It's not that it takes so much time to actually fly from Belize. The time in the air is not that much. On the way to Belize, it was pretty fast. I left the Albuquerque International Airport at 6:00 a.m. and was in Belize International Airport by 1:00 p.m. There was an hour time change getting there.
On the way back... different story.
Sister and I had a wonderful talk before I left. Then I packed most of my things. I went to bed late. Got up at 4:00 a.m. to shower and finish packing.
We left the convent at 5:15 a.m. No one was at the airport yet. They say to be an hour early. We were only 1/5 hour early. It's all good though. We had a little more time together.
We watched the sun come up.
It's a small airport with small airplanes. The courtesy and helpfulness of Belizian people is amazing. The luggage attendant came to the car and got my suitcase for me and took it to the airplane. He brought me back a baggage tag to where the sisters and I were still talking by the car. He said to take that in when I go inside to check in. No rush.
I said my goodbyes and went to check in. They were super helpful and I sat on a couch until they came for me to board.
I left from Punta Gorda on a 13 passenger airplane to the Belize International Airport as a sole passenger. We made a couple of stops along the way and picked up more passengers so we arrived with a full plane.
Once in the air, some islands could be seen in the distance. I think one of those was the one we were in. (See previous blog)
Then more land/islands. Some looked like swamps.
Caught a nice reflection of the sun on the ocean.
I think I took this shot as we flew into Placencia to pick up more passengers. Many different kinds of trees.
Small airplanes are coming and going as we wait for the flight to Miami.
These small airplanes don't mess around. They come in quick, unload, load, and are on their way really fast.
Our flight from Belize left at 11:00 a.m. Thing is, the return flight went from Belize to Miami to Dallas to Albuquerque. Crazy huh?
Picture of Belize International Airport.
It was a notable difference in the atmosphere and the people once we were in the International side of the Belize International airport. There were mostly people flying to Canada or the US.
I found an empty spot on a bench and put my backpack down. The gentleman on the end of the bench said hello and asked if I was headed to Miami.
He was the only person that talked to me. Everyone was in their own little world. So I asked him if he was from Belize. Of course he is!!! That's why he talked to me. Belizean people are kind and friendly.
Boarding the airplane to Miami.
It's notable when you are in the midst of Americans, for the most part, wanting to be first in line, first on the airplane, first off the airplane, first to get to the luggage carousel, rush, rush, rush.
And then we get to the luggage carousel, and waaaaaiiiiiiiitttt. 🤣
As soon as the carousel gets moving, everyone rushes to be the first to get their luggage. I wonder if they realize that the carousel goes around a few times?
Once you get your luggage, rush to get in line to check in at customs. Depending on the day, the time, and the employees there, that can be a long time as they go through your things, they can pass them through an ex-ray machine, or they can just toss them into the conveyor belt for loading.
Today, tossed on the conveyor belt, no questions, no checking. Works for me. 😁
Once that's taken care of ... better check the flight schedules because they can change at any time.
And of course there are always a few glitches here and there. The mad rush to get luggage, to get through customs, to get on connecting flights, changing gates of departure, etc. It's an adventure all of it's own! It seems even more so on international flights.
Once all is taken care of, it's time to find the departure gate for your next flight. That too is subject to change.
As I am walking to my gate, I notice a ceviche shop. Hmmm. Make a note of that! I find the gate and get familiar with surroundings. Check the time. Yup, I have time to indulge in some ceviche. So back I go to find the shop. Yum.
Ceviche with fresh ingredients is the best! Had not had that in years.
Leaving Miami. You can tell by the skyline. I actually have a picture, somewhere, of the skyline from a ship on the other side. Back before digital camera. Am I dating myself?
Arriving at Dallas Airport. I was hoping the train inside was visible in the picture. It's a huge airport so you take a train to different terminals. You guessed it, rush, rush, fast paced.
I have to tell you a funny story. 🤣🤣🤣
Not so funny at the time. But, thanks be to God, He has taught me not to panic or get too excited when there are glitches.
Nowadays, when you fly, you can download your boarding pass on your phone. Makes things much easier in some cases. When you receive the email with the boarding passes, they tell you to take a screen shot of the boarding pass to make it easier to find it. So, I followed instructions and took screenshots of all 5 of them.
The flight from Miami was running late to leave Miami, so naturally we were running late to arrive in Dallas. The flight from Dallas to Albuquerque was on time, scheduled to leave at 10:57 p.m.
As we were taxiing to the terminal, I looked at the screenshot of my boarding pass for the next flight to see what terminal I needed to go to. I think we were arriving on Terminal A. According to the boarding pass, I needed to go to Terminal D.
But, check out the time! It says it's 10:38 on the top left. There is no way to make it from Terminal A to Terminal D that fast and we weren't even off of the airplane yet. Should I panic?
I actually didn't panic. There's always a way. Besides, Dallas to Alb is only an hour flight. Surely they will make it right one way or the other, right? (It's not as bad as when Aeromexico went on strike as we were coming back from Acapulco! But that's a story for another day. 🙃😁)
The plane finally stops and all the rush, rush, starts. Depending on where you are seated, it will be a while before you can even move!
I wait patiently. It doesn't make a difference if I do anything different anyway. Eventually the movement gets to where I am at, and I stand and get into the aisle.
Once in the airport, I do my best to get to Terminal D as fast as I can. Hey, there's a chance they might be waiting for me. It's happened before! 😳
So I get to Terminal D and there's no one there. What??? Hm.... that seems odd. A few seconds later I get a text.
Huh???
Did you fall for it too? I had been looking at the time on the "screenshot" of the boarding pass. The screenshot image was taken at 10:38. It was not actually 10:38 now! It was 10:38 when I took the screenshot!!!. 🤣🤣🤣🤣😁😁🤣🤣
And to boot!! They changed the Terminal on me at the last minute. 🤣 Or more accurately, 1 hour and 22 min. before the flight is scheduled to leave.
So here I go back on the train to get to Terminal A (again!).
At least I got a good workout out of it! 👍🏼
I hope that made you laugh too. 😁🤣 Never a dull moment. That's what happens when you are on multiple flights from 5:15 a.m. until midnight with little sleep the night before.
All part of the Adventure right?
Thank goodness my friend was waiting to pick me up after midnight, in Albuquerque, and drove me to her house so I could get some sleep before I dare get behind the wheel to drive home.
It's actually taken me a few days just to figure out what day it is.
When you are in a whole different world for a while, your brain has a hard time adjusting when you return. And to top it off, I left 100 degree + weather and arrived at 40 something. (It was a warm night compared to last night in the teens).
Both my brain and my body were confused. 😳🫣
You had me rushing in my brain to Terminal D 😄😄😄.
Glad it was a screen shot on a different day. 🤦♀️