Events of the Day
Depart Houston & USA
Arrive Guatemala City
Drive to Antiqua
 

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There was an interesting design overhead at the intersection of two terminal hallways... there was an oval lined with older television monitors, which showed an array of colors and images, each one in sequence, one frame or so behind the next one... very interesting effect.

While we were looking at the departure monitors, which also showed the local radar, along with some messages, it crashed.

0900 - Boarded and at 9:40, plane departed on time for Guatemala

Very smooth flight.  The surface was covered by low clouds pretty much the whole way down, which I thought was a bit odd.  Didn't get to see very much during the flight, unfortunately.  Once the immigration and customs forms were filled out, we pretty much snoozed for the rest of the flight

Nice view out the window as we were landing!

Weather was nice!  Partly Cloudy, about 65, with a bit of humidity, but a nice breeze.

Customs and "Migration" took about 5 minutes. 

They played music for us as we were waiting for our bags using a sort of xylophone.

1330 - Signed for vehicles from Quetzal Rental.  I drove a red Mazda Pickup that we used to haul our bags and the food we're going to be eating.  It was a diesel, with a standard transmission, and somewhat gutless.  It was new, though, and the breaks and handling were quite good.

There was a significant police presence around the airport.

Traffic rules seemed about the same as in the US, except that the drivers seemed to have a bit 'looser' interpretation of them.

The roads were pretty nice, for the most part.

Cities and towns seemed to have some severely poor places, and were dirtier than they could have been, but they were somewhat modern nearby Guatemala City, with newer looking office buildings.  Noticed a large Nestle chocolate factory on the edge of town.

There was a lot of construction... it also seemed that they were starting a large expansion of the airport terminal.

It was interesting to see familiar signs...

To avoid stopping traffic, they had pedestrian bridges at various points along the roadways.

There were lots of billboards.  We liked the one with "Beso" (Kiss) on it... close to my last name!  I'm not sure what it says, but it ends with "a kiss"...

We figured out where all the school buses go when the US School departments are done with them: They get a paint job, and they're turned into "Chicken busses".  I'm not sure if that's because they have chickens up on top in their racks, or because they play chicken with other drivers passing folks on corners, up hills, or wherever they want...  Its quite unnerving to see a bus loaded with people swerve in and around traffic, and lean way over on turns... especially when you know you have to pass that same bus in order to keep up with the lead vehicle!

We drove through some old towns, and through some pretty country on the way there.

Checked into the hotel, "Hotel Posada San Pedro", and linked up with the rest of the team, who had traveled to Costa Rica the week before to visit with a family they were sponsoring through World Vision.

Antiqua was already a major Mayan City when the Spanish showed up in the early 1500's.  It served as the Capital of Guatemala, until it was moved, which provides its full name (Antiqua Guatemala City).  It has some of the oldest European-built structures in the Americas.

The hotel, first opened in 1834, was quite nice on the inside.

The exchange rate was $1.00 = Q7.52

The bank used dot matrix printers, and made entries in an 8-column manual ledger, which the Shadow Lady, a CPA, really was surprised by... one can only imagine how much work it must be to keep up with everything.  The bank was VERY crowded, which Daniela told us was fairly normal.

After we had some local money, we got some coffee, and walked back to the hotel, meandering through a park, and past a couple of very old churches.  One "St Katarina" is still in use, but the other one was in near ruin, designated a land mark, and restoration.

The archway clock stands over the entry way into the interior of the old town, and leads the way to the city square.  It was a major landmark for us, for obvious reasons.

Another landmark, the Volcano "Agua" was shrouded in clouds the first day we were there, so we didn't get to appreciate how much it towers over the ancient city.

It got dark QUICK.  About 5:30 or so, it starts getting dark, and by 6:30, its night.  The cloud cover broke up a bit as the sun was going down, and from the window of my hotel, I got a view of "Fuego", another of the volcanoes - this one much more active of late - overlooking the city.

There's not a lot of streetlights in town, so walking at night is a bit tricky at times, because the sidewalks aren't too much smoother than the roads, which have fairly sizable rocks missing in the cobblestone in some places.

It was a nice evening, though, and the walk was quite nice.  I felt completely safe, although I did feel sort of like a tourist, because we didn't exactly blend in.

I got a local milk drink that had rice, spices and cinnamon in it... it was pretty good!

2100 -  Lights Out.  We settled into our rooms, got ready for the next day, and slept our first night in Guatemala.  Somewhere in the hotel, folks were singing what sounded like folk songs of some sort.

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Briefing & drive to Chichi >>

Getting there
Guatemala Trip Home | Depart USA |Arrive & Drive to Antiqua | Briefing & Drive to Chichi   | Market & drive to Cotzal

In the Village
 Meeting the Village |  Preparing for the Peas |  Helping Ana with her Field | Helping Juan Pick Corn | Meal & Goodbyes

Heading Home
Back to Antiqua | Antiqua & Debrief |Depart to USA

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