September 1 — The Journey Back to Peru
Sept. 1 —
Today was a full travel day! My first flight left SFO at 7:13 a.m. I set my alarm for 3 a.m. so that I could be ready to leave for the airport at 4 a.m. I worked until 1:30 a.m. and then lay in my bed for 90 minutes waiting for my alarm to go off. Ricky came to cuddle with me for a long time. His purring and drooling and nuzzles were so sweet. Frank was sleeping in the towel drawer and did not get up to say goodbye. She knew I was going, though, and stayed close in the days before my trip.
My friend Mari is staying with Frank & Ricky. They had such a good time with her last year and are so lucky she said yes again to staying with them. Mari was even willing to drive me to the airport. Even though 3 hours prior to takeoff is recommended for international flights, I gambled and decided to get there at 5 a.m. instead of 4 a.m. I had plenty of time to check my bag. The TSA PreCheck security area was almost empty. I had zero issues finding my gate and got to spend time admiring the spaciousness of the bathrooms at SFO, how comfortable the many unique seating areas are, and what an incredible amount of healthy food options there are. I didn’t buy any food, but I was impressed to see that I could have found some options that would have worked for my dieta.
Many friends texted and called to wish me a good journey. I feel truly loved and supported. I had several long conversations with old friends and new friends over the last week. Despite all I had to do to take a couple weeks off work and get ready for this adventure, there were many moments when time seemed to stand still and allow me to take my time and choose nature, connection and peace over rushing, pushing and accomplishing.
I had a to-do list that was several pages long, and I got most of it done, and acknowledged that many of the things on the list were wishful thinking… Organizing the garage was an item left unchecked.
I even took most of the day on Sunday to work in my garden and plant 24 San Pedro cactus starts that my friend Peter gave me. They were very clear with me that they wanted to be in fresh soil before I left. It felt good to spend most of the day outside. The weather recently has been so perfectly warm, slight breeze, stunning blue skies, just gorgeous. I almost didn’t want to leave. I love enjoying my backyard after I’ve given it a good zhuzh.
At 10 p.m. the night before my flight, I was sitting on the floor in the garage with all my stuff spread out around me, making some tough calls about what I was going to be bringing. Sometimes leaving it to the last minute like that really helps me make decisions faster. I did a good job and even have extra room in my suitcase. It is a huge suitcase! But last year it was super full. I may have learned a few things.
Once my bag was checked, it felt good to be walking around the airport with just my backpack. I had some essential toiletries, my laptop, my Beats headphones, charging cords, my water bottle, and some snacks. I made some bars the night before that were amazing and saved me from airport food. They have dates, cashews, sprouted pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, cinnamon, honey, oats, and some dark chocolate chips. I blended it all together in the food processor and kept them in the fridge overnight. They are a bit sticky, but so filling and delicious. And mostly dieta friendly!
At the last minute, I paid an extra $6 to upgrade to have more legroom and be closer to the front of the plane on my SFO-to-LAX flight. It was worth it to me. The seat was not any more comfortable, but it helped to feel not quite as cramped and claustrophobic when the person in front of you pushes their seat all the way back.
It was a quick flight. I listened to part of a new audiobook by Jodi Picoult called The Book of Two Ways. It’s for Cousin Bee’s Book Club that I read all the books for and then never show up to the Zoom meetings. I really like her book recommendations, but feel shy in the Zoom book club. I had an open seat next to me on the flight. I love that!
At some point I stopped what I was doing and just looked out the window. I wrote this as we flew over California:
The path of the sun’s glare along the rivers and waterways as I fly over California.
The sun, the light, follows me wherever I go.
I orient to the sun. I orient to the moon. I no longer orient to men at my own expense.
I orient to myself.
I relate with others. I do not organize around them.
I organize for myself.
Pushing through overwhelm one step at a time. I move forward, I move upward. I see a place I’ve never seen before.
I know myself in a way I haven’t known before. I like this version of me.
Mountains are where the earth buckles and folds and wrinkles.
