When the Travel Gods abandon you

An acquaintance of mine writes a blog about travel mishaps with reference to what she calls the ‘Travel Gods’. 
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As anyone who travels these days will attest, mishaps are a common part of travel. We have been lucky not to have suffered too many mishaps during our recent travels but that changed with our latest trip. We were going to Guatemala for 10 days to observe the spectacular Holy Week celebrations, visit family and enjoy a trip to the Mayan ruins of Tikal. 

When we checked in for our flight, we were told Guatemala required a customs/immigration form to be completed before deplaning and that the form was only available online. Simple, right? NOT. The site was less than user friendly, not allowing for corrections where a mistake had been made. So, start all over again. The form allowed for one form to be completed for couples or families. We tried and failed to do this, so had to do a separate one for hubby and me. After the form was completed, we were told that an email would be sent to us, which we then had to show on arrival in Guatemala. I got my two completed forms, but my friend Janet didn’t receive hers. We were up till past midnight trying to complete the forms, then gave up. Fortunately, as it appears this was a problem faced by many travellers, there were very helpful personnel at the airport to help us complete everything but now, no more chance for email, so I took photos of the completed documents which were accepted. 

Arrived in Miami just 10 minutes late. Then the Travel Gods left. We sat on the tarmac for 45 minutes, waiting for a gate assignment. A wonderful friend agreed to meet us at our hotel and have dinner with us. By the time we landed, got through immigration, tried to find a shuttle to the hotel, were told the next one would be in ½ hour. So, we got a taxi. By now the poor friend had been cooling his heels in the hotel lobby for 2 and ½ hours. When we finally got there, he apologized, (it was now 9:30PM) hugged us and left for home. 
There was no shuttle in the morning, as they left at times which would have made us late for check in, so we took a taxi. 

Delayed again arriving in Guatemala with a group of family members who had organized a mini reunion, patiently waiting at the restaurant. Did anyone look at the stupid forms that had caused us such grief? Nope. 

After all this, we had hoped the return journey would go smoothly. Hah! Said the Travel Gods, you wait and see. Our flight out of Guatemala City was delayed but not by much, so we knew we would make up the time. 

Upon arrival in Miami, our friend Janet had to spend 1 and ½ hrs getting through immigration. I was so worried I asked an American Airlines ground staff member to page her to see if anything untoward had happened to her. At this point a very upset Janet appears saying she will never ever come to or through Miami again.

Next morning, the day of our departure for home, Dick had stomach issues, which made us miss three of the airport shuttles. Fortunately, we set off early enough to not be late to check in. Departing Miami, we were delayed again, waiting for a runway for 45 minutes. After that though, the rest of the trip went well, we were only ½ hour late getting to Grenada.