Stories from Guatemala, Part I

I've largely caught up on the craziness resulting from being away, so let's start with some Guatemala stories and pictures!

Day 1 was on a Tuesday. Niki, Yi-Hsin, and I all boarded planes in the wee hours of the morning and converged in Guatemala City around 11am. We got in touch with the Quetzalroo Hostel, and they picked us up at the airport.

We drove through part of Guatemala City (or Guate, as locals call it) on our way to the Hostel, and got a bit of a tour from our driver. The city is laid out in an orderly fashion, with numbered avenues and streets, and 22 "zones." Our hostel was in zone 10. Zone 10 was near the airport, and had a significant number of museums and hospitals.

Along the way, we saw a Ceiba tree, which are giant trees with a wide span of branches, traditionally used as a location for markets.

Ceiba tree, credit to www.panoramio.com

Driving down Avenida La Reforma, we saw some striking statues, including the one pictured below. Guatemala has two Nobel Prizes, one for Peace and on for Literature. Guess which one this statue is commemorating?

Credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/balam/sets/72157620538149039/detail/?page=3

We hung out at the hostel for a while, in part due to our tiredness and in part due to our need to acclimate to the country. We weren't really prepared for the combination of arriving during the rainy season and a street system without awesome drainage. There were some *massive* sprays of water from the street every time we ventured outside that evening. A few other photos from the day:

Silverware from lunch. Lots of silverware in Guatemala has holes in uncommon locations on the handle. (Credit: Me!)

Guatemala has lots of Crepes. They even have a Crepe chain of restaurants: Luna de Miel. (Credit: Yi-Hsin Lin)

Hanging out at the Quetzalroo hostel in Guate. (Credit: Niki Huhn)