And we're off

Five hours in the Miami Airport is not as bad as 7 hours in the Toronto Airport.  After you eat cheese curds and poutine in Toronto, there’s just not much else to do.  International departures are in a small section of the terminal, the Canadian customs folks just aren’t that friendly, and let’s face it, Canadians are a little bit, well…..bland.

Miami’s airport has a bit more going on.  It’s a busy, jostling place.  I think there are fewer announcements in English than other languages.  Japanese girls, most in some kind of strange pigtails, and more than a few sporting what seem to be specially designed surgical masks, seem to be everywhere.  As you might expect, everyone except the Japanese girls seems to be speaking Spanish.  (After weeks of trying to review Spanish through Rosetta Stone and Duolingo, I’m still lucky if I recognize a word or two.)  Finally, there was a 20-something year-old guy in one corner of the waiting area.  He was obviously quite fit.  To keep himself in that condition, dressed in his t-shirt and gym shorts, he proceeded to do a full work out, much to the interest of several teenage girls nearby.  In between squats, tricep extensions on the handrails, jump ups and God knows what else, he constantly picked up his cell phone.  Don’t know if he was checking what came next in his workout, or if he was tweeting what great shape he was in.

So, anyway the time passed in Miami not too painfully.  Along with everything else, we got a chance to meet a few of our fellow passengers.  As expected, we’re on the younger end of the demographic spectrum, but just like in the Galapagos, the folks we’ve met seem energetic, engaging, and excited for the odyssey ahead.  We already know there’s one that will be best appreciated in small doses.  But there’s at least one like that in every group, right?  Above all, despite the fact that we’re not exactly homebodies, we’re being put to shame by these people’s travel resumes.  Locations like Nepal, Cambodia, South Georgia Island, Seychelles, Tristan de Cuna, St Helena, etc., etc., etc. are being tossed around.

We’re now on the plane, having just passed over Cuba, and having had a delightful airline dinner, we’re settling in for a movie, and hopefully at least a little sleep.  So, here we go!