Hey St. John’s, this is William Proctor writing about the supposed last day of our journey. The day started as every other day did; an early awakening and an early morning breakfast. Our breakfast was especially good today as we had eggs, banana-chocolate chip pancakes made by John Allen, and bacon (much better than the usual plain wheat toast with eggs we make at the Quito hostel).
After breakfast we had our final debrief in which we recounted our journey using all of our senses. We closed our eyes and Willy, an Ecuadorian intern, reviewed the schedule from our week, start to finish. We were encouraged to remember sounds, sights, smells, and feelings as we thought. We discussed what we had gained from the journey and what those eight days meant to us. After our debrief we met outside the hostel to board our final bus to the airport. After arriving at the airport, we all gathered to say our goodbyes to the interns and to John and Caroline.
We spent what felt like an eternity getting through security and customs (but this would later prove to be an insignificant amount of time). After getting through security and customs, we headed to Johnny Rockets for our first “American food” since the day of departure.
A couple burgers and milkshakes later, we gathered at our gate. We noticed a sign saying that our flight had been delayed from 1:57 PM to 2:30 PM, but this once again seemed insignificant. We finally boarded the plane and began waiting for departure. Eventually 2:45 PM came and our captain made an announcement that our plane was 4,000 pounds too heavy to takeoff with current conditions. We hoped this would be resolved quickly but more and more time began to pass. Eventually around 3:45 PM, the pilot announced that we were going to have to deplane 24 passengers. Multiple people volunteered in exchange for a $1,000 voucher with American Airlines. Around 15-20 people got off the plane but no one else was ready to volunteer. As I write, it is 4:45 PM and we are waiting for an announcement about when/if we are going to be able to leave.
The flight attendants are going around offering water and snacks to people trying to calm nerves but it is very apparent how annoyed everyone is. At 5:40 PM we were just about ready to take off when another delay of ten minutes was announced. At 6:05 pm, FOUR hours after our original departure time, we took off for Miami.
We ordered four separate Ubers to a hotel (rooms quickly booked by Wayne Strayer) and collectively enjoyed about 20 Papa John’s pizzas.
Full and exhausted, we went to bed, dreading the 5:30 AM wake up.
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