Travel Diary - Day Fifty

Day Fifty – Outta Here
Sunday 18 Oct 09

And I thought all my other starts were early. Hah! I laugh in the face of…well, maybe just nod off . The taxi was due to arrive at 3:30am so I set my alarm for 2:45 to allow time for a shower and get myself sorted. The alarm went off, I got up and began my shower only to be called half-way through to be told the taxi had arrived. That’s not fair!! It was early. In the end I decided to finish my shower and the taxi could jolly well wait. As it was I managed to leave behind my razor and mirror and shampoo. Sod it! Dawn and Kaoma were waiting for me by the taxi – I think they thought maybe I had done a runner or something – after all I had been threatening. We got my bags loaded in the car, said a quick farewell to Kaoma and we were off. The distance to be covered wasn’t all that great, but we’re in Guyana. Here 10km can take half an hour allowing for holes in the road and bizarre traffic. In the end it didn’t really take all that long but it felt like it. Part of that was not wanting to be making the trip in the first place. Dawn and I were both fiddling around looking for something to take our minds off the fact that we were leaving. And then Dawn realised she had left her hat behind, a special one at that. She rang Kaoma to look for it. To the best of my knowledge it has disappeared, no-one knows where it went.

We arrived at the airport and lined up to check in. There were a few people there but we moved through quite quickly. Dawn and I went up together so we could get seats together and the story really begins to kick into gear. I thought I was a little over my weight limit – 21.7kg, but it turned out that the limit was 23kg – not sure where that one came. But I was good. Then Dawn, who had wanted to be with me in case I had too much and she could take some of my excess put her bag on the scale – 34kg. Even grabbing the little extra I could share we weren’t going to even get in the ballpark on that one. It cost $US50 to get through that one. Then came the check of the hand luggage. I was right on the spot, no problem again. Dawn’s was twice the limit. The girl looked at here, shrugged and indicated she had already paid. We got tickets next to each other and proceeded to the security checks. Stop 1: the scanner. I went first and sailed through, no issues there. Then Dawn went through and she was asked to undergo a bag check. They have these, generally randomly in all the airports I have been in. Your number comes up, someone goes through your bag. I have no idea exactly what they’re looking for, but I guess it can act as a deterrent. It sure acts as a frustration factor for those being checked! So they went through Dawn’s bag and then three of us, the inspector, Dawn and I wrestled with the bag to get it closed – no mean feat I have to say. We carried on to the lounge where Dawn made a phone call and I was ordered to collect a large cup of tea and whatever I wanted. That was no problem. I had a hot chocolate for the first time since I have been here I think. Doubt I’ll attempt to repeat the experience. I downed most of it because I was thirsty, but it wasn’t good!

Then came the call for boarding. As per usual you take out your passport and ticket for the mostly cursory scan and then, randomly some people are requested to have their bags checked. Guess who got it this time – Yep – Dawn again. So, through the whole process again, although this time the young gentleman at least appeared a little more apologetic about the process. Finally over with and onto the plane. The plane was only part full and so we had a three seater to ourselves. I was quietly becoming more distressed the further from any point of return we travelled and so was Dawn. We sat and talked about different things as we waited for the plane to do its thing. Finally there was that bump to say taxiing was beginning and I looked one way and Dawn looked the other. If there could have been any viable way off that plane at the point I’m sure I would have taken it right then. The wheels of the plane began rumbling down the runway and as the plane lifted off I wept and I repeated a promise I had made earlier and one that I intend to keep – I’ll be back!

Those of you who remember my trip to India will remember that I loved it, loved the place, it grasped my intellect and I would go back in a moment if the opportunity arrived. I still would. This has been different. Guyana has gotten under my skin and grasped my heart. There are lots of parts to that but in the best way to describe it is that a part of who I am has been returned to me in Guyana – the part that really cares about people, about who they are, what is important to them, what brings them joy and hope and fear and hatred. Not something that has ever been a strong point in my character, it has been mostly missing in action the last few years. And so I feel whole in a way that I have never felt before. That is no small gift and one I intend to make the most of. Part of that means returning and giving to these people what I can offer, not in payment, but because I can give.

Anyhow, the flight to Trinidad & Tobago was pretty uneventful. I got off the plane and Dawn stayed on it for the next leg of her flight. It was cruise through immigration because I wasn’t planning on leaving the airport and then off to collect my bags. All was going well until I saw Dawn’s bag on the belt waiting to be collected. Whoops! I went to the luggage office and told them what was going on but they made no effort to inform the plane or anything, and to the best of my knowledge Dawn took off and her luggage simply waved farewell. At least someone on the ground knew what the story was, I can only hope that makes the return process a little easier. I cruised through baggage check – they didn’t even run me through a machine, just waved me on and I settled in for my 9 hour wait for the next part. I poked around for a little while until the left luggage office opened so I could dump my big bag there and wander less encumbered around the airport. The poking around really amounted to finding a halfway decent chair, not too difficult, and then sitting down and trying not to fall asleep. Not sure why I didn’t want to fall asleep – it would have taken seconds – but there we are. After a while I found my way back to the luggage office and dumped my bag. Then I converted some $US to T&T money – YES! I’ve been wanting some of that . Bought a couple of bottles of drink and discovered that the fastfood spot had free wireless. So for the next several hours I sat, wrote, read, ate a burger, watched planeloads of people come and go, took short walks in sight of my gear and generally filled in time.

