So I shouldn’t have drank the water yesterday. I had sent the AirBnB host a message when we got to the apartment in Guayaquil asking about drinking water, since every other accommodation seemed to have bottles or a strong filter, and he assured me that the little spigot by the kitchen sink was filtered water. But when my alarm went off at 5am my stomach was questioning if that had indeed been the fact. I hadn’t drank much of it, just one or two Nuuns and some tea; the rest I had drank through my LifeStraw bottle. But as if waking up at 5am wasn’t rude enough, waking up at 5am with a gurgly tummy is extra rude.
Kyra and Paul got up to say goodbye, they don’t fly home until tomorrow, and by 5:50am I had an Uber on the way. My original Uber estimate of five minutes till pick-up extended to 15 somehow and I sat alone in the quiet, modern lobby of the building as light started to emerge outside the windows. The Uber app was showing a weird pick up spot so as the driver neared I went outside and wondered about a block down until I saw him coming my direction.
I was glad the airport was close and the drive short; I don’t like talk radio in English and I certainly wasn’t excited to be hearing radio ranting in Spanish as I sat in the back of the humid car with my rumbly tummy.
American Airlines has a comprehensive app-based check-in process, complete with COVID test review so the airport was relatively quick and efficient, even though they only had two kiosks open at passport control/security. I checked my bag, because who cares if it gets lost coming home, and since now I had a second carry on bag of delicate sculptures and the like to worry about carrying on. Conveniently, the airport lounge was located right next to my boarding gate. The lounge was large, modern, and bright with a decent selection for breakfast. I made a flightfud and some tea, and thought maybe getting some food in me would help my increasingly yucky tummy. It didn’t help; I ate a couple bites and knew it was a lost cause as I started to consume a concoction of both herbal and typical OTC drugs.
I could barely hear or understand as they started to board my flight but I knew that with my business class ticket I was in the first boarding group so as soon as I saw non-pre-boarders begin to board I simply followed suit. As soon as the cabin doors closed an announcement was made and the masks all came off; even the crew. With current mask requirements whether or not you have to wear one depends on the destination and sooooooo thankfully the US had lifted the mask requirements so my face was free. I had an empty seat next to me for the 3 1/2 hour flight to Miami and I slid over to watch take-off and get to enjoy the window. I really love a window seat but am just too claustrophobic so sit in one if there is anyone next to me.
Guayaquil, started to slip away, dank and gray. From the air I finally got to see the White City Cemetery that I had been stopped from visiting on foot over a week ago. I was not sad to see Guayaquil slipping away; let’s be perfectly clear, the pictures I took of the town were the nice areas, not the norm.
Breakfast was served; a cold oatmeal. At first I was offended that it was cold but it was also smothered in honey and felt good on my tummy so, after picking off the offensive raisins, I ate almost the entire meal.
I was loving my quiet time on the plane; sitting by myself, writing and reflecting on this amazing adventure that’s now come to an end. Each of the islands in the Galápagos was so different; I can’t wait to go back in a couple years and visit the rest. Beautiful turquoise waters with white sand bars appeared under the plane, about 40 minutes from Miami. Where am I right now?! Where is this luxurious location? Is this just a blip of sand in the sea or is it somewhere I can visit? I made note to do some research.
Apparently those little sandbars are part of Cuba, within three minutes the land mass had come into view. I felt nostalgic flying over Cuba; that was the first trip B and I ever took together; less than a month from the day we first met!
I think I saw the Florida Keys before Miami came into view and the plane touched down in that cluster of an airport. Customs was a cinch; I used my mobile passport instead of my Global Entry so I didn’t have to stop by the kiosks and made it through in less than 10 minutes. Getting my bag to recheck on my domestic flight to LA was another story. Another 30 or 40 minutes and a carousel change later though I finally had the damn bag. This is what I get for checking luggage. I rechecked my bag and asked which direction to head in as I handed it over at the counter. The man annoyingly snapped something at me in Spanish and it annoyed the shit out of me. One, don’t be a dick; two, I’m back in the US, speak English to me! I went back through regular security, even more annoyed that there’s no TSA PreCheck when coming out of the international terminal, and realized that I’m pretty sure every person who works in this airport is an asshole.
It didn’t get much better in the Amex lounge. With the exception of one sweet little old lady who was clearing plates everyone who worked there had an attitude as well. But at least the food was delicious and I was able to easily kill over an hour in the lounge and get some more food in my questionable stomach.
Leaving the lounge, it took way more effort than it should to find a place to fill my water bottle (WTF Miami? LAX also sucks for finding water stations). The gate agents continued the tradition of being rude, per Miami airport employee protocol, and finally I got to settle into my private little cubby on the ginormous plane for my five hour flight to LA.
