2015 Guatemala Trip Day One - Arriving in Guatemala

I'm deeply unhappy with American Airlines.  After paying for "main cabin extra" seats with more legroom, they switched my flight and put me in what they call "preferred" seats.  In this case, that happened to be a window seat over the wing with standard legroom.  The seat is supposedly in a better location, but I get a window seat to see the view - not the plane wing.

UPDATE: American later credited the charge for my flight to Guatemala, but did the same with my seats home and after contacting them THREE times, I still have no refund.  Boo on American Airlines!

Arriving in Guatemala was a much different experience this time.  I already knew to expect a fairly modern airport, albeit small.  I again breezed through customs, despite hauling a large suitcase and several other bags with me, while people who looked much less likely to be hauling stuff into the country were selected.  Not sure if the voluntary declaration of gifts under the duty amount or me greeting them in Spanish helps . . . or if I just don't look like the smuggling type, but I haven't been selected for inspection in a single country I've traveled to yet.

I'll put in a quick good word for my suitcase.  When I check luggage, I have a Traveler's Choice Tasmania hardside case with 4-way spinners and I love it!  Better yet, it has been through 3 international trips now, with a connection on all of them, and it still looks new.  I'm very happy with the durability so far!

The large white shuttle from my hotel, the Barcelo Guatemala City was waiting for me as promised!  The driver spoke English and Spanish, so that would be helpful for those with no Spanish.  The airport staff will take your bag and haul it to the shuttle and then expect a tip.  The standard tip for this is $1 per bag (roughly 7.65 quetzales) or Q10, so it's a better deal to pay them in USD . . . or just hang onto your bag if you don't want to pay them for pushing it 10 feet.  The same is the average tip for your shuttle bus driver, which is paid when you arrive at the hotel.

I knew immediately when I stepped into the hotel, that despite the cost not being too much more than the bed & breakfast I stayed in (about $100 more for the week), that it was a LOT fancier.  The lobby had a piano bar in it for starters.

I quickly learned that the cheaper per-week rate was partly because they then charge you extra for EVERYTHING.  Want wi-fi for the week?  That will be $35.  Want to eat at the breakfast buffet?  If it isn't included in your room (apparently some people get a voucher), that will be $17.25 per day.  The business center charges for everything, including computer usage.

When I got to my room, it was lovely and as nicely appointed as anything in the US and came with a huge selection of toiletries.  

I also had a reasonably nice view of the city, both during the day and at night:

I was a little disappointed that the dinner buffet in the La Vista Restaurante had very few items that were Guatemalan and it was pretty spendy for Guatemala (~$22).  If you like staying in hotels where you feel like you never left home, the Barcelo is a great choice and you'll be surrounded by other Americans and Europeans.  If they offered more traditional dishes, like pepian or tamales, I'd like the hotel a lot more!

2015 Guatemala Trip - Getting Ready to Leave!

Well, I'm mostly packed!  After my trip was scheduled, I started slowly accumulating gifts for the kids and families that I would visit and I printed photo books from my last trip for each family.  For other preparations, no vaccinations were needed this time since I covered that last trip, but my doctor did prescribe new antibiotics in case I get sick in Guatemala.  I'm bringing my good camera (a Canon Rebel) this time because I felt comfortable with that after my first trip - we'll see if it attracts bad attention!

As far as what I'm bringing for myself, I largely wore loose long pants the first time I went to Guatemala, but women there largely wear dresses or skirts.  I'm a big fan of when in Rome, dress like the Romans (to paraphrase) because I believe it is both respectful of the culture and it also helps you avoid standing out.  I already stand out enough by being both tall (my fully grown 19 year olds there are 5'6" and 5'0" respectively - I'm 5'8") and pale skinned.

For currency exchange, I didn't use Wells Fargo this trip.  Although people do choose to exchange solely in country or to withdraw cash from ATMs, I always like to have some local currency on hand when I first arrive.  I used foreignmoney.com and was very satisfied with their service.  They called me to confirm my date of departure since it was an uncommon currency that would take longer to order - what great customer service to ensure the money would arrive before I left!  The currency came with a good mix of small and larger bills as well, although honestly the small bills are the most useful in Guatemala.  It can be difficult to break larger bills.

The final preparation piece I have to mention is that I doubt I'll ever fly American Airlines again.  With every other airline, when I book through them and have a flight on a code share partner, I'm either given a record locator for that airline or when I check-in with my original airline, it forwards me to complete the check-in.  Both times I've flown AA in the last 3 years, they couldn't check me in with a code share partner.  So, I have a record locator with AA and received an e-mail to check-in with them . . . I tried and their site says I have to check-in with Alaska Airlines.  Yet, AA gives me no ticket number or record locator that I can use to check-in with Alaska.  I called them and was told I need to call Alaska Air to obtain that information.  I also contacted AA both times and had their system hang up on me before I was actually able to reach someone.

My upgraded seats were also changed to not upgraded seats when they changed my flight times.  I contacted customer service and am hoping to get that fixed.

So, if you're planning a vacation in the near future, you may want to reconsider flying with American Airlines or at least make sure they aren't putting you on any code share flights!

Despite difficulties checking in, it appears that the Fuego volcano quit erupting and that my trip will be starting tomorrow as anticipated!  Stay tuned for reviews of various museums in Guatemala City, details of sponsor child visits and maybe a couple of extra hotel and restaurant reviews for others who may be considering a visit to Guatemala City!