Time to go home

Wednesday morning we enjoyed our last breakfast with this view -

We finished packing up our bags, but this one didn’t need repacking -

The duffle filled with John’s motorcycle gear never got opened (but it did get schlepped in and out of a lot of hotel rooms).  

Our drive to the Cape Town airport was easy, as was returning the rental car.  I wish every airport would paint “Rental Car Return” on the correct lane repeatedly and well ahead of time - well done, CPT!

We had a porter help us get our bags from the rental car return area to the departure area, which was money well spent - it was like having a personal guide through the crowded airport.  He checked his phone to see which specific British Airways line we should be in and delivered us right there.

The airport was crowded - the departing flights were full, and lots of people were there trying to get a seat on any possible flight before tomorrow’s country-wide lockdown, which was just announced two days ago.  It was a bit like the movie “Casablanca.”

Since travel restrictions have been in place in the UK for a while now, Heathrow was just the opposite - maintaining social distancing (which we consciously did) wasn’t difficult.  

All premium lounges were closed, which meant that we didn’t get a chance to get freshened up after the first 12-hour flight before getting on the next 11-hour one.  So we spent our 10-hour layover listening to an audiobook.

John promised to buy me some expensive baubles, but that wasn’t happening (I think he knew...)

Airlines also eliminated most food service, suggesting that passengers bring their own food - a bit problematic since all restaurants at the airport were closed.  We arrived at LHR at 4:30 am, and John suggested that we get sandwiches right away at a newsstand - one of the very few open airport shops - good idea, since all sandwiches in the entire terminal (and likely the entire airport) were sold out by 10 am.  There were still thousands of people going through the airport, and no food.  Not well done, Heathrow.

Probably one in ten of the passengers at Heathrow were wearing masks, including a couple wearing cowboy hats and kerchiefs like they were ready to hold up a stagecoach.  And then there were those wearing HazMat suits - these guys were getting ready to board a flight to Tokyo.

Another indication that things were not business-as-usual was the departures board -

This is the board for Terminal 5B - normally both columns would be full.

Our flight to Seattle had very few passengers, and, after spending the night in a motel near SeaTac because our flight to Eugene had been cancelled, we took an equally empty plane to Eugene the next day (Friday).

It was a long trip home - something over 60 hours door to door - but reasonably uneventful.  We now have two weeks of self-quarantine to rest up.