Before take-off, the attendants came by offering champagne, orange juice, or water. While champagne sounded lovely, my stomach wasn’t so sure and I didn’t need the extra calories or alcohol in my system. Water was the wiser and best choice for me. People are always surprised to learn that, for the most part, I’m still very conscious about what I eat and drink while on a vacation or adventure; but to me, healthy is a lifestyle not a restriction and I’d rather feel my best. It feeds into how I LOVE how active I am on my adventures (I averaged 18,000 steps/day on this trip) and when I take a more leisurely vacation with B we both workout each morning. What fun is a trip if you aren’t keeping your body feeling it’s best?
My stomach wasn’t so sure that I should have eaten during my layover and started to feel more questionable. I felt like crap. I popped some more herbal and regular meds to negotiate it back to neutral. I was so ready to get home. The plane was ready to pushback when an announcement came from the pilot. The jet bridge was broken. The plane was fine but the jetway was stuck and wouldn’t move, so the plane could not push back. I watched a crew playing around with it and eventually the plane was freed from its grasp.
Like a giant beast struggling to take flight, the huge jet finally got off the ground. I was so tired; I only slept about five hours last night. I barely kept my eyes open while the plane climbed and as soon as I heard the familiar ding of surpassing 10,000 ft, I laid my seat flat, curling up under my blanket. I slept for at least a solid two hours. And not just a light nap, but a solid, deep sleep; complete with a detailed dream and maybe even some drooling. I love a lay flat seat; having one on this flight made me so happy. This flight could have really sucked without it.
My stomach was so upset when I woke up, bubbling and churning. You know that saying, “Never trust a fart?” I started to wonder if I was approaching that point. It was time for the heavy hitter; the azithromycin. I always get a prescription for azithromycin when I travel, specifically for stomach issues. I had slept through meal service and seeing that I was awake the flight attendant came to ask if I was ready for my salmon. Salmon sounded like it would run right through me at this point so I politely declined. I wanted to eat but I was scared to. Even though this jet had a refreshing large bathroom, I didn’t want to spend the rest of the flight in there. After sitting upright for a while and letting the azithromycin and more herbal meds settle into my stomach I finally asked for a cheese plate. I tentatively ate the gouda, swiss, and cheddar cheeses but the highlight for my tummy was the sourdough crackers. Crackers were just what I needed and they felt so good in my stomach. I thought about asking for more crackers but didn’t want to push my tummy too far.
As the plane started the final descent to LAX, it was a shock when I opened the window and saw it was light out. With the time and latitude change I had already forgotten what a difference it made. In the Galápagos, the sun always set right about 6pm since it’s at the equator. Here, I had gained three hours and sunset wasn’t until close to 8. I sat and reflected on how cool it was that I got to criss-cross over the equator.
I was exhausted waiting for my luggage at LAX but amused by the people watching. A lady standing next to me literally had visible booty pads showing through her leggings, someone really should tell her that she needs to wear a less transparent legging when trying to pull those off.
It was good to stretch my legs and walk across LAX back to Terminal 1, five terminals away, to catch my final flight home. Its a big difference going from a lay flat business class seat to a Southwest seat! I thought I’d be the 3rd person on the plane with my A3 boarding pass but that bird was already about 1/3 full when I boarded so I took the first aisle seat I could and marveled at how many people boarding had no idea that Southwest had open seating. I tried to write but instead got to hear from the people next to me about some hip hop festival they were headed to.
Just shy of midnight I finally was back on the ground in Sacramento. Just one Uber drive away from home. I just needed to keep my eyes open for another 45 minutes. I didn’t realize that my adventure wasn’t over yet. My Uber driver, Surgey, was quite the chatty Cathy. Without prompting, he demonstrated to me how he used flight aware to track if there were any more flights coming in tonight so he could decide if he would head back to the airport again after my drop off. Then he told me about the same music festival I heard about on the plane. He turned into a full on comedy show critiquing and imitating different music genres, in his thick accent. Some quiet would have been nice but at least this was entertaining. Somehow he changed the conversation to explaining to me that he was both Ukrainian and Russian so he can’t pick a side in the war against Ukraine and when people ask him to he counts down to giving them the middle finger. Ok, now this was getting intense, at least we were getting closer to the exit off the freeway. He went on about how the leaders on both sides had messed up in his eyes and on a diatribe about how it is harder to build than destroy; it’s easier to do bad than good. Now I was getting uncomfortable but at least we were close to my home.
Pulling up to my house I couldn’t have gotten out of that car faster. Now, the adventure was finally over and it’s time to cuddle my puppies. And start to plan for my next trip back…
Taking On the World 
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