Our month long trip to Panama was finally here! Brooke picked us up at 1 pm sharp and drove 35 rainy miles to the airport. The plane boarded on time for our short hop to Newark.
Newark…. Last year, Newark had more cancellations than any other airport. But we had a six hour layover and things seemed in order. Then the intercom announced the unfortunate news. No planes could land at Newark until after 8 pm. We had to disembark.
Now, we were glad for the long layover. There was still enough time to make our connecting flight.
And at boarding time….
We had options, but none good and all costly. After hemming and hawing long enough (and two agents later), we were put in a cab with a Swiss gentleman. We had a new flight at 3pm the next day out of Newark. The cab driver, from Sudan, asked the Swiss man to type ‘Newark Airport’ into Google Maps, and off we went into the rain. Did you catch that? The Sudanese cab driver didn’t know how to get on the Thruway from Albany Airport. And he had to stop for gas in downtown Albany.
The drive was a little sketchy, as the rain was heavy at times, and the driver fast. Time went quickly though. It was fascinating to hear the backstory of our Swiss and Sudanese companions. We arrived at the airport just past midnight.
Newark Airport resembled a refugee camp, with exhausted and resigned travelers sprawled out on seats, cots and the floor. We found a less crowded section of the airport and tried to sleep; Jeff on the floor and Kathy in a chair. Around 2 am, we scored a single cot to share and slept a couple of hours.
Even though it didn't happen, my guess of a Sudanese taxi accident seems much more prescient in the "Jeff/Kathy Malaria or Lion attack" office pool
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