Slight hiccup in the plans

So, all was well until Sunday morning. I survived the whole South America expedition without contracting "the plague" as we dubbed the illness that struck all my fellow travelers (some more than once...), I tripped multiple times coming down the mountain and emerged with only one scraped knee, yet I was felled by one sneeze.

One sneeze, and my back gave out. Granted, it wasn't the sneeze's fault per se, that was just the final nudge needed after trucking luggage around, hiking up and down mountains at 15,000 feet, and climbing an infinite number of stairs at Machu Picchu.

Anyway, I pushed the flights back two days, and we'll see if the travel insurance comes through for the yet to be determined penalty fee (thank you China Airlines... I sincerely hope that you fly airplanes better than you seemingly manage your books. Seriously, how can they not know what the penalty fee is?). I'm sure there will be some loophole... the fact that there wasn't an "accident" or the fact that I've had back issues in the past... something. But here's hoping there's not.

This postponement has the added curse and benefit of giving me more time to pack. I was so cold for so much of the Peru portion, that I am having to fight the urge to stuff my pack with all sorts of thermal underwear and jeans and fleece-y options. And the pack itself... well, that's not even safe. I already purchased a new option--a nifty small roller suitcase with backpack straps and a zip off day pack. But the backpack straps aren't nearly as comfortable or ergonomic as my Deva pack, so it's a big dilemma.

I think I will put off the decision and start posting pictures to this blog, since that's what people really want to see, right?