Touchdown in Santiago

Touchdown!

GoNomad writer Max and me arrived in sunny but chilly Santiago, Chile a few hours ago. He flew in from Miami, me from Atlanta. Now, we sit and wait in a coffee shop across from the world dominated Dunkin Donuts contemplating a Ciabatta with eggs sunny side up.

The Delta flight was cramped tight but no crying babies so that was a blessing. Only one small scare. As our plane was pushing away from the terminal the girl sitting next to me unbuckled her seat belt and rushed to the front. She demanded to get off. She said that she had a bad feeling about the flight (did she mean she was sick or was it some kind of terrible premonition) and needed to get off immediately.

So, what were the pilots to do? They came to an abrupt stop and rode back to the terminal. The rest of us on the flight, especially me, were confused and even a little hesitant to stay on as well.

30 minutes later the plane resumed on course. While ascending into a storm cloud over Atlanta, I dug my nails into my seat. The plane bucked and sputtered and surely I thought this was why she got off. But, within minutes, the plane was out of the thick of it and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

The rest of the flight was absolutely uneventful, just the way I like it.