Showing 1-19 of 19 results
-
Troubled but Trying – Guatemala City, Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 5 October 2011
Despite warnings to the contrary, we crossed the border into Guatemala with no shenanigans. In fact, there were signs all over the border post denouncing corruption and promoting honest enforcement of official regulations. Another pleasant surprise? Lots of road construction and the bits that were done were in great shape. Still, we wouldn’t put Guatemala City on the top of anyone’s travel list.
-
Good Medicine
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 6 October 2010
By Eric Burdullis, KF12, FAPE, Guatemala. For most, take your medicine! conjures up negative images of spoonfuls of cherry cough syrup or days spent in bed with the flu. For the clients of one microfinance institution, FAPE, based out of Guatemala City, Guatemala, it is something much sweeter. FAPE recently teamed up with the Canadian Government and an NGO “Gems of Hope” to provide low cost medicine and medical consultations to its clients as well as free health education. How it works. A Gems of Hope team arrives to the village bank meetings with FAPE´s loan officer.
-
Glancin' Guatemala City
Blog: Joe's Trippin' - 15 July 2010
Travel guides and Foreign Affairs websites are full of overcautious travel warnings aimed more at politics than personal safety. I rarely, if ever, use these sources as a point of reference. Hence the reason i'm moving to Yemen. But when the locals are freaked out by the current situation, then you need to listen.
-
Five ways to keep safe in Guatemala City (and other high-crime areas)
Blog: Fourteen months, four countries, and three kids - Tales from the Field - 30 May 2010
Welcome to the second Blog Carnival of the Lonely Planet bloggers from the Blogsherpa program. This carnival centers around Travel Safety. The Carnival will be a traveling carnival that will be hosted on a different travel site every two weeks.
-
You take your kids to Pizza Hut in Guatemala City??
Blog: Fourteen months, four countries, and three kids - Tales from the Field - 8 May 2010
In Guatemala City, the places we most often take the children are chain restaurants – Pizza Hut, Pollo Campero, Wendy’s, and the like. Although I am not generally a fan of taking my children to places where the food clogs your veins and makes you fat, in Guatemala City, we have done this, perhaps more than anywhere else we have lived. We do have our reasons for this.
-
Day 23: Bus Ride to the Capital
Blog: Diaries of a Vagabonding Couple - 15 March 2010
Funky Buses of Guatemala We were headed to Guatemala City to catch a long distance bus to Nicaragua this morning. It was our first ride on local buses here in Guate, and what fun it was! For less than US$4, we enjoyed a 3 hour journey that was every moment a spectacle. This was the sort of culture shock we sought after when we travel - being rushed onto the bus as our backpacks were thrown
-
A Kiva Christmas Party
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 28 December 2009
By Jeremy Lapedis, KF9, Guatemala At the office of FAPE, we had our Christmas party. Tents we set up outside, presents were put on the table. All in all, when looking at it, it reminded me of a graduation party. The weather was 60 and sunny, and spirits were high. And to put the icing on [...]
-
In and out of Guatemala City
Blog: A Travel Diary from Mexico, Central and South America - 22 November 2009
Our attempt to get to El Salvador from Guatemala would have been full of confusion and frustration were it not for Marina, a Spanish force of nature, who happened to be on our bus from San Pedro. Amid the chaos of shouting and bag grabbing, as we entered Guatemala City, we found that we shared the aim to get to San Salvador. From then on Marina took control, smiling and chatting to overly touchy-feely men, she guided us through the city. And this enabled us to follow and take in the congested, industrial and smoggy centre of Guatemala’s capital.
-
Four hours on public transportation in Guatemala City – just another day on the buses
Blog: Fourteen months, four countries, and three kids - Tales from the Field - 13 November 2009
Today, I took what might be one of my last long rides on Guatemala City’s public transport system, as we are leaving the city in a few days. I had a meeting with my research assistant in Santa Luisa, Zone 6, and we are living clear on the other side of the city in San Jose de Villanueva.
-
Dealing with violence in Guatemala City – one of the murder capitals of the world
Blog: Fourteen months, four countries, and three kids - Tales from the Field - 8 November 2009
Deportees who arrive in Guatemala City have to learn how to deal with the urban violence, especially gangs, guns, kidnapping, and extortionists. Depending on whose statistics you believe, Guatemala is either the second or fourth most dangerous country in Latin America, and among the top ten homicide capitals of the world. Although the Peace Accords were signed in 1996, ending the decades-long civil war, homicides have been on the rise since the end of the twentieth century in Guatemala City.
