DAY 24
We get up early and pack our bags once again. I take my bag downstairs. Michael leaves his in the room. I am wanting to go home. I really want to go home today, I’m on the verge of tears. The owner tells a customer there are no flights again today, yet we see him leaving for the airport (he is trying to fly somewhere also). Hmm. I go back up to the room. Michael comes and tells me that two Greenlanders who have been waiting this whole thing out think it is time to finally go to the airport for real. They say they will share a cab with us. Once downstairs we find out that we can get a ride with the Seamen’s Home truck. There are seven of us.
Michael rides in the back of the truck and takes this fine photo – goodbye Seamen’s Home! We get to the airport and there is the manager of the Seamen’s Home waiting for a flight to Kangerlussuaq! We never quite figured him out. Anyway, when we check in they put us on standby. We do not understand this. I tell the check in attendant that they are going to have a crazy woman on their hands if we don’t get out of there today. We go to sit down, and Michael theorizes that the people who had tickets for that day will fly out first, then they will go in the order of the tickets that were purchased on previous days (including us). We go back to the counter when it isn’t busy and ask the ticket lady if we are correct, and we are. I cannot help it, tears well up in my eyes; I just want to go home. So she assures us that we are going to leave today, somehow, somewhere. We will at least get to Ilulissat. I do not want to get stuck in Ilulissat! I want to get all the way to Kangerlussuaq.
The plane for Kangerlussuaq comes and goes without us, but the hotel manager gets on it… Michael wants to go for a walk. I agree but am not sure I should go because it is a cold, foggy, drizzly day. I go part way and turn around. I come back to the warm waiting room of the airport, full of people. I go to the bathroom and the ticket guy follows me out (what does this guy want?) and says to me we are flying to Kangerlussuaq, and he needs our old tickets! I am in disbelief, good disbelief! I tell him that Michael is out for a walk and I will get the tickets when he comes back. He hands me the new tickets - I almost kiss the guy. I can’t believe it! We are on our way home. I wait and keep looking out for Michael; I see him come around the corner and I run out in the cold. I want to confirm this is really happening and I am not dreaming. We are reassured that once in Kangerlussuaq we will get to
So...we get on a plane for Ilulissat at 2:30 pm (which is late). This flight is cool, when we get close to Ilulissat the pilot flies below the clouds and fog. We are so close to the ocean and the icebergs. Michael worries we will hit an iceberg when the pilot banks. What a flight! We land at Ilulissat, wait an hour in a very crowded waiting room, and get on a plane to Kangerlussuaq.
Once at Kangerlussuaq we find out that they are going to fly us to Iceland, and then to Baltimore, and that is all they are going to do. We ask how do we get to Seattle since we have missed our connection? They tell us to check with them in the morning. We are tired from traveling all day. But Air Greenland pays for our hotel and gives us meal vouchers. I try a musk ox burger and Michael has the fish and chips (finally!) I like my dinner but Michael is not too crazy about his. After dinner we go back to the airline counter and continue our questioning with a different person. They are more reassuring, but ask us to come back at eight in the morning. We go back to our room.
Saturday 9-1-07
DAY 25
We get up at 7 am and head down for breakfast. I put my bags in line then go to eat. Michael joins me. I wait for him to finish eating and then I go to stand in line with the bags - there are now a lot more bags in line. We end up being second in line. They check our baggage to Baltimore, but they cannot help us with our arrangement after Baltimore. But they let us use their phone so we can call Delta in the United States to change our flight. Delta does not care that Air Greenland was on a strike, and they say they are going to charge us $75 per person to change our flight... Next we call the hotel, and they say they are going to charge us a no show fee for the day we were supposed to be there. We are not having fun!
Our flight ends up leaving at 2 pm Greenland time, for Baltimore via Iceland. Late again, but WE ARE GOING HOME!!! There are only 11 people on the flight (it is a charter from Air Iceland). The plane has two propellers. Security is zip – they leave the cockpit door open for most of the flight. This is great. The good old days of flying.
We arrive in Iceland around 4 pm Iceland time, and wait an hour for our plane to Baltimore. We leave Iceland and fly over Greenland yet again. I take pictures of the ice pack.
We arrive in Baltimore only to find out our luggage did not make it. It was left behind in Iceland.! It is a good thing that Michael said earlier that morning, “Probably they will lose our luggage,” so I packed all my personal belongings in a carry on. We get to the hotel and they take the no-show charges off, thank you! We order pizza. I want to stay up, maybe I am wound up from all these unfortunate events. I go to bed around 11:30 pm Baltimore time. Michael reminds me that we were up at 7 am Greenland time which makes it about 4 am Greenland time when I finally go to sleep.
Sunday 9-2-07
DAY 26
Our flight to Seattle isn’t until five that evening so we decide to tour Baltimore.
We go to the Baltimore Museum of Art.
We go to the pier in Baltimore and have a smoothie by the USS Constellation (unfortunately we do not have enough time to tour it).
And then YES! We fly home!
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