Country #16 - Guatemala

I had a pretty early flight to Guatemala this morning. So early that breakfast was not yet being served, but thankfully the wonderful people at Nima Local House Hotel in Mexico City, Mexico packed me a nice little to-go breakfast. I cannot thank them enough for all of their hospitality at Nima!

The flight was about two hours and upon landing customs and immigration were both simple. My hotel in Guatemala City had a free shuttle and I met the driver outside. The drive into the city was interesting for sure, as the surroundings were definitely a mix of things. Many buildings were dilapidated and rundown but I also saw some newly built restaurants and malls.

I arrived at my hotel, the Grand Tikal Futura Hotel, and had to wait a few hours before checking in. It was a very rainy day in Guatemala (downpours not drizzles) so that only helped my decision to stay indoors. There are definitely safety concerns with Guatemala City, so I decided to stay in and explore. My hotel is pretty new and actually has a mall in the bottom where I spent most of my day. It was pretty much what you would expect, and the food court was almost entirely American brands. I walked around the mall for a little while before deciding to eat Taco Bell. Not ideal, I know. But at least it wasn’t McDonald's? My options were definitely limited, but I was able to get some churros and chocolate for desert so that was definitely a plus!

I felt very safe in the mall even though I was definitely an anomaly. Everyone was so nice, however, and no one even gave me a second look. After a few hours I went back up and checked into the hotel. I was given a high floor that had a really cool of a volcano. I had no idea at first because there were so many clouds, but once they cleared a bit it was so cool to realize I was so close to a volcano!

After my early morning it was no surprise that I fell asleep so quickly after going to my room. I did not anticipate, however, taking a four hour nap. I accidentally set my alarm for AM instead of PM, but I would much rather this mistake happen when I have nothing to do in a hotel than early in the morning when I have a flight to catch. I apparently really needed some sleep!

After I woke up I decided to order room service instead of exploring the food court again. I ordered a cheese pizza that was surprisingly really good! After a few hours of working and watching TV, I went to sleep for the night once again quite easily. While I wish I could have seen more of Guatemala, safety and the rain helped me make the decision to rest instead. It was actually pretty cool to just hang out in the mall and see locals going about their normal lives instead of the usual tourist destinations. Overall, it was a good day in Guatemala!

16 countries down, 180 to go.

Country #15 - Mexico

Exploring Beautiful Mexico City 

Last night I flew into Mexico City, Mexico where I made my way to my hotel for the day, Nima Local House Hotel. Upon arrival I was a bit confused because there is no sign on the door for the hotel, to help it blend into the neighborhood and beautiful building that it is in. I called in and someone came out to show me the correct door. I was mesmerized by the hotel when I walked in. It is so beautiful and such a well-designed hotel! I was greeted with a refreshing mint drink and shown my room on the top floor. You walk through a cool little outdoor walkway to get to it! The room itself was stunning. Automatic curtains are always a good sign! The design of the room was very nice and there was chocolate, snacks, and a welcome letter waiting for me in my room! I slept so incredibly well. The bed was amazing as were the pillows, which isn’t surprising as there was even a pillow menu! Thank you so much to Nima for sponsoring these two nights of my trip - I cannot say enough incredible things about my stay!

The next morning I had a very yummy breakfast of fruit, yogurt, and fresh scrambled eggs. I got to meet and talk with Carolina, who I had communicated with over email. She was so nice and so excited to talk about my trip! She then helped me with some advice and directions for my day, and I then set out to explore the city! I started at Museo Nacional de Antropología, and boy was it impressive. The museum has countless historic artifacts from all throughout Mexico’s history. You learn about the indigenous cultures and the history of the country and the different people who have lived in it. There is a lot of information on the Mayans, for instance. The museum is very well done, although it is massive, and has a really cool circular waterfall type structure in the center 

After spending a few hours learning a ton, I started to walk to go eat lunch. When I exited the building there was a cool ritual outside, where men were tied by their feet hanging from a giant pole and spinning around while chanting. It is definitely hard to describe, but there were tons of tourists out watching the spectacle! After watching for a few minutes I walked down the street, one of the main streets in the city, Paseo de la Reforma, to lunch. It is a gorgeous tree covered street that reminded me so much of Spain.

