Next stop..Guatemala

It's been 9 months since I took what could fit in the bag on my back and got on a one way flight from Vietnam, where I ended my four month Southeast Asia trip, to San Diego, which I now call my home. I wish that I could go back and blog all the trials, tribulations, and more importantly fantastic times that I have had so far in San Diego, but now I have once again caught the travel bug and have an even more interesting subject for my entries; Guatemala. 

How I chose Guatemala is kind of an interesting story in itself. When I began my "planning" stage 2 weeks ago, I intended to go to India. All the stars were lining up in my favor. I could get the time off from work, my friends ,Anne and Dixie, who have been traveling for almost a year were going to be there, and my friend Xemina wanted to come. It was all perfect....then I saw the $1,100 plane ticket. 

Plan B...well, time to come up with a plan B. How to do that? I absolutely love kayak.com for these last minute plans. I just typed in country after country viewing the monthly rates on the side of the screen and came up with the 3 cheapest options; Honduras (already been), Belize (could be a bit more expensive to travel within especially since I will want to spend most of my time diving), and Guatemala (a country full of volcanos, Mayan ruins, and jungles). It was decided and my trip to Guatemala was booked!

From there I did what I do every time I leave the country; ignore everything and plan nothing until the day before (in this case I had a late flight so the day of) I leave. I think I do this because it saves me from getting nervous about the crazy, impulsive, yet amazing and life changing decisions I make. Man what one click of a computer key can do...

Now, after a crazy day of preparing and not quite preparing, I find myself awaiting the flight from LA to Guatemala. Although my nerves and excitement are somewhat high my subconscious is still ignoring  what is about to happen. Right now as I am writing I feel as though I could be just going home to Connecticut with the comfort of my family, not to a foreign county by myself. However, I know that the adrenaline will kick in as soon as I arrive and it will all become real, fun, adventurous, and frightening. It is so interesting how our bodies work when presented with each new and different situation. 

So, my plan so far. I arrive into Guatemala City around 7am. I don't really want to have much to do with Guatemala City itself so I am going to find a bus straight to Antigua, a quaint city surrounded by volcanos and  paved with cobblestone. I am pretty positive Antigua will be littered with hostels, one of which I will choose when I get there and take a nice long nap since I will only be getting four hours of plane sleep tonight. 

And with that I am off. Next stop Guatemala City. Buenos noches. Escribire pronto. 

:)