Guatemala City

Thursday, April 14, 2011--Antigua to Guatemala City

It was sad to leave my large, comfortable accommodations in the beautiful, safe city of Antigua knowing that everything in Guatemala City would be different. As the bus entered the suburbs and made its way downtown, I saw nothing to contradict the reputation this city has--big, dirty, ugly, shabby, etc.

I changed my plans for a hotel to the Hotel Ajau, because it has internet service in all rooms, whereas the Colonial, where I had intended to stay, has it only in the public areas. Both are within a couple of blocks of each other, so I could have changed my mind again if the Ajau had not been acceptable otherwise. It is in a colonial building with tile floors. It is fine--nothing great, but nothing bad. I was impressed by the strong internet signal after several days of places with weak or no signal at all. And was was even more impressed with the nice quality of the mattress as I slept last night. What didn't impress me is all the NOISE! But that would be anywhere in Guatemala City without paying for a 5-star hotel.

I came here knowing that tourists are advised to skip the city because of the negative aspects I've noted above and because of its high crime rate. I only planned two nights so I could use the day between to see some of the museums. My plan was to use the rest of today to explore the older parts of the city and get information from the tourist office.

I was able to explore Zona 1, the old center of the city. There wasn't much to see. There is one main street which has been turned into a pedestrian zone that has retail along it. The buildings tend to be simple in design, and the shops are the "leftovers"--independently owned businesses that cannot afford to be in the new malls. Occasionally, but rarely, a truly outstanding building would pop up (such as the Post Office). One block away from the main street, however, everything quickly became bad. Most of the downtown area reminded me of Fredericksburg Road in San Antonio between San Pedro and Woodlawn or of Staples Street in Corpus Christi between Leopard and Six Points--a lot of poorly designed, cheaply built buildings that have deteriorated over time and have no redeeming value. In other words, they are lost sections of the city with no hope except for complete redevelopment which isn't very likely to occur.

Because downtown is so bad, it has a high crime rate. It is suggested that no one go out at night after 19:00 without taking a taxi. And during the daytime, it is suggested that one avoid appearing to be a tourist. One suggestion is to go into a cafe if it is necessary to check a map for directions. I've decided not to even take my camera with me, since it makes a big bulge in my pocket and since I don't want to be seen using it.

Anyway, I went to the tourist office to ask about bus lines that go where I need to go next--the Villa Nueva/Las Chinamas border crossing to El Salvador. They were unable to help me. The two suggestions of possible bus companies they made both proved to be wrong.

From there, I walked about a mile northward toward the Main Plaza hoping to see a museum there. Unfortunately, the plaza was filled with poor people who had come for a political rally. I was uncomfortable there, and the speaker was standing in front of the building with the museum, so I didn't want to go through the crowds to get there. I stopped at a restaurant to eat a bite, and I was back in my room by 16:00.

During the evening I did further research that I think has given me the information I need for traveling on Saturday. It's amazing how hard it is to get information about taking buses from here to the border crossing at Las Chinamas in El Salvador. Lonely Planet says there are plenty of mini-buses, but they don't say where to go to take them! And everyone else online seems to just quote that book. But while investigating the Rapid Bus Transit website map, it looks as if the last stop on one line is a bus station with buses going that way. Also, there is a private company that goes at least half-way there where I could catch another bus. I will investigate all this when I go south of downtown tomorrow to see the museums.

By the way, the First Lady of Guatemala was given her divorce last Friday. I wonder if it was announced on a Friday to try to avoid as much controversy as possible? Anyway, she can run for the president's office in an attempt to replace her husband and get around the two-term limit that they faced. It's too bad politics is most often about gaining and holding power that one can benefit from.