Brooke needed two coffees just to get started….
So, we arrived safely in Columbia. I bet you didn't know we were going there......neither did we. Our flight was a bit of a crazy one from Miami to what was supposed to be Quito. The flights from Calgary to Dallas and Dallas to Miami were uneventful (though one cool thing was that we ate at the same restaurant in Dallas that we did on the way down to Costa Rica last year).
Cory at the Dallas Airport
From Miami, things got interesting. Most everyone in line at the airport was crowded around the boarding desk at the gate - all with massive carry on suitcases. Everyone had two to three carry on items that were clearly beyond normal in size. Almost everyone had huge roller-board carry-ons and additional backpacks etc. Everyone was Spanish speaking and looked like perhaps they were heading home to Ecuador for Christmas so I figured this was just a cultural thing.
Once everyone was on the plane (good luck finding room in the overhead bins - the poor stewardesses) an event occurred that ended with the police coming aboard and escorting a little old lady off the plane. Rumour had it that the little old lady said something slightly crass to the flight attendant because she was unhappy about something. So, the flight attendant had the captain kick her off. We sat for an hour and a half waiting for this to resolve.
The captain bellowed over the speakers that "this was my decision and my decision alone to deal with a particular passenger". He then later said that anyone who challenged his decision could leave the plane too. Confrontation seems to be an United Statsian pass time. Note that United Statsian is the proper term for a person from the United States.
Eventually, there was a sigh of relief as the plane pulled back from the gate and we began our journey. Brooke and I got a few winks and watched a few shows on the laptop though we were still very tired from leaving the house at 4:30am.
Brooke and I relaxing at the Columbian airport in Cali while
everyone else was manic about getting to their hotel rooms.
After we passed the time in which we should have landed in Quito, the captain mumbled something about wind speed and that we were circling over Quito. Eventually we had to proceed to our alternate landing location in Cali, Columbia. We landed at a very small airport that was, for all intents and purposes, closed. It was by now 2:00 am. I do understand that at altitude it is very hard to get the slow speed lift you need to land a plane and the plane we were on was a very old American Airlines Boeing 757. It was probably due for replacement 10 years ago.
We never did customs and we never got our luggage but they seemed to have a plan - amazingly.
It took them hours to sort out the hotel and get us in cabs to somewhere. The cab ride was an hour long - yes an hour! But we ended up in our room, which turned out to be awesome, though we couldn't enjoy it we were so tired. It was now nearly 5am.
This hotel was attached to a huge mall and had all the makings of a wonderful place, however, as with all south america, the finishing details are always missing.
What a neat roof!
We finally left for Quito the following day at 3:30pm flying straight there upon which the pilot flew right past the airport, raising questions from the passengers about what the hell was going on. Apparently, he couldn’t make the landing on the initial approach. We landed eventually, safely I might add, and all was well in the world.
We’ve checked into this beautiful little hotel that is more like a B&B. We’ve got our own balcony and a quaint little room.
Confucius say: expect the unexpected when traveling.
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