PrologueWe had booked a trip to visit our compadres in Ecuador for two weeks in January during which I would work remotely. We had managed to snag ourselves business class tickets on Avianca for the same amount of money that we usually pay for economy on American. The only downside is that it is a red-eye, but being in comfortable business class seats meant that we should be able to rest comfortably. It is a new route for Avianca, connecting in Bogota. The fact that it avoids Miami is in itself enough to consider it, but the introductory business class rate sealed the deal.When we visited Bhutan to see our Bhuatense son Sonam Tshering and his family in October, his sister/cousin Kinley invited him and us to visit her in Bangkok over Sonam's winter break from college. We were unable to take her up on the generous offer due to the scheduled Ecuador trip, but we had an idea. What if Sonam visited Bangkok and then flew to Ecuador to visit us there? Bhutanese citizens do not need a visa to visit Ecuador, so it seemed like the perfect plan. We booked flights so that Sonam would arrive and depart on the same days that we would, which would consolidate airport trips for the family. Poor Sonam had much longer flights than we had, flying from Bangkok to Amsterdam to Quito, with a long layover in between. We booked a room for him at Yotel at Schiphol Airport so that he was able to get some rest during his long layover. Sisa, Yupanqui, and Shina were very happy to hear that they would be gaining an honorary big "little brother." Friday January 12, 2018 - Boston to BogotaSteve drove us to Logan Express and we took the 8:15 p.m. bus to the airport. This is the first time we have purchased any flight other than economy (we had been upgraded a couple of times at the last minute), and we were amazed by the ease of everything: separate line for check in, preference in security line (no need to take off shoes), access to the Lufthansa lounge.In the security line, some young women in front of us were unprepared and took a few minutes to get their electronics out of their bags. They told us to pass them, but then we weren't quite ready, because we hadn't been able to find space on the counter for our bags or gather bins for our laptops. A woman behind me was quite impatient, and kept trying to pass me. She was hovering over me and she made me nervous and frazzled. We successfully made it through security. As we collected our things and put everything back into our bags, Craig was nervous that I was forgetting something. He sensed that the woman had thrown me off balance, and knowing me as well as he does, suspected that I was liable to make a mistake because I was feeling pressured. I assured him that I had collected everything, and then returned our two bins to a pile on the counter. We went into the tastefully modern Lufthansa lounge, found a comfortable couch, and had some complimentary cranberry juice, finger sandwiches, and apple crumble with caramel sauce. We could get used to this! At this point, I opened my laptop bag and realized with horror that I must have left my laptop back at security. I started to panic and literally ran all the way back to security. I heard someone shout "run, run!" as my overweight self booked it through the terminal. I didn't even have time to be embarrassed. I talked to the TSA agents. They were very sympathetic and checked with their supervisors, but nobody had found my laptop. Much like when I would not accept that we had lost a brass end cap for our Bhutanese scrolls when we retrieved our checked luggage after returning home from Bhutan, I refused to accept that my laptop was gone. It had to be somewhere. The TSA keep a good eye on things...it must have disappeared under my watch. I replayed the scene in my head...what had I done with my plastic bins? I had stacked them on the end of one of the counters. I looked over, and saw that the stack of bins was still there. I held my breath and approached the bins. The height of one of the bins was different than the others; perhaps it still had something in it? Voila: my laptop! I was so relieved! The TSA agent apologetically told me that I would need to boot it up and log in to prove that it was mine. No problem whatsoever; it was for my own protection. I was just so happy that it was still here! When she saw my photo on the boot screen, she was satisfied and I was free to go. Let that be a life lesson to me; I was so distracted by someone else's negativaty and panic and ended up causing a problem for myself. Craig had seen the signs as it happened, and I need to learn to recognize them so that I can be more mindful. I returned to the lounge and Craig had been a wreck while I was gone. He was also super relieved. Even now, when we are business class and shouldn't have to rush around, I was still just as rushed, frazzled, and sweaty as I normally am at airports. It took a while for me to settle down and relax. We walked down to the gate to wait for boarding. A wheelchair attendant noticed Craig's cane and offered to wheel him to the plane. We graciously accepted, and the gate agent then arranged a wheelchair for the remainder of the itinerary. Our flight boarded at 10:15 p.m., and took off on time at 11:15. Our seats were spacious and comfortable. It was even pleasantly chilly on the flight. After some drinks and snacks, we cuddled up in our blankets and rested/slept for the duration of the 7 hour flight to Bogota. |
 Lufthansa Lounge, Logan Airport  Business class to Bogota  Sonam at the Yotel in Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam (photo courtesy of Sonam Tshering) See all photos from January 12, 2018 |
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