I Think We Are Ready!

Like all of this is not stressful enough, I hate it that 2 of my credit cards and our bank are making me call in with our travel plans. Their online forms are only set up for a maximum of 30 days. Beyond that, calling them is all you can do. There is nothing worse than thinking you can use an ATM somewhere and have your bank deny the transaction. Bank of America has charged us for failed attempts in the past. This is still on my “To Do” list, because they are only open limited hours on weekends and the time zone difference besides, makes it unruly.

Our suitcases are packed. We each have one; Ron’s is a carry-on size, but he will check it allowing him to also have a backpack. Mine is slightly larger than a carry-on, but is within the overall 158 centimeters combined allowance by TAP Portugal. My suitcase is 11.5 kilos, but up to 23 kilos is allowed, while my backpack with all tech stuff is 7.8 kilos just

under the 8 kilo limit. I hate having to worry about luggage sizes for different airlines. Ron will take the tablet and cord. I will have a book, my phone and laptop cord in my travel coat.

The backpack really needs a Sherpa cart it for me. I bought a USB hub as my laptop only has 2 ports; one is used for the mouse. Sometimes movies have lesser than optimal volume; there are two compact external speakers tucked in there. Then there are the cords for my phone, 2 cords for the laptop (one each European and US), camera lens, 2 adapters, a compact external disk drive with dozens of movies and projects for my downtime and lens cleaners. Last year, I bought 2 sets of packing cubes, one for each of us. They really are fantastic. The middle sized one holds all things electronic that I generally take along. It then fits really nicely into the second section of my backpack. Being nylon, it glides right in there.

The suitcase will be about 4 pounds lighter when we return. In the smallest packing cube of the set, I have 6 bottles of Vitamin D, 2 bottles of Vitamin C, one large bottle of Calcium-Magnesium-Zinc tablets, my diabetic pills, aspirin, sleeping pills, medicated soap, eye drops, and lip moisturizer. I am not packing bottles of shampoo and all that other stuff. It can be bought on the ground. Hopefully, the one night stay in Quito upon arrival will have things in the bathroom to get us by. Toothpaste and toothbrushes travel in my carry-on; the only thing I have to show security for liquid control.

I bought TSA approved locks, set it from the default 0000 to another set of 4 digits. Later, I thought I had better reset it to a number we are likely to remember easily, but different from our usual. Somehow I screwed up the lock and now it will not work at all. Thankfully, I have 3 others. This is my first time using them.

The taxi has been ordered. They will be here at 1:50 am Monday to drive us to the airport. We have a four hour layover in Lisbon. Diners Club lounge here we come. Our routing is:
Budapest > Lisbon TAP Airlines
Lisbon > Miami  TAP Airlines or American, both show on different documents as the scheduled airline
Miami > Quito LAN Ecuador




I tried both TAP and American Airlines, but was not able to get our boarding passes beyond Lisbon. I know in Miami, we have to go through Passport Control and security again. One would think that if you are a transfer client, they could keep you in a secured area to change plans without all the commotion. We only have 2 hours in Miami to get our luggage, recheck it and make our way through.
 
The following morning, Tuesday at 7 am we have another flight from Quito > Cuenca on LAN Ecuador. We will be in Cuenca until March 1st getting a lay of the land before exploring other parts of the country. Our return date is April 9th. We have lots of territory to cover.

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Double Duty Jacket - Global Travel Clothing

It wasn’t too long ago when thoughts of going to the airport flying off to another destination filled me with anticipation and overwhelming excitement. Now, it fills me with dread and negative anticipation, created by visions of the airline check-in counter. Having to weigh my luggage and then trying to squeeze it into a metal template that I swear has been reduced by centimeters from the published dimensions of the airlines’ websites, all increases my agitata, which is followed by a sour stomach and heart palpitations. Agitata is from my Italian background.

Airlines today, utilize their marketing skills trying to convince us they are doing us the favor by limiting what we can carry-on or store in the hold. For a couple of years now, I have been looking at proposed solutions. One solution was to compact my packing to a carry-on only. A year after I paid a hefty price for the perfect carry-on that met many airline requirements; the airlines reduced the acceptable size one after the other like a row of dominoes.

Next to consider were clothes with multiple pockets. Multi-pocket pants seemed to be a viable alternative, filling up the pockets with cords, phone, and tablet, whatever can be stuffed in them. However, when it is your turn at the security line, you have to basically strip to get through the machinery. Then it takes forever to retrieve everything and hope you have not left something behind.

These pants are also a viable pickpocket risk. I had a credit card stolen from pants with a knee pocket that had a Velcro tab so efficient; it took me two hands to open. On an overcrowded trolley bus in Quito, some magician managed to extract my goods without arousing one nerve cell in my leg. Genius!

Various coats have passed through my browsing history and I have disregarded them one by one for various reasons. Those with too many pockets means many of the pockets are so small, they are useless. Some are so overpriced; you may as well pay the excess luggage fee for the next 2 years and call it quits. Just by chance, I had read a reader’s comment on a travel forum that mentioned Global Travel Clothing, so I took a look with a firm attitude that I would yet be disappointed again.

I looked at the jacket’s style and found its classic flair easy on the eyes. There was nothing about it that shouted “I am hiding the goodies under here.” There are no unsightly bulges. The number of pockets was a reasonable amount to be advantageous, yet not overwhelming. I liked the fact that it has an elastic waist band draw, which is another pickpocket deterrent. A bonus is the optional RFID protection sleeve, keeping your credit cards and/or your passport safe from being scanned from afar. This is a common tech trick for theft.

Perhaps the greatest selling point is the materials: cotton and polyester, which keeps it wrinkle free and is machine washable. No expensive trips to the dry cleaner for this jacket; this in itself is exciting. Jackets are custom made based on your measurements. Come January 2015, they will also be available in dark blue. It is too late for our needs, but perfect for others who don’t have an immediate need.

We are ordering one for Ron and me, so stay tuned for a report when they go come and then a third post of the jackets in action during our time in Ecuador.

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Keep Calm and Carry On, But the Rules Have Changed Again

Last week, I posted an article in Facebook about the changing rules of the airlines with regard to their rules for carry-on pieces. Half jokingly, I stated that if an investigation were to be pursued, it would probably uncover a co-conspirator relationship with the luggage manufacturers. How often have people bought a smaller carry-on because the last one was not small enough? 

Unless your suitcase is from the planet Imsk, like Shrinking Violet of the Legion of Super-Heroes fame, you are gonna be stuck with a conundrum at check-in time. Airlines used to report their size requirements in linear inches: you added the total length + width + height. If you met their maximum magic number, you were safe regardless if one side was bulkier than the other. You were still sitting pretty.

Two different experts have a bit of differing information. You can read Peter Greenberg here and George Hobica from Airfarewatchdog.com here.

Most importantly, check before you fly, check again on the way to the airport, and one last time while waiting in line to check in. The rules are changing with great momentum.

The second most important thing: Buy stock in a good luggage company~

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• Carry-on conspiracy?
• The Three Biggest Airlines Just Made Carry-On Sizes Even Smaller

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