The water winds its way through, carving out valleys, creating depth as deep as the heights. As above, so below. Up and down, sewing and weaving and stretching the prayer.
Watching from above helps to make sense of it all. Where the water comes from and where it goes. How it moves and stagnates and dries up and then comes back again.
Sometimes cycles are just cycles. We don’t learn from them, we just do them. We finish, complete and begin again.
I started out wearing a mask and feeling good about it, but then the bendy nose piece came out and the elastic started to hurt behind my ears, and I just abandoned the mask-wearing idea altogether even though I had other masks with me.
The flight to LAX was physically uncomfortable. The seat just had no support and my back hurt. I was scared about the almost 9-hour flight coming up. We landed on time, maybe even a bit early. I double-checked and triple-checked that my bag was checked all the way through to Lima. It was. The walk from the domestic to international terminal in LA didn’t involve going outside the airport this time. That was nice.
The LAX airport is not as nice as the SFO airport, at least the parts I was in. I spent a long time in a hallway not too far from my gate charging my phone and stretching. I bought myself a tuna sandwich with sliced cucumbers that looked fresh and tasted pretty good. I decided to stand the whole time to save my butt and my back for the long flight to Lima. I think my stretching helped.
The seats on the LATAM flight were so much better than the Delta seats. And I used the pillow as back support. I was 6 rows back from first class and on an aisle in the middle row of seats. I do not think I chose that seat, but it ended up being okay. For some reason, when I was choosing seats for that flight, it kept saying the seat map was unavailable. I was also 1 row away from the bathroom, which I was a little worried about, but it turned out okay and was very convenient when I had to go.
As I boarded the plane to Lima, I made an intention to remember to greet everyone: Buenos días! Buenas tardes! Buenas noches! I wanted to really see the people I meet and interact with in Peru, each as an opportunity to learn more and connect.
I prayed for everyone on the plane to have an easy flight and to be really kind to the flight attendants. I asked all the spirits that wish us well to guide us the entire way. I asked for help even with really easy things.
At one point on the flight, I cried because I realized that I was doing it. I was going to Peru again. I made it happen. And this was the fun part.
I set myself on an adventure, and I felt so proud.
I watched 4 rom-coms, the last one being Battle of the Sexes. I didn’t get to see the end, but I knew that Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs, so that was all that mattered to me. I learned a lot about the history of women’s tennis that I didn’t know.
All in all, the flight was not as bad as I expected it to be. What a relief. We got served 2 meals, and one had chicken I could eat that was good, and the other was a pesto, cheese and tomato sandwich that was really good. I ate the 2 pieces of chocolate-covered toffee even though I am certain that isn’t on the dieta plan. It was a needed treat on a long travel day — and deliciously worth it. LATAM has good food.
Landing in Lima was smooth. My bag arrived right away. Immigration was quick. I got to feel the way it feels to follow the signs for foreigners. I feel welcomed in Peru by the people. I don’t take that for granted, knowing the heavy legacy and reputation Americans have everywhere we go. I do my very best to be a good representative.
My driver I had prearranged was a bit late, so I didn’t get to have the experience of seeing my name on a sign, but he was very kind and drove me the 40 minutes to my Airbnb in the neighborhood of Miraflores. My check-in was not easy as promised because the person in the lobby was waiting to hear back from his boss before he gave me the keys, so I had to wait maybe 20 minutes, which felt like a lifetime after almost 40 hours of no sleep and an 18-hour travel day, even though it all went smoothly.
I finally got in at about 11:30 p.m. I took a shower and went to bed. In my stupor, I thought that my US plugs didn’t work in the outlets. Last year I had brought this big square converter and voltage thing that took up a bunch of space in my bag and wasn’t really worth it. So I didn’t bring that again, but then the idea that I wouldn’t be able to charge my phone and computer was not going to work at all. So I made a plan to go buy an outlet adapter, stock up on water and get some groceries in the morning.
These are the only photos that I took.
