Working within limits

I came back to the islands in December with two checked bags and a rolling carry-on, plus a backpack. The standard luggage allowance for international travel. 

 But travel between islands is a little more limited. No, it's a LOT more limited. They give you...

 ... wait for it...

... 33 pounds of checked luggage and 11 pounds of carry-on. 

I get it. The planes are small. They want to be able to take off and land on our little runways. But it's a tidge inconvenient for us international travelers who don't live on the same island as the international airport. 

So what do you do? Especially when they charge around $1.75 per lb over the limit?

Well, remember how I've carried things for other people? Sometimes I also get to take advantage of the island way of doing things.

This time I ran into an English teacher friend on the big island who just happens to be a soldier, and he took over all things related to my travel-- the ride to the airport, checking in, navigating the Covid health checks, and finding people to transport all my extra bags.

I did my part by separating out the weight pretty well, so no one person would have to take too much extra luggage. 

But otherwise I just sat (nervously) while he worked the system. He would watch travelers entering the airport and count people in the party and the bags they were carrying. If it seemed they had extra room he would make the approach, "Is that all you have? Would you be able to help my friend?" If they agreed, he would choose a bag appropriate to what they could accommodate, then shepherd them through check-in, cajoling the person at the counter if there was extra weight, discussing with the person who was carrying my bags what they could take out of their own bags and carry in order to bring the weight within reach of the limit. And after negotiating each bag through check-in he would come back to me with the claim tag, which I tucked into my passport.

He seemed utterly unconcerned by the process, wandering around in his uniform and mask, chatting with airport workers, doing what islanders who travel often do.

And all my extra luggage was accounted for. 

Sometimes the island way is kinda nice.