I can write about it now. Now that it's all over and I have actually set foot on Canadian soil --the best Canadian soil that is, which happens to be, in my estimation, Vancouver Island. Best soil. Best people. Best air. Best altitude: sea level. Hallelujah!
But, seriously, do you want to know what I went through to get here? It's a story of mesmerizing magnificence combined with trauma and intrigue and layered with maleficence --just as I knew it would be. I expected nothing less, even when it seemed as though I'd be stuck in Mexico for a very long time.
There were blockades before me every step of the way. The first one was right in the airport in Cusco. And, of course it had to do with money because the enemy of my soul knows that money is my nemesis. I went to get my boarding pass at the Airline Agency and was told that I needed to pay $40 US ($56 Canadian) for my carry-on. Now, that didn't make sense since carry-on was supposed to be free, according to the ticketing agent. Yes, you had to pay for check-in bags, but not for carry-on or one personal item you were allowed to take on the plane with you. But, I went to an ATM to get the money.
That's when I discovered that my debit/Mastercard was not working. (That's another story in itself with regards to a block on my bank card due to an unauthorized online payment. However, my bank had UNblocked the card, so what was the problem?) Well, after trying three different ATM's, I went to Information to ask if there was another ATM around or even a Western Union. I knew I could use Western Union by going on my laptop and sending myself money. But, no, there wasn't one anywhere near the airport. I was told there were no ATM's near the airport either. However, a security agent offered to take me outside and around a barricade to another part of the airport to try an International ATM --also unsuccessful at retrieving money. Back to Information.
I stood there, "hat in hand" so to speak, utterly forlorn and unable to come up with a solution, planning to go back to my landlord and ask him for the key back so I could return to my Cusco rental. Then, I heard the Information girl (a lovely girl) say, "How can I trust you to pay me back if I lend you the money?" (WHAT?) That was a great question. A delightful question, under the circumstances. I thought about it. At length, I remembered that my granddaughter lived in Cusco and she could be my go-between. So, I gave my granddaughter's phone number to the girl at Information and we made a deal that she could get reimbursed through her.
The Information girl gave me 160 soles. She couldn't get 155 out of the ATM. And that was a good thing because when I had to pay for my luggage at the boarding gate, they charged me 158 soles. AND they wanted to put my carry-on bag as check-in. I refused to allow that since I knew it would take too long in Lima for me to collect my bag before the next flight. They reluctantly allowed me "an exception" to carry my carry-on onto the plane! Go figure.
Let this be a lesson for all you cheap flight seekers. Hidden costs. Not just "select-your-seat" costs, insurance costs, "buy-an-inflight-meal" costs, Kiwi Guarantee costs, hotel or rental car costs, preferential boarding costs, or any other ways they can charge you extra, but there are hidden costs, too. These are the costs you don't find out about until you're about to board. (In the small print Kiwi warns you that if you don't check-in with them, there could be check-in fees for which Kiwi will reimburse you. I have yet to see whether or not I will be reimbursed. When you try to check in with Kiwi, you get an air message that Kiwi is unable to check you in and you must check in with the Airline.)
So, I was able to leave Cusco. What a relief! I had a chance to be down at sea level again in Lima. During the 1 1/2 hour flight, we were given a FREE small cup of water AND a tiny cube of chocolate. BONUS.
In Lima, when I went to check in, there was a charge. Of course there was a charge. But, it wasn't for checking-in. It was for a tourist charge for landing in Mexico that had to be paid in Lima! At the airport in Lima, by the way, nobody knows where anything is. You more-or-less have to find it yourself. I was able to find the airline agency eventually after going around in circles a couple of times before someone sent me downstairs. (The airline agencies are downstairs.)
I tried my card again in Lima at the ATM's and found they would not accept my card. Therefore, when I was told there was a charge, my heart felt faint once more. I thought, "I can find an Air BNB, right? It might be nice to stay in Lima a while..." But, when the check-in agent took my card, I was shocked to see that my card worked. So! That means there's no block on my bank card after all.
The flight to Cancun was a little boring. I had a window seat but it was too dark outside to see anything. The upside was that the air hostesses allowed us to sleep through the entire flight without bothering us with food or drink.
