From the lake I headed to Guatemala City in a share shuttle; not exactly uncomfortable but 5 and half hours instead of what would have been ~3 hours in a private ride.
This little shuttle friend and I entertained each other along the way.
Traffic was so heavy in Guatemala City that I even made friends with bus passengers that moved slowly back and forth in my line of vision for the better part of an hour.
In Guatemala City I stayed 2 nights at lovely Villa Toscana in a small, perfect, single room, $38/night including tax, breakfast, and airport shuttles. The shared areas are beautiful and I enjoyed the traditional breakfast (could also have picked pancakes).
During the full day in between those nights I hired a driver, Elmer, to take me around Guatemala City. It was the 1st time I'd done more than sleep a quick night before heading to the airport in GC since the 1980's.
The ancient viaduct
Overview
High end area
Middle class
Favela (Elmer's word). He pulled over on an overpass and asked if I wanted a photo. As I got out of the car to take the photo he yelled out, "10 seconds - no más!" because it's not a safe area. Oh.
Here is one of my favorite photos of the trip which I call 'Nothing a Little New Paint Can't Fix".
The Central Plaza was more about construction than romance but I enjoyed a few minutes' stroll and a visit inside the Cathedral. I didn't tour the Palace, below, because there was nearly an hour wait before the next guided tour and I hadn't the patience.
I snapped this photo of Elmer snapping a photo of the Cathedral and an incoming jet.
I also visited 2 wonderful juxtaposed museums on the campus of Francisco Marroquín University, the Maya textile museum, Museo Ixchel
and the beautiful history museum, Museo Popol Vuh.
The next morning I headed to Aurora airport, GUA where I took this photo for son Carlos
and on to DFW in Dallas where the high use of steel was culturally shocking.
Over the gulf
Hello to Eastern Oregon
and beautiful Mt. Hood.
HAPPY TRAILS!
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