When we were searching for information on Merida we came across a blog called EightSuitCasesAndADream… I am not sure if they really did the move of a family of four with only eight suitcases. Our family decided that number should be 8 full size 50lb suitcases and another 8 carry-ons. Lyn still says she was amazed we managed to pack everything we desired except our roller blades (which incidentally are arriving in December with our golf clubs – Thanks Jan!!) Trying to keep track of all the suit cases was quite an ordeal and we found ourselves counting suitcases on every step of the way. We actually did not lose any of them until we arrived at our final destination and one of the cab drivers left with one in the back seat. I say “one of” because you really need an entourage of cabs to move 4 people and their luggage (more on this at the end).

I would like to say that it was as easy as pie – to pack up a house in Calgary, find a new home to live in, school for the boys, trying to learn a new language, and all the logistics which go along with moving to another country! And really after all the logistics it was a fantastic move, but easy is not a word I would use to describe it. It does take time and there are lots of hurdles along the way, but at the end of the day when the boys jumped in ‘our’ pool it was worth the effort of the last nine months.

We had great help at home to pack up the house and lots of volunteers to “watch” some of our stuff while we are away. I know most of the people would like to see us back real soon – but I am sure that will not limit their enjoyment of some of the material left behind.

Lyn’s mother hosted a last minute bbq at our house on the eve of our departure – since we had to eat anyways we might as well have invited a few friends over! Thank you to every one who made it to this impromptu bbq and lent a helping hand. Dawn the burgers really were fantastic! The Knight’s loaded us all up in Willy’s truck and we all headed for the airport where they assisted us in getting all our luggage checked in which was very helpful.

So…our red-eye flight from Calgary to Cancun via a layover in Toronto sounded like a great idea at the time as we would arrive in Cancun while the sun was still up and be able to catch a bus to Merida and arrive in the early evening. Really, who wants to waste a day traveling – might as well fly at night and get the most out of the trip… wouldn’t want to lose a day in the sun now would we! Lets make sure that when we land in Cancun and are shuffling along we get the full blast of the heat. Little did we know that the ‘red-eye’ got its name for a reason… nobody actually sleeps on them, but instead they fidget and squirm. The night lightning storm was a real treat as witnessed by Evan who then had a hundred questions about lightning and planes… there was no sleep for him the rest of that flight.  I think I had it lucky sitting in the row behind them with my noise reducing headphones watching Hall Pass. I say “lucky” until the couple beside me wakes up right when the lady is stripping down on the movie making me look like a complete idiot! Shouldn’t they edit that part out of movies playing on planes?? At least they had already seen the movie and it didn’t shock them, not sure about any other passengers who may have looked up at that instant.

Landing in Toronto with the sun coming up was great and meant we were having breakfast at 4:30am our time because Evan was hungry. Then back to the gate where Lyn, Evan, and Noah all curled up on the floor in the corner and tried to sleep while I stretched out on the bench and tried not to snore. These naps were really not the best idea we had as it seemed right when the boys fell asleep we were waking them up telling them to hurry up or we would miss the plane, or the bus, or getting off the bus. The flight to Cancun was just over 3 hours from Toronto and Noah managed to get some great cloud pictures with his camera.

We did discover a new way to get to Merida on the bus from the airport though this trip. After you get your children and all your carry-ons through the immigration process; retrieve all your luggage from the carousel; load it up to walk about 100 feet where you need to take it all off again for the customs process where they scan all 16 of your suitcases – which by this time with stuff removed from the carry-ons like DS’s and pillow pets we had over 20 pieces to count; and then you walk up to a button to push… Now this button can seem terrifying at this point even though we had nothing to hide and had claimed everything we were bringing with us expecting to pay duty on some items – we did not want to unload each and every suitcase if the light turned red! So Lyn pushed the button and we got the random “green” light which meant we could proceed. We still had to unload a cart of luggage which I had just reloaded after the scanning process, so that an official could look at the contents of one of the bottom suitcases. All was good, I think they just wanted to see the ‘slightly’ over-weight white guy move the suit cases around one more time and then reload them for the third time.

Ok, so we have cleared customs and immigration and are on to the next step. I must back up one step here though. On the immigration form you have the opportunity to request how long you would like your tourist visa to be for. Of course we asked for the maximum of 180 days knowing full well that the length of the visa could change at the discretion (or mood) of the immigration officer. We did receive the full 180 days which is fantastic and removes some pressure on acquiring the FM3 visa right away.

