Saturday morning we had a nice sleep-in, relieved to have a break from school.
Mid morning we headed in to town seeking a book-shop and an Internet Café to check our email. (And get a good Coffee!) Found the Black Cat café just a block from the town square and had some brunch. I had an Omelet and Sarah had a breakfast burrito. Very nice food and Coffee but the service was non existent. The café was part of a hostel and an American girl was behind the counter. I had to go find her and drag her off the Internet to pay the bill when we were ready to leave. They did have wireless internet though so we got to update the blog.

We found a good bookshop a couple of blocks away and had a browse for a while and bought some postcards.

The town square had masses of market stalls being set up around it and the surrounding streets. They have a big market on the first Sunday of the month and this one is going to be even bigger due to the festival celebrating the Virgin Mary’s Birthday tomorrow. We had a walk around but not many stalls were open yet so we came back in the evening. It was very busy and exciting. Much like a large show with many food stalls and some dangerous looking rides.





We had some Pizza for dinner and then walked to the nearby Los Chocoyos Centro Cultural for a live music show we had seen advertised. The Centro Cultural turned out to be a bar but was quite a nice atmosphere, very open area with a decent stage. The act was a local band called Naik-Madera and they were quite good.
We were planning on taking a taxi back to the apartment as it’s not so safe to be walking the streets late at night but there were plenty of people around during the walk back.

Friday instead of classes we had a “field trip” to the Markets at San Francisco El Alto which was an hour bus trip into the mountains from Xela. We took the “Chicken Bus” with the other student and our teachers. My teacher Alma sat on the seat in front of Sarah and I with Sarah’s teacher Fernando to start with but as the bus filled up she moved to the other side of the aisle!? I’m starting to suspect that rather than being anti-social it might just be unacceptable for her, a respectful married woman, to be socialising with single men. Guatemala (and I suspect much of Central and South America) is a funny mix of very conservative Catholic values combined with extreme poverty and the associated violence.

Back to the market…. Got to San Francisco El Alto and had a walk through the markets. The town is on top of a mountain (2610m) and had quite steep streets lined with shops and stalls. Lots of colourful clothing and blankets. Not many Gringos to be seen, all local people.
At the very top of the hill we came to the animal market and amongst the mud they were selling pigs and ducks, chickens, dogs, cats, geese, turkeys, and sheep. Probably other animals too but it was an incredible sight. Other stalls were selling the standard fare as well. Quite strange to see a stall selling mobile phones and DVD players amongst the mud and animals. (Mobile phones are very popular here.)



We headed back down the hill and had a look at the church. Some nice murals on the ceiling and more Jesus mannequins on the walls.







Back on the bus and we headed back to Xela with some great views down the valley. Took a few photos from the bus and realised that almost every one had corn growing in it. The Mayans had a Maize based diet and it’s a large part of the cuisine.





Back at school around noon we only did an hour of study and headed home.

One week since leaving Australia

Well we have finished our fourth day of Spanish lessons and know a lot more than before. Still can’t carry a conversation but know a lot more words and can read simple sentences. The school is quite small with only one other student when we started. Another one started today. It’s one-on-one study with the teachers. Sarah’s teacher is easy going and fun but mine is a bit anti-social and serious. Sarah is in the sunny* courtyard and I am sitting in a dark classroom with my grumpy teacher hearing the laughing from outside.

(*when it’s not raining which is every afternoon and second morning!)

www.inepas.org

On Monday afternoon after class we watched a video called Daughter of the Puma which was a story of a young woman in Guatemala during the civil war. Her village was massacred by the army in 1982 and after a year in a refugee camp in Mexico she travelled to Guatemala city to search for her missing brother. It was a pretty horrific movie really but good to get an idea of the terrible things that happened here during the civil war which ran for 36 years until 1994.

Tuesday afternoon was supposed to be a visit to a village north of Xela called Salcaja which has the oldest Catholic church in Central America, built in 1486. Because it was raining though we stayed in Xela and went to the old train station which had a museum.
The train station was a massive building which was the terminal for an electric train system which went from Xela to Retalhuleu and was completed in 1930. The display was mainly photos but it was in impressive scheme with a purpose built hydro-electric dam to supply power and some amazing bridges through the mountains. All the information was in Spanish and the teacher Fernando who was guiding us was no help at all with questions. Apart from our limited grasp of each others primary language, he didn’t seem to know anything about the Train system. I commented about how amazing it was that Guatemala had an electric train system in 1930 and he insisted that it wasn’t electric! I pointed out the hydro-electric dam photos at the start of the display, the electric lines running above the trains in every photo and the contacts on top of the trains connecting to the wires….. “only for the lights” was the response. From what I could figure out, the system was damaged by an earthquake in 1934 and dismantled!

