Night watch

This month’s winner is SHEILA MONK of Richland, Missouri:

I was in Guatemala on a field trip that a friend of mine, Ken, had arranged for his horticulture students. With two spaces left, he had offered one to his nephew and one to me.

After days of viewing nurseries featuring poinsettias and ferns and other green growing things, we were ready for a change of pace when we reached Lake Atitlán, an incredibly beautiful place in the always-springlike Guatemalan central highlands. Our leader had been promising us a treat.

While we settled into our stone cottages, Ken happily organized a cozy group of lakeside chaise lounges and invited us to join him after dark for a magnificent view of the August meteor showers. We arrived toting jackets and blankets — and a good supply of our innkeeper’s killer margaritas — and settled in for the show.

Chatting softly, we called each other’s attention to falling stars as we spotted them. Suddenly, a meteor with a huge fiery tale streaked across the sky. It seemed almost near enough to touch. We all gasped our astonishment!

The ensuing silence, as we stared in awe at the night sky, was abruptly broken by a huge snore from our leader. Relaxing for the first time in days, he had slept through the whole amazing thing!

Ten years later, he’s still mad at himself for missing the show.

Tell us about the funniest thing that happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. (ITN prints no info on destinations in the United States.) There are no restrictions on length. ITN staff will choose each month’s winner, who will receive a free one-year subscription to ITN. Include your full mailing address. Entries not chosen cannot be acknowledged.