Travel Day in the Life!

Hi friends! Last Friday, I got to travel to Costa Rica with my squad! It was a long, tiring travel day but so, so worth it! I’m now in Costa Rica and I’ll be here for the next three months. I wanted to do a fun little blog post to let you know how a travel day might go when you’re on the World Race (most travel days will look pretty different though).

So, without further ado:

Gap D’s travel day to Costa Rica!

1/7/21 (our travel day actually started Thursday night and went into Friday)

9:45 PM: We got ready to leave Gainesville! We got all of our big packs and put them in a trailer. Then, we all loaded into the vans and were on our way to the airport.

11:30 PM: We got dropped off at the airport! We had a little mix-up and got dropped off at the international terminal when we actually needed to be at the domestic terminal. But honestly, would a travel day really be a travel day without something like this happening? 

1/8/21

12:00 AM: We got on a shuttle to go to the domestic terminal! Woot woot!

12:15 AM: We lugged our big packs/day packs/anything else we had to a nice spot to sleep for a few hours. Our flight out wasn’t til 7 but with the amount of people we had traveling it just made sense to sleep in the airport so we could be extra prepared in case we had any hiccups. 

12:30 AM: I called my parents! It was nice to catch up and let them know what was happening. I miss them TONS, obviously.

1:00 AM: I set up my stuff to sleep! Not everyone did this, but I put out my sleeping pad, blanket and pillow so I could get comfy and sleep well (even if it was just for a little bit). Then, me and my teammate Morgan watched a little show on her laptop (I was out within the first ten minutes).

3:30 AM: Wake up time! I packed up my stuff and got ready to go.

4:00 AM: We checked bags and went through security. This took a while because we have about 32 people all going through at once. We ended up splitting into smaller groups and all meeting up at the gate.

6:20 AM: We met at the gate and got ready to fly!

7:00 AM: Takeoff to Fort Lauderdale, FL. This was a short flight. I ended up sleeping up for most of it because, well, 2.5 hours of sleep doesn’t really cut it for me. We seat according to last name in alphabetical order, so I got to sit next to my squamates, Morgan and Ben.

8:45 AM: We landed in Florida! We had time before our next flight to Costa, so we killed time by sleeping, getting food, etc. I couldn’t sleep, but a got a much needed (and very overpriced coffee), journaled for a little bit, and got lunch.

12:45 PM: We all met at the gate! One of our squad leaders, Nicole, took all of our temperatures to make sure we were all good to go for Costa.

1:45 PM: Takeoff to Costa Rica! Woohoo! This flight was a little longer, I didn’t do much besides sleep and journal.

3:50 PM: We landed in Costa Rica! Got our bags, went through customs, and waited outside for a shuttle to take us to the Adventures in Mission base.

5:30 PM: We arrived at the base and got to meet the staff here! They are amazing. They also had dinner waiting for us: Rice, beef, salad and plantains. WOW, this was good!

6 or 6:30 PM: We were shown our rooms and given the rest of the night to settle in. Each team was assigned a room with bunkbeds. After 3 months of sleeping on sleeping pads and spending the majority of that time in a tent, this is a LUXURY. I also got to shower in an actual bathroom- another luxury! It’s only been a few days and I am blown away by and so thankful for this base!

9:00 PM: We were pretty exhausted from our long travel day(s), so we hit the hay. I slept so, so good. 

It was a crazy, long travel day but I’m thankful for the Lord’s protection! I am expectant for this time in Costa Rica! 

Thanks for keeping up with this journey! More blogs to come on what I’m learning and what God is doing here in Costa Rica! Feel free to reach out if you have questions or just want to talk. I can’t promise a quick reply since wifi is limited here- but I’ll get back to you eventually!

Emma 

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