I’ve said it before: there are a lot of moving parts when traveling in a pandemic. Costa Rica shouldn’t have been bad. They don’t require COVID testing for entry, so that was one logistical bar I didn’t have to hurdle (I did pre-trip testing anyway, and that was negative). And they don’t require an international health insurance plan for vaccinated travelers, which also kept things simple (although I do have a policy for this trip).
For Costa Rica, I simply had to complete a form. I did so, printed it, and was ready.
But COVID is a fickle travel companion and the Omicron surge has been wreaking havoc with air travel. At the airport in Detroit, my flight was delayed repeatedly while Delta awaited crew. I might have tried to switch to AA, but was told my bag wouldn’t make it, and we were likely to arrive in Atlanta in time.
The minutes ticked by at the gate, while the posted boarding time remained continuously some time in the past, a constant reminder of the ongoing delays. When we finally boarded, it looked like I might make the connection, but the boarding had taken place without a full crew contingent, and so still we waited longer.
By the time we arrived in Atlanta, my plane bound for Liberia had long since departed, so I sought out a Delta agent who tried but was no longer able to get me on any flights today.
I’m now in my hotel room, binging Netflix and chicken fingers. My flight leaves tomorrow and I’m now considering how this already-brief trip has grown even shorter.
butterblogger 