Picture if you will two pilots and two passengers flying north west from Sao Paulo, Brazil to El Salvador stopping twice for fuel. As each leg of the fligh comes to an end the pilots professionally greet the ground crew and begin their tasks of getting fuel and charging the bettery. The two passengers basically come falling out of the plane. One is a bit like a zombie and the other is just hoping hair and make-up look semi in place. (SRC is always worrying about his make-up and hair.) I am sure it is very comical to the onlooker.
I consider myself an independent person, pretty strong and not afraid of too many things. However, there are certain situations that make me a bit uncomfortable. Manaus, Brazil for instance. Here we are, landing for fuel at 12:30 in the morning. I might mention that at each stop we all take a bathroom break. This particular stop I walked to the terminal building with SRC and co-captain Andrew. The entrance to the men's restroom was outside of the terminal. The entrance to the women's restroom was inside the terminal...the completely empty terminal except for a few ground crew...all men. I got the first day of school nervous stomach, stopped, looked around, and looked anxiously at co-captain Andrew. There is alwasy a first time for everything...I asked him to stay inside the terminal while I went to the restroom. He thankfully obliged.
Landing in El Salvador I had no idea what to expect of this country. As we exited the main terminal to get in the car I couldn't help but notice how humid it was...and green. The drive to the hotel was fascinating. Palm trees mixed in with other trees and foliage, very green and beautiful. I was also amazed to see the number of people standing in groups on the side of this expressway/highway waiting for the bus or other transportation into the city. We also passed a number of trucks with people standing in the back, dressed for work. The trucks had hard and soft top covers on the bed of the trucks. I was amazed at all of this.
Did I mention that we flew all night and landed at about 5:15 a.m? By the time we got to the hotel it was 6:30. Hello! I had enough time to shower and it was definately going to be an up-hair day. Overall I was feeling quite good. I got into the event room which turned out to be this beautiful ballroom and started my set-up routine. It was here that I met David and Rodolfo (Rodo). They were terrific the entire presentation and after. David was with me at the morning event and the luncheon Q&A for AV support. Rodo was there at my every turn to answer questions, translate or relay messages. Talk about finding my team!
As we were driving to the airport I noticed a police vehicle following us...security detail. Three men deressed in black, dark sunglasses and big guns (but only at some locations). I became quite attached to these men and asked to have my picture taken with the, Do you love it?
Stay tuned for news from Honduras...
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