Flights & Delirium

Today we take flight to Peru! We are quite excited as we both have been working and studying immensely, and desperately desire to go somewhere else in the world and forget ourselves. With a short drive and a bunch of puddle jumping between airports we made our way down to Peru. This actually saved us a nice sum of money, instead of taking a direct flight. Overall the first flight from LAX to Bogota, Columbia, was pretty uneventful. I kept myself busy with reading and watching in-flight movies, whereas Kelly (my wife and better-half traveling companion) listened to her music and slept. She could sleep through anything, including train wrecks, gunshots, and stampedes, whereas I wake up if someone sneezes in China. So, to say the least, I do not sleep very well while flying. The highlight of this flight was when everyone began to fall asleep from the coma-induced food the airlines served. At this time, only myself, and what appeared to be a dozen or so children on board, were the only ones to remain awake. Now free of their parent’s grasps, they began to meander up and down the aisles—surprisingly proportioned to their size—exploring as far as the confines of the plane would permit. Several times they would pass observing people as they slept, mouths gaped open and deep snores emanating throughout the plane, then they would move on to finish one of several laps they would accomplish before our landing. Their curious minds obviously absorbing the enjoyment of a new and alien environment.

Neither Kelly nor I speak Spanish. The few phrases and words I know is enough to get me fed, find a bathroom, and embarrass myself (which happens all too often). So this trip—deep into Latin America—shall be an interesting adventure and cultural exchange, as I will probably find myself using hand gestures and shadow puppetry to communicate. Also, I could not imagine myself taking such a trip without someone to share it with. As long as I’m with Kelly, it does not matter how lost we get in this world. I believe that it is good to have someone you can depend on, but more so it is the shared experiences you receive from traveling that make it all worthwhile.

After our arrival in Bogota, confusion for the first time set in. Columbia’s international airport must observe the concept of controlled chaos. If you have a layover at this airport, just expect to be shuttled by a bus from your plane, to your plane, and to exit terminals, only to reenter them again to board your plane. However disorganized this may appear to the Western mentality, it does somehow work, as we had no issues connecting to our next flight or problems with missing luggage. Just find your gate and follow the flow. Also, if you buy something at the airport on a credit card or bankcard, don’t worry if you get a receipt back saying you spent thousands of dollars. I bought a bottle of water that cost me $1,500, however this is in Columbian currency and is much, much less when converted to U.S. dollars.

We arrived in Lima around 1:30 a.m., and extremely tired, we went straight to the Ramada—fortunately right across the street from the airport—and promptly went to sleep before our morning flight to Cusco. Due to extreme Jetlag and surrounded by foreign voices I found myself in an interesting kind of delirium as I fell off into a deep slumber.