布·瀑·里之旅
The BA Falls for Rio Trip
2026年11月13日和15日，星期五与星期日——出发前的惊险两天
November 13 and 15, 2026, Friday and Sunday — Two Nerve-Wracking Days Before Departure
终于熬到了11月！这意味着，我和胖金哥那双蠢蠢欲动、奇痒难耐的脚，又可以得到一点舒缓了！
We finally made it to November! That means PJG and I can finally give our restless, travel-hungry feet a little relief!
这一次，我们又要去南美洲了。虽然上次从南美洲回来时，我曾信誓旦旦地说，那是我们的第一次，也是最后一次南美洲之旅。结果呢？话音仿佛还在耳边，我们又要出发了！这次旅行，我们给它取了一个名字——“布·瀑·里之旅”。英文名字其实更有趣一些，不过翻译成中文，布·瀑·里，这三个字似乎更贴切。
This time, we’re heading to South America again. Even though after our last trip there, I swore up and down it would be our first and last time in South America.
But here we are, about to set off again! We’ve given this trip a name—’The BA Falls for Rio’ Trip (BFFR). BA is Buenos Aires, Falls is the Iguazu Falls, and Rio is, well, Rio.
11月13日，星期五 – November 13, Friday
下午1点19分：一如既往地工作着，心里却早已飞到了南美洲。再过四个小时就下班啦！我们的布·瀑·里之旅就要正式拉开序幕！想到这里，甚是激动……
1:19 p.m.: Working as usual, but my mind is already in South America. Just four more hours until the end of the workday! Our BFFR adventure is about to officially begin! Just thinking about it makes me so excited…
下午1点20分：PJG突然收到Matthew的短信：“全国范围内所有航班暂时停飞！”
1:20 p.m.: PJG suddenly gets a text from Matthew: ‘All flights nationwide are temporarily grounded!’
什么？！
What?!
下午1点21分：立刻搜索新闻。果然，美国联邦航空管理局（FAA）下达了全国航班暂停起飞的命令。各种消息满天飞，却没有人真正知道发生了什么。
1:21 p.m.: I immediately search the news. Sure enough, the FAA has issued a nationwide ground stop. Rumors are flying everywhere, but no one really knows what’s going on.
下午1点22分至4点35分：新闻里提到，美国历史上第一次由联邦航空管理局下达的全国性航班停飞令，是2001年的“9·11”恐怖袭击事件。而今天，竟然是自那以后第二次出现这样的情况！官方公布的原因是核心通信网络发生严重技术故障，包括路由器故障，迫使联邦航空管理局下达全国范围的航班停飞令。
1:22 p.m. to 4:35 p.m.: The news reports that the first time the FAA ever issued a nationwide ground stop was during the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. And today, it’s happening for only the second time since then!
The official reason is a major technical failure in the core communications network, including a router malfunction, which forced the FAA to halt all flights across the country.
我们不停地刷新新闻，打开电视，盯着新闻发布会。上千架飞机无法起飞，而联邦航空管理局似乎仍未找到问题的确切原因。新闻记者和航空专家们纷纷分析，这次事件的影响可能持续好几天，甚至一个星期。
We kept refreshing the news, turned on the TV, and watched the press conferences. Thousands of planes were unable to take off, and the FAA still hadn’t found the exact cause. Reporters and aviation experts speculated that the disruption could last several days, maybe even a week.
我俩开始坐不住了。
We started getting restless.
我们的航班定在星期日中午，也就是后天，从圣荷西飞往达拉斯，再转机前往布宜诺斯艾利斯。而在达拉斯的转机时间，只有短短90分钟！
Our flight was scheduled for Sunday at noon—just two days away—from San Jose to Dallas, then connecting to Buenos Aires. And we only had a 90-minute layover in Dallas!
万一第一段航班延误呢？哪怕只是一个小时，都足以让整个行程陷入混乱。要是错过了飞往布宜诺斯艾利斯的国际航班，那后面的安排简直不敢想象！
What if the first flight is delayed? Even an hour could throw our whole itinerary into chaos. If we missed the international flight to Buenos Aires, I can’t even imagine what would happen next!
