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Just before eight (the plane was supposed to leave at seven fifteen) the gate marked "Cienfuegos, Kingston, Barranquilla" was opened.  We went downstairs, out a door and along a narrow board walk to the little landing where our plane was waiting, then one by one across a gangway to the top of the plane, and down the steps inside.  Seats were facing pairs on both sides of the aisle, like Pullmans made up for daytime.  In our compartment and across the aisle were a young oil man named Hoover, going back after leave to his post at Barcelona, Venezuela, and a Venezuelan family named P------, father, mother, son about sixteen and daughter about ten; they had been in the United States for several months, and were to break up at Barranquilla, son to go to school in Bogotá, others home to Venezuela.
The steward made sure that every life-belt was fastened, and with a deafening roar the plane began to beat its way through the water.  We seemed to have nosed under for the water completely covered the windows.  Presently there was a sudden hush (the mere noise of the plane's engines) as the windows cleared and we stopped tearing up the water and began to rise at a very low angle.  As long as we were rising the motion was rough and unpleasant; Clara had sharp pains in her ears and the little girl began to scream and hold her hands over her ears.  After we had finally finished climbing and started on our course the plane steadied and all was well; passengers unstrapped their belts and relaxed, stretched, or stood up in the aisle, and ears stopped hurting until time to come down (which proved to be even worse!).  The steward passed magazines --- Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, etc --- and there was a little conversation, now and then, but the windows provided the best entertainment.  First we had a marvellous view of the Florida Keys, spread out far below like a dainty little colored relief map, with a few miniature boats not far from shore.  Then came water and more water, too blue to be real, but with plenty of variety in the sharp shadings and colorings that marked the various depths and underwater formations.
Soon after ten we sighted Cuba, and then crossed the island from north to south, a spruce little toy country laid out in clearly marked plots of cultivated land, light green plots and dark green plots in sharp contrast, many of them neatly squared.  On the south shore we saw a city of bright little houses built around a small harbor that looked almost like a lake.  The steward passed landing cards for us to fill out, and the plane came slowly and roughly down to hit the water deliberately