Day 5 and All is Well

Well, here we are in Puerto Barrios after negotiating our first overland trip by public transport. We left Guatemala City on Sunday morning by tourist bus. The five hour trip to the coast was very interesting...scenic country side and no Banditos! Security is a big concern here. Armed guards (shotguns) stand outside most stores and public places. Getting on the bus, we were searched - pat down. Everyone take it in stride it seems. Saturday night while we were having dinner at a taco joint, a shot gun went off in the street across from the restaurant...hardly got a notice from the locals.

GC was about what we expected...some modern parts and the hectic, crowded, noisey and run down central zone of the old city. The city is surprisingly clean and free of litter. The people are all very friendly and are understandng of our limited Spanish. We are glad we can speak a few words of Spanish however, as this is definitely not a tourist area like resorts in Mexico. Few people speak any English and we have had to make ourselves understood in our limited Spanish. Hopefully this will improve when we attend our Spanish school next week. There were a number of interesting things to see in GC including some museums which held fine Mayan crafts and antiquities. Kids dressed as clowns juggle balls at intersections for the amusement of the drivers and hopefully a few quetzales. There was not much begging in the streets compared to some places we´ve seen and we really didn´t feel threatened despite what some of the guide books say about crime.

We tried our first meal at a Guatemalan food stall in a shopping centre of sorts. It was good and only 2 dollars. We even drank the rice water (sweet, syrupy drink that looked like watered down milk). So far no ill affects from the food.

This week we are staying at a resort where we have a large villa with our own cooking facilities. So we are in town now getting grocs for the week at the local market...that will be an experience I am sure. The resort is on the Caribbean but on a sheltered bay with not much of a beach. However, a great pool and beautiful jungle vegetation all round.

We had fun practicing our spanish and her english with our charming waitress at dinner last night...interesting name of Lesbia.

That is it for now. We will not be on the net again for another week.

Hasta Luego

Robb and Sue.