As you all know there are many trials and tribulations associated with traveling these days. It seems the airlines are always getting you with extra baggage weights, size of your carry-ons or extra fees for window seats and more leg room. One of my first big accomplishments on this trip was meeting my luggage requirements. Brazil is the only and let me repeat ONLY destination on Delta where you can fly in economy and bring TWO suitcases, BOTH up to 70 lbs (35 kg) for FREE. Now a days that is almost unheard of. And with my many uh, er, interesting requests from Brazil included in my luggage I weighed a ginormous sigh of relief at the airport when Bag 1 came to 67.5 lbs and Bag 2 came to 69.5 lbs. Whew! Step one complete.
(The interesting items I mentioned in my luggage, for those who didn’t get a chance to talk to me before I left, were three giant tubs of seahorse vitamins, which arrived in a box marked keep refridgerated, and three ziplock bags full of siran carriers, which I was told looked like glass beads, but to the naked eye looks like white powder. Gulp. What will customs think.)
However that joy of meeting my luggage weight, was outlived when, 30 seconds later, I was informed by my helpful and friendly Delta agent that there was a problem with my return flight from Brazil. I’m thinking, it’s in 279 days what do I care, BUT the big thing was……my flights weren’t changed…….Delta decided to cancel their direct flights from Fortaleza to Atlanta leaving me, er, stranded so to speak in Fortaleza without a way to get back home. Perfect you might think for me, because we all know I’m going to go native and not want to return (don’t worry Mom, you know I always wind up coming back….). So despite my luggage accomplishment, now my bigger problem is that I have no ticket back. We eventually solved that problem and take note as of right now: I have a ticket to return to the US on the 8th of December 2010.
Now unfortunately, Delta sent me the most round about way possible to Brazil. So as you may have already gathered they had a direct flight from Atlanta (read: airport of lost luggage from many people’s, especially mine, past experiences) to Fortaleza. AND one would think it would be fairly easy to get from Boston to Atlanta. The bad news is that to fly direct from Boston-Atlanta meant an extra $200 in the price of my ticket, so sigh, I am routed through JFK New York. Unbeknownst to me, I am upgraded for my two US flights Boston-NY and NY-Atlanta to first class. I can only hope to express the utter and sheer surprise when they called my zone and the stewardess showed me to first class.
No worries getting to NY. In NY I was to spend some quality time in the airport, supposedly about 2.5 hours, with my flight to Atlanta departing at 3:45 pm. But my 2.5 hour lay over turned into an 8.5 hour lay over! Bad news folks: there was weather in Atlanta. There were tornado warnings with heavy rain and wind closing the airport for a good three hours in the late afternoon. It was an 8.5 hour lay over in NY with many ups and downs. 1st, I am happy to be in first class where I have free booze! And an attentive crew catering to my whim. Secondly, I’m nervous I”ll miss my flight to Brazil, and since Delta only flies there every other day, perhaps a long awaited stay in Atlanta I never knew I was desiring, will be in order. Or third, maybe it’s not so bad, a flight attendant by the name of Dustin M Long has provided some witty banter and entertainment so perhaps the hours I spend on this plane in NY won’t be so bad. I finally make it to Atlanta around midnight……I race off the plane and have to run from one end of terminal E to the farthest place at the Atlanta airport, Terminal T……so after much sprinting, with some very heavy bags, I was the last person on the plane. Whew.
I made it, my bags didn’t. no big surprise. They arrive 4 days later, when I am in Cumbuco.
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