Read The Fine Print

Today I learned again that in life, too often, you get what you pay for. Or as Mary put it: "when traveling to South America, always purchase the second cheapest ticket."

Things were rolling smoothly this morning. The taxi was early, the driver friendly, and we arrived at O'Hare with time to spare. When we went to check in our bags, however, the unthinkable happened:

Standing there with our five bags in tow, it was announced to us that when traveling to South America, we were limited to a single checked bag and that this bag could not weigh over 50 lbs. We were flummoxed completely. Thinking on my toes, I asked to speak with the supervisor. She only exacerbated our distress by casually explaining to us that the notice about the bag policy to Lima was buried "like, twenty pages down" on the same screen I used to pay checked bag fees on their website. It took me a minute or two to believe this was happening. Eventually, we were able to move everything that was strictly climbing gear (i.e. crampons, climbing boots, ice axes, rope, etc.) into our two duffel bags. The fabulous customer care people offered to keep these in their office at O'Hare, until our return in July.

Frankly, at this point, I am fairly skeptical I will ever see my climbing gear again.

Moreover, I am still trying to figure out how I will acquire the necessary equipment while in South America to make the planned climbs possible. (rent, purchase, borrow...)

Lastly, I am still strying not to second guess my decision to leave those items behind. (I could possibly have met Eve and Mary at a later date; called our travel insurance company to find a solution; strapped everything on the outside of our backpacks, worn the climbing rope like a piece of clothing, and carried the boots as a "small, personal item" onto the plane wih me; purchased a plane ticket for someone who could come to O'Hare, pick up our stuff and deliver it to us in South America. The list goes on.)

At any rate, in choosing to fly with the self-proclaimed low-cost carrier of the Americas, I have thrown a major part of our trip to South America into jeopardy. That said, trekking, volunteering and Spanish instruction are all still in and we are all in good health and good humor, despite this unforeseen wrench in the works.