All good things must come to an end. We woke up bright and early to begin our adventure back home! Students had one last hotel breakfast and we were on our way to the airport. On our final bus ride in Panama, students watched the sunrise and took in last views of the city skyline and the coast.
We said goodbye to Nafi! Nafi was an amazing guide who taught the kiddos so many things! I definitely hope to see her again soon!
We got our tickets and made our way through security. We talked about how interesting it is that you have to go through two security checkpoints when leaving Panama. We went through one to enter the main part of the airport and then a separate security checkpoint (performing the same checks) to enter a gate for a flight to the United States.
After a short wait, a bathroom stop and a couple bag checks, we were on the way to Houston!
Upon arriving in Houston, we were prepared for a 6 hour layover. Well... due to storms, we were put in a holding pattern and made a bunch of circles while waiting our turn to land (this took a couple hours - see our flight patterns in the images below). When we finally were able to land, we were informed that we were in a new line waiting for an international gate to open up. There were several empty gates but we were only allowed to park at one of the gates that forces travelers to go through customs. While we definitely understood the importance of the gate... we also didn't have a lot of patience for waiting on the flight any longer. We had a lot of fun selfies sent, trivia games played, and naps taken. The good news is... our layover time was cut in half! ;)
Upon arriving in Houston, we made it through customs (very quickly), took a tram to our new gate and sat down for a bite to eat. These kiddos (and adults) were starving!
Many students were very excited to get to eat Burger King, Chic Fil-A, and other food they were used to. While organizing the group and suitcases, I ran into Emory Ast. Emory heard my voice as I was giving group announcements and came over to say hello. Emory is a former student from my days at Cheney High School and went to Costa Rica and Nicaragua with me in 2016! It was great to say hi and see that she is still traveling! Believe it or not, this is the second year that I have ran into a previous traveler while traveling through Texas with my current groups!
Although our layover wasn't as long as we thought it would be, it still made for plenty of time to play cards, catch up on social media, talk with friends, journal and complete an Airport Scavenger Hunt! Memories were made and kiddos were READY to go home!
We made it! We arrived in Wichita just before midnight!
Parents were excited to see the kiddos and everyone was ready to go home and sleep!
Throughout the last year and while on the trip, students earned Potter Traveler Points for various tasks: asking questions, winning competitions, answering doors correctly, practicing Spanish, etc. This year's Top Traveler Trophy goes to Julia Woodworth! Congratulations Julia!
This group has been a joy to travel with and learn from! They had positive attitudes, were willing to try new things, and lived in the moment! I can't wait to see where their futures take them and I know that Panama will always have a special place in their hearts!
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