We told you to monitor the blog. It was obvious we could not remain sedentary for too long. So here. Done. We have our backpacks emerged from the shed and have quietly made their way to the airport. Flight destination: Ciudad de Guatemala. I'm back for two weeks of travel. Saturday morning, after a short night's sleep, Jean-Marie has kindly accompanied us to the airport (the flight was a 7:00, it goes without saying that the clock was rather early morning!).
The sun rose in the rear of Mount Royal. The sky was perfectly clear. And 7:05, the wheels of our plane left the tarmac in Montreal. 5 hours later, we begin our descent to Mexico City where we had a match for Guatemala. That's when I remembered a polemical which took place in 1986. More recently, at the dawn of the Olympic games in Beijing in 2008, an endless debate erupted reativement level of pollution that hovered over the Games host city. Many journalists were so unimaginative égosillé pen on the risk that contaminated air could have on the health of athletes, the impact this could have on test results, or even on the questionable moral entrust the Olympics has a country so little concern for the environment. This controversy endlessly reminded me of that which took place in 1986 when holding the World Cup football (or soccer) in Mexico. There was talk everywhere of pollution incomaprable this megalopolis which now has more than 22 million people. So we had begun our descent dpuis few minutes we could see the snowy peaks that surround the city. A magnificent spectacle. Indeed, Mexico is located sort of in a basin surrounded by mountains. But as we neared the ground, a strange phenomenon has offered us. Was suddenly below us a sort of cushion cloudy orange-brown. The aircraft continued its descent and the sun, yet so few bright minutes auparavant, disparut lentement dans l'épaisse couche opaque. Nous venions de prendre contact avc le perpétuel nuage de pollution qui surplombe cette ville. Tout simlement pathétique!
Apres pres de 2 heures d'attente, nous embarquions dans notre vol suivant qui nous menerait jusqu'à destination. Rapidement, nous survolions le Guatemala. Vu d'en haut, nous avons pu avoir un bon apercu des heures de routes qui nous attendaient: escarpées a souhait... et apparemment poussiéreuses! Lors de la descente, l'avion décrivit une longue courbe sur sa droite qui nous permit d'admirer les montagnes et les volcans environants. Puis l'avion posa enfin ses roues sur la piste de Ciudad Guatemala qui se trouve a 1500 metres altitude.
On our arrival usual round: immigration, baggage and customs. For our first destination, we anticipated that we do not stop in Guatemala City but immediately reach Antigua, about 50 miles away. Guatemala City seems to offer no special attractions and has an unenviable reputation for its inscurité.
In our travel guide, it was reported that a scheduled shuttle airport in Antigua. But after asking some locals, it seemed less clear:''The shuttle? It starts from the bottom ... but there has not yet ... it should be full and had to leave ... just has to wait another is coming!''. It's nice all this but it is already 4:00 p.m. ET we would not sleep here! Finally, Sylvie has asked people who boarded a minibus they were going or Antigua. These were people who came to volunteer and organizer whose they had reserved this vehicle. But we were invited to take up with them. That was enough time for that we settled. Indeed, we quickly remembered our first motto learned during our round the world: take it when it goes! The opportunity came and we took it ... An hour later, after having borrowed the mythical''Pan''(like hey, is this a sign ...?), we arrived in Antigua. This city classified by UNESCO is very popular with tourists. Guatemalan and foreign. Especially on Saturday. And we had Saturday! The minibus dropped us at an inn. We only had to find a room ...
The minibus we had laid before the inn''el gato negro''(black cat). The latter to bring bad luck, we are told that the place was full! We pointed''Kafka''a little farther down the street. In passing, we asked another inn on our way. Also complete. Certainly like most hostels in the city! But we do not sleep in the street c'était certain... Finalement, c'est au ''Kafka'' que nous avons trouvé 2 lits dans en dortoir. Sans négocier, nous y avons posé nos sacs. Retour un peu rapide dans le quotidien du backpacking, mais c'est tres bien comme ca. Au moins, nous avions un lit d'assuré pour la nuit!
Une fois installés, nous sommes allés prendre la température de cette petite ville au charme fou: rues pavées, murs colorés et entourée de volcans. Dans la rue se croisaient occidentaux et locaux venus passer la fin de semaine dans ce décor enchanteur. Pour nous, la soirée fut courte. Un peu de poulet au menu et en guise de dessert, une bonne nuit de sommeil.
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