My first day in Guatemala

My first day and night in Guatemala

I mentioned in the last article that my arriving was a bit chaotic and it was not that easy. I am going to tell you in today's article, what happened when I left the airport building.

Smell of Guatemala

The first thing I noticed was smell of the air. I mean, there were some bins close by and as the air was so warm and humid, the smell of trash was easily noticeable. As I was going to volunteer the lady from the organization 1, 2, Tree...  informed me I should wait at the airport till two o’oclock and then there will be a “private” minibus prepared. So I took a book and waited in front of the airport. Many, many, many people came to meto offer me a SIM card for “the best price”, or bus tickets or food or many other things.

Photo: Right in front of the airport building.

Well, to cut the story: it was already two o’clock and the Magic Travel minibus was nowhere. I was a little bit nervous because I did not have a Guatemalan SIM card and mine stopped working completely. I decided to ask a person who was working at the airport whether he knew how the minibus looked like. I do not even remember what his answer was, but he offered me to use his phone and call the company. I used his phone for a minute and when I finished he said immediately: “What about some tips now?” I only had four Quetzales (50 cents) so I gave them to him. I know now that it was enough money, but he looked at me like if I gave him nothing. I mean, people in Guatemala will just charge you always more when you are a visitor.

Where will I sleep?

All right, the gentleman from the travel company was running among people trying to guess who was the person who was expected to travel by his minibus. So he asked me and I was happy he found me. We started the journey to Panajachel. I was so tired I fell asleep after a few of the first kilometres.

Photo: I went to Panajachel by van. Then, it was needed to catch a boat!

My supervisor from the organization where I was volunteering informed me in advance about the fact that if I get to Panajachel before six o’clock in the afternoon, I should still catch a boat which was more or less the only possible way of getting to my new “home village”. If I miss the last boat though, I should sleep in a hostel somewhere. We got to Panajachel, I took my suitcase and went towards the lake. “Santiaaago!” I heard someone’s voice. I was very happy that the boat was still there. I got on and then we waited for an hour whether more people would come or not. I did not mind, I was happy that I would get to the house where I could finally sleep.

You know, summer night in Europe are short. The sun gives us a day light till 9 P.M. I expected it to be the same in Guatemala. I did not think of its position towards the Sun. So, as we were waiting on the boat, it started too get darker and darker and at 7 P. M. it was a complete evening. I got a bit nervous again. Because I did not know where I should go when I would arrive in Santiago and I did not even have any SIMcard – do you remember?

Photo: I got on the boat at around 6 o'clock. I did not know that within an hour it will be the evening time already.

After, I was already in the village. I just walked a little bit, so I could get to a place where more people were. Next, I had to contact my supervisor to let her know that I got to the place. There are no street names or numbers of houses, so if you want to find a house on Google maps, you will not be probably successful. Anyway, so I went to a few shops to ask whether I could buy a SIM card. They did not have any. So I went to a “hotel” and asked whether I can use their WiFi. They asked: “And are you going to stay here over the night?” Well, not really, I just need a WiFi, so I could send a message.” Luckily, they let me use it and I contacted the supervisor. She was not replying at first. She thought I would not make it to Santiago, so she supposed I would be sleeping in Panajachel. Luckily, she was on her phone and realised I was trying to contact her. She answered and in less than an hour she came to pick me up.

Finally! There is a bed for me.

Well, I got to the apartment which became my house for the period of volunteering. It was small, but it was enough.  I could not wait to get to the bed. Though, there were no beddings. But I took a towel at least which I used instead of the missing duvet and fell asleep.

I was ready for the whole Guatemalan adventureand teaching experience which could start.

Photo: the very next morning I could finally see properly, what "my new home" view from the window looks like.

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