After a three month wait for my visa, on 27 May 2016 I finally departed Australian soil and set out for the Caribbean. So how, I hear you ask, did I even get here? Well that, unfortunately for you dear reader, is a 30 hour story.
Tragically for Australians, while there are a surprising number of cities in the US with direct flights to Grand Cayman, none of those are cities to which you can fly directly from Sydney. If you are in the market for a stop over from the US, you'll be pleased to know you can get to Grand Cayman from Miami (1.5 hours), New York (4 hours), Houston (2 hours, 15 minutes) and Chicago (3 hours, 15 minutes) among several others. However, en route from Sydney one must find a way to one of these airports from LA, San Francisco or Dallas. For a brief few months of the year, you can fly direct from Dallas to Grand Cayman, however those flight times in no way line up conveniently with the arrival times of the Sydney > Dallas flight.
The easiest route from Sydney is Sydney > LAX > Miami > Grand Cayman.
You get a thrilling layover in LA where you have to collect your baggage, clear customs and check your bags back in again at the transfer desk (whoever thought putting the baggage transfer desk at THE TOP of a steep ramp is nothing short of sadistic - my trolley loaded high with 4 suitcases almost took me back down with it), then sprint to the next terminal over to go back through security in an unrealistically small time frame and hope your visa paperwork is in order so they let you on the plane.
Needless to say, by the time I landed in Grand Cayman (after the Miami flight was changed to a different plane, which was then stuck on the tarmac for 2 hours), I was a mere Gem-shaped shell dragging my suitcases behind me.
However after all of that, things started to look up as I was met at the airport by two colleagues who promptly whisked me away for welcome cocktails!
So, now that you all know how to come and visit me, please form an orderly queue here....
No comments:
Post a Comment