Yesterday, in Amsterdam, it was nice to get priority boarding but ... Paul got stopped, as did a few other random passengers, just before boarding the plane and was put through a random drug test. Plenty of swabs were taken from his shoes, hand luggage, bum bag, laptop, etc. The guy doing Paul's random check was super-thorough and we had no option but to wait patiently.
We finally boarded the aircraft and found our seats. The stewardess was very helpful with trying to re-arrange our seats with our fellow passengers so that we could sit side by side but nobody was interested in giving up their seat, let alone for a window seat. It didn't matter - at least Paul was just a leg's length away from me. The flight was delayed for almost an hour because there was a shortage of loading staff.
The flight to Los Angeles was pleasant - I slept most of it away! 😃 The food and service was superb so no complaints from the 'peanut gallery'. Flying westerly we gained another 9 hours. 😊
It was when we landed in Los Angeles that the fun began.
We had to stand in a long queue for "self-service" machines where we were had to scan in our passports and get our finger prints scanned in. Not a problem. Er yes, it was a problem. The scanner didn't seem to like Paul's fingers and wouldn't register his prints. After trying a few times Paul ended up going to the machine next to ours where everything went smoothly. In the meantime I had the same problem that Paul had where my fingerprints wouldn't register. An assistant came over to help and eventually the scanner got my finger prints in - but only after the assistant cleaned the screen a couple of times. We were just about to go when the assistant told Paul he also had to get his passport and fingers scanned even though Paul had used another machine - something to do with people flying together, i.e. couples/families. The machine regurgitated a piece of paper with something on it along with our pictures. What it was exactly for, we weren't sure but we held onto it.
We then discovered that we had to go into another queue to see a human. It seems the finger scanner nor passport recognition had anything to do with immigration because we had to go through the process again when we finally got to passport control desk. We hoped not to get the one particular immigration control chap because he seemed to be in a very bad mood. He even walked a visitor somewhere else for further investigative questioning. Another chap was Russian and the immigration official dismissed him eventually, telling him to stand to one side and wait - but without saying why. The 2 ladies in front of us headed towards him and he told them to 'get back behind the line' until called. They sighed with relief when someone else called them but for us - we ended up getting 'crosspatch'. Funnily enough he calmed down when we approached and was full of good cheer, friendly and even cracked a joke or two. What a change in mood! We just about fell over backwards. We got through passport control without any further hassles.
We collected our suitcases and, with the lack of signage and a bit of luck, we found the luggage re-check in area.
There were no information boards as to connecting flights so we ended up doing a bit of guesswork and followed signs that said 'connecting flights'. After going through security check (I found staff were rude and unfriendly) we found ourselves in a large terminal but with still no information boards as to where our connecting flights were. We finally asked someone and were given directions as to where to go. We were in the wrong terminal and had to go to another terminal.
So we followed more signs to the exit of the terminal and walked along a pavement to another terminal and finally found the right place. It meant having to go through security again even though we had been through security earlier at the wrong terminal. Once again there was no signage as to which direction to go and some personnel were abrupt with us because we couldn't find our way. How were we to know that BEHIND her and to her left was the way to get to the security scanners - we just saw barrier tape blocking things off; the way to the security scanners not being very visible. Through security once again and finally we found information boards with flight information. We gave a sigh of relief once we got to the gate and could sit down for a few minutes before boarding our next flight.
The short flight between Los Angeles and San Diego was uneventful. Once landed we were able to pick up our luggage and found our transport waiting for us to take us to the hotel.
Now at the hotel (Andaz Hotel, San Diego - https://sandiego.andaz.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html), we are able to have a much needed shower and relax. Tomorrow is another day and it is now time to get some much needed rest before Paul goes back to work on the cruise ship, MS Maasdam.
This morning I could have murdered the rooster that woke me up at 4am. I was so tired and wanted to sleep. I knew we had to get up at a reasonable hour in order to tidy up our rented accommodation before we left but 4am, to me, is unreasonable....
At 1pm we boarded short flight to Papeete and were met at the small airport by a driver organised by Paul's company via the port agent. On the way into the town centre it became apparent that we were being taken to the harbour. There seemed that there was a misunderstanding about transport arrangements - our driver was told pick up Paul from the airport and take him to the harbour rather than a pre-arranged hotel. The cruise ship only arrives late tonight or early tomorrow morning. Paul ended up showing our driver the paperwork that he had, stating that the travel arrangements were from the airport to the hotel and then in the morning, at 9am, - hotel to the harbour. She believed Paul after that. Shame, it wasn't her fault.
We had dinner in one of the hotel restaurants that looked out towards one of the swimming pools. There was a bar next door that had live music which was pleasant to listen to as we had our meal. The whole area was lit up when the sun went down and was very pretty. The dining room staff encouraged us to stay for the show but we were tired and wanted to head to bed.
We have a bit of a wait now until our next flight to Los Angeles. We had a wander around the terminal shops but there is only so much wandering around or shopping that one can really do. So we decided it was time to head towards the designated gate for our flight, wait and relax.
The flight to Los Angeles was pleasant - I slept most of it away! 😃 The food and service was superb so no complaints from the 'peanut gallery'. Flying westerly we gained another 9 hours. 😊
The short flight between Los Angeles and San Diego was uneventful. Once landed we were able to pick up our luggage and found our transport waiting for us to take us to the hotel.
