I knew very little about Guatemala before booking a week-long volunteer trip to Casa Guatemala, an orphanage and school in rural Rio Dulce After arriving in Guatemala City, my visceral reaction was to be intimidated.
Stepping out of the airport, cabbies and shuttle drivers all offered me either a ride or a chance to use their cell phones (for a fee of course). Interestingly enough, there was no public telephone at the airport and the only option was to solicit an airport worker or driver.
I was lucky enough to have a pre-arranged ride to the bus station that would take me to Rio Dulce. As we zoomed in and out of traffic, switching between narrow one-way side streets and multi-lane main roads, I held my breath and took it all in. I live in Boston and have ridden in New York City cabs, but this was an entirely new experience. Exhaust filled the air, and at certain points, I held my breath for fear of inhaling the toxic equivalency of a carton of non-filtered cigarettes.
The bus ride to Guatemala City, or “Guate” as it’s called, to Rio Dulce was both stimulating and eye-opening. The Litegua bus line was comfortable and most importantly, air conditioned. The one-way ticket cost Q. 60 (about $7.50) and took approximately five and a half hours, with a midway stop at a gas station and cafeteria.
Between dozes, I took in the crowded grid streets of the city, filled with colorful piñata shops, hole-in-the-wall-restaurants and gas stations guarded by armed officers. As we exited the city, I saw the concrete and sheet metal shacks that sit flush to each other, sometimes on top of each other, built into the mountainsides and garbage piles.
It’s virtually impossible to miss the Tigo logo painted on every other wall and storefront throughout the journey. It’s rumored that if you let the phone company advertise on your house, they’ll paint it for free.
Rio Dulce in mid-May is hot. By the river, 90 degrees of humidity settled thickly on my skin. A mix of seemingly rich and poor, locals bathed and washed their clothes in the river while fancy yachts and schooners cruised downstream.
Many of the restaurants and homes along the river are inaccessible by roads, so lanchas (speedboats) are constantly zooming people to their destinations. Fisherman paddle themselves out in kayak-like boats to throw out their nets, hoping to make the day’s big catch.
Initially, I was planning on traveling solo all week so didn’t anticipate doing much exploring. Fortunately, I met another “turismo solidario” and we decided to make a stop in Antigua before heading back to Guatemala City to fly our separate ways.
We planned on taking a 3:00 a.m. Litegua bus to Guatemala City and finding another bus or taxi to take us to Antigua, about an hour outside of the city. As we were leaving the hotel around 2:15, the night guard stopped us and said it was too dangerous to cross the bridge alone in the dark. We couldn’t call a taxi because there was no electricity, so he advised us to walk to the base of the bridge, find the police station and ask the police officer to flag the bus for us.
This is not something I would advise a friend, or fellow traveler to do. That five-minute walk in the pitch black to the police station felt like an hour. I held a stick and my partner held a mini flashlight. If I had to do it again, I would have waited until 5:45 to take the next bus, in the daylight.
Five hours later, my friend and I were in a taxi from Guate to Antigua. Most people say it’s unsafe for females to take a taxi in Guatemala City, and you also run the risk of being gouged with inflated foreigner rates. Despite the warnings, I felt safe, enjoyed the cab ride, and thought it was worth the Q.100 each (about $12) for the hour ride.
Antigua is a well-preserved colonial city surrounded by three active volcanoes. We arrived around breakfast time and enjoyed a lovely traditional breakfast of frijoles and plantains at Casa de Mito, a hotel owned and maintained by an American living in Antigua.
Known for its ruins and crafts (particularly jade manufacturing), Antigua is both culturally rich and aesthetically pleasing. Because we were carrying super-sized traveler’s backpacks, we enjoyed simply sitting in the Plaza Mayor, taking in the local colors and flavors and sipping on cold, glass bottle Fantas.
In hindsight, I wish I had planned a longer trip as I felt I missed out on a lot of what this eclectic country has to offer. If you are thinking of visiting Guatemala, make sure to do your research and plan a visit to Tikal, Livingston, and Semuc Champey (to name a few).
© Cheapflights Ltd (Story and Photos by Leah Lovgren)