Landing in Cancun, I had a tight schedule. I had only 2 hours and 25 minutes to get everything done and get on my flight to Canada. It was touch and go for a while. First, I had to go through Immigrations, fill out the form and find the shuttle to Terminal 4.
There was security for entering another country so our bags had to go through the scanner to get to Immigrations. Then, when that was done, it was onward to the free shuttle.
Alas, I was intercepted by a taxi promoter who insisted that I needed to take a taxi or I would most certainly miss my plane. He informed me that the free shuttle was not dependable. It could show up in a half an hour or an hour or even two hours. Who knew? (This was all a lie, but how could I know that? He wouldn't allow me to get close to the free shuttle to find out.)
I tried to pay for the taxi with my card, thinking for sure my card would work in Mexico. But, it didn't. So, this taxi promoter took me back inside the airport to a group of ATM machines. They didn't work either. Back outside to try a different taxi payment method. Didn't work. I was left with no choice but the free shuttle. It was either that, or go find an Air BNB in Cancun. Not a bad prospect, but not quite good enough. I wanted to GO HOME.
When I got to the Free Shuttle stop zone, I noticed a digital sign telling the time for the next shuttle. But the shuttle showed up less than a minute later! It had been a total rouse that the shuttle was not dependable. The taxi was going to charge $40 US to drive me five blocks! Instead I got to Terminal 4 for free. A kind passenger helped me with my bag and I was on my way to the next check-in.
You should know that normally check-in is done online. But, when you buy a cheap flight with an agency like Kiwi, they quote you a low, low price by avoiding all these "extra charges" which are normally included in the price of the ticket. (My flight was only $500 Canadian to fly all the way from Peru to Canada.)
At the Flair check-in, the agent told me I had to pay $20 for my boarding pass. But he didn't make eye contact. Instead he was examining his computer screen. I knew what the problem was.
"Are you wondering why my passport has a different number? You see, my passport was stolen in Peru and I have a new passport," I said, handing him the Police Report from Peru. "This is the Police Report."
He glanced at me in a sort of frenzy saying, "This is a Police Report from PERU! We need a Police Report from MEXICO," he emphasized. It was as if I was supposed to know that and to have GONE to the Mexican Police to get this VERY important paper for his records so that HE wouldn't get in trouble for allowing a Canadian woman to board a flight back to Canada.
Two men with Canadian passports came up and I was asked to step aside while he dealt with their check-in bags, put labels on them and took their money. As I patiently waited, he glanced at me from time to time saying, "I'll be with you in a moment, lady." I just silently prayed and claimed Bible scriptures. His severe tension was totally lost on me. I was in God's hands, not his.
When the two men left, I said to him (using as much tactful reasoning as possible) "My passport was stolen in Peru, not Mexico."
He got on his phone and spoke in Spanish on and on about this Police Report and the conflicting passport numbers. Another guy showed up to judge the situation. Meanwhile, my flight time is growing nearer. I'm breathing to calm myself. But, I buttoned my lip so this guy would stop calling me "lady". "Just a moment, lady" and "Calm down, lady" and "Lady, this is a different passport number" and "Lady, I can't give you a boarding pass. You won't be able to get on this flight without a Police Report from MEXICO."
By then, I was wondering, "Where do these people come from with these crazy ideas? They're totally freaked out about a piece of paper." The Canadian consulate in Peru said I was fine using my other passport number to buy a flight. I stood silently waiting for the verdict from this frazzled agent.
"Okay," he said, "You can show your Police Report at the security before you board. Your boarding pass is $20."
My card worked again! These check-in desks seem to have the best terminals.
On to security with my boarding pass in hand! They grabbed my carry-on suitcase and I was told to wait. With five minutes to boarding time, I got a little panicky. Actually, I was more than a bit panicked. (In the past, I had missed a flight because of getting held up at security.) My plane could be leaving in ten minutes and I knew that it was probably a very long walk to Gate 60. The woman at security gave me a blank stare when I mentioned that my flight was boarding.
