Guatemala City
So I've been stuck in Xela waiting for my airline tickets for nearly three weeks, wanting to get on the road to see a bit more of Central America before I fly south to Ecuador for a couple of weeks, and then on to Europe. They were purchased online, and were SUPPOSED to be electronic, but were issued as paper tickets, meaning they were sent via FedEx to my parents, and then they sent them on via DHL to me in Xela, being told that they would arrive 3-5 days later.
However, due to Semana Santa (the week before Easter, a big holiday here in Guatemala that lasts pretty much the whole week) and problems with customs, they didn't arrive until Monday morning. Meaning I only have a week or so to make it San Jose, Costa Rica in order to catch my flight. Which doesn't really leave any time to see much of anything on the way. I guess that will have to wait until August, when I'll be returning to Central America.
In any case, a bit before 1100 today I headed to one of the first class bus terminals to catch a bus to Guatemala city, the first step in getting to San Jose. The bus was nearly an hour late leaving, apparently due to some sort of teacher demonstration which was blocking the road. It was a pretty slow trip, as we had to stop numerous times for construction along the way, but at least I had a real seat all to myself (unlike the "chicken" buses), and I spent most of the time zoned out watching videos on my iPod, since I've made most of the trip and seen the scenery several times.
We finally arrived in Guate a bit before 1800, and I strapped my pack to my bike, quickly consulted my map and compass to get my bearings, and rolled off to brave the rush hour traffic in a completely new and unfamiliar big city as sunset approached. I'd been through Guate previously, but spent only an hour or so there while changing buses, and hadn't gone any further than a small restaurant right next to the bus terminal.
About 30 minutes later I rolled up in front of the hostel that had been recommended to me in Zona 10, in an area replete with high rise office buildings and hotels and several North American chain restaurants, feeling a bit of culture shock, since I had really seen anything like that for several months. After parking my back in a patio, and parking my bags in a lock box, I set off to wander the area on foot a bit, looking for food (I'd only had a couple of granola bars the whole day), and heading generally towards a nearby mall where I'd been told there was a real cinema.
I ended up running across a Schlotzsky's Deli (a North American chain), which I hadn't really expected since they aren't really all that common even in the States. Since I was starving and I remembered generally liking them, I went in and got a sandwich (decent), then continued onto the mall, a multilevel affair not very different from malls in the US, complete with Payless Shoes, the Gap, McDonalds, Quiznos, and a Cinnabon. I checked the movie times, got some ice cream, then wandered outside the mall a bit, passing a Hooters at one point.
After some more wandering, I headed back to the cinema and decided to see Tirador (Shooter), bought some cheap popcorn and a soda, and found the theatre, which was outfitted with nice love seats and stuffed chairs instead of the usually theatre style seats. The movie wasn't all that great, but it was nice to see a film on a big screen with a decent sound system. On the way out, I peeked into a couple of the other theatres, but they all seemed to have standard style seating.
After the film, I was forced to exit the multiplex through the parking garage, spiralling up a couple levels to the street-level exit, then wandered back to the hotel, pretending to ignore a somewhat dodgy fellow with a jacket suspiciously draped over his arm, hiding his hand and whatever he might be holding in it, who tried to get my attention in both Spanish and English a couple blocks from the hostel. But all in all, the area felt very safe, not really any different to decent areas of Seattle or other big cities after dark. Not like the horror stories I'd heard about Guate, although this area supposedly is about the safest area in the city.
However, due to Semana Santa (the week before Easter, a big holiday here in Guatemala that lasts pretty much the whole week) and problems with customs, they didn't arrive until Monday morning. Meaning I only have a week or so to make it San Jose, Costa Rica in order to catch my flight. Which doesn't really leave any time to see much of anything on the way. I guess that will have to wait until August, when I'll be returning to Central America.
In any case, a bit before 1100 today I headed to one of the first class bus terminals to catch a bus to Guatemala city, the first step in getting to San Jose. The bus was nearly an hour late leaving, apparently due to some sort of teacher demonstration which was blocking the road. It was a pretty slow trip, as we had to stop numerous times for construction along the way, but at least I had a real seat all to myself (unlike the "chicken" buses), and I spent most of the time zoned out watching videos on my iPod, since I've made most of the trip and seen the scenery several times.
We finally arrived in Guate a bit before 1800, and I strapped my pack to my bike, quickly consulted my map and compass to get my bearings, and rolled off to brave the rush hour traffic in a completely new and unfamiliar big city as sunset approached. I'd been through Guate previously, but spent only an hour or so there while changing buses, and hadn't gone any further than a small restaurant right next to the bus terminal.
About 30 minutes later I rolled up in front of the hostel that had been recommended to me in Zona 10, in an area replete with high rise office buildings and hotels and several North American chain restaurants, feeling a bit of culture shock, since I had really seen anything like that for several months. After parking my back in a patio, and parking my bags in a lock box, I set off to wander the area on foot a bit, looking for food (I'd only had a couple of granola bars the whole day), and heading generally towards a nearby mall where I'd been told there was a real cinema.
I ended up running across a Schlotzsky's Deli (a North American chain), which I hadn't really expected since they aren't really all that common even in the States. Since I was starving and I remembered generally liking them, I went in and got a sandwich (decent), then continued onto the mall, a multilevel affair not very different from malls in the US, complete with Payless Shoes, the Gap, McDonalds, Quiznos, and a Cinnabon. I checked the movie times, got some ice cream, then wandered outside the mall a bit, passing a Hooters at one point.
After some more wandering, I headed back to the cinema and decided to see Tirador (Shooter), bought some cheap popcorn and a soda, and found the theatre, which was outfitted with nice love seats and stuffed chairs instead of the usually theatre style seats. The movie wasn't all that great, but it was nice to see a film on a big screen with a decent sound system. On the way out, I peeked into a couple of the other theatres, but they all seemed to have standard style seating.
After the film, I was forced to exit the multiplex through the parking garage, spiralling up a couple levels to the street-level exit, then wandered back to the hotel, pretending to ignore a somewhat dodgy fellow with a jacket suspiciously draped over his arm, hiding his hand and whatever he might be holding in it, who tried to get my attention in both Spanish and English a couple blocks from the hostel. But all in all, the area felt very safe, not really any different to decent areas of Seattle or other big cities after dark. Not like the horror stories I'd heard about Guate, although this area supposedly is about the safest area in the city.
posted by Matt at 17:28
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