Guatemala City.  The flight from Dallas was only 3h15m.  Amazing.  I could not help but compare this to how long it would take me to sail Astraea here.  Probably about three weeks, and that would be pushing her hard.  Sailing is not the best way to travel if one is in a hurry or is concerned about comfort.  However it is fun! 

 

Anyway, back to today.  The air port in Guatemala City was amazingly modern and clean, passport control was fast, baggage handling fast, and customs no hassle.  It was all very pleasingly surprising.  Once outside the airport it was, of course, a madhouse with masses of people being herded to vans.  Also, the humidity was oppressive, particularly for someone coming from the desert environment of Palm Springs!  It appears that most people coming here were in tour groups.  I found the taxi line and it was very short.  One of the expensive items here is taxis.  Not sure why that is, except that I did notice at the gas station signs that gas is about $12 a gallon.  That could have something to do with it.  Also, considering that they drive like maniacs there is probably a high cost of insurance. 

 

I must admit that I played it safe this first night in Guatemala.  I booked the Best Western near the airport.  Very clean, modern, and the staff all English speaking.  Of course the typical mid rate hotel here is about $20 and this place is $80.  I had read that this part of the city was the expensive area and I found that to be very true.  From the window in my room on the 2^nd floor I am looking right at a large Applebee’s Restaurant.  Next door is a McDonalds that is larger and more modern and cleaner than anything I have ever seen in the US.  Just down the block is also a TGI Fridays, a Burger King and a big expensive looking sushi restaurant.  Sushi.  Go figure.  I did an expanding square search of the neighborhood around the hotel and found that I was surrounded by American hotels like The InterContinental, Holiday Inn, etc. and a lot of very expensive looking European style restaurants. 

 

One thing that was definitely interesting was that all of the restaurants and hotels have uniformed guards at the doors with machine guns or big mean looking pump shotguns.  I kept doing my expanding square search until I found an open air Guatemalan restaurant.  It was still pretty fancy, similar to something we would have in Palm Springs.  The place was spotlessly clean, modern, with an open air kitchen, even a modern POS system at the counter.  The service was impeccable and the beer cold. 

 

I really thought I at least had enough Spanish to read a menu, however I was pretty lost in the menu at this place.  However I did have the word “fajitas” in my vocabulary, so I played it safe and ordered them.  It was definitely not a disappointment.  The server brought an assortment of three salsas, plus guacamole, diced tomatoes and cilantro, and diced onions, all served in small matching stone bowls with wooden spoons.  The fajita plate itself was beautifully presented and the serving European size, maybe slightly more than half of the serving size that we get in the US at a similar restaurant.  Not complaining, most restaurants in the US serve portions that are far too large – probably the reason that most Americans have a weight problem.  

 

Anyway, it was a great meal, the beer was good and it was cold, and the dinner, complete with tip, was 90 Guatemalan, or about $11. 

 

Tomorrow I am off to Quetzalentango, or as they call it Xela for short.  This is a much smaller city, about 300,000, and is 8,000 feet up in the mountains.  It is also where my school is located.  I have a cab ordered for 6am in the morning.  There is one company that runs high end busses, the ones with air conditioning and bathrooms, however these run non stop between Guatemala City and Xela twice a day, at 8am and 4pm.  It is a four hour bus trip and I need to get to Xela during the day while the school is still open in order to find my host family, therefore I need to take the early bus.  One cannot reserve a seat so I am getting there plenty early to increase my chances of getting a seat.    

 

These luxury non-stop busses with their air conditioning and bathrooms are not the only option.  There are several companies that run what is locally called the “chicken busses”.  These run much more frequently however they make numerous stops along the road between the two cities.  Also, as one can guess from the name, “chicken busses”, these are not in the same league as the high end busses.  These are ancient school busses brought from the US after they have outlived their usefulness.  They are then painted in bright colors, given a colorful female name, which is painted on the side, and they then serve as the countries primary intercity transportation.  Needless to say they have no air conditioning, no bath rooms, bench seats, and the luggage is on the roof of the bus – and it rains a lot this time of year.  People also carry their chickens on the busses, hence the name.    

 

I will admit that one of the goals of this trip is to get some of the local color, however I think I will save the chicken bus experience for once I get settled in Xela and have a better feel for the lay of the land.  Also, the luxury bus is $10US.  The chicken bus is $7US.  In a country where 70 percent of the country lives on $2US a day that is a significant difference. 

 

Well, today was not all that exciting, with the only experience being that of deciding between TGI Fridays, Appleby’s, Burger King, McDonald’s, or a modern Guatemalan restaurant.  Tomorrow the real adventure begins as I head out into the rural parts of Guatemala and high into the mountains.