I woke up at 4:30 AM to go to the airport.
I was super glad that I brought a book because it literally took an hour to get through the line. 30 minutes later I was on the plane and happy. They closed the cabin doors, started up the engine and it looked like we were ready to go. 15 minutes later, we still hadn't moved.
"Folks this is your captain speaking. It looks like there is a sensor here saying there is something wrong with one of the engines. We are going to have the ground crew look at it and once that's fixed, we'll be off."
An hour later, "Ladies and gentlemen, the good news is the engine problem has been fixed. However, it appears that there are immigration problems for a few passengers and we are waiting to hear from their agents to see how to proceed."
Another hour later... "Unfortunately, we cannot take off until immigration talks with the following people... please grab all your carry-on luggage and deboard the plane." My heart started to beat faster. I thought to myself, "Did I do something wrong? Are they going to call me? Uh! I just want to go home." He proceeded to announce one name after the other. Didn't he say "a few"... this is more than a few. My heart beat a little faster until he finished with the 35 or 40 names... thankfully none of them was mine.
Another hour passed... a man who had been complaining quite loudly for the entire 3 hours was asked to step off the plane. He was irate but went without making too much of a scene. His mood changed from anger to hurt puppy, "You see this? You see this? Just because I voice my opinion, you are arresting me. I've flown to and from Costa Rica 140 times. 140. Never have I been treated so badly." I felt sorry for him but I was glad that I didn't have to hear him complaining and blaming people who literally could do nothing to make the process go faster. It wasn't the flight attendants fault and he kept barking at them.
When he left, they closed the cabin doors and said, "Okay folks! We are getting out of here. Just as soon as they load the checked luggage back into the cargo we can go."
Another hour passed, "Well, they loaded the luggage, but immigration still isn't letting us go. We are waiting for the officials to clear us for take off and we'll advise you as soon as we hear something."
Finally, they gave the go and we were off. Everyone clapped. The originally full flight felt a lot more empty... probably because it was; the people who exited the plane didn't get back on, nor did their luggage. The only explanation we got didn't make a whole lot of sense: because of the delay with the engine failure, there was a time discrepancy with customs and immigration and this caused the problem. I don't really understand and I feel really bad for those people. I hope they made it back okay.
When we landed in Miami, I was glad to be off the plane and get something to eat. I was still going to be able to catch my connection and so I was happy. I got on the plane and we started to pull out and fell right asleep. I woke up and it seemed some time had passed as it was darker and we were still in the same place. The captain came on, "Folks, it looks like we are having steering problems. The ground crew is going to check it out for us."
A hour later, "The ground crew has determined this plane to be unfit to fly. We are going to have to deplane. But, the good news is, we have a plane for you at D45."
The plane at D45 wasn't there yet and so we boarded an hour later. This time there were no problems and we were off. In the meantime, I was wondering how I was going to get home from the airport. The plane was 3 hours late... did Arne and Leticia know about the delay? "I hope they haven't been waiting there this whole time..." I made a backup plan: I saw two students that I taught on the plane; maybe they could give me a ride. And that is what happened. Lorenzo's Dad and Mom gave me a ride home and as soon as I lay in bed, I fell right asleep.
4:30 AM - 11:30 PM. That'll put ya right to sleep.
Now it's time to prepare for the visit from my family!!! I'm so excited!
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