Thursday, March 26, 2009

We're Home

We arrived home yesterday afternoon, and immediately, we were swamped with all this stuff to do that had accumulated while we were gone. And it is far from over. I still need to go pick up our mail and go through that, the living room looks like a bomb hit it [not all our fault - Samuel and Ben are also home for spring break], etc.

However, all things considered, it was a wonderful trip. Despite the 7.5 hour flight from Bogota, Columbia to LAX, and two more hours on Southwest to Albuquerque yesterday, there was only an hour of time zone difference for us, from Ecuador to home, now that we are on Daylight time, so jet lag is really not an issue. However, last night at home in our own bed, we really slept well. On the other hand, some things about being home are not so fun. I only realized this morning that while in Ecuador, I sneezed no more than once a day, on average. I have already sneezed more times since I got home than I did all our time in Ecuador.

And while I think of it, let me mention that, annoying as airport security is in the US, it is worse in Columbia, where we had a connecting flight. It went like this: We arrived in Bogota on the flight from Quito, walk down a long concourse, where we have no contact with the outside world whatever, and immediately we are faced with a security checkpoint. Shed anything with metal in it, and then reassemble yourself on the far side, belts, shoes, pockets, etc. Then up the stairs or escalator, and there is another checkpoint, this time for drugs, I guess, where people in army uniforms paw through your bags and you are frisked down in a rather intimate fashion. Then hurry on down the concourse, where, when you arrive at the boarding gate, you have to go through another security checkpoint, where once again you have to shed shoes, belt, and all other metal, and then reassemble yourself on the far side. And we could see that as we went through this checkpoint that they were already boarding the plane for our flight to LAX. The logic of taking airline passengers who had to clear security to get on the arriving plane, and then running them through all these additional screenings escapes me, although the drug screening may be prudent, given Columbia's issues with the cocaine trade, but regardless, I will avoid the Bogota airport in the future, if possible.

I will probably not add more to this blog, now that we are home, although if reflections or recollections from the trip float to the surface, I may add them. I hope that all who have followed our adventures have enjoyed this account. I surely enjoyed writing it, and I am very glad to have it as a record of the trip. If you have questions, please e-mail me at gpforeman@gmail.com and I will try to answer them.

1 comment:

  1. Welcome home. I can't wait to see the pictures when you get them!

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