Friends, celebrities and complete strangers made the trek to the airport Thursday night to greet the returning Nyad.
The flight wasn't much of a trek compared to Nyad's 53 hours in the water to become the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage.
Nyad revealed that the three days in the water were bad, but the nights were worse.
"Those 13 hours were absolute hell. I just suffered with the salt water and not being able to breathe above the waves. The second night was mental. I went into deep hallucinations," Nyad described.
What's next for the 64-year-old? Nyad plans to swim for 48 hours straight next month, accompanied by celebrities swimming laps alongside her.
It will be in a specially designed swimming pool in New York City to raise money for Hurricane Sandy survivors.
