Chalet Suizo Guatemala City

... to run through the airport like a maniac is having to
run back past the same people because you couldnīt find your
gate the first time. And even worse is that when you finally get to
your gate, your travel partner is sitting there laughing at you, having
watched you run back and forth and knowing full well that the flight
isnīt boarding for another fifteen minutes and you have plenty of time.
Teddy was pretty much laughing from relief, however, seeing as he had ...

... located near downtown. I have a quick shower (no hot water :( ) before heading down to the lobby. There over the next hour we meet the rest of the team.

Beer Count: 10 (Gallo Light)

We head off to dinner at a Habitat approved venue. This basically means that they are sure that everything is going to be well cooked. At dinner I bet Cathy (a crazy-awesome Aussie) and others that leader Paul would not go running with them ...

... had chatted with him the previous day and he recognized us. He told us it was the best place in the town. He also told us of some cliffs further along the lake that we could jump off. We thank him for his information and head off to the cliffs. After trekking along the lake we arrive at the cliffs. Only one person was prepared so we strip down to undergarments and jump in. We jump off the 15 ...

... of birds in the morning. Plus the view... amazing, of the Volcan de Agua, a Volcano that got itīs name because the crater took on so much water that it broke and flooded Old Antigua (I think in the 1500īs). Next to Volcan de Agua is Volcan de Fuego, which is active and which we felt erupt. We both thought it was an earthquake and all we could do was look at eachother and ...

... shrine is right out front my door, right across from the bathroom. Often she burns incense. The whole "offering" thing seems to play a part, with the vegetables, incense and the like. To each their own. All in all, my family's been pretty awesome. It seems that they've been one of the more inclusive families that people have had, offering to take us interesting places and spend time with them. By Guatemalan standards, they're pretty squarely ...

... She couldnīt manage 5 yards without a 5 minute break. It was very frustrating and it began to look as if we would miss the hot springs. It became a toss up as to who would blow their top first: Tom, me or the mountain. Tom and I dicsussed what to do. Anetīs life expectancy didnīt look good and we were in a hurry. So we ditched her. This might sound mean, but it was for the best, and we did think about helping her. And itīs the ...

Fly out and into LA. From what I could see some of the city is actually quite clean and pretty. The landscape is very interesting. The city is built in a valley. Many homes are stacked up high in jagged mountain lines... homes are shanties built on top of one another and the place just feels hot hot hot.

In this riveting entry I'll review our day trip to Guatemala City, a city revered and misunderstood for all the wrong reasons (err, namely an incredibly high murder rate and ridiculously active and violent gangs and all the fear that goes with something like that), and add some tidbits that I figured would be of interest to some you. We left fairly early (err, if 8:30 is early) and careened our way through the mountains to Guatemala City. I flew into ...

... private Salsa lessons. My teacher Mike, happens to be the brother of the lady who taught Samson salsa when he was living in Antigua (Carmen). So far I am two lessons in (with another today, and everyday for the next week or so), but already he has taught me so much more! My movement is alot tighter now though I am having trouble keeping up with the sexy īstylingī element of salsa. Apparently its a responsibility of the female to play the sexy and ...

... per week! Having said, they are a lot of fun to ride on. The driver and his assistant (the person that collects the money and deals with the luggage) continue to yell destination city names of where they are going out the window as the bus travels. Unfortunately, they only use the abbreviated names such as 'Hue-hue' for Huehuetango, 'Guate' for Guatemala city, 'Xela' (shell-ah) for Quetzaltenango so you'd better know them all if you do not want to end up somewhere else ...