We made it!
As of 8:00 this morning we are officially in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
The trip went well but we are going to have to get more efficient at navigating airports. We ended up walking all over LAX trying to find the flight from there to Guatemala. We didn't realize that although we flew in on United and our tickets said United, we were actually flying with Taca airlines. Eventually we figured it out though, and made it to the gate with just 2 hours to spare. Good thing we had an absurdly long layover. It will be much tougher in the future when the airports are in languages we don't speak.
We were absolutely exhausted by the time we made it to the place we're staying. I was unable to sleep at all on the second flight, as there was an incredibly loud man sitting behind us who didn't stop talking for the entire 4 hour flight. I don't know if I've ever been so frustrated in my life. 27 hours without sleeping combined with being in a cramped, loud environment is not my idea of a good time. I definitely need to get train myself to sleep in uncomfortable places. I've become too used to living in my own house with absolute silence when I go to bed. I can't expect conditions to be perfect every time I want to get some sleep.
I'm excited to explore this beautiful country. The view from the airplane revealed amazing terrain with steep hills, valleys and huge volcanos. It should be an exciting first stop to our journey.