Day 48 - 'Attention Attention please, the flight is delayed...'

12/30/16

After a short night, the lights were not turned off until 01:00, the alarm clock rings again at 06:20. After a quick breakfast, which was better than expected, we take the shuttle to Terminal 4 at 07:00. There is a lot of traffic, so it takes us about 20 minutes for the short kilometer. We have already checked in yesterday, so we can go directly to the security check, which we pass relatively quickly. Arriving at Gate 41, we search in vain for a plane... A look at the departure screen tells us that we (new) have to go to Gate 115. So we walk through the airport to Gate 115, but there is no plane there either.

A short time later, the Boeing 777-200 rolls out of the depot. It is pouring rain outside, let's hope our luggage stays dry in the container.

Boarding takes a little longer, as it seems that the Americans have no system when it comes to boarding and the plane is full down to the last seat. When we look at our boarding pass, we notice that we are sitting apart. At least we are not squeezed into the middle row of five, but in the farthest rows.

To our surprise, Yves has a Swiss neighbor, whose family is also completely scattered. Later it turns out that practically all group travelers are sitting apart, for whatever reason!?

Unfortunately, a passenger did not board. Therefore, his luggage has to be unloaded again and this takes time... We start with a delay of 70 minutes. The pilot wants to make up for the lost time by flying higher (12,000m), where there is more jetstream. However, this results in many turbulences and the flight is very turbulent. At least there is an outdated onboard entertainment system, as the plane is already 17 years old.

After 3767km and with a delay of (only) 20 minutes, we land in Miami, well at least some time was caught up. The baggage claim takes a little longer this time and the suitcases look a bit battered, but everything is still there and it seems to be dry. Now we are looking for the Miami Beach Airport Express Bus, not an easy task. After a detour, we find it and have to wait another 40 minutes, even though a bus would run every 20 minutes, just like at home during rush hour. During the ride, the lights and the engine even go out for a short time, but after a minute it continues, phew lucky.

We also find the apartment after detours over the river, well '26th West' and '26th' are not the same. The apartment is small but nicely furnished.

Now we go in search of dinner and then fall tired into the loft bed...

Photo of the day: One lock is not enough