Peru - Day 1: Chicago to Miami

On Thursday, June 13, 2024, three friends and I began our trip to Peru, flying from Chicago O’Hare International Airport to Miami International Airport, where we had a connecting flight to Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima.

Chicago to Miami

Our flight from Chicago was originally scheduled to depart at 5:25pm, but severe weather affecting South Florida caused delays throughout the day. We didn’t end up leaving Chicago until around 7:30pm, which made the timing of our 11:30pm connecting flight to Lima increasingly tight.

Racing to Make Our Connection

We finally landed in Miami at 11:14pm, leaving us very little time to make the connection. Fortunately, we arrived in the same terminal our Lima flight was departing from, although we still had a bit of a walk between gates.

We also weren’t the only passengers affected by the delay. Quite a few people from our Chicago flight were making the same hurried trek through the airport to catch the flight to Lima.

Miami to Lima

Because the severe weather delays were affecting quite a few passengers from our Chicago flight who were also connecting to Lima, it seemed like that may have been why the pilot held the plane for us. I’m incredibly grateful that he did.

Instead of departing at the scheduled 11:30pm, we finally took off at 12:01am, and we were officially on our way to Peru!