With serendipitous alignment of the travel gods, i find myself poolside at my sister’s lovely house in Miami. Because I’m a frugal traveler from time to time, i booked really cheap flights to get to Miami for my outbound flight to Lima, Peru around midnight tonight The downside to a $230 round trip air fare is that you go when the seat is available — which was 6 am this morning, getting me to the Miami Third World International Airport at 10:30 am. Leaving me with over 12 hours to kill…
The upside to having a sister in Miami? See my opening line… Her partner works from home, and despite my horrible short notice (Saturday) that I’d be in town for a few hours, she agreed to retrieve me from the airport to chill at the Miami crib. She’s got work to do, and i’m a big fan of staying out of the way when crashing in on people unexpectedly, so life is good
Some random neural firings as i FINALLY have a few moments to consider the forces that brought me here…
– i can pack for a two week international trip in about 4 hours. Only one hour was spent on clothing and toiletries. The other three? Electronics, camera, chargers, music, headphones… i am carrying a backpack loaded with enough semiconductors, resistors, wiring and printed circuit boards to open my own Silicon Valley chop shop.
– i still have no idea where the fuck i’m going. OK. The big picture? Sure. Flying into Lima, then on to Cuzco (heart of the Incan civilization). From there? i dunno. Knocking around Peru for about six days, then flying to Quito, Ecuador (i think) to somehow get on a tiny ship that will haul my confused ass around the Galapagos for three days. And i’m flying home on the 20th. i think i get back to Miami on the 19th, but i’m really not clear on this…
– i’m spending 12 days in close quarters with a man i barely know. hope he’s tough… this could get ugly…
– Free floating anxiety last night jacked my attempt to get 4 hours sleep. See two previous items above. i seem to have completely abdicated control and awareness for this trip to my travel mates. They said “get to Miami” and i said “OK”. Up until yesterday, that had been the extent of my travel preparations.
– Driving back from The Park yesterday, i stooped at a Geek-A-Rific Super Store and bought a very juicy-hot camera. Canon Elph or something. It’s blue. The thing I like best? i can put it in my bra. It’s that small! Since I’m used to having my cell phone there, it’ll be comforting to feel the cool chill of electronics against my breast…
– Although i got distracted with that whole moving house thing and didn’t make arrangements to sneak in SCUBA on this trip, i learned from one of my travel mates that the snorkeling in the Galapagos is pretty amazing. Apparently the sea lions are friendly and playful, and will blow bubbles in your face. If i get Sea Lion Loogie on my mask, that one will end up on the Flickr site for sure…
– i really don’t remember what i was thinking six months ago when i decided to do this. My travel style is very much like hitchhiking to nowhere in particular. Things pop up (Iceland two years ago, Spain last summer) and i just say “cool”. And i buy tickets and go. Maybe i should put more thought into these things. But hey… i’m all in at this point. Hope i packed enough underwear gear.
Better dig out my Lonely Planet guides and see if i can locate my itinerary. Would probably be good to have some idea of where I’m going before i get on a plane tonight. Then again, i’ve always enjoyed surprises. Maybe i’ll just take a nap while the breeze is so nice here…
Trailer Park Refugee 