Tuesday to Wednesday, March 22nd to 23rd - Rurrenebaque, Boliva to Orlando, Florida

Tuesday, March 22nd was definitely a different day.  We got to sleep in a bit and then we finished our packing and went back down the street to the bakery for breakfast.  There we met several others we had met on our jungle/pampas tour.  Some of them had been booked on the early flight but it was delayed a couple of hours so they were still in town.  Others were flying out with us or later.   

After breakfast we went back to our hotel, relaxed for a bit and then caught a cab to the airport only to find out that our 12:30 flight was delayed and we weren't on it anyway.   Apparently weather problems caused a cancellation yesterday and they were still trying to catch up.   They put last night's passengers on the first flight of the morning and then those who were supposed to be on the first flight went to the second flight and so on.  Because they had no way to get in touch with us we were  pushed back to 4:00 but they said it should be leaving by 3:00.  We decided to just stay at the airport and spent the afternoon at the snack bar or cantina outside.  The airport only had one general waiting area and one departures lounge and not a lot of conveniences.  There were bathrooms outside but you sometimes had to shoo out the dogs that were sleeping there before you could use it and there wasn't a lot of water for washing your hands.  Once I had to shoo the pigs away.

The little shop sold mainly coffee and snacks but they did serve a lunch that looked quite good.  Unfortunately, I waited too long and lunch was over when I ordered so I had a sandwich which was tasty.  And I'm glad I had it because by the time we got on the plane and flew to our hotel in La Pas it was close to 6 p.m.  My bakery breakfast would definitely not have lasted.  The plane was full of course, which is only about 20 people - one aisle with a seat on each side, but it was a great flight.  From Rurrenebaque at 400 metres above sea level to La Pas at 4,000 metres above sea level involves going over some beautiful snow-capped mountains and it was a beautiful day to see them.

Once back in La pas we caught a taxi downtown to our usual hotel, Las Brisas.  Gillian had booked a room as her flight was not until the next morning.  Randy and I were heading for the airport about midnight so we were just hanging out in the lobby and in GIllian's room until that time.  The big surprise was that the guide we had for our tour of Bolivia was back at the hotel with another GAdventure group so we got to have a short visit with her before she ran off for dinner with her group.

Because I had three connecting flights and was ending up in the U.S. I wanted to get online and get my seats and boarding passes and fill out all the required documents.  Well, luckily I did want to do this because the airline said I did not have a ticket.  Randy went online and they said he had a ticket so, since we were both on the same flight out of La Pas, I knew something was wrong with my reservation.  Randy has Skype on his computer so I called Aeroplan (my flight was on points) and sure enough I did not have a flight.  Their records showed some sort of an error with issuing the ticket but apparently it had never been corrected.  The lady was very helpful and put me on hold for a while as she had to talk to someone else and eventually they had me all booked on the same flights as originally scheduled so no need to change plans.  I was impressed with how quickly and pleasantly they solved the problem.

We went next door to the British pub for dinner and had a great meal.  I had to order a piece of cake so Gillian could put a birthday candle in it for me and then we all shared it.  The waitress then brought over a B52 which she lit as my birthday drink.  It was quite delicious!  It was a good last evening together for the three of us and a great way to start my birthday celebration.

About midnight we said our goodbyes.  Gillian went to bed to get some sleep before her morning flight and Randy and I headed to the airport.  We were there in lots of time but the flight left on time and it was a good flight so I managed to get a couple of hours of sleep.  In Bogota, Colombia, Randy went off to start his Colombian adventure and I continued on to Panama City and then Orlando.  All of the flights were good and the waits in between were not too long, but because they were daytime flights, I certainly didn't get much sleep.  I did watch the new Star Wars movie though so that was good.  And of course I ate a little.  First class on these flights wasn't as fancy as on the Africa to South America flight but it was still okay.

I arrived in Orlando a bit early, got my bag and cleared customs about 4:30.  I then checked e-mails and let Don and Max know I had arrived and would be waiting outside for them when they arrived.   They picked me up about 5:30, as expected, and we headed toward Zephyrhills.  We stopped at the Olive Garden for dinner and there were eight others (Ed & Rita, John & Ardele, Pat & Diane, Gary & Gay) there to join us for my birthday dinner.  It was great to see everyone and the first time the four Brooks siblings had been together in three years.  We had a great dinner and then went back to Forest Lake Estates where Rita had birthday cake ready.  It too was delicious!

By 10:00 I was totally ready for bed, having only had a couple of hours of sleep the night before.  It had been a great travel day and a great birthday but I was exhausted.  And now that I'm in Florida I feel like my long trip is over.  I guess that means this place is starting to feel like home.  I probably won't be back in Kelowna until the end of May or beginning of June but for the next two months I will be with family and friends in familiar places.   As a result, this will likely be my last post for this trip.  Kind of neat to end it on my birthday and with family!