About Time, A Long-Distance Trip Begins – Part 3: Nanuku Arrival
March 11, 2025

Author’s Note: This trip report is being published almost a year after the trip.

Previous Trip Notes:
About Time, A Long-Distance Trip Begins – Part 2: The 29.5-Hour Trip To Nanuku
About Time, A Long-Distance Trip Begins – Part 1: The Setup

As we arrived at check-in, we were greeted by many on the staff. They were friendly and offered a traditional welcome. Our daughters were also introduced to their “buddies,” quickly our girls would refer to them as their “best friends.” The buddies gave each girl a necklace with their name on it, and it created an instant connection between them.

Prior to arriving, I had emailed the General Manager of the resort to see if the staff or Tribe would appreciate anything from the mainland that might be hard to get there. He politely declined, but we exchanged some emails based on our similar backgrounds. We had booked this SLH property with 25,000 Hyatt points per night. An upgrade was possible due our Hyatt status, but did not occur often. The base villa we booked was the upstairs of a 2-story villa. The base room looked great, and would have been perfectly adequate for us. I had hoped that we might get upgraded to the next-level-up, which was the lower level of the 2-story villa. The lower level also included a private plunge pool, and our girls love having that option. I was elated when we were told we had been upgraded. The elation turned to shock when the check-in agent finished their sentence: “…to a residence.” I hadn’t even looked at what residences were like, but some reviews had mentioned some pretty amazing things. That anticipation would have to wait though, as the buddies had also given our girls Easter headbands and baskets, and told them the Easter Bunny had left eggs around the grounds.

Easter Egg Hunt

After our girls got their eggs, we were taken by a buggy to our residence. Our “house mama” was waiting for us to give us a tour. There was a main room with a couple sitting couches, and an adjacent large kitchen with a kitchen table for 10. A popcorn machine was sitting on the counter with plenty of popcorn kernels, and a French press with coffee as well. Oh, and a welcome amenity including Champagne, juices, fruits, and chocolates:

Welcome Amenity

A downstairs bathroom was next to the kitchen and second main door. This was easily 1,000 sq feet of space, but were then taken upstairs to the master bedroom and bathroom. This offered a king size bed, TV, large closet area, large bath, and large shower area. Easily another 750 sq feet. Outside was a long balcony with chairs that overlooked the ocean. We went back downstairs and were shown an outside patio behind the kitchen. We then were taken to the side of the house, where there was a covered patio next to a large private plunge pool (with a special welcome message in it):

The entire area was fenced in, minus the view to the beach, giving a lot of privacy. There was another small building though, and we were taken into the “movie room.” This room was a private room outside of the main villa that housed a large projector screen, surround sound, and couches to enjoy movie nights in. It also came with a catalog of movies. Sadly, the wifi from the house wasn’t quite strong enough to be able to stream movies from your own devices, but that didn’t stop us from watching some movies from the catalog. Overall, definitely a top 3 “room upgrade.”

Family Room (with 2 beds setup for the kids)

Kitchen

Kitchen Table

Kitchen Bar

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom

Master Bedroom Closet

Master Bathroom Tub

Master Bathroom Shower

Upstairs Balcony

Downstairs Back Patio

Downstairs Back Patio

Private Plunge Pool

View from the Pool

Movie Room

Movie Room

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About Time, A Long-Distance Trip Begins – Part 2: The 29.5-Hour Trip To Nanuku
March 9, 2025

Author’s Note: This trip report is being published almost a year after the trip.

Previous Trip Notes:
About Time, A Long-Distance Trip Begins – Part 1: The 29.5-Hour Trip To Nanuku

It was not an uncomfortable wake-up. We had an 8:58am flight from MSP to LAX. Sadly, there is no way to bring the NSPpeanuts into the Delta Lounge without paying the $50 per guest (for a child!!!) fee, so we opted to go to the Escape Lounge, which NSPwife’s AMEX Platinum gets us all access to through Priority Pass. We enjoyed some light food, and of course celebratory Mimosas.

Kick-Off Drinks in the Escape Lounge

We had an easy flight, and landed in Los Angeles around 11:15am. Our gate was immediately next to a Delta Lounge, so I flew in to grab a couple coffees. We made our way to the baggage claim and headed outside to pickup the National Rental Car shuttle bus. This would be a learning for us…as we waited nearly 20 minutes for the shuttle, and then due to terminal construction, took nearly 45 minutes for what should have been a 10-minute ride. Our Executive status with National allows us to pick any car, so we grabbed the largest SUV we could find, and loaded up. After a short 10-minute ride to the Hyatt Regency LAX, we checked-in, threw our luggage in the room, and then jumped back in the car.

We wanted to show the girls the Pacific Ocean, so opted to head to the Santa Monica Pier; however, we of course stopped for lunch at In-and-Out Burger. NSPpeanut became immediately obsessed with the burgers and is now likely a life-long fan.

First Taste of In-N-Out Burger

After lunch, we made the easy ride to the pier. We parked right next to the pier and enjoyed arcade games and ice cream.

Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Pier

We made our way back to the Hyatt, where we arranged outfits for the late-night plane ride, consolidated some luggage, and took NSPpeanutToo’s car seat to be held for the week at the bell desk. We then made our way down to the hotel restaurant for dinner. Conveniently, Hyatt Globalists receive unlimited free drinks between 5pm-7pm. We took full advantage, and then headed up to the room to watch Michigan Hockey ultimately beat North Dakota State in the Regional Finals of the NCAA Tournament. By this time, it was really late for us given the time zone difference, and a bit of delirium was creeping in:

It was then time to jump on the short hotel-airport-shuttle. One pain point booking Fiji Airways with Cathay Pacific was that the seat assignments would never hold, and Fiji Airways would not help. Not ideal when traveling with kids. On an 11-hour flight. In economy. This forced us to arrive at LAX a few minutes before the check-in opened (3 hours in advance) in order to try and secure seats together. You know, with our 4-year old and 8-year old kids. Luckily, we were able to secure 3 together, with my seat directly across the aisle. Disaster averted.

On a side-note, we had a harsh learning when trying to secure open Business Class seats in the months leading up to the flight. Typically, if a seat is available on points, you can simply upgrade your seat. And in fact, you can do that with Cathay; however, what you cannot do is upgrade only select seats in your reservation. I had, mistakenly, booked the flights under 2 reservations: 4 seats going out, and 4 seats coming back. About 5 months before our flight, 3 business class seats opened up on points. BUT, Cathay could not upgrade only 3 seats, it was an all-or-nothing option. They wouldn’t (or couldn’t) split a PNR to create 2 reservations for us. Fiji wouldn’t help in any way. After over two dozen calls over multiple days, the seats got gobbled up. Sigh. Economy it would be.

Sadly, the security lines were painfully long, and the walk through the terminal even longer. Not ideal when schlepping with 2 children at 10pm west coast time (not to mention 12am where we live). We finally arrived at the heart of the Tom Bradley International Terminal. NSPwife had Oneworld Emerald Status courtesy of her American Airlines Platinum Pro status. Fiji Airlines was a partial member of Oneworld, but that status would only be enough to get 2 of us into the lounge. Graciously, maybe due to the fact that our two children were effectively comatose, they let all four of us in. There were some amazing Pho and Asian dishes (Cathay Pacific is one of the airlines this lounge services), and we filled up given a daunting 11-hour flight (in economy!) was ahead of us. NSPwife and I each had a single glass of wine before we headed to the plane.

