Wehrell-ed Travel

I sit in LAX, waiting for what feels like the longest connection ever. Perhaps adding to the increasing agitation is the fact that Zac, Jenna, and I are all in separate seats on the plane. Apparently LAN airlines doesn’t adhere by Orbitz seating requests (or other third party buyers), and we are stuck with whatever leftover seats were lingering. In today’s case the lingering seats are two window seats in separate wings of the plane and an aisle seat somewhere in the middle. Awesome.

My heart dropped as I listened to the customer reps at the LAN airline talk about it. Each spoke in Spanish to one another and I heard a scattered “they can’t sit together,” and “these are the only seats the computer has generated for them.” I mumbled something and the lady just looked at me apologetically. My pleading case of flight anxiety was to no avail. Our plan of action for the flight is to ask the person seated on the aisle next to me to switch aisle seats with Zac. Hopefully they will be flying solo and willing to do so, otherwise I’m going to be one cranky bitch. Also, I’m most afraid that in my xanax stupor no one will wake me up to eat my airline meal. Zac always does it. A stranger can’t guarantee the same security. It may seem a small luxury to some, but I highly look forward to the in flight meals, guessing what’s going to be served and clapping enthusiastically when they put the little butter packet atop a warm roll so it’s slightly melted when I get it.

Now I just have to wait. It’s a slightly off putting way to start the trip, but in the scheme of things it’s no big deal. We all anticipate a really crappy day of traveling. Twenty-four hours of travel time on an hour and a half of sleep (soon to be increased when I get on the plane). We have a four hour layover in LA and a seven and a half hour layover in Lima. Lima requires reclaiming our bags, going through customs, and going through security and again checking our bags. Fortunately we have no rush to do any of these things in the wide time frame. There has been brief discussion (mostly between Zac and me) of getting a hotel at the airport in Lima and snoozing for a few hours before flying to Cuzco where we’ll be greeted by our hostel hosts, get in a quick cat nap, and explore the city for a full day of (hopefully) adventure.
Preparing for this trip felt to be immensely rushed. With my unexpected testing of the AMFTRB national exam and an increase in work, I felt swamped. I didn’t dedicate any time to Peru until Tuesday evening, post test. Wednesday was a dash to complete tasks at work, and Wednesday night, when it felt down to the buzzard, was when I saw my best plays.

First of all, making the decision to stay up all night for an upcoming flight brings with it a perceived increase in energy. I say perceived because it’s not really there. I’m still tired as all hell, cranky, sore, ready to take a bath and go to sleep. Instead I “fake it till I make it,” drink a lot of caffeinated diet soda, and crank up some good dance tunes. Then I pack. Slam dunk because I made a packing list. I’m on top of it.

Staying up all night to prepare for next day travel is really like having a slumber party. Everybody is doing their best to NOT fall asleep and at first it seems like a really, really great idea, but close to midnight you start realizing what it actually means to be up all night and memory reminds you that it actually feels really shitty to try and function with little sleep. By the time this thought hits you, it’s too late. You’ve committed and now you just have to go with it. That was me last night. And I went with it, and going with it led to one of my other favorite pre-travel rituals: take everything out of the fridge and see what you can make with it.

Neither Zac nor I could stick with our original “up all night” plan. We had to improvise, which meant going to bed at one a.m. to be up and fresh for our 4 a.m. town car. First off, yes—we roll in style. Secondly, we roll in style miserably. We were both so tired and rundown that it was hard to enjoy anything about that morning commute other than the knowledge that we were leaving the rain and cold chill creeping in and heading for brighter skies of rugged terrain and indescribable beauty, thirty thousand different varieties of potatoes, and some delicious pisco sours.

I have no idea what to really anticipate with Peru. I go in holding few expectations. To have an idealized vision of this vacation would likely soil the actual adventures to ensue, many of which will likely be terribly uncomfortable or awkward in the moment, but make for delightful memories and hilarious anecdotes at parties. For instance, Jenna has already started off with what might be the most ridiculous statements meant as criticisms that actually reflect compliments. An example: while in security she complained to me that I am “too nice” to strangers. She also just informed me that my writing is “too detailed.” Each made me laugh equally as loud. She’s setting the bar high for her ridiculousness, so let’s see where it goes in the upcoming weeks. Again, I hold few expectations (though I actually do expect quite a bit more of these antics from her…).

Let’s see where this takes us.