Blogs from Guatemala City, Capital Region, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 4

I am currently writing from Guatemala City, where I am basically in transit towards Panama city which is the next destination. There is not a whole lot to say about Guate besides that its not really a nice city(or safe for that matter), so I wont be staying long. All I need to do here is book my bus-ticket and get on the right bus, which shouldn't be too much of a problem. So ...Semuc Champey. Nature: awesome, hostel: awesome, people: awesome and well semuc itself awesome as well :) (I wish writing a blog was this easy -.-' ;D) So the trip there took like 11hours with a one hour stop in Antigua which meant just enough time to make a new best friend before continuing the trip along the endless mountain-roads. When I arrived ... read more

I've given into peer-pressure and have decided to create a blog to keep anyone interested in following what I'm up to. It's also helping to distract from the realistation that I haven't packed, have no itinerary, speak terrible Spanish and am off - ON MY OWN - in 3 days time, to a part of the world I've only ever seen on Jurrasic Park. I plan to keep you updated on the following: - General mishaps (I expect to be just as clumsy in another continent) - My quest to find a Peruvian/Colombian/insert exotic nationality here boyfriend - How close I am to reaching size zero through regular bouts of dysentry Wish me luck...... read more

So today I spent the day in Guatemala City - the capital of Guatemala and the biggest city in Central America. Being a little scared off by the guide books that persistantly warn you about how dangerous Guatemala City is I was a bit hesitant to say the least. So I left all the valueables I could at home and hopped on the local chicken bus. Needless to say I was disappointed in the chicken bus - no chickens. Also no violent crime either. So when my bus arrived (to an entirely different bus terminal than I expected) I hopped a cab to the Parque Central - the main plaza in Guatemala City. There I met up with my new friend Luisa, who I was introduced to via facebook by my semester at sea friend Jillian ... read more

El Paredon Surf Camp A very punctual (especially for this part of the world) Rafael picked us up from the Jungle Party in Antigua at 9 AM. We had already paid for our previous nights stay in cash, but were still paying for it physically. Tired and hungover, or maybe still drunk, we made introductions and got into Rafael's Suzuki SUV. The route to El Paredon was scenic and a nice drive. Leaving Antigua we were surrounded by Volcano's, one of which would (Volcan Fuego) occasionally spit out a smoke plume. As we got closer to the coast the humidity and temperature dramatically increased. It really amazes me how a two hour drive in this part of the world can change the entire landscape. As you get closer to the Pacific, the terrain, the people, ... read more

Ahhh... the tranquility of a weekend spent in Guatemala City! I was awoken yet again this morning at 7:30 a.m. (it's Sunday, people!) by loudspeakers on Ave Reforma announcing God knows what... At first I was really annoyed but then I went outside with my fresh cup of Antigua coffee to find that it was a race being run by people and their dogs! Why dogs need a loudspeaker at 7 a.m. is beyond me, but for them, OK. My annoyance dissipated... What kind of dogs live in Guatemala City and run races at 7 a.m. on a Sunday, you might wonder? From what I could tell, the absolute most popular dog to engage in such an activity here is... the Golden Retriever. Not unlike it would be at home! There were also a lot of ... read more