It started at the resort in Negril. The 90 minute flight from Montego Bay to Fort Lauderdale ended up taking 10 hours by the time I got to my hotel in Florida.
It started with getting my luggage to the porter at 9AM to be ready for the two hour bus ride to MOBAY. The bus schedule was moved up to allow time for the new security procedures. The bus still operates on Island time so it still didn't leave so early. Jamaicans are supposed to drive on the left, but I noticed that like the Italians, they prefer the middle of the road, particularly on narrow country roads. That makes for some interesting moments.
The airport at MOBAY was total chaos. The lines to check into flights stretched everywhere and many of the tourists were from countries where line discipline is unknown. I thought there was going to be a riot at one point. Then the line to get through the door to Jamaican emigration stretched about 200 yards. Then get your passport stamped and the to carry on searches. Then there was the shoe inspection. Then they went through my carry on luggage again and made me take off my shoes before I got into the airplane.
The flight was uneventful, but at FLL we had to wait and the blackshirted Border Patrol came aboard and took one passenger off for interrogation. I began to think about old war movies with the German soldiers checking everyone's papers at every corner.
Then when I finally got to the hotel and settled in, dinner was a bar frozen pizza and a bottled beer with no breakfast and McDonald for Lunch. What a comedown, but I had to come back someday and now I've gotten adjusted to doing for myself again.
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