Our flights went off without a hitch, and we arrived in Guatemala's La Aurora airport on time, at 1pm local. Bobby forgot if our car reservation was with Budget or Hertz, so a helpful Budget handler matched the deal I got online (probably from Hertz after all) and we snagged ourselves a nice Nissan sedan. After careful study of the promotional map - which shows every TiGo cell phone tower in the city, but is short on other details, we found that the Holiday Inn was just six short blocks away. The first block went OK, but as we tried to proceed to the next block, some dude two lanes to our left swung clear across traffic and forced us to make a right turn onto a major midtown artery. Bobby thinks it was Avenida La Reforma. The Guatemala City traffic grid is based on the assumption that no one will ever have to turn left, so we proceeded for several miles back towards the airport in an attempt to find a spot to turn. All the while, little white microbuses were cutting us off from all directions until Bobby found the right balance between survival and assertiveness. He is feeling pretty good about not getting any nicks on the Nissan. Audrey did a masterful job with the map, picking up our position no matter what wrong turns were taken. We finally pulled into the Holiday Inn, weeping bitter tears.
Holiday Inn charges for Internet access, so this won't be uploaded until later. On the plus side, we're way up on the 16th floor with a great view of Zona 9 and the Agua volcano, and our room is just what we needed. Audrey is going to sleep forever (not an airplane sleeper) and Bobby is going to get the real map that Mom and Dad gave him but he didn't use because he doesn't know what's best for him.
Above: The view from our balcony. Agua volcano obscured by clouds.
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