We had the morning in Guatemala City before catching our flight home at 7:45pm. Because we would be going back to the United States we had to be to the airport early. So we were grateful this last bit of time in Guatemala was spent visiting some points of interest in the city.
When we awoke we peek out of hotel room window. Since we arrived in darkness the night before, it was nice to look out and see this blend of old and new right outside our window.
The setting for this restaurant was a really nice Mercado. So, after we ate we roamed the shops for one final chase to spend American dollars. Claude and I didn't even exchange for Guatemalan money. We did use Peru's money when there but not in Guatemala. We really didn't intend to purchase anything. However...I came across sandals made out of that lovely woven fabric. I may have resisted but they were mostly purple!!! I asked what they cost. She said $10 American. I asked about my size. She asked what it was in American sizes. I told her and she pulled out a bag full of shoes in my size in all kinds of colors. I tried on the sandals. Claude pronounced them cute. By now some of the ladies in our tour group stopped to see what I was trying on. They pronounced them cute and assured me I should get the purple ones. Swayed by my own desire and the urging of others I succumbed and purchased my final souvenir from Guatemala... purple sandals. Isn't life grand?!?!
The flight home was not without incident. We were at the airport plenty early...and that was a very good thing.
It turns out Avianca Airlines had our names in their computer but they had canceled our our reservations. Here we were again 44 people with a valid reservation that they had canceled in their computer. We were standing in the queue again at the ticket counter waiting as the hour ticked by. Alan was right up there with their head ticketing agents working to get a plan for us to get home that day. The airline acknowledged it was their error. There were other people waiting, with tickets they thought they also had, to get clearance to board the plane.
Claude and I happened to be at the counter when this adventure started. The ticketing agent we had was singing like a bird about what was going on behind the counter and in the back. Alan could see her talking to us and the people in the queue wanting to know what she said. He kept coming by and saying, "Ignore her. They are working on it." This agent told us there were only 19 open seats on the flight we were supposed to be on and it was the only flight they had to Los Angeles each day.
After what was forever, they started calling for people to get their boarding passes. They were working in alphabetic order so Claude and I came up pretty quickly. After getting our boarding passes, Alan told us to go on through security and to the gate and to watch Leah as they had her go first. Off we went. Made it through security and to the gate. Found a shop and purchased a bottle of water for us and a treat. Then we went to our seats. Every so often another of our tour group would join us.
Then Ida Mae, Alan's wife, joined us with new boarding passes. It seems there were seats in First Class. They started at the first ones they gave boarding passes to and printed new boarding passes for First Class. Ida Mae told Claude and me and a few others to tear up our previous boarding pass in front of her and she then gave us the news ones. If this flight took off, Claude and I would fly First Class back to Los Angeles.
Then the weirdest thing happened. Avianca Airlines set up a temporary security check just outside the gate area seating. The put those posts with the cloth strips around the seating area as a barrier. We were all told to get up and get in the queue to be rechecked in. Everyone. We all went through the temporary security where our already checked bags were opened and rummaged through and everyone was patted down. Our new water bottles were taken as that can't go through security. Later we realized they were just being sure they had the right tickets and no duplicates. But that really could have been done without going through another security screening and pat down. Just saying. Goodness.
We were very, very fortunate that they made seating for all 44 of us on the flight. Alan said later that they actually bumped people from the flight that had booked after us. I cannot tell you the guilt I felt as the rest of our group walked past us to coach class. Claude and I never fly First Class and it was very nice to do this at that point and time. Spent the 5-hour flight going through my pictures on my camera and deleting the bad ones, straightening the ones that were taken with the camera turned and cropping some down.
We arrived in Los Angeles after 11pm and were not to our hotel until after midnight. Our flight back to Louisville didn't leave until 1:25 the next day. We were able to sleep until our bodies wanted to wake up. Claude suggested we not eat the buffet breakfast at the hotel. Instead we went to Denny's and ordered real American pancakes and bacon. Yummy!! I even had an Amarillo Suave!
We arrive back in Louisville to rain. Drove home arriving about 1:30am Wednesday morning. Tired but happy to be home in our own bed.
This was a great trip. We visited all the sites we were promised when we booked the tour. We had adventure none of us expected to have and we survived it all. So happy and grateful my sisters came to be with Papa so I could enjoy this and not worry about his care. So happy and grateful Claude and I got this trip with all its climbing and hiking done before we just get too old and decrepit to do this kind of thing. Happy I have lots of pictures and video so that, in those years when we don't get to travel in the future, we can watch and remember this great world our Heavenly Father prepared for us. Feeling richly blessed.
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