And we were off ...

We had to get up real early that Saturday. We being Denyse, the P.A., and Ann, another nurse. Between all of us we had a lot of gear. So much in fact that we couldn't go to the airport in one car. So we loaded up my husband's pickup truck with everything. I had been watching the weather report the night before and it was supposed to rain in the early am. Oh boy. Just what we needed. I called Ann in the morning and it was raining like crazy in town. Since I live on the outskirts of town it hadn't started here yet. I said, hurry! Get here quickly! We've got to out run that storm or all our luggage will be soaked! When they got to my house it was starting to sprinkle and we hurriedly loaded the truck and I took off with a quick kiss good-bye to my husband. Soon it all the roads dried up and the storm was behind us. We found Miami airport just fine and dragged and lugged our heavy, cumbersome luggage into the airport. We checked in with Delta and all was fine. So very fine to get rid of all the luggage but our carry-on's, or so we thought. We boarded the plane and just sat out on the runway. Nothing happening. And we sat. Finally the pilot announced that no take offs were allowed at this time. Ha ha ha ... The storm had caught up to us. And we sat. In that hot, stuffy plane. Finally, after what seemed like forever, we took off for Atlanta.

Yes. Atlanta airport. That was where the whole team was meeting up as we were from a variety of places. Michigan, Wisconsin, and a lot of different areas around Florida.

Not long before our plane was to load for Bogota, Colombia we finally found the rest of our team. And our host family was there too. They'd been in the states for a while and we just returning to Colombia on our flight. Jeanette and her son. Her husband, Billy, was already in Colombia getting things ready for our arrival.

The flight to Colombia was uneventful. But once arriving we were in a foreign country with a foreign language and having to go through check points and all. Thank goodness for all our translators!!! And first thing that happened was Uncle Jim, soon to be Tio Jaime, drank water out of the water fountain. That is a BIG no! no!

And then there was the bus. But I'm saving that story for tomorrow.