http://www.tramz.com/gt/q.html

Wednesday afternoon we had free and when class finished at 1pm Sarah came into the class as I took a minute to pack my bag. I then went to the bathroom while she waited in the courtyard of the school and when we went to leave a couple of minutes later we found we were LOCKED IN! The teachers and facilitator had locked up shop and left us there! The front door was deadlocked so no way we were getting out there. Sarah was a bit worried we would be spending the night but there was a back entrance out of a storeroom we were able to escape through. Not happy Jan!


It’s been really mentally exhausting doing 5 hours of lessons each day starting at 8am. Monday and Tuesday we went to bed really early because we were so tired but then woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t get back to sleep. Last night it seemed like sleep patterns were getting back to normal.




The walk to school is 1.55km from the apartment and we have been coming home for lunch before going back for the afternoon activities so we have been getting lots of exercise walking over 6 km a day.
The altitude doesn’t seem to be bothering me anymore either which is good. Xela is at 2340m which is higher than the tallest mountain in Australia, Mount Kosciusko.



We have been shopping at the local supermarket which has reasonable range of food but not much in the way of fruit and veg. Sarah was excited that you can buy mayonnaise by the bag though. Thanks for the Rain Jacket Steph! It’s been very useful.
The nearby markets have a big range and we have bought a few things from there. Quite different to the shiny, blemish-free stuff we demand in the Supermarkets in Australia though.


We did get a pumpkin to make soup for dinner and when I opened it the inside was a disgusting rotting grey colour! It still smelled like pumpkin and we decided it must just be a different type which normally looks like it’s rotten. Still couldn’t bring ourselves to eat it though…..

We got up quite early on Sunday morning to get ready to leave Antigua to travel to Xela.
Woke to heavy rain which was a bit of a drag as we had to travel on one bus 45 minutes to a town called Chimaltanengo on the main highway to catch another bus a further 4 hours to Xela.
We had been to the bus station behind the marketplace the day before so knew where the buses left from.
Left the hotel about 7 am to get some breakfast. The rain was really heavy and the cobble-stone streets which sloped inward were running with water making it hard to cross without getting wet feet. Went to the “Bagel Barn” again and had a breakfast bagel while checking the email.
Back to the hotel, we checked out and headed through the marketplace to the bus stop. The rain had thankfully stopped by now and we got on a bus which was just pulling out.
The bus filled up quickly as it slowly drove north out of the town. The cobble-stones ended and the driver basically floored it!
We were still going through the outskirts of the city with building close to the road on each side but he must have still been going 80km/h with the occasional honk on the horn to an approching vehicle or a scary heavy breaking for a dog on the road!
Once we left the city the road started climbing and became quite winding. And bearing in mind it the roads were still wet, it was nervous trip to Chimal. I swear the bus must have been up on two wheels on some of the corners! We missed the first stop at Chimal so had a little walk back from where we got off. Came to a bus with the bonnet up (bad sign!) that was going to Xela so we squeezed on. Got a seat right at the back but had a little trouble getting down the narrow aisle to get there.
The trip to Xela was long but pretty uneventful. The Centroamericano Highway we were now travelling on was better than the other road but there were still sections where roadwork was happening which were very rough. At one stage we came out on the top of a ridge in the clouds and I found I was quite short of breath. Found out later that we were at 3760m above sea level at that point!
Got to Xela early afternoon. The bus depot was a little way out of town so we got a taxi to the center. Found a cafe called Babylon close by and had some lunch and logged on to their wireless internet connection. We were due to meet Maria at the language school at 4pm so we killed some time finding the school and having another coffee at another cafe.
Finally met with Maria at the school and went through some details before she drove us to our appartment which is 20minutes walk from the school.
Xela is not anywhere near as attractive a city as Antigua. Quite busy though and a lot less tourists. Very narrow streets with narrower footpaths and buildings almost up to the roads.
The apartment is simple but quite nice. Two story with open kitchen and living on the groundfloor, large bedroom and bathroom on the second. The shower does have hot water which is some kind of electric element stuck to the top of the showerhead. Very dodgy looking wiring as well!
We both had showers and something to eat and went to bed early. Due at school at 8am tomorrow!

