We've taken a few wrong turns on our trip to El Salvador. After a flurry of preparation and building excitement we arrived at the Des Moines airport with high expectations. After checking in and clearing security...Warren had to nearly strip after forgetting to empty his pockets and leaving a pen in his shirt pocket...we settled in to await our flight to Dallas. We saw the plane arrive but it took a circuitous route to the gate because it could only turn left! After an exhaustive examination it was determined that the repair was major and the flight was cancelled. Of course, by then we had lost any hope of making a connection to any flight to El Salvador that day.
In this photo we are watching the sunset....still in the Des Moines airport!!
We were rerouted through Dallas to Miami, arriving at a hotel about 1:30 AM eastern time. We enjoyed about 5 1/2 hours of sleep and were ready for an uneventful flight to San Salvador....but...after boarding the plane we noticed that there were about 5 people conferring in the cockpit well past the departure time. We thought we might be about to take another wrong turn but the issue must have been resolved and we departed only a little late.
It is amazingly like coming "home" this time. The airport is familiar, the customs procedure an little less onerous, and the driver is an old friend.
The airport is near the ocean and we drove along the flat land looking toward the volcanoes into which we would soon ascend. We arrived a little after 5, dropped Kimberly at Casa Mia...where she was welcomed like a celebrity!...and continued to Casa Pastoral for a warm welcome. There is a man from Heartland Presbyterian here...Brad... and he and Katherine have been busy visiting the cantones and seeing some of the sites from the war. We've enjoyed a good visit with them this evening. Tomorrow we hope to rise early and connect with Yaneria, Ricardo, and Joaquin as they leave for school...but now we are looking forward to a good night's sleep.
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