Trapped in San Pedro Sula

"Today we go to Colombia!" we thought as we climbed out of bed on Saturday morning. We were both quite proud of the tickets we had secured for our spring break. We had used all our miles to secure us each a round trip ticket to Bogotá, Colombia, for less than $200 each. We were flying out at 3:45pm, a fantastically late time in the day - giving us enough time to hit the gym, do the dishes, pack and play video games before even having to call a taxi.

As 1 o’clock approached, we were ready to go. We had our bags packed, the cat taken care of and a taxi idling in our driveway. We climbed in, feeling that rush of anticipation that accompanies every adventure. "Do we have everything?" "Will we make all our connections?" "Do you think our luggage will arrive with us?" We asked ourselves on the way to the airport, not really worried, just filling the time and building anticipation for what was to come.

As we drove along we discussed that we maybe should have put a little more thought into our ticket times and connections, mostly worried about Bri's bag -which he just had to check because he couldn't go to piranha fishing without a pocket knife- but booking flights can be so abstract, done months before the event, and it can be hard to predict what will come of it all. So here was our plan:

Waiting in the Airport - Day 1

Saturday
3:45 leave San Pedro Sula
4:45 sit on plane in Costa Rica, drop some passengers, get some new ones
6:00 arrive in Panama City - connect to new flight
7:30 new flight to Bogotá leaves
10:45 arrive in Bogotá, catch cab to Heather's

Sunday afternoon
12:20 catch flight to Leticia on new airline (we bought these tickets, on a different carrier)
2:30 arrive in Leticia

Monday morning
8:00 leave on boat for 3-day trip of Amazon River

Looking at it we really felt we had plenty of time. I have never had a flight canceled and have never missed a connection due to delays so it never even occurred to me that booking our Amazon tour so close to our arrival in Colombia would present a problem. We felt good, ready to go, and it was with this attitude that we entered the SPS airport and checked in.

As is normal in the SPS airport, it took us all of 30 minutes to get our tickets (1st class, baby!), pay our departure tax, go through security and arrive at our gate. There we relaxed, watching numerous tourists pile on to flights to Roatan, spring break excitement permeating the air.

About 10 minutes before our boarding time, a pleasant voice informed us that our flight was slightly delayed and would be 20 minutes late. We both had a twang of "oh, that will make our connection tight!" but no real worries. 30 minutes later, the pleasant voice announced that our flight was having mechanical difficulties and would be 2 hours delayed. Well, that was the end of that, we would definitely miss our connection. Before we could even think of reacting though, the pleasant voice announced, "Will Brian Thomas and Jacqueline Shhholo.... Please come to the gate, please come to the gate."

We hopped up and walked over -we are talking maybe 10 feet here. I have to admit I was feeling fairly excited, lots and lots of passengers were vying for the attendants attention, but we were rushed to the front and spoken to as if we were VIPs, instead of common passengers, oh, the benefits of 1st class.

We were assured that they were aware of our situation, and that every effort would be made to get us to Bogotá as quickly as possible. Lots of apologies and smiles were given, we even met the pleasant voice, her name was Giselle, and she was super sweet, assuring us we would get there by Sunday. We retuned to our seats, pleasantly surprised by their efficiency and attention to detail.

Waiting in the Airport - Day 2

We were picked up at 4am the next morning. We were the first to arrive at the airport (they had put us up at one of the swankiest hotels in the city, the Crowne Plaza). There we were brushed aside as they tried to deal with everyone who needed to get on the 6 am flight. Eventually, I stepped up and begged them to give us a ticket, and they did. Shockingly. They had booked us on 3 flights – SPS to Panama City, Panama City to Bogota, Bogota to Leticia, arriving at 10 o’clock at night, mere hours before our boat left. The only hiccup, they could only give us the ticket for the first leg, they said we just needed to trust that tickets would be waiting for us at the other stops.

We arrived in Bogota at noon on Sunday. 6 hours before our new connecting flight to Leticia. We approached the ticket counter feeling hopeful that our tickets would be awaiting us, just as they had been in San Pedro and Panama City, but here my luck had run out.

Brian’s was printed and handed over within minutes, but the employee had no record of mine and was not really worried about finding it. A large group of rowdy middle-aged men had formed a line behind us and she wanted to start serving them. She waved me aside, even as I asked how I was supposed to get on the flight. She shrugged and said I would have to prove that I had a flight with LAN, but there was no internet and the line for LAN was 100 people deep.

Our First View of the Amazon River

I looked at Brian took a deep breath and ducked under sashes like my life depended on it. I flagged down a LAN employee, but he only spoke Spanish. He moved to turn away, but in broken Spanish I made it clear that I needed help, NOW. He waved another guy over; this man was very helpful and tried to locate my ticket, no luck. He tried again, still no record. I pointed to my passport number. Central America is forever spelling my names wrong, but numbers tend to be correct. Score! My reservation existed, just under the wrong name. He printed me proof, and I ran back to Copa, a smile on my face.

The girl shrugged and tossed my proof aside, continuing to help the men. This was the last straw, I had been patient and nice and positive for over 24 hours, I wanted my ticket. My eyes filled with angry tears. Brian patted my shoulder and took over. He convinced another Copa employee to print my boarding pass. Then he led me upstairs, through security and bought me a martini. 30 hours after our initial flight… we finally landed in Leticia and were ready to start Spring Break!