On Canadian soil!

Monday, November 19, 2012

Ottawa -- We are home! Our watches are telling us that, from the Jerusalem hotel this morning to our easy chairs in our family room at home, we’ve been on the go for 23 hours. Sleep is unlikely for a while, so I thought I’d post today's adventures, for adventures we have had.

A regimented assembly of suitcases sat outside the hotel in Jerusalem this morning as we gathered one last time to board our bus for Ben Gurion Airport. Except for two couples who had other travel plans, the Craig Tour group boarded the bus, once Gila untangled a jam of tour buses clogging the hotel entryway and got ours to the front. Then, with our capable driver Rafik at the wheel, we worked our way through morning traffic in Jerusalem and out toward Tel Aviv.

It was about an hour's drive, and we had plenty of time before our flight, but as usual, our guide Gila made sure things would go as smoothly as possible. She told us what to expect at the airport security -- someone would be selected from the group to answer questions about our travels in the country and what items we might be taking away with us. Wouldn't you know, Val was the chosen one! He had a friendly interview with the security guard and then rejoined the group. Then, once again, he was chosen, as were some others, to have their bags more closely inspected before checking in at the airline counter.

Having said our farewells to Rafik and Gila, we headed through to the gate and watched the clock tick well past the appointed hour for boarding – even the new time for boarding, as the flight departure time was delayed from 12:45 to 1:30. Finally, we all filed on to the plane, got settled into our seats (Val and I were next to each other this time!) and waited for takeoff. And waited. And waited. Then the captain came on the PA system to tell us that Ben Gurion Airport had been closed! It would be at least an hour before we could take off.

We were unsettled by this news, to say the least, but a few minutes later we were told that the delay had nothing to do with the unrest in the country. We didn’t believe that for a minute, but it calmed some of the more anxious passengers! The staff came around and gave us pretzels and water and we sat on the tarmac.

It was almost a quarter past three before we got the go-ahead, and I must say it was quite a relief when I heard the wheels fold up into the plane’s belly and saw the troubled city of Tel Aviv drop away below us. I was also really glad we’d picked up a sandwich to munch on before we boarded.

Our flight took us over Greece, Italy, northeastern Europe, the British Isles, the North Atlantic, passing Iceland and northern Labrador and finally to Toronto. It really seemed to go on forever! In the course of our 12-hour flight, we were served dinner, then a sandwich and then, just when we were thinking about breakfast, we got dinner again.

With grateful hearts, we heard the captain welcome us to Canada as we descended to Pearson Airport in Toronto. The five-hour wait we expected between our arrival there and our departure for Ottawa had shrunk to less than two with our delays at the start of the day, so it didn’t seem long before we boarded for the last leg of the journey.

What a pleasure it was to land in Ottawa, find our bags, file out to the taxi stand and, finally put the key in the lock of our lovely home in beautiful, peaceful Canada! It was an unforgettable trip, and we are so grateful for the experience. It is also really, really good to be home.