The moment we had been waiting for had finally arrived! This was the day we were to fly to our new home in Grenada. We had been thinking about this day ever considering that Shiraz, Iran, when we were used to come to this West Indies country and pet-sit a divine pet dog named Spare. After enjoying two months of backpacking through southern Mexico and two weeks on the sensational northern Cayes in Belize, it was finally time to fly to the momentary home of our dreams!
We were debating whether or not we must spend a night in Belize City before flying out the following morning. We’d heard mixed reviews about this city, with the main consensus being that it’s quite a hazardous place. We always heed the recommendations of locals before deciding to go somewhere and even the Belizeans we spoke with didn’t want to go anywhere near their capital city.
We didn’t mind missing out on seeing the sights of Belize City, we were quite content sipping on rum punches at the split, enjoying the sun set into the water and enjoying the laid-back vibe of Caye Caulker.
Caye Caulker is one of the most chilled out islands we’ve been on
So, we took the risk of leaving the island on the same day that we were flying out to Grenada, by means of Miami, USA and thankfully for us, it all worked out. We boarded the 7:00am ferry from Caye Caulker to Belize City, then took an overpriced taxi to the airport ($25USD), checked in for our flight and made our way to immigration.
Off to Belize City to catch a flight
After our immigration issues leaving Mexico and entering Belize, you’d think we would’ve learned to look at our entry and exit stamps, but I guess not. As we were walking to the immigration booth to be stamped out of Belize, Nick and I looked at our entrance stamp – which expired the day before.
We were only given 2 weeks in Belize, instead of 1 month!
Why the power-tripping woman in San Pedro only gave us 2 weeks was a mystery, but there we were, with expired visas, about to board a plane to our Caribbean dream home. As we made our way to the booth, we were preparing to pay a fine for over-staying our visa, or, potentially missing our flight as immigration sorted us out.
Luck was on our side again. They didn’t even look at our entrance stamp, they just stamped us out of their country and we were on our way. Again, thank you Belize for being extra chilled out and relaxed, even at immigration!
Off to Miami!
We boarded our American Airlines flight and settled in for the 2 hour journey to the United States. I’ve been to the states a few times in the past and Nick went to Disneyland when he was really young, but besides a quick layover at the Seattle Airport, we’d never been to our neighbouring country together.
Take off!
Our flight to Grenada had a 22 hour layover in Miami. So, we got ourselves a motel near the airport for the night and spent the evening walking around a beautifully lush neighbourhood and eating at a quaint little diner.
Luckily there was a great neighbourhood for us to walk around in
Our stop in Miami was quick, and regrettably we didn’t have a chance to head down to South beach or go salsa dancing at one of the happenin’ night clubs. but that’s ok, we had just spent the last 2 weeks on beaches, and would be sunbathing for the next 7 months as well. and even though we took a few salsa lessons in Mexico, we still have zero rhythm!
We slept soundly after our long travel day and eagerly awoke for our All-American breakfast at the nearby diner. We were nearly as ecstatic for the all-american breakfast as we were for the final leg of our journey to Grenada!
mmmm! Gotta love an American Breakfast!
We still like to arrive 3 hours before our international flights and It’s a good thing we stuck with that tradition; the Miami airport has the SLOWEST service and check-in process that we’ve ever encountered.
We waited in line for 1.5 hours just to get through security.
We then made our way to immigration to be stamped out and walked through the enormous airport to find our departure gate. By the end of the airport formalities, we only had about 30 minutes before our plane was to depart.
Checking-in with American Airlines was the quick part
As our row was called to board the flight, substantial smiles crossed our faces. It was finally happening! After waiting for this moment for four months, we were on our way to our first overseas pet-sitting job. Nerves, curiosity and excitement crept in as we boarded the plane to Grenada, a country we had never been to before, but one we would call home for the next 7 months.
Stay tuned to hear about our life on the adventure-filled, sensational island of Grenada! Click here to find out how you too can find the momentary home of your dreams!
Like it? Pin it! ?
Disclaimer:Goats On The road is an Amazon associate and also an affiliate for some other retailers. This indicates we earn commissions if you click links on our blog and purchase from those retailers.