The flight itself was uneventful. Luckily no one was sitting next to me. And we all managed to get about 7 hours of sleep, far more than what I thought we would get. The food was what is expected.

Economy Breakfast

Enough to sustain, but nothing to celebrate. The service was good. And we arrived in a downpour, tired but ready to get to our destination…only a 2.5 hour drive away.

Back on Ground

We booked our transportation through Xplore Fiji. The driver was waiting for us when we arrived at the baggage claim. We would definitely recommend the service. Despite being Easter Sunday, we stopped at a place about 20 minutes from the airport for coffee and breakfast pastries. The coffee didn’t stand a chance against the jetlag, and after another 15 minutes fell asleep until about 15 minutes from Nanuku.

Pulling into the resort was a great feeling. A flight from Minnesota to California. A long layover and some sightseeing. A long flight in economy. And a long drive to the resort. 29.5 hours. But we had made it.

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About Time, A Long-Distance Trip Begins – Part 1: The Setup
January 20, 2025

Author’s Note: This trip report is being published almost a year after the trip.

While the pins in our map are starting to add up, there are still quite a few places on our “up next” list:

  • Scandinavia
  • Dominican Republic
  • Much of Africa
  • Israel/Jordan/Egypt
  • Portugal
  • Brazil & Columbia

Some of these aren’t currently a reality due to Geo-political reasons. Others would be better to do when the kids are older (hiking Kili & going on a safari, for example). And after a winter in Minnesota, the spring break travel requires a place with warmth.

Our go-to hotels to search for is typically within Hyatt footprint. With the kids, the ability to confirm a Suite Upgrade for a week is fairly important. While Hyatt ended it’s relationship with SLH in the later part of 2024, when booking this trip in 2023, there was no indication of the coming split. After having a couple amazing trips to Calala Island, we focused on other SLH properties. One in particular caught our eye: Nanuku Resort in Fiji. The accommodations looked great. It checked the warm weather box. We hadn’t been there before. And, amazingly, one of the highlights of the resort is a complimentary dedicated “Buddy” (i.e babysitter) for each kid aged 8 and below. As NSPpeanut is 8 and NSPpeanutToo is 4, could this mean that NSPwife and I might have the chance at a truly relaxing vacation?

Rooms were 25,000 Hyatt points per night. A pretty easy feat…NSPwife and I each signed up for Chase Ink cards in 2023, netting 240,000 Chase points (2 x 100K sign-up bonuses + 40K referral bonus). That meant 7 nights at Nanuku totaled only 175,000 points…leaving a good balance for other trips. One question was how to get to Fiji. Interestingly, only one airline flies to Fiji from North America: Fiji Airways. As a quasi-member of Oneworld, you can book that trip via Oneworld partners, or Alaska Airlines. Unfortunately our Alaska balance wasn’t enough to secure 4 round-trips…and we have been working towards a bank of AK miles to get to South America in style. Instead, we transferred Citi ThankYou points to Cathay Pacific, and booked 4 economy (ahhh!!!) tickets for a total of 320,000 points. The hope was that Business Class seats would occasionally pop up, and we could secure them over the 9 months between our booking and our flight departing. Taxes and fees were charged differently for kids than adults, and the total came out to $200.32.

We also had to deal with positioning flights from MSP to LAX and back. Sadly, it cost almost as many Skypesos to fly the 3 hours than it did the 11 hours to Fiji (stupid MSP Delta Cabal)!

  • MSP > LAX: 16,100 Delta Miles + $5.60 per person
  • LAX > MSP: 26,700 Delta Miles + $5.60 per person

For those keeping score, the total redemption cost:

  • 175,000 Ultimate Rewards
  • 320,000 Citi Thank You points
  • 171,200 Delta Skymiles
  • $245.12 Cash

Cash rates for the hotel averaged just under $500/night, and the flight round-trip was about $1,100 for the same fare-class. The positioning flights were well over $600 per flight. For the trip, that equates to $3,500 for the hotel and $6,800 for flights, totaling $10,300.

There were a couple other housekeeping items we had to take care of. The first was the shoulder-nights we booked hotel rooms for, just for convenience. We had a 12-hour layover in Los Angeles on the way to Fiji, so we booked the Hyatt Regency LAX with a free category 1-4 certificate. It not only provided a great hotel shuttle, but was also a $9 Uber fare from National Rental Car, where we rented a car for the day to show the girls some parts of L.A.. We also decided to book a room at a hotel near the airport on our final day in Fiji. That would allow us to check-out from Nanuku, take the 2.5-hour drive, and then swim and relax all day, and take a shower right before the 9:40pm flight departed. We opted for the Crowne Plaza hotel due to having a free night from the IGH credit card expiring two weeks later. That’s effectively a $99 night (the annual fee for the Chase card). We opted to use a 3rd party for airport transportation. The trip from Nadi Airport to Nanuku was roughly a 2.5 hour drive. We used Xplore Fiji, which was great.

The scene was set. And we were ready to embark on the 29.5-hour journey to get to our final destination.

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A Private Island on Points – Part 4: Calala Island (The Experiences)
June 18, 2023

A Private Island on Points – Part 4: Calala Island (The Experiences)
A Private Island on Points – Part 3: Calala Island (The Food)
A Private Island on Points – Part 2: Calala Island (The Island)
A Private Island on Points – Part 1: Calala Island (The Setup)

When you stay at Calala Island, the “experiences” continue to come at you. This includes not only the activities at the resort itself, but really includes all facets of the journey. It started for us in the airport in Managua. We showed up early on the morning of our flight to the Bluefields, a quick 18-minute drive from the Hyatt Place Managua (a huge difference from the hour-long ride we had in traffic at rush hour the night before). We were flying out of the domestic terminal, and a representative, Nestor, welcomed us to help check us in and get through the process. It was a bit embarrassing, as when we showed up we were taken in front of everyone already in line. Our bags were all tagged with VIP Calala Island tags, and we were quickly ushered in through security. There was a small shop that had coffee and pastries, and we helped ourselves to it while watching the tarmac, with smoke emitting from the local volcano in the distance. Quite serene.

There were two planes on the tarmac. A small plane. And the equivalent of a VW Bug with wings. My mom asked me: “which plane are we flying on?” I responded that surely it was the larger of the two. Only about a dozen people could fit in the smaller plane, and who knows where the luggage would go.

The airline staff called a number of names, and people started walking out on the tarmac towards the bigger plane. We were anxiously waiting our names to be called. After about ten minutes, I approached the desk and asked in my mediocre Spanish if we were on the list. Nope. Not our plane. OMG.

We waited another 30 minutes and then our names were called. And we walked out to the smallest plane I’ve ever been on. Obviously no real cockpit…luggage strapped in the back with bungees. School bus style seats. And the kicker? Once we took off, going due East early in the morning, the pilot put up a sunscreen which was not see-through, and the co-pilot took a binocular-looking instrument out, and cocked his head to the farthest side of the window to keep an eye on anything that might be in our way. As someone who does not like to fly, there is not enough Xanax in the world to rectify this issue.

