Feature: Cuban migrants with children waiting to board next flight out of Costa Rica

After the first 180 of 8,000 stranded Cuban migrants reached Mexico from Costa Rica on Wednesday, the next group will be made up of families with young children, although the date of the next flight has not yet been set.

At the shelters in the town of La Cruz, 16km from Costa Rica's border with Nicaragua, Cuban mothers were wondering when they would be able to fly with their children and continue onward toward the U.S.

Janet Sagu is very worried, as she is heavily pregnant and has already had a tough time since leaving Ecuador.

"My pregnancy has gone well but it has been difficult. The journey by boat from Colombia was particularly difficult with high waves," she told Xinhua.

After the first flight departed, Costa Rican authorities said families with children would be given priority in leaving Costa Rica.

"I hope we can get on the second flight. There are pregnant women who have been waiting for a long time. This is what worries me, that they will not let us fly," said Sagu.

Despite the time she has spent there, Sagu said the welcoming treatment she has received from the Costa Rican government has been "marvellous". She and the other migrants have been provided with food and lodging, free of charge.

However, she still wants to go to the U.S. to start a new life, to find a house and give birth to her son in the best possible conditions.

Yadria Ragel Pozo, a young mother, saw her trip to the U.S. halted on Nov. 13 when Nicaragua closed its borders.

"I am still waiting to see when the next flight will leave with mothers and families. It will apparently be next," Ragel Pozo told Xinhua.

She admitted that her journey from Cuba to Costa Rica has not been as rough as it was for many migrants and that living in one of the 38 shelters provided by Costa Rica has been easier than she thought.

"However, I want to leave on the first flight for my children's security. We will be happy to go as we have already been in Costa Rica for a long time," she said.

The second flight is expected to take the migrants to El Salvador, from where they will continue their journey through Guatemala and Mexico to the U.S..

The government of Costa Rica has explained that it is waiting for Guatemala's new president, Jimmy Morales, to take office Thursday and decide on the next step. Endite