In the heat and humidity the porter weaves in and out of the cabs pulling up to the curb while gesturing at us to get back on the sidewalk. This continues on as we make our way down the pier at least 1/2 kilometer. In the steamy heat tempers begin to fray as at least 8 or 9 cabs pull up then leave as we reach for them. The porter is becoming frustrated and we are frantic to keep our eyes on our luggage. Finally my travel mate decides 'this is enough' and as a threatening porter waves the cab off which has just pulled up and points menacingly at our porter what does she do but open the back door of the moving cab and throw herself into the back seat. I am left speechless (not a common event) on the sidewalk as she yells "get in". I am momentarily mesmerized by the yelling match between our cab driver, our porter and 'the enforcer' who is threatening the first two. The cabbie yells "what was I supposed to do? The passenger jumped in and wouldn't get out, she's crazy" I'm not disagreeing with his version of events because in the fracas my partner has told the cabbie "dont' you move"and the enforcer and his assistant "you shut up, you shut up, if I have to get out of this cab you'll be sorry" and more things that are not printable in a public blog while shaking her fist at the enforcers and threatening them in a way which caused them to jump away from the window. Meanwhile our porter is tentatively placing our luggage in the trunk of the cab as no one is paying attention to him and the cabbie has slouched down in his seat below the level of the headrest so as not to whacked again up back of the head. My travel mate threatens me "don't you move, I'm getting out to see about the luggage" At this point I recovered my power of speech and convinced her not to exit the vehicle as they might throw our bags out, she grudginly removes her hand from the door handle but continues to yell loud threats at all parties. Almost unbelievably a Scottish couple (well actually the wife with a very reluctant spouse in tow) approaches the taxi - yes while the oscar winning performance is taking place - to ask if they can share the cab. "Jump in" my partner says and the wife does but her husband requires some convincing and finally gingerly slides into the front seat next to cabbie with a look on his face that says clearly he does not feel this is a good idea. Our porter has the tenacity / presence of mind to stick his hand in through the window (albeit on my side of the cab) for the tip - goodness knows he earned it. We head over the Hyatt Regency with my travel mate giving the NS tourism pitch and the Scottish wife comparing travel notes while the husband and myself sit in relieved silence although I did manage to sputter "this is Miami" meaning that the approach was probably not a good thing to do here. This brought the response from the two now soul sisters that you could have walked to South Beach before you got a cab at that rate something had to be done. At one point my partner recovers herself enough to apologize to the cabbie for her behavior / the situation and he graciously accepts. I can only imagine the story he told his wife at supper that night about the crazy tourists he dealt with today.
Our room isn't ready yet at the hotel so we decide to head out to South Beach. We get directions from the desk and head out to catch a bus - better to spend $3 return than $40 for a cab we decide. The bus ride past Biscayne Bay is beautiful with yachts, mansions, cigar boats, and the cruise ships. One of the ships cre
w going to wire money home to Turkey helps us find our way and we head out on Washington Avenue. Cafes along the streets, mansions, hotels, expensive boutiques (a $289 tank top?) a tent with music, antique cars and muscle trucks cruising by - what a happening place. We stop for an ice cream and have a philosophical discussion with Rocco who tells my partner she's a 'hot woman' and to come back anytime to visit. We shop at Armani's,Ritchie's etc. and finally make our way to Bongo's (Gloria Estafan's place) for lunch. What a place to watch the action from the patio. The mojitios are great, the tostones are delicious and teh pork sandwiches we can't even finish. What an amazing alive place this is. A brief shower doesn't even dampen our enthusiasm. We catch the bus back and find the Hyatt (nice room, decent food) after a bit of walking. The wind is starting to pick up, hmm maybe a storm is coming.As my travel partner catches a few z z z s to recover from her sleep deprivation I discover on CNN that a major storm has cancelled air travel on the east coast, especially in New York. LaGuardia has cancelled 350 + flights already. We make calls home to warn that we may not make it through tomorrow but our flight is still on.