经过一番紧张讨论，我俩一致决定：不能坐以待毙，必须主动出击！
After a tense discussion, we both agreed: we can’t just sit and wait—we have to take action!
换飞机！
Change flights!
我们立刻搜索所有可能的航班。发现从旧金山飞往达拉斯的航班，从早上5点半开始，几乎每隔一个小时就有一班。而从圣荷西出发的，只有早上6点左右的一班，以及我们原本预订的中午航班。
We immediately searched for all possible flights. We found that from San Francisco to Dallas, there are flights almost every hour starting at 5:30 a.m. But from San Jose, there was only one around 6 a.m., plus our original noon flight.
选择一下子变得清晰了。果断决定，给美国航空打电话，改签！
The choice suddenly became clear. We decided right away to call American Airlines and change our tickets!
下午4点50分：PJG先用他的手机拨打美国航空客服电话。毕竟他的航空公司会员级别比较高，照理说应该享受一点优待吧？结果，预计等待时间至少一个半小时！
4:50 p.m.: PJG called American Airlines customer service from his phone first. Since he has elite status, he should get some perks, right? But the estimated wait time was at least an hour and a half!
只好留下号码，等航空公司回电。
We had to leave our number and wait for a call back.
傍晚5点54分：PJG决定再用我的手机试试。没想到，不到15分钟，电话竟然接通了！哈哈，看来，他也可以享受到我的好处。
5:54 p.m.: PJG decided to try calling from my phone. Amazingly, the call went through in less than 15 minutes! Looks like he can benefit from my luck too.
接线员相当称职，完全理解我们的担忧，也清楚目前整个美国航空系统面临的问题。经过一番沟通，我们终于成功改签到了星期日早上6点38分从旧金山飞往达拉斯的航班。每张机票只需额外支付42美元。
The agent was excellent—he totally understood our concerns and knew all about the issues facing the U.S. airline system. After some discussion, we successfully changed our tickets to the 6:38 a.m. Sunday flight from San Francisco to Dallas. It only cost us an extra $42 per ticket.
搞定！
Done!
原本应该是一个轻松愉快的星期五傍晚，意味着工作结束、假期正式开始，结果却变成了一个充满紧张、焦虑和不确定性的下午。不过，至少我们做了自己能做的事。剩下的，就交给运气吧！
What should have been a relaxing Friday evening—the end of the workweek and the start of vacation—turned into an afternoon full of tension, anxiety, and uncertainty. But at least we did everything we could. The rest is up to luck!
11月15日，星期日 – November 15, Sunday
闹钟设在凌晨3点半，结果我2点44分就醒了！看来，身体比闹钟还着急出发。
The alarm was set for 3:30 a.m., but I woke up at 2:44! Looks like my body was even more eager to get going than the alarm.
三点多正式起床，洗漱、收拾最后的行李、检查房子，然后叫了优步车，直奔旧金山国际机场。
A little after three, we got up, washed up, packed the last of our bags, checked the house, and called an Uber straight to San Francisco International Airport.
早上5点41分：顺利抵达登机口。
5:41 a.m.: We made it to the gate with no problems.
早上6点40分：飞机准时起飞！
6:40 a.m.: The plane took off right on time!
达拉斯时间上午11点40分：飞机不仅顺利抵达，竟然还提前了30分钟！坐在飞机上等待下机时，我顺手查看了一下我们原本预订的、从圣荷西出发的航班。不看不知道，一看吓一跳！竟然已经延误了整整两个小时！也就是说，如果星期五下午我们没有当机立断改签航班，现在就已经注定赶不上飞往布宜诺斯艾利斯的飞机了！
11:40 a.m. Dallas time: Not only did we arrive safely, we landed 30 minutes early! While waiting to get off the plane, I checked the status of our original flight from San Jose. I couldn’t believe my eyes—it was delayed by a full two hours!
If we hadn’t changed our tickets on Friday afternoon, we definitely would have missed our connection to Buenos Aires!
天啊！真是不敢想象！
Wow! I can’t even imagine!