Ok, so back to the previous next step – walking with luggage on two carts loaded to the brim and the kids pushing the luggage which was strapped together to make a small train through the Cancun airport with everyone stopping us to see which rental car we needed. All whilst Evan’s train was more of a circle than a straight line so we had plenty of time while he corrected direction to talk to everyone in our path. So now we are talking to a gentleman who is almost laughing at us and our luggage escapade. But the good thing from this was he informed us that instead of taking the shuttle at $16/person and waiting an hour or so after it dropped people off at their hotels before proceeding to the bus terminal that we could take an ADO bus DIRECTLY to the ADO BUS TERMINAL in Cancun!! This was fabulous news and got better when we got to the bus and they had an attendant there who sold us our tickets directly to Merida and we were able to pick our front row seats on the bus. Buying tickets here was a dream compared to our first trip where we braved the Cancun bus depot and was cheaper than the shuttle or taxi to the bus terminal. This way when you get off the Ado bus, you avoid having to walk in the main terminal but instead you are escorted directly to the preferred seating area. This is a great time to mention you really want to purchase the GL or Platino bus tickets as they are for executive type treatment and are very comfortable. We did not take the Platino bus, which is supposed to be more luxurious than the GL as it did not leave for another hour and we did not wish to wait any longer.

The bad news came as we were all walking in a line towards the outside of the terminal with all the luggage finally under control and the carts fully loaded when we  arrive at a sign which read: “NO CARTS PAST HERE”. Now I am sure the sign was in Spanish, or maybe it was just a big picture of a cart in a circle with a line through it but the meaning was very clear. Ok, I have to admit this was almost a point to sit down and cry as I looked over the luggage, but to our amazement a couple of porters appeared and for an undetermined amount they stated they could load up our luggage on their “special” carts and help us to our destination because their carts where exempt from this sign as they were already on the other side of the sign… Ok, we said as we watched our luggage get reloaded again and followed them to our destination which was the farthest point in the airport you could see. For people who are going to make this trip with less luggage, you can easily drag a suitcase and a carry-on to this location – although when you finally get there your children will flop down on the dirty ground with their pillow pet and try to sleep again! For people with an excess of luggage I would recommend the gentlemen with the “special” carts and tip them well. Although what you may feel is a great tip may just receive a scowl from one of the porters as he skulks away.

My recommendation for the bus ride – GET FRONT ROW seats if you can! Lots of leg room and is especially important if you think you might need to get off the bus quickly to keep track of your 12 pieces of luggage stored under the bus. We were charged for extra pieces of luggage – we are still not sure what is ‘allowable’ before you get charged but it seems you are allowed 2 pieces underneath and one carry-on per person. I do believe that the 300 pesos was a completely random number but was very acceptable to us at that point of the trip! I tried to determine how he came up with that number but never did figure it out.  The bus trip while just over 3 hours was the most relaxing part of the journey and we all slept very comfortably in the over-sized chairs reclined fully like a lazy-boy (not the 2 inches you sometimes get on an airplane). They are very much in control of your luggage at the bus depot and you receive claim tickets for each piece stored underneath and you need these tickets to retrieve your luggage at the destination.

Our destination was the main terminal in Merida, as it is a location where cabs are waiting. The porters as the station quickly grabbed the full sized cart and loaded up all the luggage on to it. I still had a business card with the address for Cascadas de Merida from our previous trip (this is a very important piece of information to have as you can hand it to people and they know exactly where to take you – Thanks Ellyne!) and the porters took us directly to the line of cabs. Unfortunately for us the Knights were not here waiting for us with their over-sized truck,  instead we found ourselves looking at some of the smallest cabs around. I do wish I had a picture of the two cabs with the bungy cords strapping down the trunks speeding through the streets of Merida – but yes it did look as funny as you could imagine! I thought we would need two more cabs but these guys are wizards with bags, especially since their trunks were only big enough to fit one of our full sized suitcases before stacking them.

We got to our destination safely and amidst the confusion of introducing our children to Ellyne and ChuCho, we only counted 11 suitcases…. thinking it must already be inside the house with the carry-ons we quickly forgot about it. About ten minutes later the cab driver re-appeared at our door and gave us our last suitcase!

I do apologize for the lack of pictures to accompany this article, but the last thing I needed was to have the camera out during this adventure.