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We woke up at 3:30 a.m., prior to our 4:30 alarm. We got up at 4:30, showered, and at 5:30 when we went to the dining room, Paulina was already making coffee. They are so good to us, no matter what ungodly time they have to get up. Tostada and jelly were on the table, so that we could get something into our bellies before the ride to Guatemala City. We ate breakfast, and the van arrived at 5:50. Paola and Yasmin had just woken up and came out to say goodbye. These kids usually sleep through anything, so it must have been a concerted effort for them to rouse themselves. We said our goodbyes and gave hugs. Yasmin, Paulina, and Humberto walked us out to the van. Humberto got in the van too because we had to pick up other clients at various hotels around the city. Once they were all collected, the driver dropped Humberto off and we embarked on the three hour drive into the city.
We saw two bad accidents on the foggy wet road. These roads really can de dangerous in bad weather. We passed through Chimaltenengo on our ride, which was a different route than we normally take. We arrived at the airport in Guatemala City shortly after 9 o'clock. We checked in and then went to the food court. Craig and I each got 2 piece campero meals from Pollo Campero with fries and Mirinda orange soda. Luckily there were other food vendors that had vegetarian options for Mukul. After eating, we paid the $6 airport fee and went through security. Mukul's tin of loose tea made them suspicious, but they didn't confiscate it. We then headed to the gate and waited until the flight began boarding at 11 o'clock. The flight took off on time at 11:50. They fed us chicken calzone, macaroni salad, and creme cookies. We landed in Houston on time and (of course) chose the wrong line to stand in at customs. Why do they make people who need to be fingerprinted go through the same lines as citizens? It just makes the whole process take longer. Airports where the system works best usually have a single line, and individual customs officers call everyone in order. When there are 10 individual lines, you can really get screwed if you choose a slow line. After we finally got done with customs, we went through security. One of the TSA officers said "Stephanie? Is that you?" like he knew me, but he was actuaklly just teasing and had seen my name tag on my bag. It was funny but also a bit unnerving. We went to our gate and I bought us Gatorades and a brownie to share. We boarded ontime at 6:20 p.m. We were scheduled to take off at 6:50, but wound up sitting on the tarmac for around 45 minutes. Ugh - we'd be getting in late enough as it was! We were fed chicken wraps, M & M's, Doritos, and carrot sticks. The Continental staff is definitely nicer than the American crews we are used to. We arrived in Boston at shortly after midnight. Mukul would be spending the night in the airport since he had an early morning flight to San Francisco. He came with us to the car and we drove him to his next terminal. He would be coming back to our house one more time before leaving the States, so this was not our final goodbye. We were home by 1am, which was not too shabby, all things considered. |
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