I'm doing a little backtracking, so this might be a long one.....
I left on a 6am flight on Sept. 4th from Seattle, through LAX and Dallas, and finally on to Guatemala City. I was a little nervous about arriving in the city because of the warnings I'd received from various people who've traveled there about walking alone in the streets, gettind duped by taxi drivers, etc. I have traveled through various countries in Central America, and have even lived in Mexico City! So I've had my share of nervewracking travel experiences and situations. But I think one can never let her guard down while traveling, especially such an obvious gringa such as myself. I got some great tips from my dad's cousin, Jean, and her husband, Martín, who is from a town near Xela, which is where I will be spending about a month. They've been traveling back and forth between the States and Guatemala for about 25 years. They have also been very generous to give me the names and numbers of Martín's family there and have let them know I'm coming so I can meet them!
I arrived in the city at about 7pm on Saturday the 4th. I spent the first night at a very nice hotel that Jean had recommended for me. It was a bit expensive for my budget, but worth it for a clean room, cable TV, and a hot shower after a long flight. It's also run by a couple and their two daughters, I felt very welcomed. The next day I took a taxi to the Linea Dorada bus station, which is supposed to be the nicest one of several bus lines, with air conditioning and a bathroom, which is nice for the 4 hour bus ride to Xela. When I got there at 6am I went to the counter to buy a ticket, but the woman told me there was no bus to Xela that day. She told me there had been landslides that blocked the highway and said I'd have to get a taxi back to my hotel. I had not heard anything about the landslides, so I thought maybe another bus line would be sending buses up there. I took a taxi with a very outgoing taxi driver that told me all about the landslides that had happened just the morning before, when I was on the plane and oblivious. There had been an extreme amount of rain that had fallen the week before I arrived and into the weekend. A bus carrying about 30 or 40 people had been hit by a landslide and then when people gathered to rescue them from the mud and rain, another slide fell on them and covered everything. By the next morning more than 42 had died in that one landslide. Apparently there were other slides all along that stretch of highway that killed more people. Needless to say, the other busline wasn't running buses either. The taxista took me to a hotel - Ejecutiva Reforma - that was 2 blocks from the Linea Dorada station so that I'd be close in case they started running buses again.
It was a nice enough hotel, the rooms were clean and there was hot water, though the sheets were so threadbare I might as well have sleeping directly on the mattress. But there was cable TV! Yes! At least I'd have some distraction if I ended up having to stay here a few days. I slept a little, then went to explore the few blocks just around the hotel, I didn't want to venture too far yet. The only food available around there were either in fondas, little dining areas which are basically the main floor of people's houses where you can get some eggs and beans and tortillas, or chain places like Dominos. That day I went for Dominos. I know, I know, why Dominos, of all places, when I could savor typical Guatemalan cuisine? I did it for my stomach. I really didn't want to get traveler's diarrhea first thing, when I was already a little frustrated and disappointed about not being able to get to Xela that day. So I enjoyed some hot pepperoni pizza while sitting on the steps of a monument nearby.
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