Grab a cerveza and settle in for the first of many stories!
I met a man online after my friends had convinced me to join a dating site – let’s call him “Guatemala”. He was the start of my dating experience. Our text conversations were engaging and he was just the right amount of flirty. Everything about him was perfect. He had put off meeting for a number of weeks due to some work engagements and when it finally happened, he was amazing. Handsome, not too tall, easy to talk to and our first kiss had my knees shaking.
I had a trip planned to Central America with a friend and she had to cancel last minute, I debated cancelling and on our second date he suggested that he come with me! What a gesture! I didn’t want to travel alone, and he had frequent flyer points. He booked it right then and there. He sent me his flight details and ticket numbers. I was travelling through Houston on my way down and he was going through Dallas but arriving within an hour of each other. The next few days we messaged about the itinerary, vaccines he needed to get, where he could get currency. The day before we were set to depart, he said he couldn’t talk much because he was running all these errands for the trip.
Our separate flights departed, I slept over at the Houston airport and messaged him on WhatsApp to let him know I was safely at my halfway point and I did not hear back. Not unreasonable because he was on a flight at the same time. I landed in Guatemala City and found the shuttle driver, but “Guatemala” was not there. My first thought was that maybe he was detained for travelling last minute to a foreign country in Central America on points with a girl he barely knew. I messaged and called and no answer. Something in my gut told me that he never boarded the flight.
I went to the first hotel and freaked out. I researched how to get home the next day. A few friends and my ex of all people encouraged me to stay and do the trip alone. I woke up the next morning to a gorgeous view of a valley between two volcanos and decided to stay and it was life changing. I did everything I wanted to do and more.
When I got back home two weeks later, he wanted to talk. It turns out that had met another woman around the same time, and he did not want to ruin his chances with her by taking the trip with me. He wanted to stay in contact (to keep me as an option no doubt) but I politely declined. I learned so much about myself and came back so much stronger and more confident, but the biggest lesson – maybe don’t book a trip on the second date.
While on this trip I drank a fair bit of Gallo (Guatemala’s most popular beer) and I found a few craft beers along the way. Since heading to Central or South America might not be in the cards, the best local option is Andina Brewing Company who celebrate British Columbia and South America in their beer and food offerings. Pálida is their hazy pale ale and my favorite in their core line up. Throughout the year they have a number of seasonal offerings that are worth repeat trips to try them all. Their menu is full of delicious food like empanadas and their amazing ceviche. They are located in East Vancouver and can easily be added to a brewery crawl that can be planned out with help from BC Ale Trail.