On the wing

The very American Hotel Mango put us up, fed us and transported us to the airport competently. Had a computer for customer use too. There was wireless, but they wouldn't/couldn't let me use it so I declined to upload this.

Be aware that the government charges an exit fee of $26/head, all ages.
This little un-announced surprise will occur at the airport between
entry and ticketing. They'll take a credit card, but the transaction
will be a cash advance. I guess they've figured out this tactic doesn't
exactly generate good will, but they're unwilling to take the obvious
step of charging the airlines so the price is written into the ticket.
That would be 10 less bureaucrats per airport, plus the cost of the
rather large desk. And then there's the lost goodwill...

Generic airport 

The daytime version of the long flight is far more interesting and
comfortable. Several things struck me:
One was the smoky atmosphere over Guatemala. There were what looked
like brush fires everywhere. It was visibly murky even at 27000
feet where we were flying. The Guatemalan lady next to me in the
plane could not tell me what they were burning or why.

The other was the vastness of the Sonoran desert in Mexico. It is so
dry and so vast! Parts were just vast dry plains, featureless, even
from 5 miles up. Other areas were very rugged, showing steep
escarpments. I imagined this is what the Sahara looks like from the
air.

Many years ago my father, older brother and Jim Custin flew a
small plane over the canyon lands between Chihauha and the Sea of Cortez. They were among the first airborne explorers of some areas.
See? I come by my traveling gene honestly.

News flash of the day:
Don't put your dirty clothes in your backpack if you expect to wear
anything out of said pack later in the trip. Given our 1 carry-on
travel methodology, this presents a problem. What to do with the laundry?