Waiting

The marshmallow bed was glorious but I awoke at the crack of dawn in time to capture the sun rising over Texas. 

That was around 6:30am and I managed to fill in time until checkoutcat 11:00am. My flight leaves at 8:00pm and I thought of goung on a tour but couldn’t find anything to fit with my times. So what does a girl do but go to the Mall. I was assured it was bug and it was great. Neither were true. 

Worst of all the food options were very limited so after eating a bad chinese and wandering the shops I gave up. Walmart was close. I figured that might be more interesting. It wasn’t but I did find a bag I had been searching for so the visit wasn’t wasted. 

Returning to the hotel I waited. Once again for the 3:00pm shuttle which left at 3:15pm.  Then for a change I waited. This time for the AirNZ counter to open. That sorted and my bag dropped off, boarding passes in hand I waited in line for immigration. 

I’m not sure why the US is thought of as the most advanced country in the world. The airport is pre historic, no information boards, no facilities and endless queues. The terminal I leave from has one restaurant to serve everyone. I looked in an with the prices they wanted I left. 

Instead I found a bench seat next to a phone charger, plugged in the phone and had forty winks. I was soon joined by a british lady trying to get her tablet to charge. We ended up sharing plugs and chatting. 

While sitting there I spied an Illy sign and off I shot to investigate. Sure enough it was a vending machine which delivered me a respectable espresso, albiet in a throw away cup. I had been hanging out for one all day. I remembered my last visit to this airport where I couldn’t find a coffee other than at Starbucks and that doesn’t count as coffee. 

I’m now sitting in a burger joint at another terminal waiting for some fries. I’ll get fed on the plane but I need food now!  I’m waiting. 

The truffle fries were worth waiting for.  Now I’m waiting. Waiting for cabin crew to arrive so we can board. 

Waiting is over and we board, slightly delayed but we are on our way. I checked out the movies and fir once there were a few I wanted to watch. Bohemian Rhapsody was the chouce and I sat a boogied my way through to movie, tears running down my face at the end. Freddie Mercury is one of my heroes and still to this day some of my favourite songs are his. Dinner is served and an excellent meal it was too. Grilled tarragon chicken with mash and spinach. An absolute delight. 

Lights out, and it was for me too. After a bit of tossing and turning I fell into the deepest sleep and struggled to wake up. 

My adventure is nearly over. Not my most enjoyable trip and certainly not the easiest but I’m glad the last enjoyable few days are now front if mind and I’m hankering for home. 

The sun comes up above the clouds. Its nearly daylight and Auckland is within our sights. 

Arriving in Auckland I felt quite emotional hearing the waiata and passing under the entrance to what could have been a marae. I’m home. 

I knew customs was a doddle in Auckland. 1 minute in a queue, 30 secs to scan my passport and I’m outta there. 

I was expecting Biosecurity to want to check my wooden item and clean my shoes since I had been in Central America where there are crawlies that we dont want. When the officer heard I had already cleaned my shoes she just waved me through. Woohoo.  

My bag was waiting by the time I got to the carousel and I was out of the terminal within 20 minutes of arrival. Whooooohooooo. 

Now I am waiting. Waiting for my last flight, back to Wellington. With espresso in hand I am a happy girl. Even my sausage McMuffin was a treat. 

And just like that my adventure is over. I haven’t enjoyed the tour at all but the time I spent in Guatemala was fantastic. I’m glad I have my blog so I can remind myself that there were some great parts of my trip. For now I’m happy to be home and in my own bed. I’m still looking for the bin to put toilet paper in instead of flushing but I’m sure I’ll get over that. The laundry is almost all done and my bags are emptied. Back to the real world.