Guatemala

[Lancelot]

After a couple of months back in the good old USA, I decided that I wanted to travel more- so I headed south to Guatemala

Arrived at Guatemala City around midnight, so I stayed the night then caught a shuttle bus to Antigua the next day.

Antigua is mostly a tourist town, but still enjoyable and affordable. The exchange rate is 7.6 Quetzals; 330ml beers are around $1.30 to $2.60 Q inmost bars, but of course you can always pay more.

The town was packed because of New Years but I managed to find a room (had to move three times) with no reservations.

A supposedly active volcano in the back ground of the "Chicken Bus Station" old recycled US school busses. Cheap transportation- but they really pack you in, three to a seat and filled to standing room in the aisle.



My second night was at the "Roo" Hostel. Yeah it was Aussie run. If you can't get to the beach, the proprietors bring the beach to you

[pseudolus]

Nice start Lance - hopefully you have lots of snaps of hot chicks peppered throughout the thread.

[beerlaodrinker]

We need senioritas

[thaimeme]

Nice start Lance - hopefully you have lots of snaps of hot chicks peppered throughout the thread.

Sadly, I believe one will be limited to those short chubby Mayan ladies.

[david44]

We need senioritas

the thread is nowt without Chew Juicy Gulpers

Be great to have some pix and reports about this

[Lancelot]

Four nights in Antigua was enough, so I caught the "Chicken Bus" express to Panajachel on Lake Atitlan.



Three hours, four busses and $4.90 poorer I arrived at my destination. Not so speedy for a 78 Km trip



My hotel here is half the price of Antigua, about $7.80 USD per night. The elevation is about5,200 feet, so the weather is mild 20C ish during the day and 10 to 13C at night. But I'm told it gets cooler- yikes!

[Lancelot]

Nice start Lance - hopefully you have lots of snaps of hot chicks peppered throughout the thread.

All in good time amigo...

[Lancelot]

Yesterday I had a street food breakfast of two scrambled eggs, beans and five tortillas, $1.30.



I keep in touch with a Thai girl via Line and she is not impressed with Guatemala, big surprise, no? She told me she couldn't eat the food, because she could tell from the photos it is mai aroi...



When I told her that it was better for her to remain in Thailand, she had a sudden change of heart and decided that she could eat the food after all

[kingwilly]

Nice thread mate.

[sjwilliams]

looks fun. Did you get to see natural attractions?

[Lancelot]

looks fun. Did you get to see natural attractions?

The scenery is fantastic, but, no, I haven't taken any 'Volcano' tours yet. I will check out some of the other villages on Lake Atiitlan.

[Lancelot]

The lake here is really beautiful and my inadequate photography skills do not do it justice



I want to take a boat ride to some of the other villages on the lake.



I received a free 90 day visa on arrival, so I think I will stay around for a while. It was 10C when I strolled out for breakfast this morning, but the local scenery warmed me up, he he



What's not to like?

[Looper]

^good start but can you post something older and wrinklier for BLD!

We need senioritas

[Lancelot]

^good start but can you post something older and wrinklier for BLD!

We need senioritas

Ah that's a problema because all the girls are young and beautiful- or maybe its the massive amounts of beer that I've been drinking

[beerlaodrinker]

They are cuties when there young, but that diet of rice n beans goes straight to there arse later on, nice looking seniorita in the pic though Lancelot

[thaimeme]

They are cuties when there young, but that diet of rice n beans goes straight to there arse later on...

It becomes worse after squeezing out their first rug rat...

[BaitongBoy]

A lot of farting with the beans, perhaps?...

[ossierob]

some nice scenery

[Lancelot]

The hombres here seem to prefer a naked bike, street fighter style. Two popular brands are Mahindra and Pulsar, both Indian brands. Single cylinder, air cooled and low technology carburetor fuel systems. I haven't seen many step throughs or automatics. The Indian bikes are probably popular because they are cheaper. Money is hard to come by for a Mayan boy...



For the major brands, Yamaha and Suzuki, respectively, seem to have the most market share, Honda is a distant third. A Yamaha FZ16, 160cc would set you back about $2,630, according to a brochure I was given.

Man, I sure miss my CBR250...

[Lancelot]

Market Day. I shared this with a Thai girl and she remarked "Oh, you stay Chiang Mai!"

I learned a long time ago not to disagree with a Thai



Prices here are some what similar to Thailand. I pay $0.65 for a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice here- but I reckon its twice the size of a 20 baht OJ on the street in Thailand



In Chiang Mai I was paying $145 a month (plus electric & water) for a furnished room. Here I am paying about $185 per month for a hotel room, all in and no deposit.

[cdnski12]

Andy Graham of hobobtraveller.com reckons Lake Atitlain is the best place to retire in the entire world. He has travelled professionally for 16 years and visited 107 countries ... always looking for a good place to live. If they had decent golf courses there ... I think I'd give it a go!

[Lancelot]

^ Yeah, I've read his travel blog.

[blue]

Looks great, never thought about it a destination , but might now .
Whats the visa situation ?
Where are most of the foriegn tourists from ?

[Lancelot]

^ 90 day, free, entry stamp on arrival at the Guatemala City airport. I'm told that many expats extend their visits by having a 'fixer' take their passport to the border and get stamped back in for another 90 days, at a cost of $45 to $50.

I arrived on a one way ticket and encountered absolutely no problems.

Some Mexican and El Salvadorean tourists. Of course many expats seem to be from the USA, but Canada, Australia, UK are also well represented. I've seen a few Asian chicks and there is a coffee shop that is Asian managed (owned?)

I know a couple that travel a lot and I met them several times in Chiang Mai. They turned me on to Guatemala and I like it. One bonus is that it is relatively close to the USA- about three hours, vs. 20 or so from the USA to Thailand.

[Lancelot]

I found this 'Pupuseria' run by a friendly El Salvadorian guy. The place gets packed at night, because the food is good and the prices are right- $1.30 for piping hot pupusa. Basically a tortilla stuffed with cheese and meat, served with a compliment of spicy carrot salad and hot sauce. A liter of beer is only $3.38.



Two pupusas are a very satisfying meal for me.