We only thought it was over…

Thursday, after finishing with our pharmacy clinic to distribute the long awaited medications, we packed our belongings into the bus and headed for Antigua. We arrived about 4:00 p.m. and were graciously greeted by the staff of Hotel Don Rodrigo. A lovely reception with fruit juice awaited us (quite refreshing!) and we quickly found our lovely, Spanish-style architecture rooms while the staff delivered our luggage to us. Some of us spent the next few hours shopping, some slept and some enjoyed the hot showers!



We all came back together again at 7:00 p.m. for a meal in the hotel restaurant.



The wait staff was attentive and the “floor show” was so much fun! Dancers in masks and costume performed a ceremonial dance for us while the live marimba band played accompanying music. Before it was all over, they had enticed several in our party to join them on the dance floor. One of our members even “killed the devil!”

Then, it was off to our rooms for an abbreviated night’s sleep. The Nashville-bound contingent had to be out in the courtyard of the hotel by 3:30 a.m. to load our luggage on the bus. The trip to the airport in Guatemala City can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours, depending on the time of day you make the trip. We had an early flight, so we wanted to get out of Antigua and to the airport ahead of the traffic.

Again, the hotel staff was very gracious. They had coffee and rolls waiting for us in the lobby, and packed each of us a lunch/breakfast to take with us. The ham and cheese sandwiches were great!

After checking in at the airport, we had a pleasant surprise. The exit tax we were expecting to pay, around $40 dollars each, had been included in the cost of our airline tickets (a first). We only had to pay $3.00 to leave the country. So, we checked our bags and got coffee and other great breakfast items from McDonald’s there in the airport!

Though we were told to be at the gate to load the plane at 7:50, actually boarding did not start until 8:40. But, we were finally in the plane and back on our way to the U.S.

Once we arrived in Dallas, we quickly learned via text messages and phone calls that our continuing flight to Nashville had been cancelled due to bad weather. We were very disappointed-we were all ready to be home! But the American Airlines staff was very gracious and efficient. After clearing customs, we learned they had already booked us on a Saturday flight and had contacted a hotel about holding rooms for us. After figuring out how to get us all to the Holiday Inn, we loaded taxis and headed to Arlington, TX for one more night. And, since we did not have to pay the exit tax, everyone had the money needed to cover the cost of the room and the taxi!

Once again we found a very gracious hotel staff. They made us feel very welcome and opened the hotel restaurant so that we could get a late lunch/early supper. Clean rooms, hot showers, and quiet nights were all wonderful after the very long day.

So, as I write this, we are preparing to head to Dallas airport to catch our flight to Nashville. At this point it looks like we will arrive home today, but there are probably many stories yet to be written about what this afternoon will hold!

My prayer is that we will be as gracious to those we encounter today and in the days ahead as the many folks we’ve seen in the last 24 hours have been to us.

Life is a journey. And to quote my friend Pat: “Live it sliding into second base!”