Despite the fears, the ride was smooth, and a passing rainshower that we flew through during the descent was gone by the time we landed. We exited the plane, and walked down the tarmac, and then up a long walkway. Finally leaving the seemingly 20 sq ft airport terminal, we were met by multiple representatives from Calala, along with taxis. In the same manor of the style of plane, these taxis were smaller than Minis. They had luggage racks on top, where you threw your luggage on (no need to bungee them), and we squeezed tightly into the cars. Then began the Formula One: Bluefields edition. We raced through streets, saw schools, shops, and markets. And finally arrived at a port/marina. There was a ton of activity – not for the feint of heart. But the Calala staff whisked us to an open-top speedboat. Flying through the mangroves was a fun experience. Calala staff had bought Minnie Mouse lifevests for the kids, who had an amazing time on the journey. The weather was good, until it wasn’t. But the downpour for 15 minutes added to the adventure, and the kids thought it was the funniest thing in the world. They whipped out ponchos for everyone and we braved the madness.

The clouds then cleared, and the sun was shining as we approached the island. The entire staff was awaiting for us on the dock, with flowers, acoustic guitar playing music, and coconuts. We had arrived, and already had a half a dozen memories.

On the island, everything is unique. Want to kayak? Just ask and they will grab them. You can even compete to try and be the fastest kayaker around the island. Hungry? Ask for anything, anytime. Feel like lobster or fish? They will grab them from the ocean and cook them up. Or do you want to grab the lobsters or go fishing? Just ask!

Feel like a massage? Karen is fantastic. And if you have kids, and want Karen to watch them, she is happy to do so (babysitting fees apply). How about showing up to dinner for a Rum Tasting Experience? Check. Want to learn how to make your own wood-fired pizza? Check. Want to select from multiple coffee beans for your coffee the following morning? Check. Here’s a short list of other experiences on the island:

  • Cooking Lessons
  • Returning to your room after dinner to receive a gift each night, plus towel animals – a different once each night
  • Have kids? One day they put together a treasure hunt, with buried treasure and all
  • Multiple culinary experiences
  • Paddle boarding
  • Linefishing
  • Kayaking
  • Turtle Hatching (based on time of season and luck!)
  • Snorkeling
  • Cigar Smoking
  • Swings in the water? Hammock on the beach? Rest in the villa? There’s no shortage of relaxing places to decompress

There are only two things that are not optimal: First, while WiFi is good enough to do most things, it is not 100% consistent. Second, there is no gym, and the island really isn’t big enough to truly exercise. Bring a jump rope or swim some laps if you are interested in working out!

Paddleboarding

Island Hopping – Abandoned House

“Towel Animal” and Free Nightly Gift

Kids Treasure Hunt

Turtle Hatching

Pizza Making

Kayaking

Mini Plane

MGA VIP Check-In

Swim-Up Bar

While the island is tiny, there are endless opportunities to keep your time occupied. There’s also endless opportunities to sit back and relax:

Beach Lounger

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A Private Island on Points – Part 3: Calala Island (The Food)
April 29, 2023

Previous Trip Notes
A Private Island on Points – Part 2: Calala Island (The Island)
A Private Island on Points – Part 1: Calala Island (The Setup)

There is always an expectation that an all-inclusive resort is going to have either mediocre food, or if it is an upscale all-inclusive, good food. But almost never great food. Al Maha is one of the exceptions to that rule. And so is Calala Island. While I had read everything there was to read about Calala prior to our trip, I wasn’t prepared for the truly unique culinary experience. And that’s really what it was. Now, that’s not to say that it was perfect, but any area of opportunity with the food offering is simply to elevate it from great to perfection, not that it was ever something I was disappointed in.

The best way to dissect the food offering is to go by meal period. So we will start with breakfast. Our breakfast started every morning at 7am, when two of our amazing staff members would bring us French Press coffee (you chose your bean selection from a wide array of options the night before) and biscotti (a different flavor every day), for NSPwife and I to enjoy, and the breakfast NSPpeanut and NSPpeanutToo had ordered the night before. It typically consisted of eggs, bacon, and pancakes.

Morning Ritual

The staff would setup the breakfast on our porch overlooking the water, and we would meander out and start to wake up. After the kids were sunscreened up, we would make our way to the breakfast area, where we would meet up with the rest of our group.

We always ate under the canopy, but had great weather every day. There were bottomless coffees, water, tea, and orange juice, and of course Tona or Victoria beer (my drink of choice was a Tona with a splash of orange juice). The menu did not vary, and was the same everyday. This would be the only opportunity I would see with the menu; however, if you wanted something, you could always ask and the chefs would try to make whatever you wanted, and they would happily oblige.

Pancakes and Bacon

Eggs Benedict

Bacon Sandwich

French Press Coffee and a Mimosa

Fresh Fruit

Tona and OJ

The uniqueness of having the entire island simply elevated everything. There was no competing with others for seats or a table. We simply walked to breakfast when we were ready, and had a relaxing meal. If we wanted to eat and hit the pool, we did. If we wanted to hang out for an hour or two, we did.

Snacks and lunch could be ordered at any time. This was one thing I was nervous about before the trip. Trip reports and reviews had only talked about breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And candidly, while I’m on vacation, I like to eat. All the time. Great news for me, that was no problem! You could order almost anything, any time during the day. I usually ordered from the swim up bar. This was my first experience with Ghost Peppers. And. I. Am. In. Love. Their ghost pepper ceviche was out of this world. I ordered it every day. Sometimes twice. And the snapper that was served in it? Sometimes they quickly fished them out of the water and cooked them right up. That freshness even beat out Al Maha’s daily shipment of sushi from Tokyo! Lobsters were no different. They’d pull them right up from the dock!

Ghost Pepper Snapper Ceviche

Of course you could order a wood-fired pizza at any time as well:

Wood-Fired Pizza

Dinners were as unique as the island, with each night being completely different than the night prior. We would typically agree on a time for dinner around early afternoon so that the chefs could begin to prepare. The first night was a “normal” dinner. We showed up, and the menu consisted of an Amuse Bouche, Salad, Lobster, and Dessert:

Night 1 Dinner Menu

Amuse Bouche

Salad

Lobster

Dessert

The sticky toffee pudding gives Gordon Ramsay a run for his money. We returned on night two expecting something similar. Instead, we found the table set up under the stars, and a huge traditional BBQ buffet set up. There was enough food to feed 20.

BBQ Buffet Menu

Table Setup Under the Stars

BBQ Buffet

BBQ Buffet

Dinner Under the Stars

Night 3 consisted of a Surf & Turf Dinner:

Surf & Turf Menu

Sushi Starter

Steak & Lobster

Mango Dessert

Night four offered the largest production of the week: a seven-course tasting menu:

Seven Course Tasting Menu

The Formal Setup

Covered Dinner Area

Seven Course Dinner

Seven Course Dinner

Seven Course Dinner

Seven Course Dinner

Seven Course Dinner

Seven Course Dinner

Seven Course Dinner

Seven Course Dinner

This was special. The Executive Chef and Executive Sous Chef came out after dinner to talk about their training, and the dinner they had just prepared. Culinary experiences are so much more than taste. It’s about the creativity. The presentation. Textures of the food. Alinea is an extreme example of this, with their insane gastronomic experience as it relates to food (even though their dishes tasted mediocre at best when we went). This dinner hit on all of those notes, and was a truly memorable experience.

