I wake early on Friday 22 March and head out for a run. The majority of my packing had been done last night.
It takes longer than normal to get a taxi; drivers saw my bags and just drove off. In the end I decide to just walk to IFC as I have the time. A couple of minutes later a spare taxi comes by and picks me up. Result! He is the nicest taxi driver ever. We chat the whole way to airport express.
As I hand over my passport and advise where I’m flying too I’m asked if I have the eTA visa for Canada. Ummm no. What the.....I had no idea. The check in agent advises she can’t check me in until I have it and that it can take 72 hours. Ummm what the.....deep breaths needed. She’s helpful by giving me the website details. Thankfully it takes less than 5 minutes to apply for it and comes through straight away. Phew!! Now I’m going to have to do it for the return journey back into Toronto. A very strong drink is needed!
Of course there is now a line at check in; always the way. It only takes a couple of minutes once I actually get to the counter. Toronto here I come! For now it’s off to work I go.
Late morning a colleague decides to ask if I have a Cuban visit. No. Wholly smoke. A very strong drink is definitely required now!! Queue internet searching (to no avail) then a phone call to the Cuban embassy in Wellington (which was 12 minutes from closing.....). Thankfully it ended well. The very lovely lady advises I’ll receive the visa / tourist card on my Air Canada flight tomorrow. I can now start to breathe again. I don’t recall a time when I’ve been quite disorganized about a trip. Very unlike me.
It’s a quick trip to the airport then through security and immigration even though there are lots of people around. I’m straight to the Qantas lounge when I get to the passenger only section. Aperol Spritz is ordered as I walk past the bar. I have a good 40 minutes in the lounge before I head to the gate.
It’s super-hot on boarding the plane. Let’s hope the a/c kicks in and kicks in fast. After unpacking what I need I settle into my business class seat (all done on miles from the credit card).
This is the life!
10 minutes passed our scheduled departure time the Pilot announces we are delayed due to a technical issue they are trying to resolve. The hope is we depart in 10 minutes. Fingers crossed!!
We pull back from the gate 25 minutes later than our planned time. Cuba, via Toronto here I come!!!!!
The drinks page advises Cloud Nine is still on the menu - yes thanks I’ll be having one of those. Brings back memories from when I moved to Hong Kong back in November 2007. When it arrives it’s not at all what I thought - buggar. Still tasty though!
Dinner is served! Definitely time to spend more (money) so that I can fly business class every single time.....
I end dinner with a glass of port - why not??! I really like the glass too......
I manage to get some sleep, amongst all the bumps (at some stage in the night the captain even made an announcement), which is great then at 6am HKT (6pm Toronto time) I force myself to “get up”. I want to be able to sleep tonight. Opening the window shade I can feel the freezing weather outside. It’s blue sky but ice for as far as the eye can see. When I look at the map it informs me we are toughly in the middle of north Canada - over Lake Athabasca. Yes it will be FREEZING!
Around 2 hours before we are due to land they start to serve breakfast. A little odd given its night time in Toronto but I get that it’s breakfast time in Hong Kong. I elect for the fruit and a croissant.
At 8.36pm the captain announces we will be landing in 30 minutes. The temperature is -2 ......ummmmmm wholly smoke. It’s going to be a HUGE shock to the system!!!!
As we approach Toronto the city is lit up beautifully.
We land into Toronto International Airport at 9.18pm on Friday 22 March - I’m moving back in time......it’s going to be a massive shock going outside.
It’s nice to stretch the legs walking to immigration. The terminal is warm which is lovely. Unfortunately it’s a bit of a wait for my bag.
My taxi driver was a friendly man who’s been to Cuba a few times over the past two years. He is retired so can travel whenever it wants. Yes please for that life!! It’s a quick 20 minute drive to the hotel.
Saturday 23 March I wake at 4.53am, no matter where you are in the world it’s FAR too early to rise. Instead I lay for a bit before watching TV.
Having a shower is an interesting experience - long story short there is no hot water in my bathroom so I’m given access to another room. Finally feeling clean after a hot shower I start to reorganize my bags - one suitcase will remain with Lois and Nic while I’m in Cuba.
When I walk into the restaurant the first thing I notice is a pile of snow - wow! Yes thanks I’ll have a window seat.
While I know logically its Saturday morning my body is feeling like it’s something else. Eating breakfast is a slow affair.
I have a couple of hours relaxing in my room before Lois and Nic come and collect me. It’s like I saw them last week not 3.75 years ago.
We relax at their place with the boys before the adults go for lunch. I’m interested to try the Caesar Mary (like the Bloody Mary). Absolutely delicious!!!
Lois drops me at the airport at 6pm. It’s surreal being with her, Nic and the family in Toronto.
The airport is nice and efficient. I had already checked in online when I landed last night so just had to purchase a bag. No idea why I wasn’t able to do it online when I made the reservation but hey ho! One of the friendly Air Canada employees advises I can purchase a bag the same way I do self-service check in. Perfect.
Once I manage to scan my boarding pass off my iPad I get a bag tag without having to pay. Bingo! It takes much longer to drop my bag off as the luggage belt has stopped working.
Once I passed security I wander to E Gates. Nowhere along the way was their immigration. Odd but clearly it works for them. Just hope it won’t mean I have issues when I try to come back in two weeks.
The premium lounge is basically above my gate so I decide to head there. On exiting the lift I notice I’m not the only one that has the same idea. There is a long line......clearly a one in / one out policy is going on. For now I’ll wait.
I’m literally falling asleep sitting here, time to head down to the gates to stay awake.
When I board at 7.50pm basically everyone is already on board. The flight doesn't leave for another 25 minutes - great that people are punctual. At the moment I have both seats next to me free. Fingers crossed this remains.
The three ladies in the row in front of me are being nice and arrogant by speaking loudly as well as playing their music loudly. Why are people so rude??! Not the best end to my 23 hours in Toronto. Please warm up while I’m away.
HAVANA CUBA, HERE I COME!! Just a wee bit excited.
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