00:44hrs 28/9/08 Domingo (Sunday for the non Spanish speakers)

Yes, that’s right we are wide awake at midnight after a 5 hrs sleep. We were both so tired at 1830hr.
Yesterday as in Saturday we woke up at 04:00hrs after a fabulous 11hr sleep (post 37hr to get to Guatemala with little sleep). So we were starving, the only food we had was instant coffee and no hot water so after reading the recommended cheap eating section of the lonely planet I realised I was even more hungry and we were heading for a place that had hot bread and coffee at 0700hr. As we translated the menu thinking what a cute place it was I heard only what I could describe as a tour group and then I realised it was the worst kind: loud, 40+, Americans. We ordered our breakfast and coffee and then we had to listen to the tour guide go through every thing on the menu only to stop at every dish to answer relevant questions. (“Yes you can have white bread. How about the banana pancakes?“ etc) How annoying. My food was good, coffee average.

So Antigua is a tourist town, cobble stones streets, most shops are for the cashed up tourist, but the city is so beautiful I understand why people want to come here. Even McDonalds and Burger King shop front blends with the traditional façade its really only the armed security guard that makes these places stand out. (What is the Hamburglar a problem here?).

After breakfast we still had an hour or so before the tourist information was open, so we headed for church (La Merced, built in 1694, destroyed by earthquake twice then rebuilt little of it remains from 1694, but it was pretty and had beautiful views from the roof of the convent of the volcanos). A service was on so we went to the convent and returned just after the service had finished. It was pretty and obviously a well used/love place of worship. But I did have to fight back the urge to laugh at the tacky manikins dressed up as baby Jesus and so on. The worst one was Jesus’ body fresh off the cross lying in a glass coffin with bright lights and mirrors. It was very odd.

We spent the rest of the morning walking around, we attempted to locate three museums, two we could not find and one was closed permanently. We located where we were going to catch the chicken bus (the bus the locals use) to take us to Xela (Much easier local name for Quetzaltenengo) on Sunday . In Guatemala they have tourist buses (called shuttle buses to give you the illusion that it is fast) which are well over priced and not guaranteed to be any faster or more comfortable so we just had a glance at how much the shuttle bus was to Xela and the travel agent woman asked Damian if he had change for USD100, Damian said “no” and says to me after that he does not want her counterfeit USD100 note.

So one of our main objectives was to get on line either WiFi or internet café. We went to “Café WiFi” which did have WiFi but we could not connect and neither could this other woman. Damian chatted to her and she said she was going to the “Bagel Barn” where the WiFi was free, she gave us direction and offered to walk with us. We had just bought a beer so we were going to stay and finish it of when Damian realised that she left her phone, weirdly enough there was a message saying SEE YOU SOON on the screen. So we went to the “Bagel Barn” and gave her her phone back which she was thankful for and had some lunch while updating the blog and sending emails etc. It was quite funny to be sitting in a café with all these people typing away and skyping on their laptops. So happy to have brought the Eee PC. It’s been really handy to have. If anyone does want to Skype us our username is “damian and sarah”. Hopefully we will be online a bit more in Xela.

Finally we get to Guatemala!

4.19 am 27th Saturday Antigua, Guatemala.
The plane trip from Buenos Aires to Guatemala City via Panama went well. The plane was smaller and we were right up the back next to the toilets which was a bit annoying. A queue formed most of the way up the aisle for quite a long time until I noticed and pointed out to the head of the queue that for some reason they were only using the first of the two cubicles. People are idiots. (Damian is sleep-deprived and cranky.) Queue moved a lot quicker after that.
Had a couple of hours sleep until the sun came up. There was a guy next to us on the window seat but he kept the blind closed. Not much to see but clouds the few times I did look out. We didn’t think they had TV screens on the flight but they magically appeared folding down from the console above our heads to play “What goes on in Vegas”. Saw it a few weeks ago but watched it again to kill time. Has some funny moments. Window guy opened the blind as we were landing in Panama and we watched as we flew in over the ocean and some swampland before landing.
We were transiting straight to the next flight to Guatemala City and thought we would have very little time but the plane wasn’t yet at the departure gate so we had a short walk around the airport. Not much to see. I can’t believe we have just visited three new countries, New Zealand, Argentina and Panama and didn’t even leave the airport!
Plane to Guatemala arrived and we boarded. Smaller plane yet again, only two seats each side of the aisle. Wasn’t very full either so although Sarah hogged the window yet again I was able to take some photos of the Panama canal from another window. Rest of the fight was open ocean and then clouds until we got to Guatemala City after a couple of hours.Panama Canal


We had decided to try and limit our time in Guatemala City as there can be a bit of crime targeting tourists. We are due in Quetzalteango which is 4 hours from Guate (as the locals calls it) on Sunday afternoon so we have a couple of days to get there.
From outside the airport we negotiated a taxi to take us to Antigua for $25USD which is a 45 minute drive. It is the previous Capital of Guatemala built by the Spanish in founded in 1543 and has some amazing old ruined buildings and churches. The streets are cobblestone.

