Swimming

What a difference a day makes. After sleeping the sleep of the righteous I awoke in the breeze of the airco not entirely sure where I was. Fortunately this is not a condition entirely alien to me. Halland and Hannah, being the hard working folk the are, were up bright and breezy to see me off. Hannah, God bless her cotton socks, was prepared to brave the morning traffic of Miami to get me stocked up on last minute toiletries (Target) and a pair of little speakers for the laptop (Best Buy). The trip through Miami international was a breeze compared with the rigmarole of Amsterdam-Phillidelphia. I guess they're not exactly stampeding out of Miami into Colombia. It was blissfully quiet in and around the boarding gate and everything proceeded in a friendly and orderly fashion. The use of English dried up quite quickly and by the time we had taken off, and I was faced with a Spanish only flight crew, then I was glad of the small effort I had made in learning a few preparatory sentences. Having chanced my arm with "do you think I could have a cold beer or two?" the frosty Aguila that I was sipping as we soared like, well erm...an Aguila, over Cuba, was the pay-off. The sweet, chilly fruit of endeavor. Nothing else to do but watch the stewardesses float like flamenco dancers up and down the aisles. Strikingly beautiful with those taut, severe black hairstyles, and golden earrings. (Those sweat hogs at Delta Airlines could take a few pointers in poise here). The sense of formality stayed alive only until the copious amounts of alcohol kicked in. Then it was an in-flight fiesta. A few drunken American lads, who obviously knew the score, were already getting lucky with a few industrial grade Shakira look-alikes. The drinks trolley didn't even make ten rows as people were already leaning on it, shooting the shit with the ladies and ordering the second or third round. By the time the plane started adjusting it's clothing for a dignified descent I must admit, leaning my head on the window, seeing Colombia growing beneath me, there must have been a little tear in my eye. The homesick one, returning, at last, to a place he has never been.