Getting to Guatemala

By 5:00AM I’d cleared security for my 6:25AM flight from Washington Reagan for Miami International Airport. One large orange suitcase, 44lbs, and a backpack which contained the newest issue of The Economist, my Mac, ipod, chargers, and The Memoirs of Condoleezza Rice. I sat in the terminal flabbergast from the fact that in less that 12 hours I would re board the MV Explorer, the floating campus that had taken me to 12 counties, through every timezone ,and brought my life’s most meaningful experiences. 2 hourd later I arrived in MIA, dumbfounded with how I’d get to the Ship I turned off an inhibitions and decided that once arriving in Guatemala, I’d somehow figure it out. Which is exactly what I did, 2.5 hours later I arrived in Guatemala City at 12:30, having exchanged currency, found my luggage and finding a taxi to drive me almost 2 hours to Puerto Quetzal.

I know that I have become a savvy traveler for the sheer fact that I hopped a flight to Guatemala with no for sight and got to where I need to in a timely manner.

Let me preface the rest of this blog by stating that I have no knowledge of Spanish, I have studied Latin America and the Caribbean only to a limited extent.

My taxi drive was almost 2 hours; totally quiet my driver spoke no English, French, or Chinese. Once we arrived at the port the anticipation, I walked up the entry way and saw the “Big Mother” a phrase used to describe the sentiment felt by SAS alum after a hellish experience in a country. I couldn’t believe the way I felt by returning to the place that I’d called home for several months less than a year ago.

I recognized a handful of crew and the faces of all my Morehouse brothers; there was a deep duality to the sense of home I felt.