Category: Guatemala

Today we are visiting with Luis’s extended family and then going to visit Antigua.

First we want to Mass at Saint Francisco and had the GWagon blessed!

Then off the meet more of Luis’s family.

We then went to eat some chicken at a local restaurant and got to meet one of the locals!

Antigua is beautiful!

And an 800 year old Catholic Church!

Today we searched for parts and did a valve adjustment.

Most were tight with 2 loose valves. The adjustment will help, tomorrow we will need to adjust the diesel lift.

The airline upgraded me to a nice granite seat. Ouch!After a little excitement at the airport….The GWagon!

Then Jim had to get the fees paid, the title transferred and such. See my entry on bureaucracy… it’s a mess.

4.5 hours later… success!!!!

This gives the reader a slight flavor of the issues we are currently dealing with getting the GWagon into Jim’s name officially here in Guatemala:

Why Buying a Car in Guatemala is Bad for your Blood Pressure

Let’s just say there is no legroom for a six foot two white guy on a flight where the average height is 5 foot something.

Two benedryl and the same number of mini Jack Daniels helped to take the edge off – a bit.

Once we landed we deplaned after the ground crew drove to Jose’s house to wake him up. Jose had the only keys to the Airbus A320 door apparently.

We arrived gate 33ish and we’re immediately in Mexican time driven to about gate 1. We cleared baggage again, no idea why? And then got to walk back to gate 32. Like 12 miles of walking.

Mexico City airport is still way busy at 4am.

Next stop – Guatemala!

Where is the coffee Jim?

So another morning of prep to fix tires and get Visas. Crossed the border into Tijuana and will spend time at Jim’s place in Rosarito until it’s time to head to the airport in about 12 hours!

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And then to a bar of course….

Watched the Kavenaugh hearing. I personally believe him and share his impression of the process. He is a true Patriot.

Update: 6:30pm Dinner at same bar, then off to the airport at 7:30pm. We already have our boarding passes but some very heavy bags to check – should be interesting!

Luis made a new friend while checking in…

I worked this morning a bit while I completed my checklists for the trip. Went through and tried to make sure everything would continue to work for Linda while I was away. Technology in the house seems to revolt when I leave.

Flew to San Diego in the afternoon and was met at the airport by Jim and Luis. Plan was that Luis was going to fly down to Guatemala today and prep the vehicle while Jim and I took care of some other preparations. That was the plan… Volaris apparently had a different plan.

Volaris (Mexican airline) somehow found a way to print the reservation and make it look like Luis was leaving today. I saw it myself. We planned on him leaving today, we really did. The reservation however was for yesterday. He had missed his flight and didn’t know it. He will now be flying down on the same flights with Jim and myself.

Luis has family in Guatemala and was planning on spending time with them while getting the vehicle prepared. It’s also his birthday Friday! So with this small delay the timeline may slip… a bit.

I also lost the bet on how much the tool bag weighed. It’s a large piece of luggage that contains a spare wheel for the G-Wagon and a bunch of other items I am sure we will be needing. I guessed 87. It’s 115 pounds. Way off! I am buying first round…

So back to the car to head to Jim’s for the night. Driving away Luis noticed a sound. We stopped and found a nice addition to the tire. It’s now our good luck charm!

Of course we had a spare…. with no air. So we drove daintily to a station, aired up and changed the tire.

Great conversation and bullshitting so far! Tomorrow we are headed for Tijuana and then onto Guatemala. Going to be a long day!!!