Finally in Peru

Back on track

We made it through security and back up to Terminal 4 at the JFK airport. It seems like it’s been awhile since we have been here but it was just last night, I can’t believe we have been here for almost 24hours. I’m surprised at how quickly it has passed but I’m not surprised at how sore I am right now, my back and legs are killing me from sleeping on the tile floor last night. I am actually excited to get to Peru and sleep wherever they can put me because at least I will have my sleeping bag. One of my new friends that we have met on this trip already just came back to let us know that no one around here knows what’s going on, that makes me feel really good about boarding a plane with these people. It seems like anyone could be a flight attendant these days, all you have to say is, well you have to talk to your airline carrier. However, when you call the airline carrier they say “it’s not up to us, it’s up to the airport” makes sense right? Sheesh.

All I’m really getting at here is that hopefully we will be leaving tonight at some point so that we can make it to Peru by morning and catch our connecting flight to Tarapoto from Lima at around 10:00am. That way we can begin our adventures in Peru and not the JFK airport that we have become so familiar with. Even though the people watching is fun it gets quite boring and I can’t stand sitting in one spot any longer. I keep trying to find outlets to plug in my electronics but it’s just useless because they are all taken, you’d think that at this point airports would be more up to date, but I guess not. Luckily, I did get some toothpaste from Charlotte so my teeth don’t have fuzzy slippers on anymore which is a plus. I’m trying to look on the bright side of this all but I am really just ready to be in Peru already.

Getting on the plane

Walking on the plane at 1:00am seems crazy and unreal but I am so happy it is finally happening. I made sure to call my dad and Corey when I got on and into my seat so they knew that we were finally getting out of there. It was a tough phone call because I knew it would be awhile again before I got to talk to either of them on the phone whenever I wanted to. Once I got settled in I took a quick sleeping pill and passed right out. I guess we took off around 2:00am but I slept like a baby right until they served breakfast the next morning. It felt great to sleep somewhere with a cushion even though I was sleeping in a sitting position, I didn’t care. We landed in Lima are 9:30am and rushed to see if we could catch our connecting flight, but with our luck running so well (haha NOT) we missed that as well. It actually worked out though because we didn’t know we had to recheck our baggage either so we had time to go back and I was SO happy to see that my baggage was in Lima with us which meant it would make it to Tarapoto. Something that a lot of people here had to go without for a few days and I’m happy at least my luck got me that.  When we finally got on our flight to Tarapoto at 8:00pm after a 10hour wait in the Lima airport it was nice to think that we were going to be in Lamas soon and starting the adventure we came here to start. Before we took off for Tarapoto however, I got a sick feeling in my stomach and I wasn’t sure if it was nerves or something more. It just kept getting worst as we waited for the plane and I knew it wasn’t going to be good. I got on the plane and we took off and I seemed to be holding it together. I fell asleep for awhile but all of a sudden I was woken up by the feeling of having to vomit. Luckily, I made it to the bathroom in time but it was no fun.  I then got sick again as we were landing and had to use one of those great airport baggies. I’m happy they have them though even if they are gross because otherwise I don’t know what would have happened. For the rest of the night I went through bouts of sickness and the entire next day I slept in my bed. It sucked missing another day but I stayed hopeful that as soon as my sickness passed I would be great for the rest of the trip.

Laying in bed all day

Being forced to be by myself and relax all day was probably one of the best things for me. I was able to not only feel better but also just come to terms with everything that we went through to get here. It was a rough battle through the airports and it took a toll on not only my body but my mind as well. There were a million different times where I felt like I could just break down and call my dad to bring me home but I didn’t. It’s nice to realize that even through a hard time I can pull through and stay strong. Sometimes it gets hard to keep a positive attitude and that is why I am happy I have such a great support system… between my mom, my dad, Corey, and Charlotte I was able to pull through and I’m glad I did. Waking up on a morning after sickness usually isn’t wonderful but waking up here and looking out at the sky and the mountains I knew I was lucky. I’m glad I didn’t miss out on an experience like this because of some snow, I think that would have made me way more mad than being in the airport for hours!

By dinner, I was able to get up and go eat some food which felt amazing and we got to watch some of the local indigenous people perform for us. It was fun to see them in their original dress and doing their own cultural dances. I really enjoyed this because I am very into dance as well and I felt like I could understand them.  I was extremely tired by the end of the night but I was happy to finally be feeling better, I don’t know if I could take day of being trapped in my room!