We invited the General Managers to join us for the final night’s meal. We had fun conversations about their experience as GMs on various remote islands.

Final Night GM Dinner – Amuse Bouche

Final Night GM Dinner – Appetizer

Final Night GM Dinner – Soup

Final Night GM Dinner – Entree

Final Night GM Dinner – Dessert

In short, the culinary experience was nothing short of phenomenal. I can’t describe how special each meal was. It wasn’t just about the food. And the resort knows it. They truly make each day and night special. A final example based on a salad I wanted one afternoon. Just your basic run-of-the-mill lobster Caesar salad. Never-you-mind that once I ordered it, they grabbed a lobster from the water and cooked it up. Unbelievable.

FRESH Lobster Caesar Salad

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A Private Island on Points – Part 2: Calala Island (The Island)
April 7, 2022

Previous Trip Notes
A Private Island on Points – Part 1: Calala Island (The Setup)

The island is tiny, roughly 15 acres. You could walk across the island in just a couple of minutes. Since we had the entire island to ourselves, the layout didn’t really matter. The four villas are located together on one side of the island. They are far enough apart that there is some semblance privacy, but if someone was being loud, or listening to loud music, I could see it being a problem.

The pool, and the swim-up bar, are small, but nice.

Pool

Swim-Up Bar

Pool Loungers

There are enough lounge chairs for everyone, or you could opt for a couple loungers on the beach.

Beach Lounger

Just adjacent to the pool is a covered outdoor eating area, if you are so inclined to eat there. At orientation, this area was presented as the normal place to eat lunch, and had books and board games, if you felt the need for some entertainment.

Lunch Area

Apparently there was some plumbing issue in the planter immediately adjacent to the pool, so they pulled the plants out and created a sandbox for NSPpeanutToo to play in:

Sand Pit Made for NSPpeanutToo Next to Pool

In addition, there is a restroom located just about 10 yards from the pool. While convenient, there is no lock. You simply mark the room as “occupied” by turning the outside marker from Green to Red. While not a big deal, I could see this causing some awkward moments if there are others on the island that you are not with, particularly after a number of drinks in the sun.

Bathroom Hut

The ocean is beautiful, with distant views of the mainland as well as other tiny islands.

Sunset

The beach was nice, although not quite the Caribbean white sand or bright aqua waters. In addition, the waters are shallow for quite a distance and coral coming almost immediately up to the beachline. This made swimming difficult – not an issue for us, as we are more pool-people than beach-people.

Water Views

The main dining area, where you eat breakfast and dinner, is just a few minutes away from the villas. It has a wood-fire grill where you can see what is being cooked, and you can choose to eat under a covered hut or under the stars. Right outside the covered eating area is an outside bar. You can choose to hang out at the bar before dinner. There’s another bathroom about twenty yards from the seating area. Again, it is nice and convenient; however, the lack of a lock could cause an awkward moment.

Dinner Under the Stars

Covered Dinner Area

The villas are small, but nice.

Villa

Master Suite

The outside shower is amazing, and the master suite was plenty large for a king bed, a crib, and a twin size bed.

Outside Shower

There is plenty of storage area, and each villa comes equipped with plenty of toiletries throughout the week, as well as a battery-powered flashlight. The flashlight is much needed at night. Outside each villa is a nice small deck, with a table to relax outside while drinking coffee or enjoying morning biscotti. An example of a nice touch is that each deck has a water spout to wash off your shoes/sandals and feet to remove all sand and dirt before entering your villa. There is also a small covered area with a hammock, large enough for two people. There are also a number of pillows and soft seating (i.e. bean bag type of chairs).

Private Hammock

About 40% of the island seems to be a densely forested area that also hosts the wifi tower and staff lodging area. There is a walking path that goes around the island, and through this area is where the spa is located. The spa is, like everything else, small but nice. And remote enough that it gives a good sense of privacy despite being in the open-air.

The walking paths are nice, but a little grainy so I preferred to wear sandals, although sometimes walked barefoot. The stars are incredible at night, and coconuts can be heard dropping constantly throughout the day and night. In fact, on multiple occasions I woke up to a coconut dropping into the ocean or the ground. It’s a pretty cool feeling, although it did make you a bit nervous when walking around under the coconut trees.

Lastly, the creatures of Calala. Unfortunately, despite looking for the island sloth every day, it hid well and we did not get a chance to meet him. We did see some pretty amazing star fish, cool looking birds perched on fallen coconut trees or swooping down to catch fish, and various crabs and fish in the water. There were also turtles, but that is more for the “experience” section.

Starfish

Birds Perching on Trees

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A Private Island on Points – Part 1: Calala Island (The Setup)
February 6, 2022

NSPwife and I had started our plan to take our parents on a nice trip since 2018. In fact, we started our research late 2018, which was then complicated by NSPpeanutToo’s early 2020 arrival, and thus further complicated by COVID. So we were in late summer of 2021, desperate for another international trip, and went back into the research phase. With 5 adults, a 6-year-old, and an 18-month-old, there were some logistical complications. An ANA Round-the-World Trip, which is really want we wanted, would almost certainly not have 6 business class seats on flights. Also, COVID restrictions were ever-fluid, and if any one leg of the trip didn’t work due to entry restrictions, it could throw the entire trip into chaos. Belize looked nice, and allegedly you can book multi-room villas at Mahogany Bay on Hilton Points, but there were some mixed reviews on the property and the surrounding area. We knew Calala Island had recently been incorporated into the Hyatt umbrella through SLH, and seemed like a great experience. We emailed Calala directly in August and asked if they had any 4-night stays available where three rooms could be booked on points (there are only four rooms on the entire island). They responded the next day. There were only 2 options in the next 12-months, and most likely (if we return to a post-COVID normalcy), they would never again allow 3 of the 4 suites on the island to be booked via points. They then emailed back another 24 hours later to say that one of the two sets of dates had been booked, so we were looking at being 8 weeks out as possibly the only time we would ever be able to do this. A quick points recap for the hotel:

  • 40,000 points per night x 3 suites = 120,000 points per night.
  • 5 nights total 600,000 points

It turns out they had 5 consecutive nights available, so we booked it for a cool 600,000 Hyatt Points, transferred from our Chase Ultimate Rewards points. They also mentioned that they would upgrade one of our rooms to the Master Suite, allowing our 18-month-old to join for free. They call this an ultra-inclusive resort – all food, alcohol, water activities, and other excursions are included, and we couldn’t let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity pass by.

