Gina Errico

With a sudden jerk and gasp of air, my partner wakes me up, “Gina it’s 5:50 am!” I leap out of bed and frantically start to grab my stuff– I was supposed to be boarding my flight to Costa Rica in ten minutes. Arguably the most important flight I have ever needed to get on, was about to board without me. This flight would begin my field season in Costa Rica, to collect the data I needed for my master’s thesis.

We raced around my apartment to ensure I had everything I needed and left for the airport, which luckily was only a few minutes away. As we pull in, I grab my two massive suitcases full of field supplies and a summers’ worth of field clothes, and lug them over to the check-in desk. “I’m sorry,” the flight attendant informs me, “but the time to check bags through here has passed. You’ll have to put them through regular security and then give them to the attendants at the gate before you board.” This airport only runs one flight at a time, so I rush to the security line as quickly as one can with two bags that weigh over 3/4 of their weight.

To my relief, I find I am not the only person who is checking in last minute for this flight. I struggle to toss my bags onto the conveyor belt and walk through, only to find that one of my bags is being searched. “You can’t carry these two items with you in these bags,” it was a brand new metal tool I needed to collect soil with and my pocket knife,”if you checked these bags regularly it would be fine, but we can’t let them pass through here.” I frantically call my partner to come back– they would only hold the items until the plane left and I didn’t want them to throw out my equipment.

After my partner returned to the airport and collected my ‘confiscated’ items, I boarded the plane, grabbed some breakfast on my brief layover and was on my way to Costa Rica. I thought the stress was behind me but it seemed as though I was just getting to the thick of it.

The plan was that I would arrive at the airport, pick up my rental car and drive 5 hours south down to the field station. My flight landed around 1:00pm, giving me a decent amount of time to go through customs, pick up the car, and drive down to the station in time for dinner that night. However, when I got to the customs line, it was over an hour long. I began to panic, if I did not get my rental car early enough, I would have to drive in the dark through a foreign country alone, or try and find a hotel to stay at for the night. I messaged my advisor to let her know about the situation and we decided to wait until I received the rental and assess the situation from there.

Over three hours later and a struggle with my rusty Spanish-speaking, I was able to get through customs, receive my bags, and took a questionable shuttle over to the rental car place. When the rental person was explaining the costs to me, it became apparent that the quote we originally received from the school was not the one I was being offered. I called my advisor, and realizing how late it was getting, we settled on taking that car for the night, finding a hotel and waiting until the following morning when the school offices re-opened to resolve the issue.

I searched for the nearest, reasonably priced hotel and made my way over. Apparently the stress of the day had become quite evident on my face as the hotel desk person not only looked sympathetic, but offered me an upgrade free of charge for my night’s stay. I checked in to the hotel with a pounding stress headache, but took a minute to check in with my family and breathe for a moment before I headed down to the hotel restaurant for dinner. When I asked the waiter for water, he quickly replied, “bottled right?” and I panicked– was Costa Rica water not safe to drink? I took the bottled water, had my meal and headed to bed. Costa Rican water was just fine from the tap, which was verified when I arrived at the field station, I was just too overwhelmed to remember that fact after the day of traveling I had.

The next morning I woke up, had breakfast with some of the most fresh and delicious fruit I had ever had and made my way down to the field station. The roads on this route were narrow and windy but the views were incredible. I made it to the station just in time to unload my bags before the afternoon rain started. I had finally made it!

Despite the twists and turns of my arrival, my time in Costa Rica was unforgettable. My field season was successful, despite a few kinks, I made some amazing friends, had delicious food and fresh fruit, and was able to explore a beautiful country. I guess the take home message is, push through the tough days when they happen because amazing things lie ahead in the future, and always set at least three alarms for early morning flights.

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