Overpriced hotel

Trip Start Aug 01, 2007
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Trip End Sep 16, 2007


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Flag of Guatemala  ,
Thursday, August 16, 2007

I have awaken more time before 6 AM on this trip than ever before on a vacation. I was at the Livingston boat dock at 6:00 AM to buy my ticket to Puerto Barrios. The town is hot and sticky and about a 45 minute boat ride from Livingston. I wanted to catch the 7:30 AM bus to Guatemala City. I wanted to spent the night in Guatemala City and visit the National Museum in the morning. I was originally going to visit Coban, but the roads are badly flooded and my desire to be stuck in the middle of nowhere was less than none, so i pressed on to Guatemala City. I figure I will probably take a trip out to Coban from Antigua or from Lake Atitlan.

I took a VERY nice first class bus. It was a double decker Litegua bus that was very comfortable and played three Jim Carry movies on board. Que bueno. I watched the first movie and then wanted to catch some shut eye. But is was difficult with the volume blarring throughout the bus.

It was a long bus ride and the ice-like temperature on the bus made it seem like forever. I got into Guatemala City a little after 1 PM and it was pouring. I was cold, wet and tired and did not want to search the city for a hotel. So I got a taxi and told him to drive towards the Holiday Inn in Zona 10. Along the way, I see a Howard Johnson and ask for him to drop me there. I figure the larger hotel chains have more rooms and probably are not filled.

I checked into what I would call the worlds most expensive Howard Johnson. But the front desk promised my hot water and a large bed. What more could I ask for? I have not been sleeping well and I figure a bed and hot shower would help. But when I got in the shower it was cold. Oh, how angery i was. For the amount of money I shelled out, the least i expected was hot water. I havenīt had a hot shower since I got to this country and I really wanted one.

The rain had cleared up a bit by early evening and I walked around outside. I was staying between Zona 9 and 10, which is a fairly safe area. The area is very nice and not like the rest of the city. I walked passed the US Embassy and in case of an emergency, i now know where it is. I had a pleasent evening eatting at the hotel and reading. Before going to sleep I tried to watch a few TV shows in spanish, but couldnīt concentrate hard enough to follow and ended up going to sleep.
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