cowtowner
Line Up and Wait
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2009
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Cowtowner
I fly to Mexico a lot. Like twice a month for work. But it's mainly just across the border to Monterrey or Saltillo
Shut down the business for the week between Christmas and New Years and the wife has had basically the whole month off
Planned a trip to PVR, booked the swanky W hotel in Punta Mita with my wife's Marriott points and we fly to Nuevo Laredo from Ft Worth to clear customs. The plane can go direct, but I don't want to be in a plane for 4.5 hours on a pleasure trip. Plus, the folks at MMNL are the nicest of any airport in Mexico, easy to clear and cheap gas ($4.50 a gallon full serve)
I have a buddy (that I have never met) that is an expert on flying into Mexico and knows just about anybody and everybody there at all the airports. He checked early in the morning and MMPV had 7 open spots on the general aviation ramp. By the time I got to Nuevo Laredo, they were full and the FBO wanted $2000 just for parking
On to plan B, which was to fly to Matzalan. The wife called Marriott and they wanted $1,500 to cancel the reservation.
OK, plan C. Tepic.
I briefed the airport and area. You fly right over it going into PVR, so it was right on my route. Only 80 miles from the resort, but Google maps was showing a 3 hour drive. You do what you gotta do
Flew into this beautiful valley covered in sugar canes. Green lush landscape, we'd been flying over wasteland since NL, so when we flew into the valley it was a "ahhh" moment
Landed and taxied to their last GA parking spot and walked to check in the the comandante. Super helpful and nice. They no longer have immigration so they aren't an AOE anymore. Which means I'll have to stop somewhere else to clear out of the country. Not a big deal, as if I can work to get my 2023 multi entry while I'm here, then I'll stay until sometime next week and fly to an interior city to see something other than the beach (my wife could live on a beach, I'm here 16 hours and I'm already bored)
The drive from Tepic to Punta Mita was interesting. Sugar cane harvest going on, so all the overloaded trucks on a two lane mountain road with all the locals headed for the beach as well. Took us 4.5 of flying time from Fort Worth to Tepic and 4.5 hours of driving to get the last 80 miles.
It would have been about 20 minutes or less of flying time.
You do what you do to make the wife happy
Shut down the business for the week between Christmas and New Years and the wife has had basically the whole month off
Planned a trip to PVR, booked the swanky W hotel in Punta Mita with my wife's Marriott points and we fly to Nuevo Laredo from Ft Worth to clear customs. The plane can go direct, but I don't want to be in a plane for 4.5 hours on a pleasure trip. Plus, the folks at MMNL are the nicest of any airport in Mexico, easy to clear and cheap gas ($4.50 a gallon full serve)
I have a buddy (that I have never met) that is an expert on flying into Mexico and knows just about anybody and everybody there at all the airports. He checked early in the morning and MMPV had 7 open spots on the general aviation ramp. By the time I got to Nuevo Laredo, they were full and the FBO wanted $2000 just for parking
On to plan B, which was to fly to Matzalan. The wife called Marriott and they wanted $1,500 to cancel the reservation.
OK, plan C. Tepic.
I briefed the airport and area. You fly right over it going into PVR, so it was right on my route. Only 80 miles from the resort, but Google maps was showing a 3 hour drive. You do what you gotta do
Flew into this beautiful valley covered in sugar canes. Green lush landscape, we'd been flying over wasteland since NL, so when we flew into the valley it was a "ahhh" moment
Landed and taxied to their last GA parking spot and walked to check in the the comandante. Super helpful and nice. They no longer have immigration so they aren't an AOE anymore. Which means I'll have to stop somewhere else to clear out of the country. Not a big deal, as if I can work to get my 2023 multi entry while I'm here, then I'll stay until sometime next week and fly to an interior city to see something other than the beach (my wife could live on a beach, I'm here 16 hours and I'm already bored)
The drive from Tepic to Punta Mita was interesting. Sugar cane harvest going on, so all the overloaded trucks on a two lane mountain road with all the locals headed for the beach as well. Took us 4.5 of flying time from Fort Worth to Tepic and 4.5 hours of driving to get the last 80 miles.
It would have been about 20 minutes or less of flying time.
You do what you do to make the wife happy
