Best Western Stofella Guatemala City

... Not to mention the fact that
Susan is half-Asian and Teddy is as Wonder Bread as they come. And now,
how´d this trip come about? Pretty much, we both wanted to have some
kind of adventure this fall, and Susan chose Teddy for his size, hoping
that it would lower her likelihood of being raped or mugged. (It´s all
for show, but the Central Americans don´t know that.) And Teddy, seeing
as it´s his first big expedition to a developing country, chose Susan
for her ...

... into two vans with all the luggage on the first. We pass the time by playing name that tune. Being musically challenged I am not good at this game. I do, however, get the NJ artists (Boss and Bon Jovi)!

Please don´t read anything into that.

... was supposed to meet up the previous day. We had even asked a bunch of boats if Nate was on board. We were ignored. And then we were nine.

(Sid was someone on the Mongolia trip for those who have not read that blog. We would often show up late with stories of aventures.)

So we head to the ferry to goto the town of San Marco. It´s a big disappointment. We wander around and it´s ...

... tre malade ;) Heureusement Ana reprend le volant avant que mon petit-déj décide de bouger. On fait de nouveau un arrêt shopping (nourriture) à Guatemala City en fin d'après-midi, le supermarché est jusque là la seul chose que nous aurons vu dans cette ville, mais patience... On décharge, range les affaires et direction Antigua, on se balade en ville (on sèche la messe) et on tombe de nouveau sur une procession. La tradition veut qu ...

... him to Antigua, and that's where he got hooked up with Marta. When he first came he started off in a seminary, I think, living at Marta's more or less free of charge. Somewhere along the way he switched to university, going for a teaching degree. He's now teaching a class of, like, 3rd or 4th graders. He seems to like it. Again, really kind guy. This is 3/4 of the fam. This is Sandra. She's our house employee. Largely her job is to clean ...

... suspended in the aisle between the 2 large ***** that wedged them in. We thought ok so now its full. Yet people kept coming on in. There were also all these people who came onboard trying to sell their food or other bits and pieces like shampoo, stationery and magic medical elixirs. So these salespeople would come and start a mini-infomercial for all the passengers while people were trying to get on ...

... a sturdy jeep, driven by Hanse, a local tour guide with fluent English, who drove us the rest of the way to Xela. Normally I don´t like to book trips and accomodation much in advance - it allows me to retain flexibility - but Hanse was particularly smooth, and started the hard sell as soon as we got in the jeep. So before we even got to Xela, we´d booked a volcano trek, a trip to some hot springs and hotels and buses at our next three ...

So I´m finally in Antigua, and things couldnt be better. Despite the fact that my flight over here was delayed, I arrive in Guate to a stunning clear beatuiful day. A quick bus ride west dropped me in La Antigua, where I have spent the last few days and will be until Dotti arrives. I somehow managed to find the exact hostel I stayed at last time, and not surprisingly it felt and looked like it hadn´t changed a bit. I really like that fact that I am a ...