August 29, 2023
Oh my goodness five o'clock comes early when you've stayed up the night before until two!! We picked Jan up at the airport around eleven thirty, came home, and had either a late dinner or a very early breakfast, depending on your view point!
Nick made coffee for the coffee drinkers and we were in the car by six thirty! There's a terrible accident on the interstate, blocking all three lanes (or maybe it's four?) but it's going the other way and we all say a prayer of thanksgiving!
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Hmmm! It's foggy! I'm sure it will burn off in three hours! |
Once at the airport it is smooth sailing for the most part. There aren't a lot of people here yet, so that helps. Ginger's check-in kiosk works perfectly; mine doesn't want to read my passport and I feel foolish until the attendant has the same problem! It finally works and I follow his directions to the bag drop-off spot. Jan goes to a different ticketing counter and gets her boarding pass and drops her luggage and Ginger sails through the process as well.
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Atlanta's airport has such cool art work! This is decorating the up escalator. |
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Her name is Belle and she is by Mary Engel. Those are all found objects. |
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Part of the MLK permanent exhibit. |
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There's an inter-faith chapel with many different holy books. |
Security goes well. I've got TSA pre-check and the girls don't but we all get through at about the same time and it's off to find our gate. We take the plane train to the next stop and think, perhaps, we should get something to eat because it's a long time until we land.
A stop at Nature's Pantry arms us with comestibles and we head to E27. There we meet up with the rest of our Atlanta contingent, Mark and Karen who are married, and Ginnie. Ginger knows them all from Emerson and they've all traveled with her before, so there's none of that awkward "And who are you?" for them. And Jan is so outgoing, that she immediately fits right in.
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This is part of the view from our gate. |
Now it's just a matter of hanging out until it's time to board. The rest of our group is coming from Baja, California, and we'll meet up with them in Guatemala City.
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The flight is uneventful - best kind! I watch "The Whale Rider" and it brings back lots of beautiful memories of New Zealand and pretty soon we're descending into Guatemala City.
All six of us are on the plane and we make our way to the electronic declaration station. Hmmm, Ginger goes first and she winds up getting help from a staff person. He takes our three passports (we've split up into two groups by this time) and processes us all together. From there we go through immigration as a group and then on to baggage claim.
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Approaching Guatemala City |
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There are beautiful murals all over the airport |
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And outside as well! |
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It's fun to greet your family and friends with balloons! |
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The flag has the quetzal bird and a document. |
When everyone is once again united with their bags and each other we set out to find Juan. Lots of happy hugs and smiles and he takes us to our big beautiful van. Our luggage all fits in the back. We all fit in the seats. And we're off to our hotel. Juan tells us that Guatemala City is newer than many of the other capitals in Central America. It was built in 1776, after an earthquake damaged Antigua. We're driving down Avenuda Reforrma (not the one in Mexico City) which is where the beautiful old houses were. But most of them are gone now. But not the one which has been turned into our hotel!!
It's gorgeous!! We wander around the garden/pool area while Ginger and Juan get us all checked in and then we go up to our rooms to settle in before regrouping for a late lunch. And a cerveza!
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Cute little bar where we will convene later for our welcome drink! |
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Ginger and Juan get us checked in |
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It looks just like the picture! And the Gallo cerveza is a nice lager. |
After lunch we visit to adjoining museums which are quite close to our hotel while Juan goes to the airport to retrieve our last to members, Suga and Switch from Baja.
The first museum is the Museo Ixchel, named for the Mayan goddess of fertility, the moon, and women. So many gorgeous textiles!! Each village has its own pattern and there are over a hundred of them! The other museum is Popol Vuh, named for the Mayan "Bible" which was discovered by an archeologist who was able to translate it from Mayan into Spanish. It is filled with fascinating old ceramics, some dating back 2,000 years, and many depicting ancient gods and mythological creatures. Amazing stuff but we couldn't take pictures.
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Juan fills every silence with knowledge! |
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Better view of the flag |
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Replica of the palanquin used for the image of St. Augustine on his feast day. |
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Huipiles are the tops that the ladies wear. |
There is a gift shop for the textiles museum!
Juan comes back to get us and Jan and I get to meet Suga and Switch. Everyone else has been on several of Ginger's tours and has met them at one time or another! Back to the hotel to rest for just a half our before our "Welcome" drinks! And then its on to dinner, a short walk down the street.
We walk to La Estancia Steak House and the meat is outstanding! And the wine is nice. And even the broth that begins the meal is delicious!
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Our welcome drink is a bit like Kool Aid with alcohol. Still it's drinkable!! |
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Our little group fills the bar, Tipsy's. |
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Boullion? |
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My choice! |
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And, again, it looks like the photo! |
And then comes the birthday surprise! First there is a glorious slice of birthday cake; but we've all given away our utensils with our dinner plates! There is one knife left and I use it for a hot minute. Then there appears a HUGE tres leches cake! Plates and spoons follow and we all do our best; but there is still a lot left over. We bring it back to the hotel for the staff that has been so good to us! There is just the slightest drizzle and if feels really good to walk in it.
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Everyone took pictures. I'll add them as they roll in!
Ginger gets us bottles of water and we all disperse, to meet for breakfast at seven. Jan reads for a bit and I finish today's post before I shower. What a lovely birthday!! |
Happy birhday, again. I'm glad to have photo proof that Jan was able to connect up. Tampa airport is still closed until Thursday.
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