We also booked three rooms in Managua on the first night in Nicaragua, as well as the last night in the country. Rooms at the Hyatt Place were 5,000 points each, and we also transferred points to Hyatt form Chase Ultimate Rewards:

  • 5,000 points per night x 2 rooms = 10,000 points per night
  • 2 nights totaled 20,000 points

Flights would normally be easy: United, American, Aeromexico, Avianca, and Spirit all flew various routes to Managua, Nicaragua. Unfortunately, we are not in normal times. United, American, and Spirit cancelled all their flights, largely due to the restrictive COVID protocols. In order to fly to Nicaragua, you need an rt-PCR test showing negative results, taken no more than 72 hours before arrival. But the difficulty is you need to provide the results to the airline no less than 36 hours in advance. That’s a quick turnaround time. So we knew we had to find a place that provided test results back on the same day. In many cities, that’s not a problem. In Northwest Indiana, and Chicago, it’s not that easy – or cheap. There was a single testing site that we found in Chicago that would test for free, and provide same-day results: Loop Medical Center. Nicaragua states that your tests need seals and signatures, although there is a lot of mixed info related to that. At the end of the day, we did two things to get past this hurdle: First, we booked two appointments for COVID tests. One at Loop Medical Center for 7am, where 6 tests totaled $0. And then booked secondary appointments in the afternoon in case the morning results didn’t come back in time. The second appointments cost $250 each, so we were really hoping the first test results would come back and we could save $1,500 (6 of us were testing in the Chicagoland area). Luckily, the results came in just after 1pm.

The second thing we did was hire a travel agency that specialized in Nicaraguan and Costa Rican travel, run by Alex Ruiz. We found Alex on the Nicaraguan Flight & Travel Facebook group page, that was setup to help figure out how to get through all of the conflicting information on entry into the country. Once the test results come in, you just send them to Alex’s team, where they will confirm if the information on the test will suffice for Nicaraguan’s Ministry of Health’s (MINSA) review. We sent the results to them via Whatsapp a few minutes after 1pm, and they quickly wrote back that we were good to go. They handled all of the various documentation requirements and sent them directly to Avianca (the airline we chose to fly). To book our plane tickets, we booked the following: ORD > MIA, morning flight via American Airlines. 9,500 miles each.

  • 9,500 miles x 6 passengers = 57,000 miles
  • $5.60 for taxes per passenger x 6 passengers = $33.60

It was great to have Citi add American Airlines as a temporary travel partner, and we significantly loaded up our AAdvantage account. NSPwife is still an Executive Platinum member with American, due to her Hyatt Globalist status and their gifting of American Status in 2020 (which extended through 2021 due to COVID). This allowed us to check all six bags for free. MIA > MGA, early evening flight via Avianca Airlines, 19,300 miles each booked through United. There were five economy seats available, and we needed 6. Luckily there was one saver Business Class seat also available for 33,000 miles (and the lap infant only cost $20).

  • 19,300 miles x 5 economy tickets + 33,000 miles x 1 business class ticket = 129,500 miles
  • Taxes + $20 lap-baby fee totaled $113.30

For the return flights, 2 of the individuals in our party flew from MGA > IAD through San Salvador, again booked via United for 19,300 miles each. The other five returned to Miami via Avianca for 19,300 miles each, and then MIA > ORD for 3,940 miles each booked through the Citi Travel Portal (cash tickets were dirt cheap!).

  • 19,300 x 6 = 115,800 miles
  • 3,940 x 4 = 15,760 miles
  • Taxes = $20 lap-baby fee totaled $327.77

All in, 318,060 miles were needed for flights and $609.03 for taxes & fees. That put the total trip cost at 948,060 miles/points and $609.03.

Given the prices of the rooms alone would have been:


Master Suite Cost – Calala Island

Junior Suite Cost – Calala Island


Not bad for a private island experience for seven. Let the games begin!

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First Trip in 18 Months – Coconut Point, Florida
January 30, 2022

It’s almost unfathomable to write that we hadn’t traveled anywhere since visiting Miami in December 2019 as a quasi-babymoon. NSPpeanutToo was brought into the world on March 5th, just about a week-and-a-half before complete lock down due to the Coronavirus-19 virus. We had potential plans to return to Miami during NSPpeanut’s spring break, but with the craziness that was going on there during that time, we decided to cancel that trip. NSPpeanut had already packed her bag, and wanted nothing more than to go to Florida by the time we pulled the plug. We looked at different options and the Hyatt Coconut Point resort looked to have rave reviews. We booked a room for 4 nights, and applied a suite upgrade from NSPwife’s Globalist status. We booked flights on Southwest Airlines, utilizing my Companion Pass that was extended through 2021, and were also able to utilize Southwest’s amazing free changes policy to secure 3 round-trip tickets (plus a lap-baby) for just over 26,000 points – a killer deal.

We took an early Sunday-morning flight, at landed around 10:30am.

First Flight in 18 Months. Slightly Different

We grabbed a car quickly from the National Executive aisle. Unfortunately they had very limited larger cars, and we had to squeeze everything in a smaller Dodge Journey. We arrive at he hotel around 11:30am. They told us our room was ready, but the connecting suite would not be ready until later in the day. That was no problem, we were excited to change into swim suits, grab lunch, and hit up the pools. The room was relatively small, with a small balcony:

Our Standard Room

Our Standard Room Bathroom

Our Standard Room Bathroom

Our Standard Room Bathroom

We grabbed lunch, despite some rain, at they poolside bar, which had one open table undercover.

Lunch Menu

The lunch menu was relatively small, and prices were what you would expect from a touristy hotel.

Coconut Shrimp

Nachos

Near the end of lunch, a staff member walked around with complimentary freeze pops, which was a big hit with the kids.

Daily Freeze Pops!

By time lunch ended, the sun was out, and we went back to the room to get our swimsuits on. We received a call that the suite portion of our room was available, through the door in the back of our room. Wow. What a suite:

Suite Entry Way from Bedroom

Suite Table, Enough Seating for 10

Suite Additional Seating Area

Suite TV Lounging Area

Suite Balcony with Outside Seating

Suite Second Bedroom

After changing into our swimsuits and exploring the suite, we headed down to the pools. Most chairs were taken, but we found a couple in a corner. We dropped our things and headed to the lazy river, where we promptly found out that NSPpeanutToo did not like the water. It would be a week-long struggle. Before our trip, I had measured NSPpeanut to ensure she would be able to access the water slides. I measured her at just over 48″ before we left; however, the official height stick showed her at only 47.75″, and you had to be at 48″ to access the tandem water slide. They wouldn’t relent despite the closeness (and NSPpeanut trying to fool them on her tippy toes). At first she was devastated, but quickly learned that the water slide she could go on was plenty big, and really fast.

After some good pool time, we headed up to the room to get showered and dressed for dinner. The hotel had recommended a restaurant called Coconut Jack’s, which was about a 10-15 minute drive away, with outside seating along an outlet of Fish Trap Bay. The food was pretty good, and it was a fun evening.

