Too tired to think up a catchy title. We flew overnight to BA and arrived this morning, feeling like zombies. The apartment is small but comfy; it is HOT here. More on BA later; first an update on Dallas.

Aftr going to bed on our second night, I developed a pain in my right side – low level at first, but it gradually built up, and I spent quite a lot of time pacing the floor. I was pretty sure it wasnt a kidney stone – it wasnt painful enough for that. But it hadnt gone in the morning, so Ian managed to locate a walk-in medical clinic where I could have it checked out.

They were very thorough, and took some Xrays and a urine sample. All clear for anything nasty like kidney issues or appendicitis, but the xray showed I have a “phlebolite” – a calcified blood clot inside a vein – and the pain is caused by irritation. This is apparently a common thing, and won’t develop into anything more sinister; it should settle down after a few days of dosing up with ibuprofen. Needless to say, we spent what was left of that day resting up.

On our final day we had to check out by noon, but our checkin for the flight was 4.30pm. The weather was wet and cold, and neither of us felt like sightseeing, so we booked a day use room at a hotel near the airport, and rested up in comfort and warmth for a few hours.

The flight was fully booked, and we were allocated seats in separate rows. I was lucky and had a bulkhead seat with extra legroom – which the passengers either side of me had paid extra for! It seemed that everyone on board was headed to Antarctica on a cruise, so there were lots of comparing of notes and excited chatter as we took off.

The excitement wore off, and the 10 hour flight left us feeling drained – although Ian got a view of the Andes as we crossed the mountain range shortly after sunrise. We were relieved to see our suitcases already on the carousel, and before too long we were in a taxi, our first experience of BA traffic snarls. The apartment was ready for us, which was a relief; the bed is super comfy and it’s very quiet so we look forward to a proper sleep. We will continue to rest up and take things slowly till my phlebolite settles down.