We are home. Back on our boat in Guatemala and the adventure goes on. After the hurricane Dorian hit Florida our flight to Guatemala by way of Florida was canceled four times. We fly out of Kansas City, MO and it’s a 5 hour drive to the airport from our little house in Kansas. Made that trip twice with our son coming to get us after the last cancellation. That’s 10 hours hard driving for nothing after our flight was canceled. We decided to just wait two weeks and let thing get back back to normal. Made the five hour drive in a borrowed car with our son driving taking us there again, Monday 16th. This time made the flight to Orlando with an overnight layover. Shuttle from the motel taking an hour to get us to our motel room. TV wouldn’t work and the maintenance man never showed up so after 2 hours of waiting and calling the front desk I stared to trace the wires and found the gang box plug-in was loose. Really no time to watch TV “now.” Ask for a wake up call at 5 o’clock that never came. We set 2 alarm clocks and was there waiting on our shuttle ride back to the airport. He was late by a few minutes and other people going to the airport never received their wake up call and was asking him to wait. We told him “not our fault” and he said I agree, let’s go. We were the only people on the shuttle bus. Made that. Now we got a text message there to go to the check-in counter to get our boarding past we could not print it ourselves, there the women said we needed to buy a return ticket and we could not fly to Guatemala with out having a return ticket. No amount of arguing about us going to a boat and never flying that way before and her saying it has always been this way. Bought the ticket with her saying we could cancel it there. Got on that plane worried about our checked bag. In the motel we found the side was ripped. Remember no flying with my full size Swiss army knife I always have. Now what do we do? We had nothing to work with and it was late. Pam had a small nail clipper with a file that is only and inch and a quarter long. Little bitty thing so with that I cut Pam’s shoe lace off and used the nail file to make holes in the side of the bag and laced up the tear. With what was left of the shoe lace we tied up Pam’s shoe. Who would note a women in and air port with all the “crazies there”wearing a shoe with only the top of the shoe laced up and tied.
Our repair job made the trip
On the ground in Guatemala we were worried they would only gives us the few days left on the return plane ticket to stay in Guatemala with us having a return ticket now back to the US. They gave us the full 90 days so we got through that. Now to get our patched up bag. Went to the wrong airline bag pick up and waited and waited before being told in Spanish we were in the wrong place. Standing there looking for our bag that never came worrying the bag had come apart. After going to the right place we found our bag just setting there on the floor. Now to get the return flight canceled and just finding the the desk was a big deal. There worried about our Spanish the women spoke great English. She helped us cancel the return ticket. In doing so I ask how she learned English and she said watching Friends on TV. I ask if she had seen Dalwson Creek on TV. She said she had and when I told her we had our old home built sail boat we built ourselves in the series we stared to talk. Pam saying we need to go catch a bus. I gave her a card and if she is reading this. Thanks again. Now to catch a bus from Guatemala City to the Rio Dulce and our boat. Going home some how. Got a taxi and as we came to the bus station they were saying Rio Dulce now leaving in Spanish. Pam got us a ticket and what luck., 1:00 bus. If we had missed that bus she would have said it was because I talk to much. Now what could go wrong? Never say “What can go wrong now?” It’s a 5 hour bus ride across Guatemala from the bus station and just 1:00. The bus was old and we call these buses security buses because they have a door between the driver and the passengers. You have to knock on the door to talk to the driver and they have to open the door before you can get off. You can’t see what is in front of you and can only see a little out the side. Pam was sea sick with the hard driving driver not being able to see and was taking what we take out to sea for sea sickness. Just a doughnut for breakfast didn’t help. There is a bus stop half way going to the Rio. Driving hard then setting for an hour with road construction. We had been going hard from 5 o’clock and now it was getting dark and we were not half way, starving, sea sick and knowing now there would not be a taxi or tuk tuk to get us from town to our boat. There at the bus stop we got what they call a hamburger. Not close to a real hamburger but if you are getting weak, meat and bread with stuff squeezed all over it from containers you don’t know can be called a hamburger I guess. As the bus was getting close to the river I knocked on the door and ask the driver if possible we could get off closer to our boat. It was after 9 o’clock. Using what we call day time Spanish with my finger I draw a line on my arm making a hump for the bridge crossing the river and saying Fronteras for the town. Saying no tuk tuk. It worked and the driver stopped and let us off at the Shell gas station. Now we were standing there in the dark with our boat not close but with in hard walking distance. With our bags in hand we stared walking. Pam had texted our friends at the marina and about half way we saw lights coming. We made it home to our boat and they were taking our bags. One thing I have learned after 55 years of adventure with Pam. You have to look at her if you ask her if she is alright because she will lie a little. If there are tears in her eyes and her lip is quivering I know she is powering up just to go on no matter what she is saying. Have you ever heard what don’t kill you will make you stronger. Some times I wonder how much stronger “as old as we are” we can get.
Happy to be Home abord “Pamela Ann”
schoonerpamelaann 