Honeymoon Day 8 (5/14/11): Trying to leave

We awoke on the expected last day of our trip a little sad, knowing it was time to head back to reality.

All packed upAfter breakfast, we relaxed a little until it was time to head to the reception area for our 10am shuttle to the airport. Our flight didn’t leave until 2:40, so we wondered why we were leaving so early. We got on a very nice, large bus and set off. Soon the reason for our early departure was evident, as we stopped at two other semi-nearby resorts to pick up other travelers. At the second one, we had to wait at least 10-15 minutes on one couple. After the wife got on, when the bus driver was repositioning the bus, she almost flipped out worried that her husband would get left. It was entertaining although everyone was pretty annoyed at the delay. Turns out it wasn’t a big deal as we still arrived 3 hours early for our flight (though other travelers had earlier flights).

After checking our luggage and passing through security (first time that Tim has shaken the hand of a airport security guard, who was friendly), we settled in for a wait in the warm, open air terminal.

Inside the Liberia Airport departure terminalInside the Liberia Airport departure terminalInside the Liberia Airport departure terminalAt least the duty-free shop was air conditioned (white room in two pictures above), which Tim visited. We got some food at the grill in the terminal, which even here offered “airport prices” like $3 for a bottle of water. Ah well. The security was so minimal that it was easy to get clear pictures of our airplane as it was being prepped for departure. (It arrived while we were waiting, disgorging passengers to take our place in paradise.)

Our expected departure planeAfter 2pm we got on the plane. When we first checked in, we found out that our seats weren’t together. Thankfully, the staff person was able to find 2 seats together – putting us in row 4, the first row of the regular cabin. Shortly after everyone was on-board, at about our departure time, the captain came on the line, “Uhh, sorry folks, it appears we have some sort of computer problem. It shouldn’t take too long to figure out.” Um, ok, no worries. A little later we heard that a mechanic was being called – given our location, we figured that would add at least another half-hour. Then the captain comes on again, “We are still having problems with this computer problem. It is complicated. We are going to need to shut the plane down and power back up, so all lighting will be momentarily off.” Umm, yeah, they actually power-cycled the plane! And, apparently that didn’t work as it was done TWO more times! As the hours wore on, getting close to 3 hours, it was announced that they were ordering some sandwiches for us. While we waited, we could see these grounds’ crew people just waiting also.

Groundscrew waiting around, just like usAs we were the last of 3 large flights leaving the airport for the day, we were the only thing they had to do. Eventually the sandwiches showed up (turkey or ham) after accidentally being sent to the terminal. As soon as we had time to eat them and have a drink, we were informed that the “complicated computer problem” could not be solved. We would de-plane and be given vouchers to stay at the ONLY hotel by the airport, with plans to leave on a flight in the morning. So, after FOUR HOURS of sitting and not moving, we were going in reverse.

Thanks to our lucky move to the front of the plane, we were among the first to deplane. We headed over to the ticket counter where a bunch of 20-somethings were trying to figure out what to do. As we were told, they hadn’t done this before (personally, at least – they had some papers to work off of), so it took a little while before they had it figured out. We were given hotel and meal vouchers and told to return at 7am in the morning for a 10am flight.

We grabbed our bags and were on the first shuttle to the hotel, a very nice Hilton Garden Inn. We figure it took well over an hour for all 100 passengers to pass by the ticket counter and take a shuttle to the hotel. We are sure the shuttle driver made out like a bandit, with everyone giving him tips, especially as the hotel only had a single shuttle. He sure drove like a bandit, flying around corners and screeching his wheels!

At the hotel, we were given a very nice room and told that a buffet was being whipped up. We weren’t hungry and instead spent some time in the computer room complaining to the world about our misfortune. I’m sure the hotel was very pleased to get this unexpected business (certainly had the space), and they treated everyone very nicely. That night we slept well, somehow worn out after a day of just waiting and waiting some more, hoping we would be able to leave the following day.

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