Really, no travel writing would be complete without at least a comment on the wonders and challenges of air transportation. The latest challenge involved, on the bright side, learning about an entirely new nation!
About an hour after our plane had departed the San Juan airport on its way to Chicago O'Hare, the captain announced that the flight crew had "smelled a 'hot' smell" and that he was therefore turning off the video, cabin lights, and recirculation fans and making an emergency landing on the nearest island. Jody and I had been elated to get seats in an exit row, but suddenly the flight attendants kept coming by to remind us to read the little card, and to give tips on the best place to store the door hatch after we lifted it off, in the case of an emergency landing! They were taking our exit-row status very seriously, so we did too.
We finally landed safely at our temporary destination, Providenciales (in the Turks and Caicos -- an island group in the Caribbean known for salt raking, conch farming, and gorgeous beaches, though we weren't allowed to explore, due to its being a British protectorate). We used every inch of the runway! A mechanical/electrical issue was diagnosed, and American Airlines sprang for cheeseburgers for everyone. After a 5 or 6 hour delay, we finally boarded a different airplane and got to O'Hare at 3:30 am, exhausted but grateful to be home.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
something special in the air
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2 comments:
This is going to be a really stupid question, in light of all your wonderful travelogue postings, but...
who is Jody (other than the guy in the photos, that is)?
Nope, not a dumb question. I realize I provided no introduction for all of you folks not living in this city. :-) Sorry 'bout that!
Jody is one of my roommates here at the Summit House. I've mentioned the bit about having 15 roommates, right? He is one of them (Just a friend, since I know you're wondering that.... :-) ). Actually he's moving out as we speak, and is soon to become one of the vast numbers of "former roommates" whom I seem to accumulate faster than most people I know. Not because I am horrible to live with, though; just because I choose to live with lots and lots of people at once. :-)
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