I’m still not used to sleeping well, after decades of not doing so, so I was a bit shocked that I needed my alarm to wake up at 4:00 a.m. on Friday after passing out at 10:00 p.m.!

I’m definitely in a new hotel bracket if they have a toast and coffee station set up at that hour! I was looking at a good two hours before I could explore breakfast options at the airport, so I took advantage of this.

My Taxidatum driver was punctual and we headed out into an inky morning. Traffic was light, to my surprise. All my research had told me that most Lima flights arrive late at night and leave early, so I expected massive amounts of traffic at midnight and 5:00 a.m., but nope.

I was able to check in at a kiosk before going through security where, get this, we didn’t have to take anything out of our bags! My goodness, it’s coming up on 30 years since the last time getting through security at an airport was such a non-hassle.

That said, there was then a very long wait to be cleared by border security. They’d taken a photograph and fingerprints at arrival and needed to scan my index on the way out. I don’t remember being asked any questions, though.

That was it! The departures terminal was surprisingly small, but I learned that the gates are quite a ways off, and there are gates where once you enter the area, you are out of luck for a bathroom. So give yourself time to walk to the gate, but do a pit stop first!

I had a couple of hours, so I had breakfast. I’m amused that in another parallel to my London adventures, my last meal in Peru was my first real meal in London, an Americano with a ham and cheese croissant. I wouldn’t normally have made such a deal over this meal but for the fact that this was the best croissant I’ve had in years, and heated just right to be a little crispy but still soft inside.

I hadn’t treated myself to anything as a souvenir of my Peru trip. It wasn’t like Mexico with little markets and a ton of touts everywhere. I would have made to put shopping on the calendar. So with time to kill at the airport, I found myself drawn to a shop selling baby alpaca wool (and silk) scarves. A salesperson read me as she saw me trying to decide on a pink, purple, or blue scarf, and pulled up this beauty at 40% off, about 1,200 pesos. I couldn’t have created a more magical and perfect gift to remember this trip of a lifetime!

The flight home was uneventful. I actually slept, enjoyed a third breakfast (same ham and cheese panini and cake as on the way down but with a gorgeous fruit cup), and chatted with my Argentinian seatmates on their way to Playa del Carmen! We struggled a bit at understanding each other, but we got through it.

I’ve only ever returned to Mexico via CDMX, where I was always sent to the citizen line. In Cancún, I had to go through the very long visitors’ line (that’s FINE — I’m not entitled!). The agent asked me what flight I came in on and then asked me how I got my permanent residency. I BLANKED while he looked at me like I was a dodo. Finally, I stammered “recursos economicos propios,” which he correctly took as meaning I have a business, not that I’m retired, and, curiously, asked me how long I was staying in Mexico “this time.” I replied that I live here and actually don’t leave much. “Okey. Bienvenidas.”

Next stop was customs, where I was waved through after saying I had nothing to declare. Then, we had to put all our bags through an x-ray machine. THEN, I was waved over by the agriculture (fruit) inspector. I told him I just had some nuts I’d brought with me and gave him my food bag to examine. He didn’t make me open anything else and told me I was clear!

Cancún arrivals then spits you into the car rental/taxi area before sending you outside. I had over two hours until my bus home, so that would not do. There was only a little snack shop with uncomfortable chairs to wait indoors. I found someone who looked official to ask if I could return to the departures area to wait. Since I had my ADO ticket, I was directed through a couple of security gates to find myself at the entrance to departures. You have to go through there to get to the ADO booth to buy a ticket, so I’m not sure how it works if you don’t have a ticket!

Inside the terminal, I went to the Guacamole Grill and enjoyed some enchiladas verde with some very good picante! I only had about 40 minutes left to wait after I’d eaten, so I commandeered one of the rare seats in this part of the terminal. I would not want to have to wait for hours in this part of Cancún airport, but I’d really timed my trip transfers perfectly.

The ADO to Mérida was on time at 4:55 p.m. I got suckered into watching the first movie, “Gigi & Nate,” but dozed through “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” catching a funny joke in my stupour that made me realise I really don’t need subtitles anymore when I watch Spanish content. When did that happen?!

Of course, we landed in Mérida in traffic (Lima only THINKS it knows traffic, HA!), so we were 30 minutes late. I was able to quickly get an Uber, so I arrived about 8:30 P.M. local time (Lima is on the same time zone as Cancún, one hour later than Mérida). Alma greeted me at the door to tell me off and then disappeared until she forgave me the next morning. Dodger didn’t come out until I sat on the couch, and then she was with me all evening. It was good to be home!

This trip was a complete success and I feel so grateful to have been able to do it.