Final Trip Report (No. 11)-- Semi-Stranded

Sat. Apr. 16---5:15 a.m.----- Last night the 1st significant problem of my trip occurred, which is that my 11:15 p.m. Fri. flight was delayed until 8:30 the next morning. I had returned to my hotel @ 6:00 p.m. to close out my safe deposit box and wait for my ride to the airport an hour later. Upon getting my bags there was a message to call the airline, which couldn't have been good news, and indeed upon calling I was informed of the above.------------- My hotel was full for that night so I had to figure out my next move. I only had enough pesos on me for the ride to the airport and, in my worn-down condition, experienced several minutes of mild panic. I had mentally and physically (by doing a lot of walking such that I would be tired and able to sleep on the flight) prepared myself for this evening's departure, and now had to regroup fast. Fortunately, the first place I called had a room available (from my pre-trip research I was familiar w/some of the other hotels in town).------- A quick cab ride over and I was checked in. It totally sucked when the porter began informing me of the hotel's amenities, inc. a sumptuous sounding breakfast, only to inform him that I'd be checking out @ 4:30 in the morning.------------ It wasn't like I was totally out of cash, so I paid for the room on a credit card and hit an ATM for some $ that night. A quiet meal @ a nearby cafe and then off to bed for a brief rest. I was due back at work the next monday, and was already cutting it tight with a Sat. return.----------- Utterly unsurprisingly, I did not feel that well the next morning due to the truncated sleep and not-completely-dispelled stress, but had certainly been better off than those passengers who were already @ the airport when the delay was announced. I blew my last pesos on candy at an airport kiosk, and basically waited around in a semi-zoned state to depart the country. The flight back was full, and worse yet the movie was "National Treasure" (again!).-----------The only 2 cool things were that I was sitting in the window seat of the left hand/west facing side of the plane, and you could totally see the Amazon River. The other cool thing, which was a view as well, was seeing what must have been the northern coast of Venezuela stretch endlessly in the horizon, where South America meets the Caribbean Sea. My sojourn to South America was ending. Now, every time I put on a tango CD or ponder the sights that the rest of the country has to offer (while hoping that the exchange rate remains favorable), I can only think of one word: REGRESAR!