A surprise stay in Guatemala City!

As promised, I will write in more detail about a few things that happened on the trip to Roatan Honduras...

The trip began with a half day of school on Friday and we headed to Guatemala City. Our plane was leaving at 8am the next morning so we needed to get there the day before so we could make it to the island with plenty of time to lay around on the beach before we began Scuba classes on Monday. We arrived at the airport and checked in with TACA. The first three of us (Michael, Carrie and I) all were given seats but Randi was told that she needed to check at the gate for her seat. When we got there, we were told that the plane was over sold and if she would take a later flight, she would get compensation. They realized that we were traveling in a group and said that a friend could stay back with her. The flight that she was on had only one connection and me being the rational person I am, I figured this would be better for me considering my severe motion sickness. So, Randi and I sent the other two on their way and waited for our compensation…which happened to be two free breakfasts…we weren’t too happy with this but we took it anyway.

When it was time for us to head back down to the gate, we packed up our stuff and went that way. After sitting there for about 15 minutes a man comes and informs us that our flight is canceled. At this point, we try to get a hold of the other two because we were suppose to be on the same flight into Roatan and with this information, we know that we weren’t going to make it. The thing that through us off was that we couldn’t call from our cell phones to their cell phones. So, we started calling family in the States to have them try to call Michael and Carrie to let them know that we wouldn’t be there when they got there. They led us out of the terminal, out through security, outside, and into the parking garage. At this point, I was seriously questioning if I was going to see anyone I loved again. I mean, why are they taking us out of the airport? I found out quickly that was the only way up to the first floor. They led us back into the airport and to the TACA desk. At this point, we stood in line for 2-3 hours. When we first got there, the agents at the desk didn’t even know that the flight had been canceled. I figured it would be in our best interest if we took matters into our own hands and be proactive with the situation. I started walking around to the other counters to see if another airline could help us. Randi stayed in line and waited for other instructions. When it was finally our turn to talk to the lady at the counter, they told us that they would get us on a flight that day to Roatan. We stood at the counter for 2 hours talking to the lady. When we finally realized that we weren’t going to make it that day, we tried to let our other friends know but we had no luck. TACA ended up giving us $250 travel vouchers, three meals each, and a very nice hotel room.

Needless to say, it was quite a trip there. We showed up Sunday morning with boarding passes already in hand. We were a little nervous that the whole thing would happen again but we made it to Roatan and had a nice Sunday (except for the fact that it took my Dad 1 ½ hours to get through passport control and considering they came in 2 hours after us and we stayed and waited for them…)

We finally made it to our rooms and it didn’t take us long to change into our bathing suits and hit the beach just in time for a beautiful sunset!

It was a wonderful trip even though it started a little rough. I was happy to get a travel voucher. But with this whole ordeal, I learned first hand why they call TACA, Take A Chance Airlines!

On deck…I want to hold your hand…underwater!

Until then!

liz

Playlist:
Humble Me by Norah Jones
Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
On the Radio by Regina Spektor
Touch and Go by The Cars
Songs About Texas by Fallon Franklin and Blake Powers
Song of the South by Alabama
Outta Here by Kenny Chesney
King of Glory by Third Day