the odyssey by Sergio Ortega remember what it was like when you boarded a plane for the very first time?

So long, Lima!

Flight: Lan Chile LAN140 Equipment: H/B762 Route: SPIM-KMIA-KJFK

It was August 9, 1989. 11 PM. We were waiting at the Jorge Chavez Airport in Lima, named after the Peruvian aviator that crossed the Alps in 1910. My father, my mother, my older sister, my older brother and I are about to board Lan Chile flight 140, non-stop to Miami, continuing to New York. We are not on vacation. We're actually immigrating to Canada. Why New York? My father wanted to see my grandmother before we left for Canada. Everybody with us at the airport look sad. They think they will not see us again for a long time to come. We are all sad, but at the same time, we think it will be fine, we'll have a better life.

I would like to make a parentheses about why we are moving out of Peru. In 1989, life was very bad. A shortage of food, an incredible inflation rate making prices skyrocket, and the massive terrorism made us seek for a better life somewhere else. Besides, my father went to Canada in the early eighties and since then, he was planning our "move". But nowadays, life in Peru is much better, even though it isn't perfect.

I was only 7 years old. I was dead tired so I slept until they called our flight and my dad carried me to the gate. I could hear everbody yelling: "Good bye! Take care! Have a nice trip!". I sat on the left aisle seat on the roomy Boeing 767 of Lan Chile, as everybody was packing their luggage on the overhead storage compartments. I fell asleep again. When I woke up, the FASTEN SEAT BELT and the NO SMOKING signs were on... I saw a man sitting two rows in front of me smoking a cigarette.

The plane started to roll. The safety demonstration began at the video screen in the middle of the cabin. I still remember the music they put. It was something like innovative. "There are six emergency exits: two forward, two aft and one over each wing"... The majestic images of a Lan Chile B767 in flight were displayed during that demonstration, and the useless "how to fasten your seat belt" demonstration.

Sharp ascent
The B767 engines started getting very noisy. I held my armrests, seat belt and I felt like in a roller coaster. The plane was rolling faster and faster. Everything was shaking. Not only because it is usual, but also because Lima's runway is a little bumpy. Then, 20 seconds later, nose up. And that was really UP! I felt like in a space shuttle, almost vertical. I felt something heavy knocking under my feet. It was the landing gear retracting. Now that I remember the take-off, it reminds me of a dialog between Flight Attendant Lynn Brown (Shelley Hack) and Passenger James Nolan (Jeremy Wilkin) in Falling from the Sky: Flight 174:

Nolan: Rather a sharp ascent!
Brown: It's a feature of these 767s. Sharpest ascent there is.
Nolan: Sharpest of any commercial airliner. I was on a Learjet last, but... We went nearly vertical on take-off!

5-hour ride
It would take us 5 hours to get to Miami. Everything was dark outside. No coast line nor lights were visible once we got to cruise altitude. My sister was sitting next to me, in the window seat. In front of us, my brother next to a guy that slept all flight long. Behind us, my mom and dad. I spent almost 3 hours sleeping.

There are small details we still remember of our first flight. I still remember the blue seats with the NO SMOKING logo on the headreast. I remember the in-flight movie was Big, with Tom Hanks. I remember seeing the inflight magazine, "ABoard". I remember the tiny narrow lavatory, with soap, toothbrush and napkins wearing the Lan Chile "star" logotype. I remember sleeping a lot with a tiny pillow and a scratchy blue blanket.

It was about 3 AM when my sister woke up. The flight attendants were serving breakfast: the tiny bread, the little jam and butter packages, the cup of milk I never drank because it was not chocolate. But what I remember most is the delicious danishes they served at the end. Since our first flight, everybody in my family thinks of Lan Chile when eating danishes.

When the sun was rising, the plane started descent. I had a terrible ear pain when we touched down at Miami International Airport. I was crying and my dad told me to calm down.

Stopover
When we landed at about 5 AM, at Miami, we went for a walk in the terminal. We went to a little shop in the terminal. I remember I liked a lot cars at that time, and I begged my dad to buy me a car magazine. But he said no, since I barely spoke English at that time. He bought me some Tic-Tacs instead.

NY, here we come!
We took-off again, and the sun was already shining hard outside. We had another meal, this time true breakfast. I had some pancakes in a little package. Very tasty, except when the plane starts making sharp left turns and you're seated at the left side of the plane! The SkyRadio program in the plane: it was not very original. The same program, a medley of music of all kinds and including a kids section ("The Lady and The Tramp"), was repeated around the clock on all channels.

Please stay seated...
While we were on final approach, I clearly remember hearing the Muzak version of the 1968 hit song "Jennifer, Juniper" by Donovan. I heard this song several times during the flight, so I suppose it's the official "elevator music" song for LanChile. Each time I think of that song, it reminds me of my first flight. By the way, can you believe it took me five years to hear the "real" sung version of this song, and another seven years to find the exact title and lyrics?! A total of twelve years of very inactive and passive search, of course!

Then, smooth touchdown, passengers applauding (and not just a bunch, ALL of them). I asked my dad why we were applauding. He told me: "The pilots made us have a great flight, we should thank them". Then the classic message: "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to New York Kennedy airport. Please stay seated until the plane comes to a complete stop and the Captain turns off the FASTEN SEAT BELT sign". All the passengers were already up and taking their luggage when the Flight Attendant said that.

Some details come up again. Me, with my illustrated Spanish-English dictionary in my hand, seeing a BWIA MD-80 from the window, a mom telling her little daughter: "Stay calm, please... When we get to the terminal, you'll walk as you wish". When the plane stopped at the gate, we walked out in the jetway, and we were welcomed by my two aunts that visited us in Peru a couple of years ago. I was happy. It was about 10 AM when we landed. An unforgettable experience.