I ate at La N° 20 Polanco, solely because it was Mexican food and within walking distance to the museum. On their website, they had an English menu so it was definitely a bit of a surprise when my waiter kept going to get someone to translate even though I was just pointing to the menu. I had queso fundido, which is an extremely thick type of queso served with fresh tortillas. Queso, like we have at home, is nowhere to be found in Mexico, but I enjoyed the queso fundido. I also had cheese quesadillas which were really good as well! It seemed appropriate that during my meal a Mexican soccer match was on. The entire restaurant was so into the game it was great, and I got to hear the announcer yell “goaaaaal” which was pretty entertaining as well.

After lunch, I bought a ticket for the Hop-on Hop-off bus. I know, they are so touristy. But I’m a tourist with one day to see a major city so that’s what I did! They are honestly really helpful the first time you are in a big city to help you get acclimated and see what all you want to go back and see. The ride was pretty slow because Mexico City has pretty awful traffic, but it was okay because so many of the neighborhoods were so beautiful and again reminded me of Spain.

After about an hour and a half, I got off to see Catedral Metropolitana. It is beautiful and had an amazing golden altar. This is where I made a new friend! I asked someone to take my picture, and we soon got started talking. His name is Mutaz, he is the Dean of a Law school in Palestine, and he had just arrived in town for a conference on law and social justice. He had also come off of the bus and was headed next door to the Templo Mayor Museum as well. It was so interesting to talk with him and learn about Palestine and to talk about travel with him. He has been to fifty-four countries himself! 

The Templo Mayor Museum was really interesting because it is a site of historic ruins right in the heart of Mexico City, literally next door to the Cathedral! You can walk through them and also learn about them in the museum inside. After the ruins, I got back on the bus and Mutaz did as well. After another hour and a half of riding through and seeing the city, I ended up at a stop right next to my hotel. It was super convenient! I decided to get a burger at a cool restaurant right near Nima called We Love Burgers. My burger was great, and Mutaz joined me as well! It was great to learn so much about Palestine and what he does (he has worked for the UN and written books and research papers galore). It was so great randomly meeting someone who has had such cool experiences. He even invited me to speak to his students when I make it to Palestine!

After dinner, I walked around the block back to my hotel. It was a busy but incredible day, and I did not get to see nearly enough of Mexico City. There are so many museums I want to go back to and places I want to explore. I’ll just have to come back soon - and thankfully I can because it is so close! I loved Mexico City on its own, but it definitely did not hurt that it reminded me so much of Spain. Honestly, if you had dropped me in the middle of the city and asked me to guess where I was, I probably would have said Spain. The resemblance was uncanny at times, especially when comparing it to Madrid. 

This shouldn’t come as a surprise, I know - Mexico was originally conquered by the Spanish. But I honestly was not expecting to like Mexico as much as I did. I feel like we almost only ever hear bad things about our neighbor to the south, but I absolutely loved Mexico City. I felt completely safe the entire time. It felt so much like Madrid, or Barcelona, or even New York at times that I was truly shocked in a good way by how much I liked it. By the time I finished the first museum I had called my mom and told her to start planning a trip to Mexico City because she loved Spain so much. I am sure there are dangerous parts of Mexico, but I did not see them. I went to museums, saw churches, visited other tourist attractions, and saw as much of the city as I possibly could in one day. One thing that’s for sure is Mexico City is now at the top of my “to visit again soon” list. It is so close to home, and there is so much to see. Another bonus - right now the exchange rate is very favorable for the US Dollar! As recently as 2014 the exchange rate was 14:1 - it is now 18:1! For a major city, it felt like a bargain for sure. Thank you for a great day Mexico City, I’ll be back!

15 countries down, 181 to go.

