Wednesday 20^th February – Day 22

I actually managed to get a couple of hours sleep!  This was largely due to a sleeping tablet Raf gave me before leaving Mendoza though.  Nevertheless the sleep was very welcome.

Arriving in New York on time I spent the next two hours waiting to clear US immigration again and to collect my luggage.  Neither was a particularly worthwhile or productive task but they had to be done before I could enter New York.

Eventually I made it onto the shuttle bus to Newark from JFK Airport.  I had received some insider information that there was a very small limited luggage store at the airport and thought it would be better to try a leave everything there than at JFK Airport.

Arriving at Newark Airport I found the luggage store easily enough (following the top secret information I’d been given!), checked in my two enormous bags, and made my way to the nearby train bound for New York Penn Station.

Just on midday I finally arrived in New York.  I got an unlimited one-day subway pass and set out to see what I could in the six hours I had.  The subway was remarkably easy to navigate and by 13:00 I was sat on a ferry bound for Liberty and Ellis Islands.  The view of the Statue of Liberty was incredible although very cold – guess who’s forgotten about the change in hemisphere and hadn’t dressed accordingly!

I would have liked more time at Liberty Island but with only a few hours in the city I jumped back on the subway and headed for Broadway.  Just off Broadway and 6^th Avenue is the Empire State Building, which is a feat of engineering I have always wanted to see.  It certainly didn’t disappoint!  From the 86^th floor you could see the whole city with its Chrysler Building and Brooklyn Bridge and other memorable landmarks.

By 18:00 I had managed to see the UN buildings, Madison Square Gardens, Central Park, Ground Zero and various other landmarks.  I have definitely been left with the impression that I would enjoy spending more time in New York in the future.

Back on the train towards Newark Airport in a very cramped coach (due to it being rush hour) all the experiences of the trip came flooding back to me.  It has been quite some adventure!  Arriving at the airport I collected my luggage and checked in to my flight using Continental Airline’s self service system.

The only thing left to do was to wait to board my flight and look forward to some quality sleep in my own bed at home!

Thursday 21^st February – Day 23

No sleep last night but I wasn’t too concerned as I would be arriving home today.  The flight was pleasant enough and I managed to watch ‘All The Presidents Men’ whilst on the plane.

Arriving in Manchester on time I rejoiced in sailing through immigration and waited for my luggage to turn up.  We had a delay as the luggage carousel broke but after fifteen minutes the passengers got fed up of waiting and fixed it themselves.  With my bags I headed out to the arrivals hall and was met by Alan Wood, one of my friends from work.  Alan had very kindly offered to drive me home, which was both very kind indeed and very welcome!

During the trip home I recounted tails of what happened during the expedition.  A lot had been covered during the three weeks and it was quite interesting talking through everything that had happened.

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