Clarion Suites Guatemala City

... just spent the past half hour frantically flipping through his Lonely
Planet (LP) for ¨What to do when your friend misses her fight and you
arrive alone in Guatemala City after dark.¨ Needless to say, he hadn´t
found it by the time Susan arrived and was very glad to see her. Plus 1
for Ted for getting to sit there and watch her run around crazy though.




After a pretty relaxing plane ride (during which Susan made a joke to
her seat partner in Spanish ...

... Paul´s gf didn´t believe he would. She had tried and failed for months to get him running. Easy money!

After dinner we wander to a local bar. They are decked out with a pool table, ping pong and darts. Cathy and I battle to a tie in ping pong. Well basically I suggest we give up the table after winning the first and losing the second game in ping pong. I can feel my control slipping away. Yeah, I chickened out.

(CENSORED)

... first. Now remember I´m scared of heights. This was a little scary.

Then people start jumping off the 30 footer. This is a lot scary. But everyone jumps. I´m the last one. I have no choice but to jump. AND I DID IT! (So far the bruise on my arm has been around for three days).

Evening highlights:

- were not told to be quiet at dinner
- reserved the jacuzzi (wood ...

... Lisa, "Is that an Earthquake?" Céline, "Yep, what should we do?". So, we each went to a doorway and laughed till it ended... what else can one do? The hotel people told us that it was the Volcano and that it is normal, which is strangely reassuring. So far we have not done too much, explored the city and the food, watched a few telenovelas, and just read our books. Our plan ...

... the middle class, which quite obviously is nothing like the Canadian middle class. Something I've probably mentioned is that Marta and Lester took a trip like a month and a half ago to LA to visit her daughter. As far as I can tell, this was a pretty big thing for them. For most Guatemalans it would be out of reach, so that helps indicate where they're at as a family. They've been great. There are tons of stories, but I'll save those until I get home. Jay

I managed to negotiate myself a good price for a taxi to take me to Antigua, though my bartering skills are no longer as good as they were 10 years ago in Malaysia. Taxis should cost between US$20-30 depending on how proficient you are at negotiating, I got them to US$25 and felt that I hadn't done badly for someone who had been awake since 5 that morning and not slept for 18hours. I was escorted to meet Ivan who was to drive ...

... that counts. Further up, the mountain got harder going and I began to struggle. The guide had told me that I was underdressed in shorts and a T-shirt, but by the time that I´d been going a couple of hours, I was steaming hot. So, despite the fact that the altitude meant that there was a thick layer of ice over everything, and desite the fact that I´m showing quite a belly at the moment, I took my T-shirt off. I felt shamefully like a ...

... role, and the guy to lead and show off. But from my perspective, how can I compete with the guate chicas!!! My teacher however isnt impressed by my inability to salsa flirtatiously, constantly telling me ´mas sexy Amber, mas, mas!!!´ Nights are spent frequenting the many of bars and discotecs in Antigua, and putting into practice all that I had learnt that day (dancing salsa, not spanish!!!). Really cant complain about a thing at the moment.... bliss.