25 September 2021 – Friday – The Journey and Mission Begins

I arrived at the airport at 3:45am. There were travelers in line but no one at the counter until 4:15. LaGuardia Is a bit crazy with construction so it was hard to know if I was in the correct place. I made it to the ticket counter, showed my passport and vaccination card, then was asked for my PCR results. I had done a PCR test to satisfy the medical team’s request to be sure no one was an asymptomatic carrier. It was negative. I was pretty sure I didn’t need the test to travel but the agent told me the test was older than 72 hours so I couldn’t board. Yikes! I explained my predicament that I was joining a medical mission to Guatemala. She suddenly realized that there was no way she could rebook me to get there. So she let me get the ticket which it turns out didn’t require a PCR test since I had a vaccination card.
Boy it’s tough to travel these days.

The photo below is the flight approaching Guatemala City. It’s the rainy season here so there are clouds hanging over the mountains.

It took about 2 1/2 hours by bus to get to Antigua. The hotel is lovely as I remembered it. I have a single room with a with a fireplace, high ceilings and a huge bed. I will surely be comfortable. I am trying not to fall asleep before dinner.