Never a Dull Moment

Guess what? I can now officially check emergency landing off my list of things to do before I die. That was fun. Twenty minutes into my flight from Dulles International Airport our left engine stopped working. Being the oblivious person that I am, I had no clue. I was in the exit row overlooking the left wing, reading a surfing mag, when all of a sudden the stewardess comes up to the people in the exit row and starts giving us all these intricate directions. Now usually when you sit in the exit row all they ask is if you are willing and able to help if an emergency occurs. However, this time she was telling us if such and such happens open the left door, and if not open the right door, and you get to do this before you open the door, etc. I am just sitting there thinking to myself, this has got to be the craziest airline stewardess in the world. Turns out I was the crazy one. After she left I asked the guy next to me what was going on, and he said the engine was out and how did it look out my window. I just kind of laughed and thought to myself, this couldn't get any better, but it did. When we landed, the pilot stopped the plan to a screeching halt, and a bunch of ambulances and fire trucks sped over to the plane to make sure we didn't blow up or something. After the whole ordeal I had to wait an hour in a line of over 100 people to get rebooked on a flight that would arrive in Atlanta in time for me to run like hell to my flight for Panama. I made it A-Ok, but where would the fun have been if all that hadn't just happened to me in a span of just several hours?

At the moment I am staying with some family friends in Panama City and then at 3pm today I fly to Bocas del Toro where the true adventure begins. Until then, paz, amor, and rock n roll.