DAY ONE
The day started out early about 2:45AM. We headed to the airport with help from Grandmother and Grandaddy Davis. We boarded a DELTA jet for our adventure. Little did we know what lay ahead? Upon arriving in Atlanta we learned that the flight we were traveling on to Guatemala City, which had shown on the internet to have plenty of seats, was actually oversold. We started making contingency plans but none seemed to work. We got assistance from the DELTA ticketing staff which gave us about thirty-seconds to make a decision. We decided to fly to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, where we would then buy tickets from an airline named TACA. This seemed like a good idea at first. The Delta staff said “go for it” there are plenty of seats on the TACA flight to Guatemala.
Upon arriving in San Pedro, we knew we were in trouble when we were landing and all we could see were pineapple fields and a very small concrete building for an airport. We deplaned and waited for our luggage….and waited…and then waited for a DELTA employee for help. We filled out the proper paperwork, which was pretty hard since the DELTA staff helping us barely spoke English. Next we had to go through customs and go outside…yes outside…to purchase tickets from TACA airlines. To our surprise all jets flying directly to Guatemala were grounded because of the fog and rain. We were able to get five tickets to Guatemala via El Salvador…Call us world travelers. Did you know when you travel through a country you have to pay taxes…we didn’t expect this just to buy tickets for a new flight but Honduras charged us $160 in cash only. Needless to say we were a little overwhelmed at this point. We were finally able to board a plane to El Salvador which went well. We went to the Duty free shop and everybody sprayed cologne on because we new we would be in the same clothes another day and Darla bought her and the girls a little make-up for the next day. We changed gates and boarded the second TACA flight.
As we began our descent the landing gear came down, then suddenly the plane took off back up into the sky. It seams that a 5.2 earthquake had just hit Guatemala and we couldn’t land until all the runways and structures had been checked. We finally landed and entered the airport, went through customs, which wasn’t hard because we only had our carry on luggage. You know when your friends tell you to pack an extra change of clothes in your carry on luggage, my advice is to do it because only two of us (of course our world travelers Davis and Kaylin) had a change of clothes.
We caught the shuttle for our hotel and checked into the Radisson which is very nice. Unfortunately they had our reservation wrong and the only room left for us had two double beds. Davis and Todd slept in one bed and Darla, Kaylin and Makenzie slept in the other bed. Needless to say the girls were uncomfortable and we were all cold due to the plummeting temperatures that night and no heat because you normally don’t need heat in Guatemala.
The first day ended with all of us stressed but hopeful for what the next day would bring.
The day started out early about 2:45AM. We headed to the airport with help from Grandmother and Grandaddy Davis. We boarded a DELTA jet for our adventure. Little did we know what lay ahead? Upon arriving in Atlanta we learned that the flight we were traveling on to Guatemala City, which had shown on the internet to have plenty of seats, was actually oversold. We started making contingency plans but none seemed to work. We got assistance from the DELTA ticketing staff which gave us about thirty-seconds to make a decision. We decided to fly to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, where we would then buy tickets from an airline named TACA. This seemed like a good idea at first. The Delta staff said “go for it” there are plenty of seats on the TACA flight to Guatemala.
Upon arriving in San Pedro, we knew we were in trouble when we were landing and all we could see were pineapple fields and a very small concrete building for an airport. We deplaned and waited for our luggage….and waited…and then waited for a DELTA employee for help. We filled out the proper paperwork, which was pretty hard since the DELTA staff helping us barely spoke English. Next we had to go through customs and go outside…yes outside…to purchase tickets from TACA airlines. To our surprise all jets flying directly to Guatemala were grounded because of the fog and rain. We were able to get five tickets to Guatemala via El Salvador…Call us world travelers. Did you know when you travel through a country you have to pay taxes…we didn’t expect this just to buy tickets for a new flight but Honduras charged us $160 in cash only. Needless to say we were a little overwhelmed at this point. We were finally able to board a plane to El Salvador which went well. We went to the Duty free shop and everybody sprayed cologne on because we new we would be in the same clothes another day and Darla bought her and the girls a little make-up for the next day. We changed gates and boarded the second TACA flight.
As we began our descent the landing gear came down, then suddenly the plane took off back up into the sky. It seams that a 5.2 earthquake had just hit Guatemala and we couldn’t land until all the runways and structures had been checked. We finally landed and entered the airport, went through customs, which wasn’t hard because we only had our carry on luggage. You know when your friends tell you to pack an extra change of clothes in your carry on luggage, my advice is to do it because only two of us (of course our world travelers Davis and Kaylin) had a change of clothes.
We caught the shuttle for our hotel and checked into the Radisson which is very nice. Unfortunately they had our reservation wrong and the only room left for us had two double beds. Davis and Todd slept in one bed and Darla, Kaylin and Makenzie slept in the other bed. Needless to say the girls were uncomfortable and we were all cold due to the plummeting temperatures that night and no heat because you normally don’t need heat in Guatemala.
The first day ended with all of us stressed but hopeful for what the next day would bring.
2 comments:
Oh my goodness, Darla! That is one WILD story!!!!!! I would be dead by the end of all that . . . think how amazing this story will be to tell your new children one day. They will feel so incredibly blessed and loved to know how much you were all willing to go through in order to just be with them for a few days! God is good all of the time and His plans will prevail! (:
Love all of you and praying daily!
Robin
Oh my goodness... what a way to start this adventure. At least you have a great story to share ! I know all this hustle and bustle will soon be forgotten... when Tradd and Sophia are placed in your waiting arms...
God Bless-
Julie
CCI Family
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