下飞机后，我们直奔美国航空的贵宾休息室。多亏了PJG的高级会员身份，我们可以在这里舒舒服服地等待下一段航班。
After landing, we headed straight for the American Airlines lounge. Thanks to PJG’s elite status, we could relax here while waiting for our next flight.
真是太美好了！
It was wonderful!
虽然距离下一班飞机起飞还有六个多小时，但这里有美食、美酒、舒适的座椅，还有安静优雅的环境。与其在机场里焦急地等待，不如在这里悠闲地享受一下。六个小时也没那么漫长了！
Even though we had more than six hours until our next flight, there was great food, drinks, comfy seats, and a quiet, elegant atmosphere. Instead of anxiously waiting in the terminal, we could just enjoy ourselves here. Six hours didn’t feel long at all!
下午12点40分：坐在贵宾休息室里，我忍不住又查看了一次原本从圣荷西出发的航班，延误已经增加到了四个小时！
12:40 p.m.: Sitting in the lounge, I couldn’t help checking the San Jose flight again—the delay was now up to four hours!
我一边喝着香槟，一边吃着日本寿司，心里不禁感慨万千。如果星期五我们没有决定换飞机，此时此刻，我们会在哪里呢？
Sipping champagne and eating sushi, I couldn’t help but wonder: if we hadn’t decided to change flights on Friday, where would we be right now?
大概还在圣荷西机场，焦急地盯着航班信息，一遍又一遍地刷新手机，看着时间一点点流逝，却无能为力。而飞往布宜诺斯艾利斯的飞机，恐怕早已与我们无缘。接下来的酒店、机票、行程安排，都可能受到连锁影响。原本期待已久的假期，恐怕会变成另一番完全无法想象的景象。
We’d probably still be at San Jose Airport, anxiously watching the flight info, refreshing our phones over and over as time slipped away, powerless to do anything. The flight to Buenos Aires would have left without us. Our hotels, tickets, and plans would all be thrown into chaos.
The vacation we’d been looking forward to might have turned into something completely different—something I don’t even want to imagine.
我一定会又生气、又失望！
I would have been so angry and disappointed!
可现在呢？
But now?
我正舒舒服服地坐在达拉斯机场的贵宾休息室里，喝着香槟，吃着寿司，悠闲地等待着下一段旅程。这两种截然不同的画面，仅仅因为星期五下午的一个决定，就有了完全不同的结局。
Now I’m sitting comfortably in the Dallas airport lounge, sipping champagne, eating sushi, and waiting for the next leg of our journey. Two completely different scenarios—all because of one decision on Friday afternoon.
下午3点06分：写到这里，我忍不住再次打开手机，查看那班原本属于我们的飞机。
3:06 p.m.: As I write this, I can’t help checking the status of our original flight again.
现在，已经延误五个小时了！而几个小时后，我们应该已经坐在飞往布宜诺斯艾利斯的飞机上，正式踏上南美洲的土地。想到这里，我的内心简直抑制不住地开心！
Now it’s delayed by five hours! In just a few hours, we should be on our way to Buenos Aires, finally setting foot in South America. Just thinking about it makes me so happy!
这一次，固然有运气的成分，但更重要的是，我们没有抱着侥幸心理等待事情发生，而是在还有选择的时候，主动做出了决定。
Sure, luck played a part this time, but even more important was that we didn’t just sit back and hope for the best—we made a proactive decision while we still had options.
有时候，旅行的惊险，还没到达目的地就已经开始了。
Sometimes, the real adventure of travel begins before you even reach your destination.
而这一次，我们不仅躲过了一场可能毁掉整个假期的航班危机，还用每人42美元的代价，换来了一个从容、安心，甚至有点奢侈的旅行开端。
This time, not only did we dodge a crisis that could have ruined our whole vacation, but for just $42 each, we bought ourselves a calm, worry-free, and even a little bit luxurious start to our trip.
我和胖金哥的“布·瀑·里之旅”，还没真正开始，就已经有故事可讲了！
Our ‘BFFR Trip’ hasn’t even really started, and already we have a story to tell!
干杯！南美洲，我们又来了！
Cheers! South America, here we come again!