It seems like we have been traveling all over Haiti for the last few days, but today we get to travel home. We load up on trinkets from Madam Cheap-cheap, make sure our bags way 50 lbs or less, load up the work truck and head to the airport.
The drive is not too bad, a little bit of traffic. The nice part is we did not have to pull off the harrowing u-turn of death. We drive by the UN outpost, see a few armored vehicles, and make our way to the airport. Butch promised us 3 things, air conditioning, wi-fi, and a place to eat lunch. (Note: This blogger does not blame Butch, rather reports that we were all excited for all 3 things)
We get in line for our flight, but it does not move. At all. We wait patiently, as we are in an air conditioned building. Then someone from Delta shows up with a laptop to start the check-in process. They check our passports, and send us into the check-in corral, line 2.
Once we begin moving in that line, we successfully check in, even Laura, and with boarding passes and passports in hand, we head for the security check. Line 3. This process is relatively smooth, unless you forget to take off your belt, oops. Hayden and I head to line 4, immigration. This takes a few minutes, and finally we are in the main part of the airport. Now to find a Delta gate, but there are no Delta signs anywhere. Donnie directs us up an escalator to what appears to be civilization. A new terminal, with someone waiting to check our documents and send us up to the glistening food court. Then he tells us that this area is for American Airlines, and that we would need to take the elevator back down into the abyss.
For the non-AA crowd, you get to wait in what appears to be a construction zone, the only place to get food is a little hole-in-the-wall (literally). Good news, the waiting area is so packed that there are only a few seats, but the fun does not stop there, no AC and only a few directional fans. The team waited patiently for their hot dogs or cheese sandwiches. Hayden purchased a few drinks for us, and I walked around. I found another place to grab a ham and cheese pressed sandwich. It was actually pretty good, the bread was exceptional.
We finally figure out that this very large waiting area is the correct place for the Delta crowd, and we wait. And wait. And wait. But we do get to sit down, in the warmth of the crowd, without wi-fi. (Kind of an 0 for 3 day)
Then they announce our zone, so we get into line #5, to have our passports and boarding passes checked, then we head upstairs, to line #6. This is when we notice our plane pulling into the gate. So the plane will have to be unloaded, both of passengers and bags before we get on. No problem, we will be in an air-conditioned area, right? Nope.
Somehow line 6 turns into line 7, split men and women for the final screening and pat down, but it is not moving, remember that problem of people are still getting off of the plane? So we stand in a glass enclosed hallway, waiting to get the final once over. Only this is hallway is hot. I finish my bottle of water and then Hayden's. Eventually we finish the pat down, and head down the jetway. To line 8. Now I feel like a bad trip to Disney World, with no fast-passes.
.... at least we are headed home. The air conditioning on the plane is actually too cold, Katrin and Marion put on jackets, while many of us are writing our journal entries. We pass around the last of the cards from our church and begin to watch Spiderman.
On to Atlanta.