I started to consider booking the flights only to find that the connections I had found earlier were gone. Instead of arriving to Faro around 5 pm I would not get there until almost midnight. Thus, the choice was between economy tickets with nice connections or a late arrival with a comfy business class seat.

The conclusion was to choose economy since getting in too late would be a sad start to a great trip. After getting home from the lad's Judo class I quickly booked the flights on Aeroplan for 30k points and $75. Not bad, considering.

In the meantime, I had booked a number of hotels along my route but nothing that was non-refundable. Just in case I couldn't get the desired flight combination.

One might wonder why I would not simply adjust my dates for the trip - but there were reasons. I am covering at my part-time workplace in mid-March and then Marie-Anne and Alex will be away for the weekend immediately preceding my departure. The end of the trip is prior to my Dad's birthday and the length of time permits me to cycle from Faro to Lisbon on a fairly non-strenuous route which should not tax my left calf too much. Having strained it a few times last year it seems to be strengthening up nicely now. Finally. With me starting to cross country ski, that seems to be good for it in terms of strength and stretching - both of which are important to the healing. Not to mention the lack of harsh impact.