Day 1/2/most of 3: Aborted first leg to Ecuador

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Today began with final packing and last minute details involved with leaving town. Packing is always a stressful thing for Joyce because she has difficulty making decisions on what to take. On this trip the predicted temperature range is 32 to 85 with time spent on islands and in the mountains. It is always a challenge to take what I think I will need, but keep the weight down to meet airline guidelines.

We took Nancy to lunch at New City Grill and she rode around with us and we ran a few errands. She was quiet and talked a little less than usual. She surprised both of us by refusing ice cream when Alan offered. This was the first time we can remember that happening.

After taking Nancy back and finishing final packing, we left home about 5:30 p.m for Chicago. We will stay at the Baymont Inn in Glenview. We purchased a stay/park/fly package. The trip to Chicago was blessedly uneventful with little traffic. 

After checking in, Alan used Yelp to find a local restaurant. We settled on Mesa Urbana about a mile from the motel. The waitress described the cuisine being Mexican based with Asian and French influences. The food was excellent. Alan had a New York strip steak with truffle butter served with pinto beans. Joyce had scallops served on a bed of vegetables including acorn squash, green beans and spinach. It was very tasty.

After dinner we watched Hairspray on television and went to bed.

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Today will be a travel day. Our shuttle to O’Hare turned out to be a cab ordered & paid for by the motel. We have TSA pre-check status which means we don’t have to take off our shoes or take electronic items out of carry-on to be screened separately. Our trip through security was quick.

We head to Miami on the first leg of our journey. After a 2 hour layover, we head to Quayaquil, Ecuador, scheduled to arrive around 9:30 p.m.

Well, things didn’t work out exactly like we planned. 

It started with an announcement that as the plane was arriving in Chicago the pilot noticed something that he wanted checked out. Then the announcement they were working on the plane and would keep us informed as they received information. Then the announcement that the plane was taken out of service and they were trying to get another plane. Then the announcement where passengers could find the re-booking center. Then the announcement they had a plane and it would depart at 2:30 p.m., 2 ½ hours after it was scheduled and we would miss our connecting flight to Guayaquil. At least they brought out complimentary sandwiches, snacks, and drinks for us.

Alan was on the cell phone with an American Airlines representative discussing options when it was announced that the departure had been moved up to 1:30 p.m. Our options appeared to be get on another flight that went to New York City, transfer to a different airport in NYC and then be on an overnight to Guayaquil or take our chances on the 1:30 p.m flight, which is what we decided to do. We decided that the chance to make connections and if we failed we would have an overnight at a hotel in Miami on American Airlines, and that was better than being up all night on a plane and then trying to tour the next day.  

Then the flight was delayed until 1:45 p.m. We were able to change our seats to the first row in coach so hopefully we could leave the plane as fast as possible. We talked to the flight attendant who said she were check when we were closer to Miami. Later she came back and said we would land in Miami about 25 minutes before the connection flight was scheduled to take off so we might be able to make it. She also told us there were other people on the plane that also were on our flight to Ecuador and that would help – they might even hold the plane 5 or 10 minutes. The plane landed and we were hopeful as we taxied to the gate.  We were even more hopeful when we heard that the next flight had been delayed, but it turned out to be a different flight.  Oh well.

Then we sat on the plane for 20 minutes because first the area in front of the gate needed to be cleared of taxiing planes, then the plane in front of our plane had to be pulled to it’s gate so our plane could get to its gate. We got off the plane and jogged from Gate 31 to Gate 50, not a short distance to be met at the gate by an agent telling us she was sorry, but the flight was already gone. Then she directed us to the re-booking center.

As we waited in line with 30+ other people at the re-booking center Alan and Sonya, our travel agent had several phone calls to discuss various options. She thought she had us booked on an 8 am flight through Panama, but then found out the flight was full. Then they told her there was a flight 2 gates away from where we were standing that was getting ready to depart for Guayaquil – this was the first she had heard about it. 

Alan quickly walked to that gate and was told the plane hadn’t left, but the door was closed and we weren’t allowed on the plane because we didn’t have our luggage.

While in the line at re-booking, we had a chance to meet a couple from Grand Forks, ND that were supposed to be in Barbados that night for their honeymoon, a gentlemen from Texas that was now driving trucks all over the world and was headed for Columbia, and an Indian woman from the DC area headed to Lima.  We heard varying stories about how different gates provided vouchers and reticketing.  We at least had shared our miseries and tried not to take it out on the agents behind the desk.

So, to make a long story longer, we stayed in Miami tonight and are leaving for Guayaquil at 3:30 pm tomorrow. We have vouchers for dinner, a 1 night hotel stay, breakfast and lunch tomorrow compliments of American Airlines. (Though, apparently, AA thinks that we can eat at hotels and the airport for $12/meal/person.  I guess they haven't had to do that for a while!)  We are staying at an Elements hotel, which is comfortable. We will miss our day of sightseeing in Guayaquil, but without further delays will arrive in time for a scheduled dinner of classic Ecuadorian cuisine.

The hotel isn't too far from the airport, but there doesn't appear to be much else around here.  When we asked the desk about a toothbrush, they were told their little store was sold out, but that a driver could take us to a drug store, about a 5 minute drive away.  After breakfast, we walked around the grounds for a couple of minutes, and then came back to the room to relax until checkout and a return to the airport.

We are grateful for a safe, comfortable place to stay, food to eat, Sonya’s work navigating the delays and rescheduling and travel insurance that will reimburse us for losses. So far it is not the adventure we expected, but we are doing it together.