Train Troubles 13/4

The day started in the shadow of a big cruise-ship. Being docked in Port Everglades harbor, our neighbors have mostly been ships much larger than Gunilla. A break from the unforgiving sun seemed nice, if a bit ominous. Me, being part of midships, had a free day ahead of me. I was still riding high from the day before, my birthday. Well, at least until our train troubles started.

Getting up always seems like a chore and today was no different, but the show must go on. After breakfast and the subsequent line-up, me and my friends set our sights at Miami Beach.

The cruise turned out to be bad news for us. Every passenger from the big boat needed a ride from the cruise to wherever. This led to a chaotic mess of people and cars for us to navigate through. Our poor Uber driver had no easy task. Finding us, a group of students, in a big crowd of tourists seemed impossible. Somehow, after about twenty minutes of waiting and searching, we spotted the right car rolling towards us.

The drive went smoothly. The problem? Our group was divided in two different cars and only one arrived in time at the train station. Being unable to do anything but watch as the train stopped at the station and then rolled away felt horrible. The trains only passed through once an hour and we had just missed our shot this hour. Even if the heat hadn’t reached it’s peak, the heat in Miami always seems unbearable. An hour just sitting around waiting in the heat was no fun experience.

When the next train finally arrived, we rushed on without thinking. Finally! A break from the heat on the air-conditioned train and a step closer to our goal. We had a few blissfully unaware moments on the train. The day seemed beautiful once we were no longer stuck at the station waiting. This was, until my friend spotted a cool looking building. We all gaped at the ridiculousness of the building and got a bit confused. This building wasn’t here last time we went to Miami. Come to think of it, nothing seemed the same. With horror the reality dawned on us. We were going the wrong way!

What followed was another hour waiting around in the heat and a train ride much longer than it needed to be. Stepping of a train has never felt better. Our chaotic journey was finally over. Miami seemed amazing in comparison to the dusty train stations and the gray metal trains.

What was left of our day in Miami went much better. The train ride home was a breeze in comparison to the journey to Miami. Going to bed, I felt a bit sad at the wasted hours sitting at the boring concrete train stations. But what can you do? Sometimes things just don’t go right.

Stella Dencker, Midship