TheBanyanTree: Heading back to Guatemala

[apmartin at canada.com]

I missed sending this to the Tree two weeks ago. 
Better late than never...

.....

Just a note to let you know we made it to Xela
(pronounced Shay-la) Guatemala safely. I am very happy
to leave Casa Ayuda and its frustrations, although it
wasn't easy to leave some of the children.  At some
time, I plan to write a story detailing more of my
experiences there, and why I have no plans of ever
going back.  

Andrew and I left San Miguel de Allende at 7:00 am on
Friday, April 22nd, arrived in Mexico City (the largest
city in the world) at 11:00 am and spent the afternoon
sightseeing and window shopping.  Our hotel was in an
interesting area downtown near many historical
buildings and the shopping was absolutely amazing!!!! I
would go crazy if I lived there trying to find the best
value for money. There are entire city blocks of
jewelry stores, blocks of pharmacies, blocks of sewing
machines, blocks of book stores, blocks of musical
instruments, you name it.  Unfortunately I had no room
in my suitcase so wasn't able to buy anything other
than some decks of spanish/english cards for the kids
that will be great for both learning and teaching.  

We had to be very careful on the streets though; Andrew
was followed by a 'thug' on Sunday morning before we
left for the airport.  He managed to get away but he
was a bit shaken up.  He said this wasn't the type of
guy who would pickpocket him.  It was a big muscular
guy (with two muscled buddies) who likely would have
assaulted him.  Anyway, he was lucky.  He plans to go
back to Mexico City for several days on his way home in
June as it is so interesting.  Also, he left a full
suitcase of our stuff at the hotel and needs to pick it
up.

Our trip to the pyramids on Saturday was phenomenal.  I
have many pictures which I need to put on one of the
internet computers and send.  Andrew and I climbed both
the Pyramid of the Moon and the Pyramid of the Sun. 
Both of them were very high.  There aren't words to
describe the immensity of the site and the pyramids and
other buildings.  Even photos don't do it justice.  It
is mind boggling to think of the generations of slaves
that worked their entire lives carrying stones. We
walked around the site for about five hours and left
with a sense of awe.  I feel very privileged to have
been able to see so many remarkable sights during my
lifetime.

Our flight to Guatemala on TACA Airlines went well.
TACA is out of El Salvador.  I thought it might be an
old aircraft because the fare was so cheap, but it
wasn't; it was a new airbus.  When we arrived at the
airport in Guatemala City, we needed some Guatemalan
money (quetzales) to phone the Bed & Breakfast we had
reserved to pick us up.  (We weren't able to buy
Guatemalan currency in the airport in Mexico City)
But... Guatemala being Guatemala, the airport banks
were closed and the ATMs weren't working.  

Finally, we found an ATM that allowed us to draw a few
quetzales for a huge transaction fee.  Then, we
discovered the phone only took phone cards and there
was nowhere to purchase a phone card.  We were stuck. 
Eventually, a rental car agent saw we were having
problems and asked if she could help.  She phoned the
B&B for us and at long last we were picked up and taken
to a clean, pleasant house only 5 minutes away.

There were six other guests.  It was great to connect
up with other English speaking people after only having
each other to talk to for over two months. 

The next day we phoned the bus lines twice to confirm
there was an 11:00 am bus to Xela
and that there would be room.  It was the last bus of
the day that would take us to Xela before nightfall. It
isn't safe to ride the buses at night due to 'hold-ups´
along isolated highways. After confirming, we took a
taxi to the bus depot in order to arrive one hour early
so there was no doubt we would get a seat.  En route,
the taxi driver warned us the depot was in a very
dangerous area and to be careful.  

When we got inside the bus station, there was a notice
saying the next bus was at 2:30 pm, 4 1/2 hours away! 
We had been lied to!  The bus company had cancelled the
11:00 bus and no amount of complaining made any
difference.  When we asked if it was safe to go
shopping on the street while we waited, we were told
that it wasn´t.  We were warned it was likely someone
would try to rob us of our backpacks unless we were
very careful.  Outside the window, we could see
numerous street kids harrassing passersby for money,
physically grabbing hold of them etc.  

A guard with a shotgun strode back and forth inside the
bus depot and I found that comforting.  Nevertheless,
we did not feel safe so we sneaked into the
glass-enclosed lounge for international travelers which
seemed more secure.  After about an hour, we were
kicked out because we were not traveling out of the
country and did not qualify to use it.  

The bus ride to Xela was crazy.  For one thing, there
was no bathroom and the trip lasted close to five
hours, but that was nothing compared to the driving. 
The bus driver had a 'co-pilot' who helped him decide
when it was safe to pass.  They passed countless cars
and chicken buses on blind curves.  Smaller cars coming
toward us had to swerve onto the shoulder several times
in order to avoid colliding with us.  We were high in
the mountains and dense fog made conditions even worse.
 All I could do was grit my teeth and pray.

We arrived in Xela at 7:00 pm in the dark.  When we
telephoned the language school for pickup, we
discovered they had 'forgotten' we were coming and had
not arranged a homestay or the volunteer opportunity
with children they had written to us about.  In our
email, we had offered to pay more than the regular
weekly fee for a home that was clean and had hot water
but they had forgotten about that too.

We had three 60 pound suitcases with us (and two
backpacks) and it was a real hassle because they took
us to the school first in a taxi and then spent a good
half hour trying to find somewhere for us to sleep for
the night until they could get us set up.  Eventually
they found a home with one of the school's teachers,
but the room was tiny and was at the top of three
narrow staircases. Packing the luggage up there was a
real chore and once it was in the room, there was
nowhere to walk around.  And, there was only one
bathroom for the entire family of four and one other
student, and it was on the ground floor. I always need
to make trips to the bathroom in the night so wasn't
impressed with that either.  The family, however, were
warm and hospitable, and I would have enjoyed staying
with them.  The conditions, however, were far too basic
for me.  There was nowhere to hang clothes, no
electrical outlet in the room to plug in the computer,
nowhere to leave our personal toiletries in the
bathroom so it meant carrying them back and forth every
time.  From our one meal so far, the food is very basic
and there isn't a lot of it.

Anyway, long story short, we went to the school today
and told them we were disappointed with how things were
going so far.  Because they hadn't organized a place
for us, we would have to move again with all our heavy
luggage which was very inconvenient.  We told them we
had chosen their school because they said they could
organize a volunteer opportunity for us and when we got
there, they had forgotten all about it.  So... they are
scrambling today.  Tomorrow morning, we will go to the
school at 10:00 am and hopefully they will show us a
few places where we can volunteer.  We won't be staying
at their school unless they can do what they promised.

If it doesn't work out, we could be heading back to
Antigua to see 'our kids' sooner than we planned.  We
are hoping there will be accommodation available at
Casa Hogar again and we can have the privilege of
tucking the kids in at bedtime.  If not, we will have
to find a homestay in Antigua. 

Will keep you updated...

Love Pat

------- End of forwarded message -------