To learn more about Nima Local House Hotel click here.

Country #6 – Suriname

91% Humidity

After my 4:30am arrival time I needed a good night’s sleep. I ended up sleeping until 1:00pm! Once I woke up I got ready for my day exploring Paramaribo, Suriname. As I stepped outside it began to pour so I had to turn around for a rain jacket. The humidity only got worse from there. At one point, it was 83 degrees outside but felt like 102 due to the 91% humidity. It was miserably hot! However, I ended a having a pretty cool day.

About a block from my hotel, Joah Inn, was my first stop. The Suriname City Mosque and Neveh Shalom Jewish Synagogue sit right next to each other along the main street in town. The two neighboring buildings have grown to show the religious tolerance present in Suriname and it was really interesting to see, especially because both buildings were so unique. From there I walked down a very crowded street and once again felt all eyes on me. Not in a malicious manner but more of a surprise. However, it was interesting because every time I met anyone they assumed I was from The Netherlands, as Suriname is a former Dutch colony! The main language is Dutch, although everyone speaks English as well.

I walked for a little while longer until I found a place to eat lunch. I was originally planning on going to JiJi’s, but unfortunately they were only open for dinner. I ended up eating at Bodega and it was great! I had a bacon and cheese omelet that they put on top of very buttery bread – so tasty. It started to rain again as I was leaving but this wasn’t the worst thing in the world as it made the streets a little less crowded. Also fun fact, weather radar does not work in this area of the world. I have no idea why, but in neither Guyana or Suriname could I get it to work and neither could my dad at home. Funny how the rain forest lacks radar!

Anyways, I then walked to see Fort Zeelandia. The museum was closed but it was still very cool to see. It was built in 1640. An interesting tidbit is that it was originally built by the British, and was actually traded to the Dutch for New York (what was then New Amsterdam). Who knew! So I guess we sort of have Suriname to thank for New York. It also has a tainted history that is important to mention as well. Political assassinations took place here in 1982 of fifteen men who disagreed with the military dictatorship. The political situation in Suriname is complicated to say the least, as the current President (and former dictator) was involved in the massacre. More than you probably needed to know but I found it interesting!

From the fort I then walked past the Presidential Palace and then past Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral. Both were super interesting with unique architecture . I have never seen a cathedral similar to this one, and I have seen quite a few!

I wanted to make sure I got home by dark so I called it a day pretty early on. While I felt safe walking during the day, I would not recommend walking by yourself at night. It is definitely a friendly city but there were very few tourists that I saw! In fact, I think I got the only other tourists in the city to take my picture at some point.

After going back to my room I attempted to go to sleep early because I had another painfully early morning. My cab for the airport leaves at 3:15am!

6 countries down, 190 to go.

To learn more about Joah Inn click here.

Country #5 – Guyana

Airport Day

What an uneventful mess today was. I woke up at 3:20am, having slept only two hours, to catch a ride back to the airport. Luckily, Jose was my driver again! We talked more about my trip during the ride. After we said goodbye I checked in for my flight and made my way to my terminal. After having security go through my entire bag for what seems like the hundredth time this week (I wish I knew what was setting it off) I made it to my gate. Unfortunately, my gate had an iPad playing ‘If you’re happy and you know it’ on repeat for a child who was not even watching. It was 5am so maybe not the best thing to do to win the favor of your fellow passengers. But alas, I boarded the flight and had a whole row to myself. Things were looking up.

Until arriving in Guyana, that is. Upon stepping foot outside of the departure hall there are (similar to Haiti but on a less extreme level) probably fifty men trying to give you a cab ride. However, I had decided not to go into Georgetown because from what I had researched there was not enough to see in the city to justify the over $50 round trip for a few hours. I wish I had seen it, but I’m still not feeling well from yesterday, it’s down pouring (I am in the rainforest, I guess), and it is too expensive.

