Journey Return

Tuesday, May 13
United: Arcata to San Francisco
Delta: San Francisco to Atlanta
Wednesday, May 14
LATAM: Atlanta to Lima
LATAM: Lima to Cusco

After a couple hours of sleep, I rise at 4 am to start my long day of travel. 6 am sunrise flight out of Arcata to San Francisco as we rise out of the fog and above the clouds.

Collect luggage and recheck. Rather than waiting six hours, the woman recommends I take an earlier flight to Atlanta. I agree without remembering that I will lose the paid upgraded seat from my original booking. At the gate, I use a land line phone to call Delta and actually manage to get a refund. At this late time, there are few seat options. I speak with the gate staff and miraculously, I am able to move forward in the plane. The unfortunate part is that I am in the middle seat. Once I board, I find that I’m seated between a really big guy and a petite woman. Since he takes up at least 15% of my (arm) space, it’s lucky that I can hedge a bit to my right. It’s a 4+ hour flight and just after takeoff they serve beverages and chips. It’s a new challenge to eat chips with my elbows in the center of my lap. I watch The Room Next Door and finish the movie Flow while under a constant center seat cramp. Not long before landing, they serve another bag of chips. Wow, a 4+ hour flight and no meal. Atlanta is thunderstorm wet and green.

I follow the signs and make my way to the plane train. I shuttle to its end at the International Terminal. I’m so hungry that I break down and buy a Starbucks egg wrap and chai. I walk around and try to find a quiet corner. Unfortunately, a nearby gate blasts their upcoming departure. I’m still so hungry and eat a few snacks. The water fountains are motion activated (with no signage) and give all of us a challenge. There’s a definite learning curve. I’ve been doing enough hiking lately that my hiker hunger can not be satiated. Just before I board my flight, I break down and buy a side order of Burger King fries. I’m grateful to have paid for a little extra legroom and have an aisle seat in the middle section on this very full, 6+ hour flight. Luckily, after take off they serve a dinner. It is my plan to sleep the whole flight but I can’t get comfortable. I eventually put my eye mask on and maybe get a little rest. 20 minutes before landing in Lima they wake us.

Glad to be moving my legs, I almost trot to the immigration check point. I show my passport and the person doesn’t say one thing to me or stamp anything. I collect my luggage and then recheck it for a domestic flight. In an effort to stay well-hydrated, I buy a $7 bottle of water. Then I try an atm but it doesn’t work. Is it my pin again?

I board the small plane and have a window seat in a group of three. The woman sitting next to me is very friendly and chatty and we talk the whole flight. Carol, her sister Colleen and their group are from the Canadian plains. We end up talking a lot about politics and the dire situation in which we all find ourselves. The Peruvian Andes start to grow big in the window as snow-covered peaks approach. I bid them well as we land in Cusco about 9 am. It’s a small airport so the luggage arrives quickly and I’m out the door. There’s a labor strike today which means I have to walk out to the front entrance of the airport.