Coconut Jack’s

Coconut Jack’s Waterfront Seats

The owner of Coconut Jack’s also owned Sweet Melissa’s Homemade Ice Cream & Key Lime Pies, an ice cream shop right on the way home. Given the advertisements at the table, NSPpeanut was quite insistent, and we stopped by for a great after dinner treat. We headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest. As we were getting some warm milk from the shop in the hotel, NSPwife ran into one of our neighbors who had two boys about NSPpeanut’s age. We had no idea they were going to be there. It was quite fortunate, as we spent a good portion of the next few days hanging out with them, and NSPpeanut had two older boys to race down the water slides with. Day one was great, and we were looking forward to a few more nights at the resort.

Breakfast was pretty good, and everything was self-serve despite COVID. They did require you to put on disposable gloves before entering, however. The only downside was the lack of variety each day. The service, though sometimes slow, was very friendly, and we enjoyed our morning ritual:

Free Globalist Breakfast – Hyatt Regency Coconut Point

Free Globalist Breakfast – Hyatt Regency Coconut Point

Free Globalist Breakfast – Hyatt Regency Coconut Point

Free Globalist Breakfast – Hyatt Regency Coconut Point

Free Globalist Breakfast – Hyatt Regency Coconut Point

Free Globalist Breakfast – Hyatt Regency Coconut Point

Free Globalist Breakfast – Hyatt Regency Coconut Point

We ate at one of the onsite restaurants on the second night: Mangroves. It was pretty good, but again expensive for the quality. For the last two nights, we decided to Doordash food. There isn’t a lot of good Thai food by us, and Muji Thai Country & Sushi was rated highly, so we splurged on a large spread on the third night. It was fantastic, and the giant table in our suite made this so much better than trying to eat on a bed or makeshift table. The kids were completely worn out after the fourth day, and so Chic-Fil-A really hit the spot for all of us.

One afternoon we did venture off property to visit Bonita Beach. We found a nice lunch spot, Doc’s Beach House. The fish tacos definitely hit the spot:

Doc’s Beach House – Bonita Beach

Doc’s Beach House – Bonita Beach

The grounds of the hotel are impressive. While you can’t just throw down towels on the poolside chairs and leave them all day, they don’t mind if you throw them down for a little bit. Each morning before breakfast, we “reserved” poolside chairs with our towels, and on most days we got what we considered the absolute best: Front row where the water slide that NSPpeanut lived on let out.

I was surprised that they didn’t have a reservation system (like Hyatt in Aruba), and that it wasn’t packed with people holding chairs with towels until closer to 9:30am, but it didn’t seem to be a big deal, and we never heard complaints from anyone about not getting a chair.

The pool scene is great. If you have kids. There are screaming kids everywhere, definitely not a romantic getaway. But the lazy river was fairly large, the number of water slides – and their size – impressive. They even had a kiddie slide for NSPpeanutToo. There was Connect Four on the pool deck, ping pong, and multiple waterfalls to jump through or hide behind. The kids had an absolute ball (except NSPpeanutToo, who continued to not like water throughout the trip).

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Pools

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Pools

The Hyatt offers a complimentary scheduled boat ride to a beach, although we opted not to take advantage of it. There is a chipping green, large pond with a nice fountain, and multiple fire pits for s’mores. There were a few lounging areas – more for adults – in various areas of the resort. And the building itself is huge, channeling a southern-style plantation.

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Adult-Only Pool

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Lounging Area

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Outside Lobby Area

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Grounds

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Adult-Only Pool

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Pool

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Boat Landing

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Kiddie Pool

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Water Slide

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Climbing Wall (closed for COVID)

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Fire Pit

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Chipping Green

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Hammock

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Gazebo

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Fire Pit

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Grounds

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Spa

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Entrance

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Lobby

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – Entrance

In normal times, breakfast would not be included at a Hyatt Regency. Instead, you would have access to the lounge, which would typically have a small food offering, but would be available all day. Due to COVID, all Regency Lounges were closed, and free breakfasts were offered. When reading Flyertalk prior to arriving, there were a number of Globalists who mentioned they were also offered a free daily coupon for food and beverage at the Cool Beans Marketplace. It would have been nice if the front desk was proactive in offering this to us, but instead we had to ask if it was a Globalist benefit when checking in. They stated that they were glad we asked, and gave us 4 coupons, one for each night of our stay.

Free Daily Breakfast due to the Lounge Closure

Cool Beans was very expensive, but it’s hard to complain when getting candy for free. Everyday NSPpeanut loved going in and picking out her one or two candy items:

Globalists Were Allowed $25/day to Spend at the Cool Beans Marketplace

The S’More Kits were also expensive, $25 for just enough for a few S’Mores. But S’Mores are king in our household, and we had to splurge:

S’More Kits at the Cool Beans Marketplace

Overall it was a very nice stay. I can’t think of a better place to visit for kids who enjoy swimming and water slides. It was a particularly great place to visit for our first trip since the pre-COVID days. Flights were easy, direct from Chicago. We rented a car (luckily before prices skyrocketed) and is an easy 20-minute drive to the property. The suite was probably the best suite upgrade we’ve had in the United States. There are grocery stores and tons of restaurants just a 10-minute ride away, making it easy to pick up anything you might need. We don’t typically return to the same places, but could certainly see us visiting this property again!

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2020 – A Travel-Less Year in Food
October 9, 2021

Amazing to think that the year that we earned the most miles and points was also the year without spending a single one. I typically plan our international travels 9-12 months in advance, and with NSPpeanutToo arriving in March, had started researching new adventures that weren’t too far away: Belize, Columbia, Mount Rushmore. You know, the usual. Then 2020 hit, and we found ourselves in a state of perpetual stay. While there were, and have been, many challenges, it has also been a time for pause, reflection, and intention. And one of my favorite outlets, which has been more infrequent over the years than I would have liked, is cooking, baking, and using food to bring people together.

Let me be clear. I didn’t set out on a culinary journey, so you will have to forgive the inconsistencies, lack of quality photos, and general forgetfulness writing this months after the fact. But I thought it would be nice to look back at the year and review some of my favorite culinary creations.

This journey started in early March, right after the birth of NSPpeanutToo. Things moved quickly, and we went from delivering in the hospital, to two weeks later being part of a shelter-in-place order. While we were OK on the toilet paper front, we obviously needed to stock up on frozen burritos, stuffed chicken breasts, pizza rolls. And of course, beer:

Quarantine Grocery Shopping

As there was no heading to Chicago to view the green-dyed-river, the standard Guinness was in order on St. Patrick’s Day:

St. Patrick’s Day Celebration

While we had a particularly cold spring, it stayed dry enough to light the grill:

Grilled French Baguette with Parmesan and Basil

Marinated Skirt Steak

Cedar-Planked Salmon

Grilled Asparagus with Parmesan

I tried for the first time a fruit-infused vodka. I’m not quite sure why, I don’t particularly like vodka, and this was no different:


Pineapple Infused Vodka

NSPpeanut loves to bake. And we embraced trying to bake different foods:

The Tiramisu was good, but having an entire pan of it lying around is dangerous:


Tiramisu

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

We sampled a lot of different recipes for a Strawberry Shortcake. This was by far the best, a little bit more of a biscuit than a cake, but still sweet enough to be a true dessert. Given how many different strawberry shortcake recipes we made, if anyone can figure out which one was the best (we lost track), that would be great.


