Incredible Flight!

As I type this, we (Eugene, Megan, and I) are in a vibrating turbo-prop plane at 7 a.m. on an hour-long flight to Tikal. Surprise and trepidation has instantly united us with the other ten passengers. The young mother seated behind me with her arm around her son keeps saying, “They promised me it was a jet. This is no jet! This is no jet!”

When we boarded, a small snack box was sitting on each seat. Inside each box, nestled between a box of orange juice and a small package of crackers was a pair of earplugs. Earplugs = racket? Gene advised that I not choose the seat next to the engine, but I had no desire to sit in the rear.

Forget about safety doors between passengers and pilots; there is no door to block our view of the cockpit. We can watch the two pilots turning dials and punching buttons. But who would want to hijack 13 passengers on a prop in Guatemala anyway? Furthermore, the passengers seem nervous enough to remain seated. Besides, you can’t stand up straight with the low ceiling and there are no restrooms. Good thing this toy has GPS because clouds are now blocking our view of the mountainous terrain below, and sometimes when we fly through clouds, we only see the mist.  Bottom line, I really want to see Tikal, or I would not be in this plane. Yet, hopefully, I’ll do it again next summer and the next summer, and . . .

How is Megan, my student-teaching assistant handling the flight? She’s sleeping.

We got up at 3 a.m. for a quick breakfast – yes, at 3 a.m., and then John Mann drove us to Antigua where we took a tour shuttle to the National Airport. The National Airport is not the same as the International Airport - not at all. Weeds are growing in the runway turnabouts, and we waited in a hangar before boarding our plane. The glass-box display with items not allowed on flights included insect spray, so being the honest gal I am, I took out my can of insect spray and asked the young lady checking us in if I should throw it away. Heck, no! She wrapped the precious can with it's own baggage tag and told me it would be waiting for me when we arrive in Flores.

All we are taking for luggage is my small computer bag on wheels - I’ve really learned how to pack light! - Gene’s small carry on, and Megan’s small backpack, but all of those had to be checked in because there is no room for them on the plane. Of course, I grabbed my computer – if I go down, it goes with me!  Amazingly, though, there’s more leg room and storage space under the seats on this prop than on the major airlines! We could easily have fit our luggage under these seats, but there aren’t any rails to keep luggage from sliding across the floor.

When we do see the countryside surrounding us, it is magnificent! Rolling mountains with small – very small villages nestled here and there, and scattered lakes. This gives new meaning to the phrase in The Book of Mormon: “narrow strip of wilderness.” These mountains are just that. For generations, they have separated people. Today, you could still live off the land for a lifetime in these mountains, just a few miles from someone else doing the same, and never know the other was alive.

We’re going down now, hopefully for a safe landing. Gene says he’s never been in a plane before where he can see the runway directly in front of the plane as you start down. Wheeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We’ve landed in Flores and we are alive!!!!!!!!!  The passengers are applauding the pilots.

The passenger behind me just said she’s been watching the pilots, and she’s convinced the one flying is in training, based on the hand signals of the other pilot.

We’re parked to the side of the runway and now de-board, taking time to get a picture with the pilots.  We walk across the runway to the terminal, a small, one-gate terminal. Eat your heart out, DFW! My insect spray is waiting for me, it’s baggage tag still attached.