Current location:	Lima, Peru
Current mood:	uncomfortable

From Santa Cruz to Lima
I spent my day quite happily in Santa Cruz, only slightly concerned that my plans to meet up with src had not yet materialised. I was able to leave my luggage in my room, as there was nobody scheduled to check in after me, and retain the key for the rest of the day, effectively giving me an extra day`s worth at the B&B.

Once this was sorted out, I walked into downtown and managed to find a perfectly-fitting bathing suit at Goodwill for about five dollars. This made me happy. Then I wandered aimlessly for a bit, stopping at a coffeehouse for a chai with soy milk. There was a group of students seated round the corner who had obviously never heard of the tradecraft concept, discussing their planned marijuana buys for the following weekend. I was amused and wondered briefly if pot had been decriminalised in SCruz or if they were just incredibly clueless. I decided on the latter.

From there I felt a need to see my old stomping grounds and headed that way. I had planned to walk but a bus showed up at just the right time and I took it to the Capitola Mall. As we approached, I got more and more nostalgic and teary, to the point where I was snuffling audibly. This continued as I walked the remaining leg down to the village. I sat on a bench and whimpered for a while, looking out at the ocean. It was a textbook perfect day, sunny and about 20C/70F. I tried to just enjoy it, but it felt like I´d been living with a chunk of my soul missing for such a long time that I´d stopped even noticing it, then had it all rush back in at once. I suspect that this is why I engineered this trip to spend so little time where I desperately needed to be. I don´t know what to do about it - maybe actually carry through on my eternal plan of just hanging out in SCruz and letting people come to me. I tried it in 2006 but was accompanied by my friend J whom I know from Florida and Peru, and since she`d been living there, she was less enthused about my Santa Crustacean tendencies.

I pulled myself together and had lunch, which probably helped. Then I set out to walk back to town along the beachfront. I made it to 7th and Capitola Road before discretion overcame valor and I caught a bus back downtown. I had a feeling it would be a long night and didn`t want to be completely exhausted.

This was a smart move, because src had had a hellish day and was in no condition to drive anywhere, let alone down to SCruz. Once I confirmed this, I fell into a bit of a tizzy. My brain seemed jammed and I couldn´t decide what to do next. So I called the long-suffering xthread and was pathetic at him for a few minutes. He suggested that if I could get myself up over the hill, he could make sure I got to his place to crash before my early-morning flight out of SFO. I must have known this was going to happen in the back of my mind, because I`d picked up a schedule for the Highway 17 bus when I got back into town from the beach.

Talking to him helped me focus. I called a cab to take me to the bus station (it was walking distance but less so with all my stuff). It came and duly dropped me off, though I was unimpressed with the service - no help loading or unloading. Still, it was an order of magnitude cheaper than my first thgouht, which had been getting a cab from SCruz up to San Jose. (The old Santa Cruz Aiport Shuttle that I`d planned on taking was no longer in service.)I still had to unload and load my bags, but at least I was only paying $4 for the privilege.

Upon arrival at the San Jose train station, it occurred to me that I could just take CalTrain up to SF and make my own way to xthread`s place, sparing him any further disruption of his evening. I called him and told him of this, and he agreed that this was a sane plan. By 2200, I was back in the city, and at his place again by 2230 (though the SF cabbie was just as lame as the one in SCruz, with the added disadvantage of having to look up where he was going).

The next order of business was arranging an airport shuttle. I found a few numbers online and called around until I found one that still had vacancies for the early morning. I arranged for an 0500 pickup, then tried to check in for my flight. I was stymied in this by not having the requisite confirmation number, etc. and decided that I´d have plenty of time to do it at the airport. I took a much-appreciated shower and crashed, leaving xthread a note to absolve him of any further responsibility. This was around 2300.

I woke up at 0200 and then only dozed for intervals before giving up and getting up at 0330. I was just getting ready to start dragging things downstairs when the shuttle arrived, some 10 minutes early. This was a completely different experience from the cabs: the driver was helpful, competent, and friendly, for the same price as my cab fare from the train station earlier. I can heartily recommend American Airporter to anyone wanting to get from SF to the airport.

Once there, I found that my reservation was not in fact with Alaska Airlines as shown on my paperwork but with American. This meant an extra 10-min walk, with me completely laden down with stuff. I`d forgotten that baggage carts weren`t free for domestic flights and I didn´t have money on me to rent one. I decided that it was good exercise, though I was very grateful to get my bags checked in. My fears of being charged for check-in or excess weight proved groundless, which was nice, and I set off for my gate feeling duly relieved and somewhat puzzled at how flustered I`d been before. It`s not like I don`t have plenty of travel experience, after all.

The flight to LAX was short, sweet, and uneventful. Security was as hassle-free as could reasonably be expected.

Once arrived, I checked in for my Lima flight and headed for the gate. There was a freestanding kiosk with electrical outlets, into which I plugged my Freeloader in anticipation of iPod use. While I was there, a woman appeared to charge up her phone, and I was an inadvertent eavesdropper on her. She was a Peruvian lady whose daughter had apparently just died, so her conversations were quite emotional. When she was done, I told her I was really sorry for her loss, and we struck up a minimal conversation (she was too distraught for much more). I made a mental note to send her good vibes in my next ceremony.

The flight to Lima was 8 hours, and moderately uncomfortable because the plane was packed. My seatmate was a Taiwanese lady heading to Chile to sell bicycles. She spent most of the flight asleep, making her hard to climb over. Still, apart from some turbulence, it was an uneventful run. I watched three movies: Unforgiven, which I`d always wanted to see; Philadephia Story, and most of Troy.

We got into Lima around 2345. Immigration and Customs went smoothly, and I`ve been waiting around ever since. The bathroom calls, so I`ll wrap up for now.