Exploring the City (and a few nearby places)

Work has kept me quite busy in the three months that I've been here, but on the weekends I've gotten to explore a bit of Guatemala City, also called Guate or la Ciudad (the City) by the locals. I technically live in Villa Nueva, a municipality right outside Guate, but is still very close to the city (in fact, La Esperanza is closer to the edge of the City than it is to downtown Villa Nueva). Cenma (which is 10 minutes away) is the first stop (Centra Sur) of the Zone 12 line of the Transmetro, Guatemala City's public transportation system. The Transmetro is a bus rapid transit system (which is similar to the TransMilenio of Bogota, which in turn was modeled after Curitiba's, and interestingly, both of which I have experienced), in which the buses run on designated lanes, so it can even turn out to be faster than taking a taxi. It's also considered one of the safest ways to get around the city because the drivers don't carry any money, and there's a less likely chance of them being robbed or held up. You pay as you enter the station, and it's also cheap, with a ride being just 1Q ($0.15) no matter where you go! While the Transmetro doesn't go everywhere in the city, it goes most everywhere we need to get to. It goes to Zona 1 (downtown), to Trebol (a bus station to catch buses to destinations out of Guate), it goes near to Zona 4 (a nice, upcoming, and safe neighborhood), and near enough to Zona 9, 10, and 13, safe zones with attractions or restaurants. Riding the Transmetro is similar for me to the MRT and LRT back home in the Philippines with the long lines (especially during rush hour), the crowds, and the pushing. But commuting on the Transmetro is fairly simple, and it's made it easy for us to explore the city.

On my first Saturday here, Marlene and Jose (who had already been in the City for a couple of months), took Kandis and I to explore Zona 1 or downtown. We made our way to the Parque Central (Central Park) and I basked in the views of the city I would call home for the next ten months.

Parque Central

We hung around the park, learned a bit of history from Jose, checked out the church, and walked around downtown.

Exploring with the volunteers

Plaza outside the Central Market

We stopped by the Mercado Central (Central Market), a three floor underground market filled with an abundance of things. The first floor holds all the beautiful Guatemalan handicrafts and artisanal souvenirs, the second floor down is the food market with fresh produce and also small eateries and restaurants, and the last floor has miscellaneous items (like household goods, baskets, some woodwork, spices, toys, and the like). It was a fun adventure navigating our way through the market, checking out what's for sale, and marveling at the beautiful Guatemalan crafts.

Also, running down from the main plaza where the transmetro stops to Parque Central is la Sexta Avenida (Sixth Avenue), fondly called La Sexta. It's a pedestrian avenue, which on the weekends I've been is lined with street performers, street artists, shoe shiners, hair braiders, old men playing the marimba, and other random assortment of entertainers. We also once saw a reading station sponsored by the government.

On another weekend we headed past Parque Central to La Casa de Cervantes, which on that day was hosting a small artisanal bazaar. UPAVIM, the organization I work for, had a small booth so we dropped by to check it out.

UPAVIM Crafts

A couple of weekends the volunteers and I went to check out the Museo Popol Vuh (Q35), a small museum located in a private university in Zone 10. It hosts a collection of pre-Columbine artifacts and Mayan art. 

I prefer art to artifacts, but it was still quite the interesting museum. We brought along some kids from the community, and it was nice to see them enthralled by their history.

On another Saturday, I had plans to meet up with a friend in Zona 4. While waiting for her, I walked around a bit and saw the Centro Cívico, which is a group of government offices.

Centro Cívico

My friend then took me to an area in Zona 4 called Cuatro Grados Norte. We had lunch at a nice place called La Esquina, where I tried some traditional Guatemalan tacos.

It was such a cool area with a lot of restaurants, boutiques, and street art. We walked around a bit after lunch, and I also went back another day to explore some more.

I know a few people in Guatemala through an organization I'm active with, CISV, so weekends were also spent having lunch or coffee with them. Some of them I haven't spoken to in 10 years, so it was really lovely getting to catch up.

 

Aside from exploring Guate, I've also managed to get out of the city a few times. On my first Sunday, Natalie had just arrived and needed to go to Antigua to get her backpack. I volunteered to accompany her and it was off to Antigua. We took a chicken bus from Trébol (a chicken bus is what the public buses here are fondly called, and for which I am picture-less unfortunately); it cost us 10Q ($1.40) and took us a little under an hour and a half.

At Antigua we had a quick lunch before Natalie met up with her friend, then we got her backpack and walked around a bit. Truth be told, I wanted to stop and take pictures of everything because the city was so beautiful. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Antigua or La Antigua (the Old one), was once the capital of Guatemala, and is known for its preserved Spanish colonial style buildings. As much as I wanted to walk around and explore, I decided it was better off if I came back another day, so we headed home. I did make it back to Antigua with another friend last weekend (but that's a post for another day).

colorful buildings and cobblestone streets - a favorite

On another Saturday, us volunteers were invited to the pueblo of Seño Esperanza, our school's cook. We navigated our way on the transmetro to one of the bus terminals, and took a chicken bus then a collective van until we were in El Jocotillo. It was a simple and beautiful town in the countryside.

In the late afternoon we made the drive out to visit the warm natural springs. I didn't go for a swim (I was unprepared), but we did wade and explore the springs.

agua tibia

On our first month here, I also spent one weekend at the beach with the rest of the volunteers, the head of Refor (the tutoring center), some of her family, and some kids. I'll spare you the story of the chaotic weekend that it was (it went downhill from the day one), but it was nice to get out of the city and spend some time at the beach nevertheless.

Football at the beach

Lunch

It was a nice escape from the cold weather we had been having in the city as the beach was pleasant and warm. This was also my first encounter with granizadas.

I've definitely been enjoying the few places that I've visited in Guatemala, but I know there are many more beautiful places to see, and I can't wait to explore more of the country. :)