Missed flights - not such a plight...

Well I have just gotten through my first full day in Rio and it has been a bit of an adventure and hassle to get to the point where I’m sitting here typing this blog.

First and foremost I was to have arrived in Rio Tuesday morning but things did not go as planned. Being unmarried and single and unwilling to pay (afford) the fees for long term parking I asked my parents if they could drive me up to Calgary and drop me off at the Calgary International Airport. This meant that I was subject to their agenda; which is not normally a big deal. But in this case my mother decided to bring one of her vehicles in to the shop. The plan had been for her to bring it in before 7am and be back at her house to pick me up before 8am. Well it did not go as planned and we did not end up leaving my parents house till about 9:40am - with my flight leaving at 1:10 pm. My mother insisted that we would get there in time. Well long story short - I ended up missing my flight as I arrived at the Airport at 12:15 - which is 5 minutes after they close down the gates for flights heading into the USA. So I was pretty much out of luck. I was a bit bummed out and not really sure what I could do as there were no representatives from the airline that I was flying with who were available to consult with.

I ended up running into my parents as they had dropped me off and went to look for parking as they wanted to see me off. I informed them of what happened and we all just sat around doing nothing for a few moments. After about 30 minutes someone from the airline happened to come back to the ticket booth. There was another gentleman who was in the same boat as I and he was up talking to the lady. So I stood in line to try and find out how “shit out of luck” I was. When it was my turn to talk the lady I told her that I had missed my flight and that I wanted to know what my options were. She looked up the flights and told me that there was one going out later that day but nothing connecting to Rio till the next day. In the end she was able to find a flight out with the same times and connections - just a day later. I told her how much extra would it cost me and she told me that it would cost a little over $200.00 extra and that I would need a credit card. I informed her that I did not have a credit card and that I would have to ask my mother if I could use her credit card - I told her I would be right back. As I was walking back to my parents the lady called me back and said that it was okay and that she would not charge me for the new flight. I was supremely happy that I would not have to pay extra and it is a sign that there is some kindness left in the world.

After re-booking my flight and getting my new itinerary I went back and told my parents that I would be still going to Rio just a day later. Now the issue was whether or not we stayed up in Calgary in a hotel or drive back and get up early and make our way back. In the end we decided to just drive back down to Standoff and leave early Tuesday morning. We ended up doing that and this meant that I got to spend another day with my family before I left - it is always fun to spend time with my niece and nephew.

Nothing really eventful - we drove back home. I had planned on driving into Lethbridge to do a quick workout at the University but decided against as I knew that I had a large trip in front of me the next day and that rest was the best option. I ended up spending the evening with my parents and my nephew and we had some good laughs.

I woke up at 6am Tuesday morning and got ready and as a whole we left for Calgary by 7:20am - a much better start than the previous day. I ended up getting to the Airport at 9:55am. I checked in and got my baggage tagged and was ready to go through customs by 10:15am. But I decided that I wanted to spend a bit of time with my parents so I ended up hanging out for about another 20 minutes. After a few farewells and see-ya soons I was off to make my way through USA customs. Surprisingly it did not take as long as I thought it would. I was all zipped through customs and ready to board by 11:25am. My flight did not leave till 1:10 so I had a bit of time to kill. I ended up eating a hamburger and getting a coffee at star bucks.

Finally it was time to board and that went off without a hitch. My flight was to Houston and from Houston I would connect to Rio. From Calgary to Houston was approximately 3 ½ hrs of flight time. By the time we landed in Houston and I made my way off to find my connection it was just a bit after 6pm Houston time (just after 5pm as they are an hour ahead of us.) First thing I noticed was the heat as I walked off of the plane in Houston. It did not get any better in the terminal as it seemed the whole airport was a bit humid and hot.

Because I had eaten in Calgary and ate on the plane I decided to not eat in Houston - I just ended up having something to drink. I killed time by trying to log on the internet in the terminal and after a few minutes I was able to so but I have noticed that airport ‘free’ internet is pretty spotty at best-unless of course you’re willing to pay up some cash to become one of those elite members. I say no to that.

Anyhow, we were to have left Houston at 8pm but did not end up leaving till almost 9pm as there were some issues with the cleaning of the airplane. I finally boarded the plane and made my way to my seat - I now regret not having a credit card or asking my mother to use her card as I was asked back in Calgary if I wanted to upgrade to a seat with more leg room and did not. As this was a 10hr plus air plane ride. The only consolation was that it was a Tuesday night - midweek - and the plane was not totally packed. Still my legs and feet paid for it as they were aching and sore within a few hours of take off.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this blog - with pictures.