El Paso Travelers Missed Their Juárez Connection By Five Minutes

Tried escaping the El Paso heat, (kinda), with a quick trip to Mexico and wound up crisscrossing the entire country thanks to a super impatient airline.

So, my wife, myself and some friends all went in together on a super great, 4 day stay in Puerto Vallarta. I've never been there but I've always been curious about it and who doesn't enjoy a few days off? Hola Me - HEE - Coh ... here we come, baby.

We flew out of Juarez this time for about half what a flight from the states would have cost. Road Trip Tip: Flying to Mexico to see a concert could be cheaper than driving to one in Albuquerque.

Leaving For Puerto Vallarta

From Juarez, everything was great. Plane took off on time, flight was smooth .. we even got there early. Fun fact - They don't have jetways. You walk down to the tarmac, walk to the plane, then climb stairs to get on it like you're the POTUS or something.

Flying Back To Juarez

Heading home, we didn't have a direct flight. We had a stop in Monterrey, which I still don't get because it's not exactly "on the way" That's where The Warning are from but we didn't get to hang out ... even though we certainly would have had time.

Weird Layover Spot

Monterrey is about 1,100 miles from Puerto Vallarta, on the opposite side of the freakin' country. (We were damn near back in Texas, 200 miles from Laredo.) Here's how it went:

Our flight to Monterrey was delayed and we missed our connection by 5 minutes. 5 minutes. Even though everyone is in touch with everyone else and the entire airport knows we're there, on the ground, Captain Impatient and his crew took off without us.

We met some other people who were headed to Juarez, (shout out to Flavio and company!), with a worse story. They were there 30 minutes early but still told it was too late for them to board. Apparently, some Mexican airlines like to re-sell seats.

There were no other flights to Juarez that day, probably because it's about 1,200 miles away, so we were stuck for the night. Seriously, who routes these flights? That's like flying from El Paso to Dallas, then coming back via Chicago. (Really, I googled the distances.)

Anyway, we got a nice hotel room and dinner courtesy of Pendejo Airlines, had a blast with Flavio and his crew, and made it back safe and sound. Travel delays are normal so, in the interest of saving $$$, I'll fly from Juarez again.

One more point for traveling in Mexico - If you're enjoying a beer at your gate and they call your flight, you can carry your beer on with you. Waiting for takeoff isn't as bad with a tall boy in hand. (Yes, they sell tall boys ... mixed drinks too ... that you can walk around the airport with.) Viva Mexico.