Wednesday, 9/18. Travel to Guatemala City. Ho-hum. Impressive road over and around many mountains. No tunnels and few bridges. Emphasis was on simplicity of maintenance. No photos.

Trip Leader Richard pointed out that Guatemala, unlike most other Central America countries, has had a stable economy for decades. The closer we got to the City, the more prosperous everything looked. The City is night and day different from the countryside, though we only drove through the more modern sections. The City has zones. Some are very, very dangerous, others are the opposite.

I’ve been on this trip six days, three of which have been mostly travel.

Tuesday, 9/17. Hot, humid day. It was hard to focus. Fortunately our excellent guide kept finding shade. This is not the most famous Mayan ruin, but it’s one of the best preserved, though the early archeologists made several errors in the efforts to preserve it. One set of steps holds the third largest collection of hieroglyphics in the world.

After lunch I walked around the village. Nothing remarkable. The souvenir salesmen were very soft sell, which made the walk peaceful. Everyone seems friendly, but not overwhelmingly so.

Monday, 9/16. This was mostly a travel day. Left El Salvador, entered Guatemala, left Guatemala, entered Honduras. Customs was unremarkable. Arrived in Copan early enough to visit Macaw Maintain. Hundreds of macaws, mostly in cages. Some were out in the open. One flew over to me and, as is traditional, stole my food (a cookie).

We were told that the village of Copan (along Hondura’s western border) is the only place in Honduras that’s safe. It appears to be a typical small tourist village. Many small hotels/hostels. Shortly after check in we were treated to a violent afternoon thunderstorm, lasting about 15 minutes. Dinner was a delicious footlong burrito, of which I ate half.

Sunday 9/15. A walk around the city. Observed a small protest parade and was entertained when our Trip Leader got one participate to talk about their protest and a bystander decided to get involved. We saw the main parade but it was too crowded to get close. Marching bands, just like the states. But no horses.

After lunch we left town to visit the archaeological site Joya de Ceren. It’s just a small village notable for being buried under volcanic ash 1,400 years ago. Only discovered 50 years ago. Current technology, including organic DNA testing, has uncovered an impressive number of discoveries regarding the village’s makeup.

Friday/Saturday, 9/13&14. Arrived late because someone who check their bag didn’t board the plane. They had to find the bag. The nicest, most efficient customs agent I have ever encountered. San Salvador’s airport is new, pretty and appears underutilized. The airport parking lot is dirt. Mixed messages regarding the country’s condition. Long drive to the city. Oddly, all the many many many billboards are unlit. In the city pizza ads dominate. Roads are excellent. The driver appeared to speak no English, but he played Credence Clearwater Revival music.

On Saturday I took a Viator Tour to climb the tallest volcano in the country and have lunch beside a very large caldera formed lake. Not a good time. The climb was about 1,700 feet, ending at 7,200 feet. I bailed at the halfway mark of the climb because 1) it was too difficult for my fitness level and/or 2) the mountain was in the clouds. Since the point was to take photos, I didn’t see the reason to wipe myself out. I had a pleasant descent alone while the others continued.

Unfortunately, someone else did go all the way, then spent hours going down. Lunch was at 2PM. The restaurant was several hundred feet above the huge lake. Nice view, but not remarkable. Overall, the day was disappointing. Had shrimp mac and cheese resting on top of a small lobster tail. With the obligatory french fries. Excellent. Met my companions. Very talkative, as is the Trip Leader.

September, Friday the thirteenth. Not a good day to begin a new adventure.

In looking for a Central America trip, I was attracted to Costa Rica. But apparently so were everyone. This less popular tour is incredibly less expensive in comparison. El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize. Mostly Guatemala. I’m going for the birds, flowers, and people. Maya history is wrapped more in mystery than fact it seems. I’m not a fan of theoretical history. There are a lot of volcanos.

The notices from the State Department are alarmingly scary, but posts from travelers are much more encouraging. Indeed, both El Salvador and Guatemala have knocked back the danger substantially in the past year, which the State Department will catch up on in a decade or two. It’ll be interesting to see how things really are.

The group I’m going to be with is odd. Ten travelers, only one couple. 5 of each gender. The Trip Leader’s ancestors came from China.