Getting Ready (Part 2)

They never tell you when you're growing up how to pack for a trip like this.  Well, maybe someone does, but I feel like it needs to be reinvented just about every trip we take.  Trying to pack lightly is a challenge, and kudos to those that actually do it well.  I'm hoping my daughters are learning more quickly than I apparently managed to.  There are the things that you need for the trip itself - and lots of decisions to make along those lines.  How warm do the clothes need to be?  Do I need a bathing suit?  There's a reason I have five of them in the drawer - four of them are because I didn't pack one when I should have.  It's easier (and cheaper) to take one with you whether you plan to swim or not.  Although in Europe clothing optional beaches are more prolific than in Alberta...probably has something to do with having generations of conservative governments...

I digress.  Sandy tells me that her checked bag is 22 lbs, which is well within the limit of 25 kg that we're allowed during luggage transfers along the way.  I'm guessing mine is pretty close - although my carry on baggage is probably pretty close to 22lbs as well...laptop (for writing here when I have wifi); ipads (lighter than a pile of books to read on the plane, games to play when bored, movies to watch (also on the plane) - oh, and did I mention we're booked for 10 hours on a bus to get from Santiago to Lisbon on October 14th.  God, I hope there's power outlets...

Clothing is probably the lightest mix of the bunch.  We discovered packing cubes a couple of trips ago and it's pretty impressive how they help to organize things.  I've got a bag for dirty clothes scrunched up into a corner of the suitcase; Sandy picked up Tide sampler packages from the hotel in Canmore on the weekend; and she brings along a clothes line that ocassionally threatens to strangle me during bathroom breaks in the middle of the night depending on how we can attach it to windows, air conditioners/heaters, lights, door knobs - basically whatever sticks out of the wall is a possible tie down for the laundry line.  Without it you might imagine what we'd smell like after about a week of cycling 40-50 kms a day......or not - your choice.

There's mix and match outfits for dinner, and rest days...a couple of different jerseys, and shorts for cycling; waterbottles; power adapters to plug in those ipads, garmins, phones; pedals; helmets; gloves; socks and underwear.  Yes, I packed the bathing suit as well.  We're ready...almost.

Usually when we travel I'll be checked in 23 hours and 59 minutes before the flight.  Didn't work that way today.  We purchase out tickets through a seat sale Air France was offering back in April.  We got a great deal to fly via KLM.  KLM code shares with WestJet.  So, we paid Air France to fly on KLM and Westjet to Lisbon through Toronto and Amsterdam...Then everyone started to fly after COVID.  Two of the worst airports in the world this year for flight connections are, you guessed it, Toronto and Amsterdam.  Even though we're getting on a Westjet flight in Edmonton tomorrow morning I'm on a KLM flight...Back in the worst of the turmoil in Toronto Westjet cancelled a bunch of flights.  KLM appears to know what flight we're booked on; but their website tells me that the original flight we booked has been cancelled - "contact customer service to change your flight or get a refund."  It also tells me to contact the partner airline for seat assignments (I did that three weeks ago).  Bottom line, I simply cannot check in online - either at KLM or Westjet or Air France - it has to be done at the desk at the airport tomorrow morning...We'll leave at 7, drop the dog at his home away from home (D.O.G.S General Store; who have been caring for Arnie when we travel now for 11 years - I'm sometimes surprised he still cares when we come home from a trip.)  We'll see what happens tomorrow.  Pray for us.