Guatemala City

There’s a tourist bus from Lanquin to Guatemala City, a step up from the chicken bus and more economical that a private car. It takes 8 hours to go 275 kms. A car might have been faster, but given the condition of the road after so much rain I doubt it would have saved us much time. We’re dropped at a gas station on the outskirts of the city. No taxis. Only Uber and a few other similar services, none of which we have the app for. A helpful young gas jockey uses his app to call for a car. Note to self: don’t travel without Uber.

We’re so low tech! And travel has become so high tech. Guess we’ll have to adapt. Or just stay home.

Guatemala City was the site of the native Mayan city of Kaminaljuyu, founded around 3,500 years ago around 1500 B.C. in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. The Spanish arrived in the 15th century, the Mayans were conquered and Central America became part of the Spanish Empire until the early 19th century.

In September 1821 Guatemala City was the scene of the famous Act of Independence of Central America, and the region was freed from the Kingdom of Spain.

A quarter-century later in August 1847, Guatemala declared itself an independent republic, separate from the larger federation of the former Federal Republic of Central America, with Guatemala City proclaimed as its national capital city.

Many earthquakes over the past centuries have wreaked havoc on Guatemala City and it’s been rebuilt time and again. As a result there are parts of the city that look old and run-down and other parts that look modern and prosperous. Thankfully we are staying in the nicer part of town, zona 10, at an older but very atmospheric hotel called the San Carlos.

https://hsancarlos.com/gallery/

Guatemala City, known by locals as simply Guate, is a small city compared to other world capitals. At just over 1 million in the city proper, there are an additional 2 million people in the urban area that sprawls over the hills and valleys surrounding the city.

We only have two days here before we fly to Cancun to rendezvous with Brent & family in Playa del Carmen. So we don’t see much of the tourist sights, the museums, art galleries, parks, etc. We find time for the Archeological and Ethnographic Museum, purportedly the best museum in the city. And although small, it is quite fabulous. Lots of Mayan artifacts dating from thousands of years ago. Tools, vessels, jewellery, stellae, and urns. All in remarkable condition. As well there is a mural by a contemporary artist depicting the time-line of Mayan civilization. It’s colourful and expressive.

Much of our time is spent looking for a place to board the small puppy we acquired in Chichicastenango, who we’ve been travelling with for a week, sneaking her into hotels, taxis and onto buses. She literally scampered across my feet one day as I was leaving the market. A push cart almost runs her over. It had been raining and she is wet and shivering, running frantically about. A truck’s tires are coming toward her; I instinctively scoop her up.

I walk around the market looking for someone to claim her. No takers there. No female dogs who look like they might be missing a still-nursing puppy. I head back to the Mayan Inn, hoping they can direct me to an animal shelter. They instruct me to “take her to the cemetery, there are people there who look after dogs”.

Rather than dump her there I ask the hotel staff if anyone wants a cute little puppy for a pet. Again, no takers. It’s not a pet friendly hotel but none of the staff see me heading back to the room with the puppy. She is still shivering and crying but by now is nestled into the crook of my arm. Which is how Craig finds us when he returns to the room.

Over the course of the next two days we find dog food, a tiny collar, a leash, a pill to kill the worms in her bloated belly, give her a flea bath, and name her: El perrito de Chichicastenango. Chichi for short.

She rides around in my shoulder bag, sleeps in Craig’s suitcase at night, and provides endless hours of amusement when she wants to play. It is nothing short of a miracle that she is alive and healthy.

Our plan is to adopt her and bring her back to Vernon. She must be 3 months old, have a rabies shot and a health certificate from a veterinarian. We find an animal clinic/hotel a few kilometres from our hotel that can board her, with a vet who can assist us with all of the requirements, including the paperwork, for her immigration into Canada. Huge relief.

We will likely fly back here from Cancun at the end of December to collect Chichi and head home. There is still a lot to do and much could still go wrong, but so far it seems the universe has guided us well and provided what we have needed to care for her.

Once we have boarded Chichi we spend what’s left of our time seeing what we can of the city by walking from our upscale ‘hood to the centro historico. It’s pretty grim. Grimy, crumbling and crowded, lots of small shops selling cheap goods, municipal police and security guards everywhere, all with very large guns. Not a pleasant environment at all.

We high-tail it back to zona 10, the land of shiny malls, international hotels, swanky looking apartment buildings and chic eateries. To celebrate having successfully boarded Chichi we take ourselves out to Gianni’s Mediterranean Grill, housed in the very posh Westin Hotel, for dinner.

Over glasses of wine and great food we talk about our Guatemalan adventure. About how warm and welcoming the people have been. About how hard many of them work, for very little reward. About how beautiful the countryside is, green and lush. About the abundant fresh fruit and vegetables. About the fabulous handicrafts, especially the textiles.

But also about how challenging it has been to travel here. How long it takes to go very short distances. About how distressing it has been to see the street dogs, skinny, mangy, often injured and lame. About the lives of girls and women, their lack of education and opportunity, their bearing of multiple children. About the litter and garbage.

We get a bit maudlin talking about Chichi and how weak and sick she was the first few nights we had her. How she crossed our path and gave us the best memento of our trip. We just have to bust her out of Guatemala and get her home.