Off to South America!

Today was my travel day down to South America! I packed and prepared until about 3:10AM, then took a nap until about 3:45AM and got ready to head to the airport. Typically Mossy packing scenario. As usual I changed which suitcase I was taking after having packed most stuff in my backpack when I realized it was a tight fit due to all the medical stuff I had to bring with me. It all worked out though because now the packing isn't very tight and I have room in case I acquire anything down there. Anyways, after getting ready Caitlin came in our Lyft and we headed to the airport. My bag was 47 lbs and the bag with all my donations was 50.0 lbs, so JUST made it without having to pay! Score. I got pre check as usual, so got through security very easily and waited for Caitlin to go through the regular line. We then sat at the gate for a bit before boarding the first flight to Miami! 

(Black and white really makes us look less tired!)

The flight to Miami was uneventful and I slept so deeply I don't remember taking off and I only woke up when we landed. I would say that is the definition of a great flight! I also had no one in the seat next to me which doesn't hurt. 

When we landed in Miami we decided that the airport was definitely not a fun place to hang out for five hours, so we caught a cab to the beach. The driver tried to charge us $5 extra but we caught it and all was well. We walked on the beach a bit and then sat down and enjoyed the ocean and the warm breeze. There were a ton of Portuguese man-of-wars all over the beach too. They are really cool looking, but definitely not something I want to be stepping on! 

Portuguesa Man-of-War

Miami Beach

Seagull caught a little fishy

After walking on the beach we went to lunch at a place called Puerto Sagua where I had pork stew with rice and maduras. Definitely a yummy lunch. We then walked a bit more and laid down on the grass near the beach to enjoy a little more warmth (but in the shade this time). We eventually caught an Uber back to the airport. There was a surprising amount of traffic, but we had plenty of time. 

Once we got to the airport we got through security quite easily. We decided not to take the tram within the airport so we walked from D20 something to D50 and by the time we got to our gate the flight was starting to board! Good timing. 

 The plane wasn't my favorite. One of the less comfortable planes I've been on with small seats that have a fairly low back and little leg room. The lady next to me also encroached on my space frequently which drove me mad! On the plane I watched Carrie (the new one with Chlöe Grace Moretz, not the original) since it was downloaded on my iPad and then played some games and read a little. I'm finally reading the diary of Anne Frank, probably many years later than I should have. It's quite good. Anyways, the flight was overall uneventful. 

When we landed in Lima there was a long line through immigration, but it was smooth. We then went to baggage claim and three of our four bags were out. My donation bag eventually came and we went through customs with some difficulty. They made us sit there for about 15 minutes while checking out the vitamins, but luckily we had both printed out the donation letter and we eventually got through. My suitcase was a casualty though, as the zipper fully busted on the Salvation Army buy. We had some tape and taped it together and hopefully that will hold until we get to Iquitos. 

Bag problems led to a hasty tape job!

After getting through customs our taxis drivers were there to meet us. Somehow they had booked us two taxis so we took separate ones to the hostel. The drive was nice, but it was dark so I couldn't see much. We got to the hostel and got all checked it without any issues. The place is nice and all the people here are really nice, so I'm excited to check out the city tomorrow!