-
Getting around Guatemala City on the Bus and Transmetro
Blog: Fourteen months, four countries, and three kids - Tales from the Field - 24 October 2009
After lunch, I picked up the phone and called Lorenzo, a deportee that a friend had recommended for an interview. I told Lorenzo that I was writing a book on deportees and wanted to talk to him. He seemed very interested, and agreed to be interviewed that afternoon.On the phone, Lorenzo told me he had a scar on his face. That made me wonder why he had a scar. He spoke perfect English, so I presumed he had grown up in the US. Other than that, I had no idea who I was going to meet, and plenty to reflect on as I took the bus downtown.
-
The Journey to the US is Dangerous, but So is Guatemala City
Blog: Fourteen months, four countries, and three kids - Tales from the Field - 21 October 2009
One of the first places I began to look for deportees in Guatemala was in the airport, where deportees arrive from the United States. I exchanged numbers with them, and asked them to call me in a month or so to let me know how things are going.To my surprise, this strategy has been moderately successful, even when I don’t secure an interview. This morning, a young man called me, telling me I gave him my number nearly two months ago at the airport. We chatted for a bit, and arranged to have an interview on Saturday. This one I expect should work out.
-
Leaving Zona 9 for Villanueva
Blog: Fourteen months, four countries, and three kids - Tales from the Field - 20 October 2009
-
A Pleasant Sunday with the family in Lake Amatitlan
Blog: Fourteen months, four countries, and three kids - Tales from the Field - 19 October 2009
Nando and I took the kids to Lake Amatitlan this morning. It is a twenty minute bus ride from where we are staying in Villa Nueva, and a nice escape from the city. The buses, which leave from Guatemala City on a regular basis, drop you off right at the entrance to the lake.
-
Me, the twins, and the buses in Guate
Blog: Fourteen months, four countries, and three kids - Tales from the Field - 10 October 2009
Today was a day of public transportation in Guatemala City, and all that goes along with it.I left my house in the zona 9 to take the bus downtown with Tatiana and Soraya. From the Sexta Avenida, we took the 83 bus straight to the National Congress on Novena Avenida and Novena Calle. That was fairly straightforward, except for Soraya complaining that she was hungry the whole time.
-
You take your kids to Pizza Hut in Guatemala City??
Blog: Fourteen months, four countries, and three kids - Tales from the Field - 3 October 2009
In Guatemala City, the places we most often take the children are chain restaurants – Pizza Hut, Pollo Campero, Wendy’s, and the like. Although I am not generally a fan of taking my children to places where the food clogs your veins and makes you fat, in Guatemala City, we have done this, perhaps more than anywhere else we have lived. We do have our reasons for this.
-
Keeping Safe in Guatemala City without Letting the World Pass You By
Blog: Fourteen months, four countries, and three kids - Tales from the Field - 27 September 2009
People keep telling me how dangerous Guatemala City is. My friend who works for the United Nations told me when she got here, all she heard were warnings about street crime; she doesn’t walk on the streets. At all. Our landlady warned me about most places in the city except for the neighborhood we live in – zona 9 and zona 10. She was robbed in the city center, and doesn’t go there. My other friend has had her cell phone stolen at knifepoint on the bus three times in the past six months.
-
Getting around Guatemala City by Bus
Blog: Fourteen months, four countries, and three kids - Tales from the Field - 1 September 2009
Tuesday, September 01, 2009We try to get around Guatemala City by bus as often as possible. The buses are a lot cheaper than taxis. I also find that riding the city bus is one of the best ways to get a sense of a city. Most people can’t afford cars or taxis, and buses are the mode of transport for the majority of people who need to get around.
-
Getting around Guatemala City
Blog: Fourteen months, four countries, and three kids - Tales from the Field - 21 August 2009
Guatemala City is divided into several zones. They start in the middle, and spread out like a snail, going around from 1 up to 15. The spiral snail pattern is a bit off in some places, but the peripheral neighborhoods tend to have higher numbers.
Showing 1-19 of 19 results
