We were out pretty late, so we just ended up crashing at James' because we could walk there. Saturday we were going to go to the market, but we didn't have time. There was a soccer game on at noon, so we met up with some girls from TEFL (teach English as a foreign language) and went to a bar.
My ride was scheduled to pick me up at 3:30, so we were out until about 2:50. It was a little close. Especially because when we walked out of the bar there suddenly were no taxis. Luckily there was a bus and I got back to my house around 3. I was already all packed, but just wanted to charge my phone and facetime Chuck. at 3:10 my ride showed up. It was a nice taxi owned by someone at Maximo. The ride took quite a bit of time, but I finally made it to the airport.
I had to pay a departure tax of $28, which I thought was totally insane. After that, I ended up waiting in line about an hour to check in. Dear Taca: get yourself together and shorten your friggen lines. However, it was my lucky day. My flight was full, so I was upgraded to first class! I breezed through security and made it into the terminal.
At this point I was starving. I'd had some bread for breakfast and a couple bites of nachos at the bar. I wandered around looking at the food, but the airport is surprisingly small. Everywhere had sandwiches for about $9. Even a burger at Burger King was $8. So I ended up getting a premade, gross sandwich for $9. I paid with colones and got my change back in US and it was a bad exchange rate. 10,000c is about 20USD but my change came out to $9.
I had to wait in line to sit down at the gate because they wanted to manually look through the luggage. I went through and sat down and waited. I felt like there were a lot security personnel around, but I didn't think much of it. We still hadn't boarded by the time the plane was supposed to leave. Then there was an announcement that we were switching gates.
On the walk down, I passed another little food stand. Of course, this one had sandwiches for $6 and they looked better than what I had had. I sat and waited at the new gait with the many security guards. Finally, we could board. With my first class status I was one of the first few people on board. On the jetway, everyone had to go through a pat down. Quite intense. I found my seat in row 1 and enjoyed the extra space and the pillow and blanket.
So Taca always gives food, but I got a snack and a meal in 1st class. I started with my beverage (in a nice glass) and a little ceramic bowl of mixed nuts and raisins.
The flight attendant then took my order for dinner; chicken and pasta or a beef dish. I figured pasta would be safer. I received a beautiful tray of food. Real silverware, cloth napkin, warm bread, my entree, and a chocolate strawberry dessert with a freshly sliced strawberry. I think everyone should fly first class.
Even though we had taken off late, the flight was shorter than expected. About 2.5 hours after take off we were in Miami and I was finally able to see Chuck after 6 weeks. I fell asleep on the drive home and woke up as we pulled into the apartment complex. I went inside, hugged the cats, and went to bed.
It's bittersweet to be home. I've been gone a long time and missed it here, but there is so much more out there for me to see.
Mom and Dad, thank you for funding my trip and putting up with my lack of phone calls. I hope my blog kept you entertained.
Mr Peaches looks oh so happy to see me.
FIRST CLASS? you are such a jerk.
ReplyDelete