Guatemala 6/21/2024 |
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Friday, June 21, 2024 - ArrivalIt had been two years since we last visited Guatemala. We usually like to visit at least once per year, but last year I was unemployed for three months, so we couldn't visit as we normally do in the summer. So we were very excited to see the family this year, especially since our visit would coincide with our goddaughter Aracely's wedding! We had first met Aracely when she was just two years old, and we are proud godparents as she grows up and enters a new chapter of her life.We scheduled our flights such that we didn't have to leave the house at the crack of dawn, and we would arrive in Guatemala at a reasonable time in the evening, given that we still had a 3+ hour drive from the airport to Panajachel after landing. Logan Way car service picked us up ontime at 9:30 a.m. We got to the airport at 10 o'clock. We checked in and went through security. We had first class tickets, and the fact that we were traveling to Latin America meant that we could access the lounge for breakfast. Craig had eggs and sausage, and I had muffins and a bagel. We had orange juice to drink. Since we were so early for our flight, we were still there in the lounge as they changed the buffet over to the lunch menu. I had some pesto pasta, macarons, and brownies. We boarded the flight, but had to wait before takeoff because an ill man had to get off the flight. Then they had to remove his luggage from the hold. Once the flight was underway, we had Bailey's to drink. (Always something we like to do when we're lucky enough to have first class tickets). Craig had a chicken enchilada and I had pesto pasta salad for lunch. Despite the delayed start, we still made it in plenty of time for our connection in Miami, which was only several gates away from where our plane had parked. The connecting flight to Guatemala City was delayed by more than an hour. For this flight, we had pre-ordered our meals. Craig had baked chicken, and I got an awesome fruit and cheese plate. We had Bailey's again. As we approached our destination, the pilot said we might not be able to land in Guatemala City due to fog and rain. We were currently in a holding pattern over El Salvador. What would this mean? (Humberto would later tell us that this happened sometimes and they would land in El Salvador and bus people to Guatemala City: a 4.5 hour ride). Luckily for us, things cleared up over Guatemala, but by then we had to wait our turn along with all of the other planes that had been circling. We finally landed at 7:51 p.m. (the scheduled arrival time had been 6:45). Craig uses a wheelchair in airports because his legs lock up during flights, and he has a hard time walking long distances in short amounts of time in airports when that is the case. The wheelchair attendant who helped Craig needed to handle two wheelchairs. And part of the airport was under construction so we had to go a roundabout way. It seemed to take forever to get around the airport, and we were extra glad that we got the wheelchair. The arrival customs form is now online. I don't know how passengers without smartphones are able to travel these days. I scanned a QR code and filled out the form. As I was now in a foreign country and didn't have my usual cell phone coverage, I needed to get on the airport free wi-fi. As did everyone else who was standing there scanning the same QR code. The network became very congested, and I had some trouble with the form. But I was eventually able to submit it. Then went through immigration and picked up our luggage. We felt like we were the last ones from our flight to get through the airport, as our luggage was sitting there alone waiting for us. As we exited the airport, I had to flash the customs declaration on my phone to the agent. It was 9 o'clock by the time we were outside at the curb to be picked up. I was freaking out knowing the our ride had been waiting for us for about 2 hours. It was incredibly crowded in front of the airport, obviously a fallout from the delayed landings due to the weather. We were in touch with Humberto via Messenger and he said that Paola would meet us. After searching through a sea of faces, we recognized Paola. She called Manuel, who works for Humberto as a driver, who was waiting in the parked van. Manuel picked the three of us up and we exited the airport. It was great to see Paola. She is a busy, professional young woman. She is a nurse at a clinic in Panajachel, and on weekends she takes surgical insttrumentation classes in Guatemala City. She had class tomorrow, so she would be spending the night in the city. So we dropped her at a hotel before heading to Panajachel. There was a lot of traffic coming out of the city. It was raining and visibility was poor. We finally arrived in Panajachel at 12:30 a.m. So much for arriving at a decent time! Most of the family was asleep, but our 8-year-old godson Ian Ivan had stayed up for our arrival. He greeted us out at the street in English. We walked up the alley to the house. We chatted with Humberto and Paulina. As usual, there were changes to the house since we were last here two years ago. A lattice wall decorated with huipiles (embroidered Maya blouses) separated the sink area from the sitting area outside. The second bedroom in the main house had been converted into a storage room. All of the kids were now sleeping in bedrooms in the "hotel" building. We got settled into our usual room on the first floor and went to bed. We were exhausted after a long day of travel. |
 Breakfast in the airport lounge  First class seats Photo Gallery June 21 |
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