Homeward bound...but not quite there yet

Departure from Quito was a bit hectic yesterday morning. As a group of six (Albert is staying to travel in Peru), we arrived at the airport by 7:30 and checked in. Mishap #1: I managed to put a half-open waterbottle in my backpack; upon arrival at the airport I realized my computer was soaking wet. Lovely, but nothing I could do about it.

We made it to our gate without problems, though slightly annoyed that we weren't allowed to bring water into the waiting area. We had about a 2 hour wait, during which we were offered a $500 voucher to remain in Quito one night, as they had overbooked the flight. Lauren and I thought about it (had it been a cash voucher, it would have doubled my net-worth), but decided that after being away for 6 weeks, we should head home, so on board we went.

We arrived at Miami by 15:30, and made it through the circus that was customs by about 17:00. Robert had to dash to his flight and get them to open the door to the plane to let him on, but he made it nonetheless. Lauren also had a quick interchange, but as far as I know, she's back in DC. Jessica had delays in Charlotte, but made it home last night.

That left Trevor, Katie, and myself, sitting at the gate for our flight to Richmond. It was supposed to leave at 20:55; somewhere around 19:00 the delays began. Apparently the plane was coming from Nashville, and for whatever reason didn't arrive until 23:00. Then the pilot was pulled off the flight, with none to replace him. After waiting an hour for operations to attempt to find a new pilot, the flight was finally canceled. Thus began the rush to the front of the line for re-booking and meal vouchers. I managed to get a seat on a 18:05 pm flight to Reagan today, Trevor a flight to Richmond via Cleveland (which turned out to be delayed today...) and Katie a flight to Norfolk. After waiting an hour to get these bookings (and lamenting the fact that we should have taken the $500 voucher in Quito), we headed to find our luggage (at the other end of the airport, with the train closed of course) and then out to find the hotel shuttle. In the course of events, Katie and Trevor decided to stay the night at the airport, as their flights left this morning, leaving me heading to the hotel. 2:45 am finally found me in bed after an hour wait for the shuttle and rumors flying that there weren't enough rooms at the hotel for all those American Airlines had booked.

Lessons of traveling: patience patience patience. Fortunately the hotel here in Miami has a very nice pool, a soft bed, and bacon for breakfast. I only hope that my travel home this afternoon goes off without a hitch...wish me luck!