Eventually I got bored with my own company and packed up and went wandering again. It was getting close to the time I could check my bag so I went and retrieved it, found a chair close to the Copa Airlines spot and settled down to read a book. Actually I wasn’t reading it so much as glancing in its general direction and wondering what the black stuff on the page was. In fact I was so far gone that when Kelly came up and touched the back of my neck it was definitely a wakeup call. She and Brendah had not had to leave until 11am and had managed a good night’s sleep. Nice for some! They were catching a flight to Gatwick that was due to leave 2 minutes after mine. So we sat around and talked and laughed for ages before I went to get my bag checked and they went to do theirs. We agreed to meet in the flight lounge. This time around it was my turn for a bag check. The checks are random at so many levels. Random people are chosen, and as far as I could tell the checks themselves are random. The girl looking at my bag looked in less than half the possible spots. In saying that, the way my bag is packed you could get lost in there and need a search party to get you out! In the end she was happy, zipped me up and sent me on my way.

The Check-in girl from Copa was lovely. Actually, to be honest I haven’t met a check-in person I haven’t liked while I have been away. Every single one has been friendly, helpful and most pleasant. I asked for an emergency exit seat on my flights and got one, even though I don’t know Spanish. I told them I know what Salida (exit) means, and after that, how much do you really need? They laughed and agreed and I was in. Unfortunately the flight from Panama wasn’t so good – it was overbooked by twenty people and I was, apparently, lucky to get a seat at all. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. It wasn’t such a bad seat – by the window toward the front, definitely worse places to be on a plane. Once I was checked in I went on through immigration – a bit of a mickey mouse affair, but there we go, and waited for the girls just before the scanning process – that’s because there is café that does great smoothies and has free wireless access, and the seating is ultra comfortable. Recommended if you are ever waiting in the T&T airport. While I was waiting I decided to use up what was left of my T&T dollars and bought a t-shirt. It’s not that different to what you can buy anywhere else in the world, but it does have Trinidad and Tobago on it. I liked it anyway.

The girls arrived and we had a few laughs at each other’s expenses and then Brendah decided it was time to go through the gate. It was way early really, but I can understand her wanting to be there in plenty of time. I have feeling that on a not irregular basis, although for me it’s generally at the check-in stage. Once I’m through that, the airline makes a pretty good effort to ensure you’re not left behind. We did a round of farewells there – I wasn’t in any real hurry to go through to the next lounge, the waiting doesn’t go any quicker and there’s no wireless. After a while though I succumbed to the time printed on my ticket and made my way through the security check, found another seat – at least they do good seating here, and read a book. Then Kelly turned up again – it’s all about finding things to do to relieve the tedium. She was busily texting and talking to all sorts of people. Botswana has just had elections and a fairly major change in political parties and she was all excited about what was going on. She was also still trying to contact Lindsey and Dawn about the bag. Given Dawn’s experience at Georgetown I’m picking she wasn’t a happy camper when she found out what had happened to her gear!

But on with the story. I suddenly heard my name being paged and thought, OK, what have I done now. Turned out that the girl who had checked me in had forgotten to collect my departure form. I had known it needed to be handed in at some point and still had it and here was my opportunity. It just happened on be on national TV, well not really, but when you get a call like that absolutely everyone turns to see what is happening. It was just a matter of passing her the offending piece of paper and all was good. I decided that since I was already standing up I might as well make it a little dramatic in people’s minds by turning around and marching down the length of the terminal hall looking like I had somewhere to be. I did, but I wasn’t telling them I just needed to go to the toilet .

Eventually the BA flight to Gatwick boarded and we continued to wait. The flight had been held up and we ended up leaving nearly 30min late. It was a pleasant enough flight, but I was really just trying to wind myself up for the next on – just a bit longer. And all the while travelling further from where I wanted to be. Sounds awful in a way – after all, I should be excited to be coming home. I am, kind of, but…not sure how to finish that particular sentence.

The turnaround in Panama City was quick and easy. They have got a very nice terminal. Definitely a place to be if you have a long layover. Good food, good shops, good comfortable seats, powerpoints for laptops, haven’t checked for wifi. A recommended airport! Then for the less good part. Having boarded the plane we sat on the tarmac for nearly an hour waiting for someone to arrive. I can’t complain too loudly, I slept through most of it, but talk about tiresome. Finally underway and I fell asleep again, only waking when my neighbour nudged me to say dinner was served. Dinner was ok – kind of shepherds pie, but my guts were really starting to play up by now and although I ate the meal I can’t say it took any pleasure in it. Then back to sleep – I had no problem sleeping for nearly 7hours of the 8 hour flight. Probably would have slept the whole thing given half a chance.

And finally we were in Argentina. But this is another day by now, so I’ll take up the story on the next page.