[beachreader]

This will be the first of several e-mails on my trip last week to PDC, figured I'd start with the new CUN airport security stuff. Last time I was down was last March, and all of the below is new since then.

It seems that they have stopped doing the full-luggage hand check in front of the ticket counters. Not sure if this means they have the new x-ray machines out of sight somewhere or they've just given up (I'm sure it's the former), but the lines will move much more quickly without that holdup. It's possible, I suppose, that they just didn't have the tables set up the day I was there (yesterday, 11 a.m.), but there was no one around my counters and I looked up and down and didn't see them anywhere else either. I literally walked up to my counter, handed over my big suitcase and off I went.

The regular security (the one before you get into the main area of Term. 2) was also very light and breezy. No problem with water bottles, no one checked for shoes or 3 oz. bottles of liquid. I thought this was odd, but through I went and now had like 3 hours to kill before my flight.

For those heading to the A gates upstairs, be aware that once you've been down the hallway to the gates area, if you decide to go back out to TGI Friday's for lunch (and they have a new buffalo chicken taco thing that's amazing junk food so you might consider it), you'll have to go through a little security thing, right there by the nail salon. I have NO idea why this is there since the restaurant is inside the original security area, but when I asked I got no answer but the stoic security stare that says "we don't have to answer questions". It's not like there was a line, just had to be x-rayed again, bag through right next to it.

After lunch, back to the Duty Free. The liquid purchased at Duty Free, be it perfume or alcohol, must be delivered by them to the gate. You'll pick it up at the end of the jetway just before boarding the plane. This is OK, and I was happy to not have to schlep the bottles around before boarding.

Oh, and for vanilla fans, I was told that heading back to the US I was now only allowed the smallest bottle of vanilla. Still not sure why, since they're still selling the big bottles, but that's what she said and I didn't need much more so I just took the small one. I was told this at Cinco Soles, the shop downstairs, not at Duty Free--it's possible they don't have the right security clearance or something, so perhaps someone can ask at the Duty Free if they can get larger bottles. I didn't think of that until just now.

Security before boarding the plane is now what takes all the time. They did a full hand check of everyone's carry-on bags, checked for the plastic baggies of liquids (for those of you unfamiliar, you may only carry on 3 oz. of liquids and gels, and they must all be packed in one quart-sized ziplock baggie, easy to pull out and inspect). Here is where they will make you give up your water bottles, so you're dry on board the plane.

I do NOT understand this move at all. Go ahead and take my water bottle downstairs before entering the original secure area as they do in the US. Then I can buy a new bottle in the secure area and carry that onto the plane, which is where I really need water to drink. Here, they let us carry unsecured water into the secure area until it's time to get on the plane. Seems backwards to me, but it's still not too painful.

OK, once back into the States, you go through immigration and customs at your first port of entry. IF YOU ARE CONTINUING ON, you must take any liquids purchased Duty Free and re-pack them into your checked luggage in order to move on through the next set of security checkpoints. Otherwise, the security folks will confiscate the bottles if you try to carry them on. IF YOU ARE AT YOUR FINAL DESTINATION, you do NOT have to do this. I know someone posted last week that they had to re-pack their bottles even though they were staying where they were, and I asked and was told no, though that is a common misperception. They haven't quite worded their announcements clearly enough yet, I guess, but my flight attendants were VERY clear on this point.

So just make sure to leave enough room in your checked bags for your booze I guess.

OK, that's all I wanted to share about the new security stuff as it relates to CUN or coming back into the US.

I'll write about our actual trip later on. We had an excellent time despite the crappy weather--only one perfect beach day out of the whole week, but we still had a blast!



Oh, and they're planning a Terminal 3, big promo display about it upstairs in #2. The guy told me it's supposed to be open in the summer of 2007. Yeah, right.