Friday: Premonitions

**Important Note: This entire post was written on Friday the 13th, BEFORE we left for our trip to Laguna Lachua.**
You ever feel like a trip is just cursed before it even begins?  If that’s a thing, then this weekend’s planned adventure to Laguna Lachua is definitely cursed.  Let me tell you what we’ve already been through.

It began as a dream trip.  I’d heard of this remote, pristine lake on a nature preserve in northern Guatemala.  Everyone I spoke with recommended a vehicle with 4 wheel drive to get there, since the roads aren’t top notch.  No problem, I thought.  Amy and Chris would both love the trip, and Chris’s truck would be the perfect vehicle. 

So, when a 3 day weekend presented itself in February, Amy and I decided we wanted to use it to hit up Lachua. 
First hitch: Chris wasn’t going to be in town that weekend. 
Okay, we said.  We’ve got other friends with SUVs.  Annette’s awesome to hang out with, and she’s got a car that could make it.  Let’s ask her.

So we did, and Annette was up for it, and her husband Joel got Monday off of work so he could come.  Fantastic. 

But then we decided we would really love for both Carrie and Kenra to come along too.

Now, this meant we needed a 2nd vehicle.  So we spoke with several people who had been recently, and we decided that my little Parati Crossover should be able to make the drive, as long as we drove slowly to avoid the ruts and potholes. 

The decision to take 2 cars also opened up the possibility of having 1 group stay a bit longer at the lake and 1 stay only one night there.  Annette and Joel decided that one night in the rustic setting of Laguna Lachua would be enough for them, and that they would head back to Coban Sunday night while the other 4 of us spent a 2nd night in the cabins there.  (As Annette puts it, Joel grew up here in Guatemala City, where being outside at night means death).   Great.  Worked out well, actually.

And then on Wednesday, Annette finally heard back from the people in charge of reservations at Lachua.  The cabins were full on Saturday night with no room for the 6 of us.  She and Joel just decided to switch their nights around and stay in Coban Saturday night instead of on Sunday.
The rest of us still really wanted 2 nights at Lachua.  So we decided to tent camp the first night.

Only problem…none of us own a tent. 
Eh; it’s cool.  We have friends.  Amy and Carrie starting asking people to borrow camping supplies.

Fast forward to Friday morning. 
We had in our possession one 2 person tent.  Three of us were camping (Carrie had decided to go with Annette and Joel to Coban the first night).  I, being the planner that I am, was starting to freak out.  We’d had several false leads.  We thought we had a bulky, heavy 6 person tent, but then found out it was in Antigua.  We thought we had a 2nd 2 person tent, but then found out the owner would actually be using it.  We were pretty much out of ideas.

And then Kelly Anne stopped in to my room and casually asked if we were all set for our trip.  I told her not really, because we didn’t have a tent for everyone.
“We have a tent!  We have 2 tents!  Do you want to borrow the one that sleeps 4 people?” 
Yes.  Yes we did.  We immediately made plans to meet up after school so I could get the tent from her.  We’d been saved. 

So, we were all good again.  Everything was planned.  Kenra and Amy and I would meet up in the afternoon to go grocery shopping together, and then we would pack, and we’d meet up with everyone else on Saturday morning. 


But then after school, Kenra got stuck in traffic on the way home (and left her wallet at school), and Amy went home to sleep off a serious dizzy spell (the woman’s recovering from mono, did I mention?).  I got stuck in traffic on my way to meet Kelly Anne.  At this point, even the little things stressed me out.  I swear to you…probably it will all work out, but I’m convinced this trip is cursed.  

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