping through the passport pages again but this time he pauses on each visa page. You’re what? We’re driving a car around the world. We started last year in San Clemente, California…
By the time I get through the Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia, Russia still again, he’s just smiling and tells me what an amazing trip it must be. Yes, that it is. Not for everyone but… And when I get to the “this is what happens when you let 2 old men loose with no adult supervision”, he completely breaks up.
If you’ve been through customs anywhere on this planet, customs officer breaking up and laughing hysterically is not something you’d expect. And neither does anyone else in the immigration hall. His laughter has everyone but most importantly, all of the other customs officer staring at us. I figure if I haven’t been put on a watch list yet, this should pretty well do the trick.
He’s laughing and telling me how amazing the trip is and I’m waiting for someone to invite me into a private office for a more detailed explanation of where my passport has been. He sounds like he’s from Queens and I guess there’s the possibility that he’s never been out of New York. His last question, “Aren’t you worried about being hijacked?” When I say , “No.”, he just shakes his head and wishes me good luck on the rest of the trip. I’m sure his wife heard all about it when he got home from his shift.
I make the flight to Charlotte and treat myself to a cheap upgrade. Retrieving my bag in Charlotte seems to take longer than the flight but eventually it shows up and in a few minutes Barbara pulls up with the car.At the house in 30 minutes. Fire off a couple of emails, one to Martha asking for scans of the documents and another to Sr. Gabriel Boris Jaramillo, the importer in Panama telling him that we’ve instructed Martha to forward all of the originals to Sr. Gabriel.
Time to pet the dog, check my email and relax. Home for a week.
Obi-wan