We’ve all done it….. begging people to let us creep to the front of the plane even though we paid for the cheap seats in the back. Then make the mad dash through an unknown terminal, weaving through the other travel happy tourists and try to hopelessly beg the gate agents to let you squeeze on your connection so you aren’t stranded somewhere obscure to start your trip off on a sour note.
The anticipation of day 1 is always a rollercoaster in itself. Now add in the rampant delays that have become more the norm than the exception, unfortunately, and you have the perfect recipe for undue anxiety.
A quick week escape in September is typically my last reprieve before crazy event season, so I’m overly zealous. Begging a friend to drop me at the airport, I arrive a few hours early due to her schedule needs. No problem. So I try to go standby on an earlier flight & stave off more stress on my already tight connection on a Thursday late night in the always crazy Newark hub. I’m #9 on a long laundry list. Then a northeast ground stoppage starts the domino effect. Due to the delay, everyone is jockeying and I miraculously move up to #2 BUT of course, everyone checks in.
So I’m back on as originally planned. Well, we naturally get delayed too. So my brain goes into proactive mode, since my layover was only originally 1 hour & 5 mins anyways PLUS the kicker is that my connection direct to the coveted Azores was the only 1 for the next 2 days. So I feverishly scour my trusted google flights site and get moved to row 8 near the front of the plane. The game begins….
I had avoided the extra 3 hrs to Europe and thought I was an absolutely brilliant planner. Jokes on me of course…. So do I now transfer via the closest airport in Lisbon? Or is it cheaper thru Paris? Or is it less time to fly thru London? After being disappointed that I would have to find a quiet, clean corner in the Newark airport for the night, I miraculously found an 11:59pm direct line to Lisbon. SCORE!
So I conspired with the awesome attendants as we closed in on our arrival how to navigate the gates. Should I beeline for my original flight or cut my loss to hit up the alternate plane that still had first class seats? BUT all was squashed when I found out our gate was still occupied.
Not even 3 mins later, I get the alert that my original connection is delayed 10 mins due to a refueling issue. OMG!! As we creep in, we get another refuel 10 min reprieve & 3 of us in the same predicament decide to run for it.
The plane started cheering for us, calls were made ahead and we take off in a sprint as soon as the cabin doors eject. A supposed 4 minute jaunt is excruciating, as my usual 2 carryon book bags are an extra 40 lbs weighing me down. Wish I had trained just a wee bit harder!
Regardless, our worst fears are realized when we roll up (completely dripping & gasping for air) to a closed gate. We are dumbfounded and rightfully disappointed. Five minutes later, as I finally am regulating back to a normal heart beat & with the plane still sitting at the gate (plus begging the staffer to make an exception), we got on that plane!!
Crisis averted…. and the plane was only half full so we got our own rows, immediately changed clothes, watched 2 movies and 4.5 hours later landed on the small (emphasis on tiny) airstrip in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Welcome to the Azores & a week of R&R! Well for me, that means a lot of hiking, adventure and maybe even some beach time tacked on the back end to recover.
So I had 10 hours to explore the capital city of Ponta Delgada prior to my 8:40pm puddle jumper to my final destination of Madeira island. Of course, there is another delay so I arrive at 1am and am FINALLY ready for this new adventure to begin!
FearlessAdventures 