The decision to be made here was: MISS MY FLIGHT or SURRENDER MY PURSE AND SUITCASE at security. Easy. I was NOT going to miss my flight. Not now. Not after all I had gone through to get to this point. I was going to be on that flight to Canada no matter what it took!
I waved good-bye to the security and she waved back at me with no intention of returning my possessions. Then I walked fast past all the shops, down the long halls and towards the gates. Each gate was spread far apart so it was a long walk to Gate 60.
It was boarding time when I arrived. However, nobody was boarding. I asked at the counter when the doors would close and was told I had 20 minutes before they would finish boarding. She said the crew hadn't arrived yet. Great! I had enough time to go back and claim my bags. So, I did.
What a test! I had sacrificed all to get on this flight but now I got all my earthly possessions returned to me. Not only that but there were blessings ahead. I got a WINDOW SEAT with TWO empty seats beside me and my seat was at the back of the plane so that nobody could sit behind me and kick the back of my seat. It was definitely the BEST seat on the plane.
But, that's not all. Flying over the States, I had a perfectly clear view of the ground. We first flew over the Gulf of Mexico, then over Texas. Then the landscape changed as we approached Colorado and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Magnificent. I was gob-smacked. I even got a few amazing pictures with my phone that looked like Google Earth shots.
You can see the wing on the upper right. It seemed to me that, considering the immense size of the plane, that wing was awfully skinny. Don't you think so? Skinny and fragile is what it looked like to me. Here's a picture taken over the Gulf of Mexico. Clear skies all the way as we crossed from Cancun on the Yucatan Peninsula clear across the gulf to Texas.
Once over Texas, I started seeing the earth beneath us all divided up into squares. It was a God's Eye view.
Then there were circles, perfectly round inside of the squares. I couldn't figure out how they got to be so round nor why they were inside of these squares.
I believe we were over Texas for quite a stretch of time because we were flying in a beeline it seemed directly to Vancouver.
After a while the scene changed to lumpy brown ground with speckless off to the side that were trees.
The over 6 hour flight "flew by". It didn't matter that I was hungry. (I hadn't been able to buy anything in the airports since my card wasn't working.) It sort of mattered though that I was thirsty. I started imagining Canadian food. There was a menu in the pocket in front of me with yummy hamburgers and sandwiches pictured in living color. So, I ordered a breakfast sandwich, coffee and water.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am," the airline host said, apologetically, "The only hot food we have is noodle soup. When we boarded the flight, all the other food had been taken."
WHAT? What a strange situation. All the food had been taken? And not replaced? No bread? Nothing?
Well, I got a cup of Raman soup, a bottle of water and a cup of instant coffee and guess what it cost? $15 Canadian. I'd have to wait until I could find a Tim Horton's in Vancouver.
It was tempting to want to kiss the ground when we landed. Beautiful BC. Clean, organized, English. I took the Sky Train from the airport and got off in downtown Vancouver where people were waiting for the light to turn green before crossing the street in orderly fashion while the cars STOPPED to allow the pedestrians to cross. Imagine that. Yes, I was home at last.
There was a Tim Horton's. Of course there was. That's one thing that hasn't changed. I got a medium sized coffee that was twice the size of a coffee in Peru and really hot. The Horseshoe Bay Express bus arrived too late for the 3:45 pm ferry, so I waited in the waiting room, inserting my card into a vending machine that ATE IT. Two security guards helped me jimmy the slot to pull out my card. Then they told me I had put my card into the wrong slot. It was the slot for cash only. The slot above that one was where I should have put it in to pay. But, I was just glad to get my card back and didn't want to take any more chances.
Since I arrived on the island at 8 pm or so, the express bus to Courtenay was not running and I had to take a taxi. The driver said it would cost $300 but he cut me a deal for $250.00 and got a $20 tip. It was raining when we drove into the driveway of my new home.
The lady of the house welcomed me and, after meeting the big Samoyed dog, I went straight to bed. It's a nice, soft double bed in a nice, clean room with a view of the tree-filled yard. The sweet smell of wood burning in the iron stove permeated the house. Cushioned in a tomblike silence, I dozed off.
