To get from Peru to Costa Rica, we had to fly via Miami, USA. We had heard much about the problems that could arise due to George "Brainiac" Bush's over-the-top rules about getting into and out of his terror besieged country. :) So armed with a large dose of cynicism and its good friend sarcasm, we arrived in Miami expecting it to take hours to get through Homeland Security and Customs. I guess we were lucky because it took only about half an hour. Sure we had to get fingerprinted and have our photos taken like common criminals but in general it was pretty pain free. We were so stunned we had to find a nice little sportsbar where we could kick back with a couple of pints of Guinness while we waited for our flight out of Miami at 6.10pm that night.
It was the flight out where our fun began. After an hour delay as they couldnt find enough staff to work on the plane, we were up in the air. After an hour and bit of flying (more than half way there) we were told that there was a problem with some sort of equipment. In nice calm tones our captain said that it was not a worry because they have three of them, so the other two, umm, thingies were working fine. But, we had to turn back to Miami. We arrived back in Miami at around 11pm and after about 20 mins of the flight crew being unable to attach the bridge thingy to the plane, we were finally able to get back on the ground. We were then told that they had arranged us another plane that would leave at 12:30am. This wasnt really a good option for us because we were then going to be arriving in the city of San Jose at around 2am, without anywhere to stay. We were starving at this stage as we hadnt eaten dinner yet and all of the food joints at the airport had closed for the night. A hungry Damo is a grumpy Damo and I decided to have a word to a dude to see if we could be put up in a hotel and fly out the next day. I figured the chances of this were slim but the growl in my stomach told me to try anyway. Before I had even mentioned the reason for why we should get a free hotel stay, the guy was organising it! Great stuff! We arrived at the Marriott Hotel to find ourselves in a room with a double bed each and about fifteen hundred pillows on each one. This was a damn nice room! In 32 years, I have not slept on a more comfortable bed. This bed is the closest I will get to having a nap on a cloud. I kid you not!
The next morning we ate the biggest pancakes I have ever seen and caught a trouble-free flight to San Jose. So while our experience with Miami airport was interesting, it kind of worked out alright in the end.
Now for a week or so relaxing on the beach of Samara.
5 comments:
Hey Damo, Carlos wants to know why you shacked up with his Peruvian wife. She actually looked a lot taller in the photo...... ooowww now i know why, cause your so short she was nearly the same height as you. Sounds like your enjoying your travels Gimli. :-)
Why is there a photo with you and my wife? And who said that you could go through my wardrobe and wear my clothes? They do look big on you. :)
Jonsey
Como se dice 'baastards' en Español? :)
My Spanish translator says to try, híbrido. To check if its right, pick the meanest Costa Rican and try it on him. If he pulls a gun out, then its right.
Also good to hear you can go swimming this time. :-)
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