Sunday23 July

Alarm and wakeup call 4 a.m. Up dressed, finished packing, and down for the Hopa Bus to terminal 2. Into a lift at the airport and off to Departures on the fifth floor. Checked in using using a kiosk and after a couple tries it asked me if I wanted to upgrade--yes please just what I wanted. Now all set everything turned to custard. I had to go to the check in desks and shuffle along in long in long queue I handed over my passport only to be told I needed an ETA to enter Canada. Back to the lifts and down to Arrivals on level 1 to access a set of iPads to register online. There are lifts a plenty but always several lift-loads of people and baggage pushing to get in. At the iPads I couldn't get past first screen @#$%& Apple. Eventually I found some help, and after a half hour headed back up to fifth floor and up to check in. They needed my ETA number that had been emailed to me. I left the check in and looked for my email on my mobile. No sign of it, but happily after 10 minutes it came through then back to check in and this time successful. After 1.5 hours of pushing case around Terminal 2 I entered security with just carryon bag. After setting off the alarms, going through the body full body Cray standing on the yellow footprints and my hands on my head in "surrender mode" then being padded down I was off to find Gate B39  just a 15 minutes walk away. I flagged down one of those small golf carts and got ride most of the way. As the cart moved along it developed its own wind. Much appreciated in the hot terminal by hot sweaty traveller. The final leg, up a steep escalator and another 5 minute walk where I grabbed a bottle of water before continuing my trek to Gate B39 to find the plane loading. Eventually in my seat after a 2.5 hour ordeal I sat down, relaxed, took my morning pills, sent text to Jane, and started to write this blog