Saying goodbye is not something that I enjoy doing. Saying goodbye in Pijal and at Colegio Filippo Brunellschi was hard. However, this time we were saying goodbye to Omar and Juan Carlos. They had been with us the entire trip and they are wonderful people. Even though we have a language barrier, our conversations and interactions were still filled with continuous laughter and joy. When we got to the airport and it was time to say goodbye… I tried to hold in the tears, but that did not happen. Later on, Kiley and I were joking how the leaders of the trip were bawling hysterically. We were having a moment to ourselves, crying. It was pretty funny when you think back on it.
The adventures that one can have at the airport are endless!! Last time that we were here, we were delayed for two days. I mean, how bad could it be this time? Going back to the United States from Ecuador is an adventure in itself!!
We checked in and went through customs pretty smoothly. When we were waiting in the waiting area, the airport was checking certain carry on bags and they were calling names. After that, we boarded the plane. That was when all the entertainment began!! I was pretty tried at this time since our plane was scheduled to depart at 1:00 AM to Houston. When we got onto the plane, I was ready to go to sleep. However, I was going to wait until we were in the air first. Shortly after everyone had gotten on, there was an announcement saying that the fog was too thick for any visibility. I could not keep my eyes open anymore so I feel asleep. I opened my eyes about 2 hours later to notice that we were still on the ground. I got up and walked around. Crackers and drinks were given out to tie us over. After that, I went to back to sleep. Then, I felt the plane move and saw that we were ready for take off. We had made it to the runway and the engine was gearing up to lift off. I was extremely tired at this point and I was confident that we were going to take off since we had moved to the runway and were ready to take off. Was I wrong?!?!? I had fallen back to sleep like a log. Giovanna, who was sitting next to me woke me up and told me that we had to get off the plane. I asked her if we were in Houston already and she looked at me all confused and informed me that we are still in Quito… I thought we had been on the runway and ready to take off. She notified me that after I had fallen asleep that there was an announcement saying that they did not have visibility for 50 feet. Therefore, they could not fly and had gone back to the terminal. This was around 6:00 AM and we had to get off the plane and went back to our gate and waited there. About 10-15 minutes after getting off the plane, they informed us that we could go back onto the plane and we were off around 7:00 AM.
I believe that everything happens for a reason, good or bad, there is a reason behind it. Maybe it was telling us that we should not leave… Who knows? Until next time Ecuador!!
The adventures that one can have at the airport are endless!! Last time that we were here, we were delayed for two days. I mean, how bad could it be this time? Going back to the United States from Ecuador is an adventure in itself!!
We checked in and went through customs pretty smoothly. When we were waiting in the waiting area, the airport was checking certain carry on bags and they were calling names. After that, we boarded the plane. That was when all the entertainment began!! I was pretty tried at this time since our plane was scheduled to depart at 1:00 AM to Houston. When we got onto the plane, I was ready to go to sleep. However, I was going to wait until we were in the air first. Shortly after everyone had gotten on, there was an announcement saying that the fog was too thick for any visibility. I could not keep my eyes open anymore so I feel asleep. I opened my eyes about 2 hours later to notice that we were still on the ground. I got up and walked around. Crackers and drinks were given out to tie us over. After that, I went to back to sleep. Then, I felt the plane move and saw that we were ready for take off. We had made it to the runway and the engine was gearing up to lift off. I was extremely tired at this point and I was confident that we were going to take off since we had moved to the runway and were ready to take off. Was I wrong?!?!? I had fallen back to sleep like a log. Giovanna, who was sitting next to me woke me up and told me that we had to get off the plane. I asked her if we were in Houston already and she looked at me all confused and informed me that we are still in Quito… I thought we had been on the runway and ready to take off. She notified me that after I had fallen asleep that there was an announcement saying that they did not have visibility for 50 feet. Therefore, they could not fly and had gone back to the terminal. This was around 6:00 AM and we had to get off the plane and went back to our gate and waited there. About 10-15 minutes after getting off the plane, they informed us that we could go back onto the plane and we were off around 7:00 AM.
I believe that everything happens for a reason, good or bad, there is a reason behind it. Maybe it was telling us that we should not leave… Who knows? Until next time Ecuador!!