Cuba 13: Time to go home

We were advised to leave at 6:30 am for a 10:30 am flight to Miami because you

just never know what might go wrong. First there is the 30 minute drive, which is longer during rush hour. Then you never know how long it will take to check into the flight (though American Airlines sends a message saying you can check in online, you can't) since everyone has to check in to their flight in person. Then you never know how long the line at security will last (bottles of water ARE allowed, not TSA pre-check, of course).

We waited at the gate for nearly two hours. Much of that time was spent talking to other Road Scholar participants we are likely to never see again. Though, I have been pleasantly surprised we have had a couple of email conversations and I did friend a couple of Facebook, so never say never. It helped pass the time.

I also finally found a stamp for the Bialashu passport book, even though Bialashu did not accompany us on this trick. This quest dates back eight year to when Martha told me she has a passport book for her stuffed animal. These days very few places stamp passports, so it is a way for me to commemorate my trip. Since renewing this passport in 2022, and traveling to Spain, Canada, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, and reentered the United States each time, the only stamps I have are from our October2022 trip to Barcelona. 

After being told that Cuba switched to electronic stamps (I have no idea how that works!) I had given up on getting a stamp. Don noticed a collector's set for $5 in this window. I recognized the name as a post office and asked if they had a stamp (I really expected to be told no). Not only did they have one for 65 CUP, I was able to pay with a dollar bill and receive 35 cents American as change. I was too stunned to say I'd take the change in CUPs.

The airport was bright and cheery -- a huge change from 2015. We could clearly

see what flights were scheduled. The flight was on time. They even had a couple of restaurants! It felt like a normal airport in a small city.

The flight to Miami is less than an hour. With Global Entry we flew through customs, only to stand in another line to check into the Miami Airport. 

From there we ate at The Counter, a restaurant we used to frequent in New York City until it closed suddenly in January 2024 (so suddenly that when we ate there in late December 2023, our favorite server did not warn us it was about to close). It was not nearly as good in the airport. The menu was limited and the food not prepared well. The TGI Fridays we ate at on the way to Havana was better.

A three hour flight later and we landed at the new Terminal A at Newark Airport. It really is as nice and sparkly as a friend had told us.

Thus concludes our adventures, with the exception of a few posts with photo dumps.