Strawberry Shortcake

As the world was seemingly stuck in a lockdown, it was apparent that many small local restaurants would have trouble weathering the storm, so we tried to support local-owned businesses. One of our great finds was Ciao Bella, which sold “make-your-own-pizza kits.” NSPpeanut had a ball, and we made dozens of pizzas throughout the spring and summer. I will say the obsession led to a purchase of the Ooni Koda 16…which takes pizzas to a whole new level.


Sausage & Pepperoni

Supreme Version 2

Classic Margherita

Kale, Pistachio, and Cheese Pizza with an Olive Oil Based Sauce

Supreme

The Pizza Princess

Standard Pizzas

While these pizzas were great, we also mixed in making our own pizza crust. Bakingsteel’s 72-hour pizza dough provided an extra crunch and was our favorite.

As spring turned to summer, we lit up the grill at every opportunity. Proteins were mainly steaks, but others made appearances:


Boneless Ribeye

We often use different rubs for the corn. One of our favorites is a simple chili-lime combo:


Bone-In Ribeye

Filet

Jalapeno Smoked Bacon

Sesame Seared Tuna with Corn on the Cob

Chicken Kabobs

Side dishes often contained variations of potatoes, but also included the occasional vegetable that wasn’t corn on the cob:


Mashed Potatoes

Grilled Potatoes

Bok Choy

Chili Lime Rubbed Corn on the Cob

French Baguette

Full Meals:


Labor Day: Watermelon, Mashed Potatoes

Labor Day: Pork Ribs and Brisket Nachos

Jalapeno Bacon BLTs

NSPwife’s Panang Curry

NSPwife’s Chicken Pad Thai

Shrimp Street Tacos

Black & Bleu Steak Salad

Desserts were always a must:


Apple Pie in the Making

Finished Apple Pie

Grilled Peaches with Brown Sugar and Vanilla Ice Cream

Creme Brulee

NSPwife Made NSPpeanut’s Birthday Cake

We even ordered some specialty items in:


Clams and Clam Chowder Flown in from Maine

Clam Bake

NSPwife’s best meal ever made: Homemade Lobster Rolls

Lobster Steaming

Lobsters Flown In from Maine

One of my favorite finds in 2020 was learning how to make my own gnocchi with a classic pomodoro sauce:


Gnocchi in the Making

Gnocchi in the Making

Gnocchi in the Making

Gnocchi in the Making

Gnocchi in the Making

Gnocchi in the Making

Pomodoro Sauce in the Making

Pomodoro Sauce in the Making

Pomodoro Sauce in the Making

Our Favorite Wine

Gnocchi Pomodoro

One of the toughest recipes to perfect was French Onion Soup. It seemed I could never get it quite as dark and savory as my favorite from Mon Ami Gabi:


French Onion Soup

Pecan Cinnamon Rolls Prep

Pecan Cinnamon Rolls Prep

Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Breakfast Casserole

Spicy Sausage Tarts

Chicken & Corn Chowder

Italian Beef & Provolone

One of my favorite dishes I ordered over the past couple of years was a spicy Lobster Tempura with Pork Belly. This was an attempt at a recreation, which turned out pretty darn good:


Lobster Tempura, Pork Belly, and Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

Olive Oil Bread with Specialty Salts, and Fine Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar

Joe’s Stone Crabs, Courtesy of Goldbelly

Chicken Marsala

Pasta Carbonara & Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

Of course I had to introduce my girls to the delicacy of Texas Toast:


Texas Toast

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

And like everyone else during the pandemic, we bought an Air Fryer. I can’t stress enough how awesome an air fryer is. So quick, so easy, so flexible. NSPpeanut loved making donuts in the mornings:


Cinnamon Sugar Air Fryer Doughnuts

Buffalo Mozzarella, Tomatoes, Olive Oil, & Balsamic Vinegar

I couldn’t quite get the carrot cake right. It didn’t help that the crazy recipe I used placed them in round cake tins. Not sure if that is usual, but certainly did not help my ability to make even layers and make sure everything was set:


Carrot Cake

I made an attempt at a chocolate peanut butter cheesecake. And boy was it a success. It was my second time feathering, and I thought it came out pretty good. My previous cheesecakes sometimes fell to the notorious “crack,” but upon doing some further research, one pastry chef stated that as long as you don’t over-whip the eggs – which puts too much air into them – you should be fine. It seems like that was great advice (of course, also use a water bath). Maybe it was luck, but given the complete absence of a crack, I’ll never overwhip the eggs for a cheesecake again!


Cheesecake Pre-Over

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake

Overall, utilizing food as both a distraction and creative outlet, in a time where we were mostly locked in a house with a newborn, was a great experience. We found some new favorite recipes, learned a ton, and look forward to taking it into 2021.

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Food

A Week in Argentina – Part 5: A Wild Trip Home
October 1, 2020

Previous Trip Notes
A Week in Argentina – Part 4: Park Hyatt & Mendoza, Argentina
A Week in Argentina – Part 3: Santiago, and our 2nd trip to Hell (SCL)
A Week in Argentina – Part 2: Copa Airlines Business Class ORD > PTY > SCL
A Week in Argentina – Part 1: The Setup & Arrival to Hell (ORD)

We were flying on LATAM from Mendoza, Argentina to Lima, Peru, with an 80-minute layover back in Santiago. No problem, should be easy. But in Mendoza, they would not let us check our bags through to Lima, which meant we would have to wait for our bags, clear customs, then re-check our bags, and make the multi-mile trek back to the gates. There was no way we were going to make it. I had booked the tickets through British Airways, so I called them up. They couldn’t do anything, as it was a LATAM operational decision. I called LATAM, they wouldn’t help, stating that we would not have a problem with that turn-time. I worked every angle to try and figure out a plan…there were more than a half-dozen flights from Santiago to Lima that day, but LATAM wouldn’t change our flights. So we made a game-plan: NSPwife would take all of our carry-on luggage (except my backpack) as well as NSPpeanut, and I would RUN to take care of our bags. NSPwife would head to the point-of-no-return – where she would either exit the secured part of the terminal to meet me outside, or simply stay for the transfer to the new flight. I RAN, and I mean RAN to the baggage claim. Definitely over a mile long. And then I waited. And waited. Cell coverage was mediocre at best, but would occasionally get in touch with NSPwife. She was at-the-point-of-no-return, and luckily, there was a LATAM customer service station right there. So she started exploring our options. I FINALLY got the bags, about 35 minutes prior to our scheduled flight take-off time. I then RAN to customs, only to find quite the line. No cell phones allowed in customs. Damn. I cleared with about 15 minutes to flight time, and got in touch with NSPwife as I was lugging 8 bags in a cart in the main terminal searching for LATAM. She said they had worked it out…she thought, and that I just needed to get through security. I made a 90-degree turn, as I was literally right in front of security at that point…the first thing to go our way. I started getting yelled at by security. The cart, right, it wasn’t allowed in. I bailed on the cart, pulled out my phone, only to find the boarding pass had been cancelled when I went to scan it. I texted NSPwife. Yep, she changed me to a flight 30 minutes later…the last seat on that plane. She texted me the confirmation number, and I was able to pull it up on my phone. I re-scanned the new boarding pass, and was cleared to go. Except, I had to carry eight bags, through a massive immigration and security line. Immigration was easy. Security was not. One of the security officers, when seeing how many bags I had, was adamant that I could not bring that many bags through. I explained to him, in my mediocre Spanish, the situation. Reminder: NSPwife had the stroller, and I had a stroller bag FULL of all of our clothes. The officer said to wait a minute while he went to talk to his boss. I said OK, and he walked away. I started loading the luggage up to start being scanned. It all went through. The car seat was taken out of the bag, so the security officer scanning saw the car seat. They definitely didn’t see the stroller…nor were they looking. The first security officer came back, and realized all of my bags had gone through, and I had cleared the metal detector. He was at first upset, then looked down at the stroller bag. I could tell he didn’t believe that there was a stroller in there, so he called out to the officer scanning and asked if was a “coche.” “Si,” replied the officer. I had almost loaded everything up by that point, and the security officer clearly just wanted me out of his hair, and waived me on. OK. Now I have a 20-minute jog. With eight bags. I glanced at the screens while I was running by, and it seemed like the gate for the flight that NSPwife and NSPpeanut were on were only two gates down from my flight. I just kept running. I made it to NSPfamily’s gate just as the plane was backing up. There were still agents at he counter. I dropped my bags, just to take it all in. I had missed our flight, by about 5-10 minutes. Even that was a miracle. They asked me if I was on that flight. I said yes, and they gave me looks that one could imagine, that of sadness and pity. I picked up my plethora of bags, and walked two gates down. I put my bags by some chairs, then walked to the counter with just my stroller and car-seat bag. I asked for gate-check tags. They asked me where my child was at. I explained, in my best mediocre Spanish, that my wife and child took off ten minutes ago from two gates over, and I had missed the flight picking up the luggage. They seemed to understand, and gave me the tags.

