My Gutemalan Adventure Begins

I remember my first every flight. It was to the Dominican Republic. There was some turbulence and we had a rough landing. I had no idea this was not normal so wasn´t concerned. Experienced flyer's however began clapping because we landed safely.

This was the only time I had experienced applause during a landing. In all the flights I have taken--and there have been quite a few--there was no clapping, until my flight to Guatemala.

My whole preparation for this trip was not up to my usual standards of what can still be considered unorganized at best. I left everything to the last day which ended up being a holiday and everything was closed. I bought sunscreen and toiletries at a 7/11. I also didn´t bother to check that it is rainy season and I should have packed a raincoat of sorts. Additionally the weather gets quite cold at nights and I didn´t bring any extra sweaters. I also did not pack a towel or washcloth. Ooops.

My flight from Toronto to Mexico City went off with no problems. I purchased the second and third Hunger Games books that I began to devour on the plane.

I had a few hour layover in Mexico and began to hear a lot of Spanish being spoken and realizing that this is what I can expect when I get to Guatemala. This started the adrenaline to pump through my body. When I got on the plane I had a bad feeling that I couldn´t explain. I figured it related to my organization.

Between staring out the window and reading, an announcement from the pilot came over the speakers. He said the wing defrost was broken. A short while later he announced it was too dangerous to land in Guatemala City and we were headed back to Mexico City.

A short while later yet again the pilot came on and announced that it was also unsafe to land in Mexico City. Instead, we landed at a random airport in Mexico somewhere between Mexico City and Guatemala City. There we had to wait for 3 hours for them to send a plane from Mexico City to pick us up.

My friend Kristen, a member of Long Way Home was waiting for me at the airport. I feel bad she had to wait so long, but what really could I do?