Penning this from the sofa while the luggage sits half-zipped on the floor, having achieved the small domestic victory of tactical unpacking: excavating the toothbrushes, toothpaste, and bedtime kit without unleashing the full avalanche of laundry. We technically crossed the threshold nine minutes into Thursday, though the momentum of Wednesday’s long transit still holds the room while we leave the heavy lifting for morning.
The day began on civilized terms. A 12:05 departure meant no ungodly alarms, leaving ample time to systematically dismantle the Barceló breakfast buffet one last time. We summoned a spotless Uber that materialized in two minutes flat, giving us fifty delightfully dull, drama-free minutes of highway to digest our spoils before pulling up to San Salvador International at 9:20. However, I should mention that growing coconuts and bananas were visible from the back seat windows.
The terminal is sleek, expansive, and clearly geared for swarms of humanity as Avianca's prized Central American hub. Today, however, we practically had the cathedral to ourselves. We checked the bags through to Vancouver with great optimism, knowing full well the United States transit machine would demand its ritual tribute in Houston: fetch the luggage, parade it past the border gaze, and shove it straight back into the chutes. Air Canada had the outbound honours last week, but United carried us back tonight, drifting into YVR a fashionable fifteen minutes behind schedule, just to keep our expectations properly calibrated. We had more time in IAH than in the first flight segment. Having more than three hours means we had a bowl of Panda Express while waiting.
The final leg home from the terminal went off without friction. Our Uber driver, originally from Kenya, was courteous and quietly engaging, which made the late-night highway glide feel remarkably brief. He deposited us safely on Carnarvon Street right as the night slipped into the opening minutes of Thursday, bringing another fine expedition to a quiet, orderly conclusion.