Sometimes your flight gets canceled. Sometimes you miss your connecting flights. Sometimes you get to the airport a little bit late. You might even get held up in the customs line if you're flying internationally. But what happens when all of this happens in less than 6 hours? Well, let's get started.
After a particularly unsettling horror movie(my favorite watch alone in a sketchy Airbnb at night), I crashed, waking up at 3 m to the bone-chilling iPhone alarm sound. Still sore from the 1,500-meter volcano hike I could barely move. I packed my gear and ran outside to meet the airport shuttle that was parked a delightful 5 blocks away from the pickup point. Despite my best efforts, I instantly fell asleep and awoke to the sound of a sputtering engine and the driver cursing under his breath.
The car had just broken down on a deserted highway in Guatemala. Fantastic.
Before I continue, let me just add that I was wearing a slightly damp t-shirt from a failed attempt at sink laundry.
The driver turned off the car to let the engine cool and took us another 300 feet, then 200, then 100, before the car died altogether and started making explody engine noises. And that's when the cold set in. With the windows down for some reason, we sat in the darkness while he looked over the smoking engine and called for a pickup. My damp T-shirt started to suck all the heat from my body leaving me shivering and very sleepy*.
Soon after, another shuttle arrived to take us to the airport somehow still arriving exactly on time.
When I got there I immediately noticed the food court. Subway, Pollo Campano, and all the other Mesoamérican airport classics. I had to eat something.
While I was chowing down on my favorite( the Italian BMT), I got a fun little message from Kiwi saying my flight had been canceled. I promptly turned off my phone. Maybe if I didn't look at it I wouldn't have to go through all the hassle of rebooking and refunds. Maybe it would just go away. It did not, and the lines for the desk attendants started to grow.
I was given two options: rebooking or a refund. Both would take several days as all the flights were copiously overbooked, and well, it was also Frontier. They advised me to go to American, who quoted me $3,200 for a first-class 2-hour flight, or Spirit, whose only destination for the day was Ft. Lauderdale. I went with the latter and took my place as #30 in line.
"6 spots left," said the lady at the front desk. A few minutes later, "4 spots." I started to panic as there was no way I was going to get a seat if I waited, so I pulled up the website on my phone and tried booking directly. Success! The second to last spot was mine.
Phew what an intense hour that was, on to Florida!
Ariel view of Guatemala City from the plane
Now you may be wondering what else there is: I got a new flight, I can make my connection, done! But that couldn't be further from the truth. My next flight was leaving from MIAMI and I was still in Ft Lauderdale!! While I initially planned to hedge my bets on the train(avoiding rush hour traffic) I opted for Lyft, as I'd get picked up and dropped off exactly where I needed to be. The $60 surge pricing was less than ideal though. At last, I made it to MIA only 30 minutes before the flight.
Then...I slowly opened my eyes and realized it was all a dream. Kidding! It all happened, and I crushed it. I should start a travel agency.
*edit: reading this back over I was probably a bit hypothermic but nothing a good nap couldn't fix
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