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Made it here alive!
Jul. 28th, 2007 11:02 amMade it safely into Guatemala City. Having trouble with different keyboard keys and spacing, but yay for internet!
Dallas-Fort Worth´s secret main terminal is D, for those who wander/wonder. Six hour layover means we walked the length of the airport, which is rather impressive as it has many terminals and much much space. Also, I now have a ¨Queen of the Cowgirls¨ t-shirt. We ate at the ¨"Tacos and Tequila", which is a local place that has absolutely delicious tacos and quite good margaritas, at a reasonable price (for airport). That seems to be something they´re good about - getting local restaurants in. Gives it some actual Texas feel, though the number of Irish pubs was odd.
The airport in Guatemala City was in the process of being expanded, so when we got off the plane we walked through acres of concrete and I-beams, with construction workers dangling from the ceiling and the strong smell of paint and solvents. We were also the only flight in the whole place, and none of the shops were open. Decidedly creepy. It was easy getting through customs etc., though there were a large number of soldiers with automatic rifles and dogs to sniff out those terrible people smuggling drugs into Guatemala.
Brent and Mirza took us to a fabulous restaurant whose name I cannot recall, and then to a bar called Cheers where lots of expats hang out. I must say, bar drama is the same everywhere - was giving me flashbacks to the CC. The restaurant was a hollowed-out 3-4 story building that had been turned into 3 stories, lit by dozens of those huge stained-glass star-shaped glass lights hanging in clusters from the ceiling, from two feet to six inches large. Glorious. The chandelier was a huge rust-colored ring with a dozen red ones hanging from it at different heights and with different sizes. Food was very tasty. I had pork with a tamarind-tequila sauce and it was very, very tasty.
Friday night in la Viva Zona - crowds thronged the street, everybody drives like maniacs, and there were lots of soldiers - tourist police, I assume - on every corner. Saw a lot of the French-inspired street layout and parks. Nicely surreal.
Last night stayed hereÑ http://www.hostalvillatoscana.com/
It´s a very nice, clean, sunshiney place run by a friendly family. Ended up leaving our money and passports and luggage here in our room yesterday on Brent´s advice, despite not having a lock on our door. Or rather, there is a lock, but the last person took the key with them when they left, so we could only lock ourselves in at night, not lock it while we were away. I was a bit nervous about that, but turned out A-OK. The furniture everywhere is lovely, heavy carved wood with decorations that are fantastic. Of note - if the toilets in Guatemala have a small basket next to them, that´s where you´re supposed to put your toilet paper. Not flush it.
Breakfast this morning was fried plantaines, scrambled eggs with ketchup, bread, coffee, and cookies. I wonder if I may get my fill of fried plantaines this trip. It seems unlikely - ten days is not enough time.
Today we see where Brent works and go to Antigua, where we´ll be spending most of our time in Guatemala.
Dallas-Fort Worth´s secret main terminal is D, for those who wander/wonder. Six hour layover means we walked the length of the airport, which is rather impressive as it has many terminals and much much space. Also, I now have a ¨Queen of the Cowgirls¨ t-shirt. We ate at the ¨"Tacos and Tequila", which is a local place that has absolutely delicious tacos and quite good margaritas, at a reasonable price (for airport). That seems to be something they´re good about - getting local restaurants in. Gives it some actual Texas feel, though the number of Irish pubs was odd.
The airport in Guatemala City was in the process of being expanded, so when we got off the plane we walked through acres of concrete and I-beams, with construction workers dangling from the ceiling and the strong smell of paint and solvents. We were also the only flight in the whole place, and none of the shops were open. Decidedly creepy. It was easy getting through customs etc., though there were a large number of soldiers with automatic rifles and dogs to sniff out those terrible people smuggling drugs into Guatemala.
Brent and Mirza took us to a fabulous restaurant whose name I cannot recall, and then to a bar called Cheers where lots of expats hang out. I must say, bar drama is the same everywhere - was giving me flashbacks to the CC. The restaurant was a hollowed-out 3-4 story building that had been turned into 3 stories, lit by dozens of those huge stained-glass star-shaped glass lights hanging in clusters from the ceiling, from two feet to six inches large. Glorious. The chandelier was a huge rust-colored ring with a dozen red ones hanging from it at different heights and with different sizes. Food was very tasty. I had pork with a tamarind-tequila sauce and it was very, very tasty.
Friday night in la Viva Zona - crowds thronged the street, everybody drives like maniacs, and there were lots of soldiers - tourist police, I assume - on every corner. Saw a lot of the French-inspired street layout and parks. Nicely surreal.
Last night stayed hereÑ http://www.hostalvillatoscana.com/
It´s a very nice, clean, sunshiney place run by a friendly family. Ended up leaving our money and passports and luggage here in our room yesterday on Brent´s advice, despite not having a lock on our door. Or rather, there is a lock, but the last person took the key with them when they left, so we could only lock ourselves in at night, not lock it while we were away. I was a bit nervous about that, but turned out A-OK. The furniture everywhere is lovely, heavy carved wood with decorations that are fantastic. Of note - if the toilets in Guatemala have a small basket next to them, that´s where you´re supposed to put your toilet paper. Not flush it.
Breakfast this morning was fried plantaines, scrambled eggs with ketchup, bread, coffee, and cookies. I wonder if I may get my fill of fried plantaines this trip. It seems unlikely - ten days is not enough time.
Today we see where Brent works and go to Antigua, where we´ll be spending most of our time in Guatemala.