We arrived around noon yesterday and were dropped off in the centre of town at the town square. We had identified a hotel from Lonely Planet we thought we would have a look at as when travelling it’s always good to have a destination to give the driver or you may get driven to a place where they get kickbacks. As we were approaching the city though the driver asked where we wanted to go. He didn’t speak any English but I gave him the street address in Spanish, pointed to the exact spot on a street map and he seemed to know where I was indicating but then started saying (I think, Spanish comprehension still limited.) that for $20 it was just to the town square, it’s $28 to be dropped off at the hotel door. So I said fine and we got out at the square. It was only a couple of blocks and I have had enough arguments with taxi drivers in developing countries to know to get out when the goings good. At least he was still accepting the original price we had agreed on! We walked the couple of blocks to the hotel we had found in Lonely Planet but it didn’t seem to be there anymore. A few doors along the street we enquired at another hotel. 150 Quetzal for a night. (22USD) and although the outside area looked quite nice the room was small and dingy.

We crossed the street and took a room at the Hotel Refugio which Lonely Planet describes as “the cheapie du jour among savvy travellers”, outside appearance wasn’t much but the room was larger and nicer than the first place and cost was only 80 Quetzal for a double with hot water. “Dos notches por favor” we asked (two nights please) and with much relief put down our bags and hit the shower.

After a hot shower and change of clothes we went to explore the local area. Found a market close by which was very similar to the local markets we had seen in Cambodia and Thailand. A few food stalls including Dominos Pizza! But we thought it might be better to eat elsewhere.




Walked through town to the square past a huge ruined cathedral missing a roof. Looked like there was a museum beside it so maybe something to look at tomorrow. Found a café off the square which was part of a house built in the 15th century. It had a lovely green courtyard which was quickly abandoned as an afternoon thunderstorm came over. After lunch we went back to the hotel and went to bed at 4pm. We both slept until midnight and then on and off until 3.30am I figure if we try stay awake until this evening we should have the jetlag beat (hopefully).
Sarah has been circling museums in the Lonely Planet to plan our day.
Currently 5.30am , 9.30pm tonight back in Australia. Just waiting for it to get light so we can go get some breakfast. Might try find some internet access so we can let people know we arrived safely and update the blog.

Long day hanging around the airport....

22.50pm 25/09 Argentina Time. 11.50am Tomorrow in Sydney and also as far as our body clocks are concerned. So it’s been a really long day sitting around in the Airport. We came in about 4pm local time and the 12 hour flight to Panama City leaves 3.23am! We decided back in Sydney that there wasn’t much point in getting a hotel as there are none near the airport and it would be a 15km taxi ride to the centre of town to the nearest one. Also thought about going and having dinner somewhere but decided it wasn’t worth the risk of missing our connecting flight after the likely tour of all the taxi driver‘s friends “hotels“ and a hard sell trying to get us to stay at each one. We’ll have plenty of time in Buenos Aires when we come back to Argentina with a better grasp of the language.

So as a result it’s been a long and boring day! The airport is clean and open. Few cafes and restaurants but not much in the way of shops. No Internet access that I could find. Been trying out some rudimentary Spanish to have some lunch “Duos Hamburgerure Por Favour.” and we were able to buy a couple of packs of cards from someone who didn’t speak any English.

We both had about 3 hours sleep on the plane. The sun came up at Midnight EST shortly after we crossed the International Date Line.

The view was just clouds with the occasional patch of ocean until we reached Chile and then the Andes were an incredible sight with snow capped mountain peaks. Then after an hour of flying over flat farmland we landed in Buenos Aires.

We were told boarding would be starting around 10.30pm but it’s now 11.05 and noone is at the counter. There’s a big queue for a 2.40am flight to Rome. Wouldn’t want to live near a flight path in Argentina as there are flights going all night.

Sarah has fallen asleep on the bench next to me. I think we will both sleep well on the plane. We’ve both been up for about 30 hours now with only a little over 3 hours sleep. See how the next leg goes!