Morys Musing

They say a good night’s sleep is essential in order to have a great day. This is so true! Unfortunately Anna and I did not get the sleep, so, we had a few chuckles on our transit day from Calgary to Houston.

By the time I got to bed prior to our departure, it was 11:45 PM. Of course I was fully awake at 2 AM! Unbelievable! Sometimes you get so busy and tired that you cannot relax the mind when it is most needed. Anna did not really sleep much more than I did. 3:45 AM came around much quicker than expected. The cab even came earlier than it’s appointed time of 4:15 AM. There is very little traffic at this time (really) so the drive to the airport was a breeze.

Anna and I checked in and proceeded through US Customs and here our paths separated as I am a Nexus card holder. I had great difficulty with the scanner which insisted that my 4 fingerprints were not straight but angled but eventually I got it right. When I went through security I forgot to take my liquids out even though I travel all the time so was pulled aside and scolded a bit. Fatigue really plays with your mind.

Anna also had fun in the peasant’s lineup. As she was waiting in line a helpful woman behind her came up and gently told her she was leaving a “trail of tampons” behind her! To her surprise she had left her backpack zipper on the bottom slightly open! Anna was mortified but with great class picked up her feminine protection units in front of a bemused crowd of bleary eyed travellers. Anna has reinvented the “breadcrumb trail” and assures me this advanced orienteering technique will eventually save our lives if we get lost on our subsequent trek. Always thinking that woman!

We also specifically upgraded to business class for the early flight down for 2 reasons: sleeping pods and free early morning champagne. Imagine our disappointment when we were seated in our 1A and IB seats ( I know, we have never been that close to the front bathroom) that are NOT pods and our further devastation as the steward brightly asked us what we would like to drink quickly followed by “anything but champagne”! Life is a cruel mistress. We choked down our water in bitter and non-therapeutic disappointment.

Partway through the flight Anna decided to go through her purse. The previous night she assured me she would do this prior to our departure in order to take out non-essentials. You know pack light and fast. Imagine my surprise when she pulled out essentials for wilderness travel: large full chequebook- check- you never know when you will come upon a small family business in the high Andes that only accepts cheques; a Mama Mia program- check- one never knows when you will come upon a rural production of Abba-filled tunes looking for extras who can sing and dance; less than an ideal number of feminine protection units- check- I’m not even going to joke here, and – her paper lists of things to pack- check- nothing like having reams of lists that you can do nothing about. Man, we had a good chuckle! The rest of business class glared at us suspiciously!

So where are we off to? From Houston we will have a several hour layover and then board our COACH flight (back to reality) for our 6 1/2 hour flight to Lima. Peru. We arrive late in the evening and being into the ultimate comfort while we travel, settle into our premium food court chairs to overnight at the airport until we leave the next morning at 5:20 AM to Cusco, Peru our “home” for awhile. How the heady days of flying in the lap of luxury of business class recede into the mists of the common traveller!

Will we sleep so we are refreshed for the Cusco leg of our journey?