The Departure

Isn't it wild how the longer you have to complete a task, the closer to the deadline you actually do it, while at the same time achieving maximum stress levels for sustained periods of time?

We're finally leaving for South America, and I think neither Scott nor I could've spent much longer in our current locations before we both went crazy...Our conversation this morning on the phone went a bit like this:

Scott: "So...What have you been up to?"

Hayley: "Not much. We had a few people over the other night, and police came. Mom and Dad hid from them and pretended to be watching Harry Potter, so that I had to deal with them."

Scott: (pause) "You really need to get out of there..."

Hayley: "You can say that again. What have you been doing?"

Scott: "Well, I was thinking about going to an internet cafe and uploading my pictures. But I don't know where there is one."

Hayley: "Hang on, I can check for you...Scott, there's an internet cafe about a half block away from your hotel..."

Scott: "I guess I need to get out of here too..."

It goes without saying that we're both pretty excited to meet up and travel. Today I bought all the finishing touches to my pack, and surprised the world with my incredibly efficient shopping: in the span of two hours, I purchased waterproof pants, waterproof capris, sunglasses, underwear, a digital camera, two memory cards and a case for said camera (we've been advised to switch out memory cards everyday, so that when your camera gets stolen, you've only lost half of your irreplaceable photos), immodium, a waterproof watch with an alarm clock, and two books (Farenheit 451 and Catch-22 -- apparently neither of us ever went to high school). Just to compare, it took me a two-hour nap the day before to prepare myself to put chapstick, floss, and a journal in a pile on my bed...

I've also, since last posting, acquired a tent, a bathing suit, duct tape, bobby pins, rope, water filter & purification tablets, and prescription-strength malaria, diarrhea, and altitude sickness pills, as well as various antibiotics, should we fall prey to staph infections. On the other hand, my backpack is also stuffed with two dresses, a skirt, tights, various dressy tops (no liquid leggings, I'm sorry to report), and deodorant... I've essentially tried to pack simultaneously for 5-day mountain treks and long stints of fashion-forwardness in some of South America's trendier colonial cities. We'll see how this plays out.

Before I got off the phone with my wandering brother, I asked him if there was anything he'd especially like me to bring him, since I have the luxury of checking a piece of luggage. At first he had nothing, but after a bit of prodding, he decided he'd like his ski equipment (uh oh, was I supposed to pack for that too?), a large knife, and a burrito. When pressed, he decided he didn't actually need a large knife, just something for opening cans (aka the Swiss Army knife I packed weeks ago). On the burrito front, it turned out he was simply copying my one request of U.S. visitors when I was living in Paris, so when I explained that in Paris I'd wanted burritos because France doesn't have black beans or cheddar cheese, he decided he could forgo the burrito. Which is just as well, since it probably wouldn't be so delicious after my itinerary:

San Francisco --> Dallas Forth Worth --> Tampa --> Miami (+16 hours) --> Caracas --> Quito

I'll arrive Tuesday at 7:50pm and Scott at 9:50pm at 9,200 feet in Quito, Ecuador. I guess the key is going to be staying hydrated...

[P.S. Scott called later in the day with the following request: "Hey, so...can you bring me a spoon? Because I'm sitting here eating a can of garbanzo beans with a plastic knife, and IT SUCKS. ...Thanks..."]