Guatemala introduction for Dorian

Trip Start Mar 22, 2005
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Trip End Sep 09, 2005


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Saturday, May 21, 2005

My friend Dorian arrives from San Francisco on May 21 and from day 1 has a ridiculous (and inaccurate) introduction to Guatemala. Saturday night, we go out with my friends from Antigua and our friend Gloria and some of her family from Guatemala City (if you've been diligently following my trip, this is the same Gloria who I spent Easter weekend with). Lots of fun, although the bar scene in Antigua represents nothing about what Guatemala is all about. Sunday, we spend in Antigua and that night go to a pub quiz at an entirely authentic Irish. Again, nothing like what Guatemala is all about.

Monday, we go to Guatemala City to meet up with Gloria and her family. Once we arrive, Gloria asks Dorian if he would mind modeling for her cousin's magazine, Zona Vida. They're on deadline and they need photos and the "real models" want too much money. Of course he agrees, and we're swept off to a mall that looks like it could be in Beverly Hills and to a Kenneth Cole store where the prices are in dollars and just about the same as you'd pay in SF or NYC. The photo shoot was hilarious -- can't wait to see the magazine. Zona Vida is a bi-weekley free publication about nightlife in Guatemala City and has become quite successful.

That night, we have Pollo Campero with Gloria's family, including her grandmother. This is a very Guatemalan experience -- Pollo Campero is the McDonalds of Guatemala and everyone loves it.

The next morning, Gloria, Jose Pablo, Dorian and I take off for the coast, to Iztapa. Jose Pablo has a friend who has a house near the coast who has offered for us to stay there. The drive takes about 2 hours from Guatemala city and the temperature keeps rising as we get closer to the coast. We finally find the house and its not just a house, but a proper compound, complete with 3 people who take care of the place, 4 bedrooms and room for about 15 to sleep, a view of the water, a pool, and of course, copious amounts of razor wire insuring that no one gets in (or that we don't get out?). We have a great time lounging by the pool and drinking beer and fending off mosquitos, but I keep wanting to remind Dorian that this is not a realistic introduction to Guatemala.

We leave the next day to meet Zach and Chad at the airport. They're coming in from Los Angeles for a couple weeks. We say goodbyes to Gloria and JP and head back to Antigua with Zach and Chad. There, we spend the afternoon at Common Hope, where finally we have a touch of reality.
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