Landing in Guatemala, my phone picked up internet for the first time in three days, which lead to a large number of emails...



During the initial announcement, it was said that we'd refuel and continue on our way. But when we landed, taxied to a gate and had a jet bridge attached it became apparent that we would not be flying to San Salvador that evening. This was not confirmed immediately, but after using the washroom, I came out to see the captain motioning across his throat - I interpreted this to mean flight would be terminated here. Indeed, a few moments later, an announcement was made by the ground staff that TA451 was cancelled (not sure that was accurate, since we weren't in Havana anymore). We were to collect our luggage, regardless of where it was tagged to, and go to the check-in hall to rebook for other flights.

While I had a customs form filled out for San Salvador, we did not have one for Guatemala, and here it was one per person and not one per family. Baggage didn't take long, but we had to go out into the chaos of arrivals outside (the same as the last time I was in Guatemala, a complete flashback) and cross the street to get up to the third floor. The elevators were small and only one out of two was working, so I left my parents with the suitcases and went up the stairs to conserve space.

Baggage hall:



Elevator:



When I got upstairs, I found out from my mom that the "gentleman" sitting behind me did not let my dad into the elevator, and literally shut the door in front of his face. Classy.

Outside the terminal:



At the entrance to the terminal, there was a cursory passport check (this I did not remember).

There we found a dark and quiet terminal, with the Avianca counters immediately to the right, manned by four ladies. Only three of the desks were open, as they were having problems. We were first in line with three people being served in front of us, while a large line formed behind us.



Rest of the terminal:



After at least 10 minutes, we were invited to proceed. While initial information (on the aircraft) was quite good, after that, everything deteriorated significantly. We did not know what their idea was, and from my research, there were slim pickings to get to Toronto the following day - flights were either sold out in business or simply not available at all. There was one United connection through Houston that could have worked, though arrival into Toronto was significantly later than initially previewed, and we would have a pointless morning in Guatemala. Not certain what the agents would propose, I gave this option first. By this point, we had two agents serving us, and the superior agent said "though we are Star Alliance, as it's weather, we cannot rebook you on other airlines." Wow, how many times can you hear this same story. At the very least the option they had up their sleeves was ingenious - depart to San Salvador at 6:30 am and connect to our original flight to Toronto. They only asked whether it was fine that the first flight was in economy, as there would be no compensation, since the diversion was due to weather (this again!). At under an hour gate-to-gate, this certainly was no problem. Between this downgrade, the fact that our tickets were award tickets, and the illegal 30 minute connection in San Salvador (minimum is 1 hour) their systems were not allowing the rebooking. There was no way they could reissue the ticket, no matter what they tried. The line progressed rapidly, as other stations had been opened in the meantime, and soon enough, we were the last people standing. A crowd of all the agents gathered around the computer.



Finally - success! The first booking was done. In the course of the next 15 minutes, the remaining bookings were also completed and we were finally good to go.

Rebooked:



No hotel and transportation information had been offered up, but upon inquiry, they told us we'd stay at the Tikal Futura (#2 rated hotel in Guatemala City) and that a bus would pick us up. Luckily, there were still passengers waiting for this bus, so we joined them in front of the terminal. It took a good 15 minutes for the busses to show up, and they were actually vans. The drivers weren't well-organized with the luggage, but eventually we were loaded up and on our way.



After Cuba, Guatemala seemed so advanced, civilized, modern. It was a shock - and we had only spent two days in Cuba.

The hotel was very well organized, with room keys ready for all passengers, and only needed our passports to fill in the requisite details.

The lobby was beautiful, very grand:





Dinner was available until 10:30 pm and covered by Avianca. After dropping our luggage off in the rooms, we went for dinner - which was rapidly served and delicious (probably again in comparison to Cuba).









A brief night it was, but very comfortable.