Thursday, March 12, 2020

Wednesday, March 11, 2020 To Canada


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Wednesday, March 11, 2020
David was up, like I was, at 3 am and was at my door at 3:55 as promised. Getting across Tulua to the bus station is a breeze at that time of the morning.  He waited with me until 4:25 when I went to present my ticket and get the best wholly uncomfortable seat on the bus.
The trip to the airport took 70 minutes only and it seemed to go by very quickly.  I breezed through immigration and security and settled down for a coffee and a sandwich.  Airports are real melting pots as I try to pick out different accents and try to guess where people are from.  Everybody I asked today was not at all from where I thought but I sure met a lot of interesting people.
Copa is a wonderful airline and at 8:45am we left and were in Panama City in another 70 minute trip.  There, a 4-hour layover was boring.  While they have a big, beautiful airport, the shops are all the same and the merchandise either expensive or just tacky.  Not having a camera to use made it pretty boring.  I indulged myself with a really good hamburger from Carl's Junior.
There was a big crowd at gate 139 to catch the Air Canada flight to Toronto.  The flight was to leave at 2pm.  Around 1pm the rude ticket agents herded everyone outside the area to line up for yet another security inspection!  They made old people stand in line for 20 minutes before they even started the inspection and then they forced everyone to discard any drink or liquid they had just purchased in the supposedly secure side of the airport.  
There were 3 couples in danger of being split up due to overbooking which should be outlawed.
We were not happy campers and  Air Canada certainly made no friends today.  Everything was now delayed and boarding was slow.  We were almost an hour late leaving.  They made up 1/2 hour in the air in a semi-bumpy turbulent ride all the way.  The seatbelt sign was lit almost all the time.  Then for a 5-hour flight they served no food at all, unless you wanted to pay.  They brought drinks twice.  My last flight with Air Canada was not bad and I thought they got a bad rap.  Today they earned every bit of their bad reputation.
Arrival in Toronto was delayed because our gate was occupied and, as always, it seems we have to zig-zag walk the length of the terminal to get to Border Security.  Everyone there was very nice and I gotthrough quickly.
Then I found myself at the Arrivals section alone, looking for my ride, and no way to contact them.  I got onto the airport wi-fi and sent a Messenger text but got no response and I could not call.  I circled inside and outside several times and the cool air, near 0C, felt so good.  I was inside and was about to text my other sister in High River to contact my sister here when I looked upand saw Yvette.  Oh, what a relief!
After an hour's drive from Toronto airport to Vineland we arrived at their lovely home.  Daylight saving time, so I lost an hour.  
I wasso anxious to see my new lens and try it out.  I love it even though it doesn't appear to be quite as sharp as advertised, although all the shots are in low-light conditions.
I slept like a log in their very comfortable bed.  It feels great to be in Canada.
I took a couple of more shots in the morning prior to writing this Blog, still in low-light.
I spoke to David this Thursday morning and he is having some serious health issues and will be going to Emergency soon.  Prayers would be helpful.
I hope you enjoy the pictures.  That was the day’s excitement.
Al
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© All my work is COPYRIGHT protected and may not be used in any way without purchase, or without my permission. 
If you want to borrow a picture to share with family and friends, Facebook or whatever, at least PLEASE give me credit for the photo.
NOTE that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.
Start

Testing the new lens zoom

Not fancy, just testing

Happy with this photo of Yvette

The temp outside Thursday morning

You know you are at Yvette's when you see cardinals everywhere



Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Tuesday, March 10, 2020 Ready


SUBSCRIBING ON THE RIGHT  IS working again… ??   >>>>>>>>>>
To be safe, PLEASE bookmark this page and check daily.
Please see more of my artworks for sale at my websites:  http://souvenirphotostudio.neocities.org/ or http://saccc05.tripod.com/
******
Tuesday, March 10, 2020 Updated
It rained from 12:30am to 2am very heavily with noisy thunder so we didn't get much sleep.  It rained again at 5am so the poor dogs didn't get their usual walk for which I was deeply sorry.  I was looking forward to giving them a good walk.  .. Maybe tonight?
So we got ready earlier than expected and cruised into the bus station in Tulua to get my ticket for the morning ride to the airport.  David and I will be up at 3am, he will pick me up at 4am since I need to be there by 4:30.  The 1.5 hour bus ride costs 28,000 pesos or $7.80 USD. 
I hope they have the same thing for the return trip...??  The purchase just made the upcoming trip feel real.
Then I was able to check-in online and get my boarding passes.  Don't expect more photos for a couple of days as I will only be carrying the Nikon body, no lens, because I have a lens awaiting me in Vineland.  And I have aisle seats..  I will have the phone but I am not impressed with phone photos.  I may get bored with my long 4 hour layover in Panama City.  The good thing about these flights is that we overfly and miss the USA and their darn TSA BS.
I only have a couple of things to get ready, like the wallet, and I will be ready to go.  During the check-in process I see that they are now allowing me a free suitcase...  Tempting but a royal pain when traveling, especially since I have 7 flights to contend with, never mind their pitstops...
So don't expect too much from me until at least Thursday.
I re-checked the exchange rates again this morning and they are too favourable to pass up so I am doing a Global Money Transfer with CIBC (really slick and easy) from Canada to Colombia.  The Canadian dollar and the Colombian peso are both really low against the US dollar today.  I really don't understand it.
Pedro came by with the sofa covers and the living room looks coordinated for once...  Pretty good work for under $20 USD.
Aram had been saying that he would make me his famous chickenburgers before I went so I held him to his word.  He came with one for Cristina as well and it truly was a great burger!  Then we walked 4 dogs as a swan song for me.  I am going to miss my critters so very much.
Hugs to everyone.
I hope you enjoy the pictures.  That was the day’s excitement.
Al
******
© All my work is COPYRIGHT protected and may not be used in any way without purchase, or without my permission. 
If you want to borrow a picture to share with family and friends, Facebook or whatever, at least PLEASE give me credit for the photo.
NOTE that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.


Fitting the finished covers

Looking good!

Matches the recliners too and blends with the TV stand

Truly a very good chickenburger by Aram