I finally made it on the plane. My gate-checked bags were left at the airplane door on the jet-way, and I kept my backpack and carry-ons. I was sweating, beyond belief. My hair was disheveled. I could barely breathe. I had taken some clean clothes and deodorant out of my bags to change into when I got on the plane. We took off shortly after boarding. The passenger next to me appeared to be pretty hung-over. Despite being an afternoon flight, she gave off the same body language and looks of someone taking off from Las Vegas on an early morning flight, fighting between unconsciousness and the barely-living. When the seat belt sign went off, I thought about getting up to change. But my legs wouldn’t work. I was done. I physically couldn’t get up. For a fleeting moment I felt bad about my hygiene, until I looked at my seatmate, who seemingly was only on the brink of the living. The flight was nice. The sandwich was ok, there was seat-back entertainment, and I oscillated between conscientious meditation to calm my nerves and napping.


LATAM Economy Beer, SCL>LIM

LATAM Economy Sandwich, SCL>LIM


I disembarked from the plane, with the eight bags, and made my way to the baggage claim, where I reunited with NSPwife and NSPpeanut. We were all exhausted, and grabbed a trolley to push our entire haul of cargo.

The last time we were in Lima, was in 2012 for a wedding, and I really wanted to head into the city to grab some great Peruvian food. Prior to the day’s debacle, we were at a 30% chance, given how bad traffic is in Peru. Despite the 5-hour layover, clearing customs, re-checking bags, catching a taxi to the city during rush hour, and getting back would have been difficult. With the sweat still barely dried, we grabbed a close second to a nice seafood dinner in the city…airport McDonald’s. We ate while we stood in line at the American Airlines counter, which only opens four hours before the flight, which meant we had to wait for about 45 minutes. It was ok. The french fries hit the spot, and we didn’t have much else to do.

After checking our bags, we headed to the Hanaq Priority Pass Lounge. It was a nice lounge, two levels, with food, drinks, and most importantly for me, a shower. NSPwife and NSPpeanut grabbed some snacks, and I went to shower. Fully reinvigorated and alive again. I hit up the bar, only to find out they limit alcoholic drinks to two per person. We still had a few hours until the flight. Time to find a new lounge! We hung out for about 45 minutes, NSPpeanut was playing with some other kids in the kids-area of the lounge. It was really fun to watch kids play with one another, not understanding one another due to different native tongues, but not letting that get in the way of a good time. Maybe there is yet hope for humanity. We then walked through the terminal, hoping to find an open currency-exchange location, but to no avail, so we went to the Sumaq Priority Pass Lounge, which is adjacent to the Hanaq Lounge. As would be expected, the food and drink offering was identical. We spend about thirty minutes in there until it was time to board our flight.


Sumaq Priority Pass Lounge


We had purposefully booked this flight, all 3 people in business class, to give us 5.5 hours of sleep in the air. The flight was listed at just over 6 hours. As we were settling in, the captain came over the radio stating that the flight time would be roughly 4 hours and 45 minutes. That meant that after subtracting time for take-off and landing, we’d be lucky if we got just even four hours of sleep.


American Airlines – Pre-Departure Drink, SCL>MIA

American Airlines – Amenity Kit, SCL>MIA

American Airlines – Amenity Kit, SCL>MIA

American Airlines – Business Class, SCL>MIA


We would have forewent drinks or food and stretched our sleep time as long as possible, but give it wouldn’t be much anyways, so I decided to try the spread:


American Airlines Dinner – Business Class, LIM>MIA


Landing in Miami, we had planned to go to the American Express Centurion Lounge that comes along with the AMEX Platinum Card. We had visited that lounge on the way to Costa Rica just a couple years earlier, and really enjoyed the experience, but opted to try out the American Airlines Flagship Lounge. I hadn’t thought our international business tickets would grant us access upon arrival, but it did. The lounge was on the second floor and very large, which allowed us to take an entire section for our extremely tired 4-year-old to be a bit grumpy and still not bother any other guests:


American Airlines Flagship First Lounge, MIA

American Airlines Flagship First Lounge, MIA

American Airlines Flagship First Lounge, MIA

American Airlines Flagship First Lounge, MIA

American Airlines Flagship First Lounge, MIA

American Airlines Flagship First Lounge, MIA


They had a nice food spread…


American Airlines Flagship First Lounge – Food & Beverage, MIA

American Airlines Flagship First Lounge – Food & Beverage, MIA

American Airlines Flagship First Lounge – Food & Beverage, MIA

American Airlines Flagship First Lounge – Food & Beverage, MIA

American Airlines Flagship First Lounge – Food & Beverage, MIA

American Airlines Flagship First Lounge – Food & Beverage, MIA

American Airlines Flagship First Lounge – Food & Beverage, MIA


…although Florida law prohibited alcohol to be served in the morning:


American Airlines Flagship First Lounge, MIA

American Airlines Flagship First Lounge, MIA


We packed up our stuff and headed to the gate. There was a small kids area on the way:


Kids Zone, Miami Airport

Kids Zone, Miami Airport


We jumped on the final flight, a short hop in First Class from Miami to Chicago. It was a great trip, minus the many self-inflicted travel-related issues we encountered. Luckily everyone worked through the pain, including NSPpeanut, albeit with multiple McDonald’s french fry bribes. We love South America, and can’t wait to go back.

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