I figured I would just sit in the airport and work – but boy was I wrong! There is nowhere to sit in the Guyana airport until after you check in. I arrived at 7:00am and my outgoing flight was at 10:45pm, so I needed to find somewhere to sit and work. My only option was a “restaurant” across the street. I ordered a pack of Pringles and orange juice in a can – as you can tell they had quite the selection.I decided to wait to eat real food until I got in the airport. The restaurant also had no wifi, so I was stuck using my phone’s sad 3G Guyanese service. I caught up on a lot of things that I needed to do, but not as much as I could have done with wifi. Oh well! I occupied my booth in the restaurant the entire day, and boy was it painfully slow.

After 12 hours in the restaurant, I made my way into the arrivals terminal. After about thirty minutes of waiting they began allowing check in. To go to Suriname, you have to have a Yellow Card proving that you have had the Yellow Fever Vaccine. This was my first time using my card on the trip! After going through security, you will not believe what I found – not a single restaurant or stand open! No food or drink anywhere in the terminal. My flight was then delayed until after midnight, which meant at this point I was going on two hours of sleep with nothing other than Pringles and a few protein bars.

The plane finally arrived and it was not what I was expecting. There were only about thirty people or so in our gate, but it was a giant plane. Turns out, it had flown in from Miami! It was almost entirely full before we even boarded. The flight took about forty minutes and I tried to sleep the entire time. Upon landing in Suriname U.S. citizens have to buy a tourist card, which is $35. After buying the card I went through border patrol easily, and then had to wait way too long for my bag. I then took a taxi service shuttle bus to my hotel for $10. Unfortunately, the city of Paramaribo is over an hour from its airport. I finally got to my room around 4:00am.

Thank goodness the room is nice! I am staying at Joah Inn, and after my day of small annoyances I could not be more excited than to stay in such a safe feeling place in the city-center of Paramaribo. Thank you to Joah Inn for sponsoring this night (and the next) of my trip! While today just seemed to be one thing after another, it wasn’t terrible. It was a necessary part of travel that I hopefully won’t have happen again too soon, but I am sure that it will. Next time I just hope there is food.

5 countries down, 191 to go.

For more information on Suriname click here to read my blog.

To learn more about Joah Inn click here.

Country #4 - Trinidad and Tobago

Sick Day #1

Today I woke up excited to explore Trinidad and Tobago but quickly realized that was not going to happen. I knew I would get sick on this trip multiple times, especially from all of the new foods that I am eating. Instead of exploring I was stuck in the room all day. I managed to eat a pack of Cheese-Its and work on plenty of things that needed to get done, but my day definitely did not go as planned to say the least.

I wanted to see the Royal Botanic Gardens, the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Maracas Bay, and Caroni Swamp National Park, but it just wasn’t going to happen. I still have so much ahead of me that I want to make sure I don’t burn out too quickly or get even more sick! After a few hours spent in bed at Monique's Guest House I had an interview with my local newspaper, The Tuscaloosa News, and a skype interview with them and my parents later in the day. I also did laundry for the first time on the trip. I used my Scrubba bag (shout out to Scrubba for the amazing product!) and it worked like a charm! I was definitely apprehensive doing laundry on my own using just a sink, but the Scrubba made it super easy – there are even instructions on the bag to help the laundry challenged. At least I had a productive sick day!

By dinner time I was starving and wanted to at least drive through the city. I found Buzo, an incredibly raved about restaurant that currently holds the top ranked spot on TripAdvisor. I felt up to it and called an uber. When I arrived I was seated with no wait and had the most incredible bread – it was steaming when it got to the table. I ordered the four cheese ravioli (I know, not great for someone with an upset stomach) but it was indescribably good. There was a hint of honey to it and breadcrumbs on top, both of which made it so unique and tasty. I unfortunately could only eat half, but I would honestly go back to Trinidad just for this meal. I definitely want to go back anyways because I feel like I missed out on seeing so much that the city had to offer.

After dinner I went back to my hotel and was able to watch the Nashville Predators game, as well as the Vanderbilt baseball game! Both seasons are coming to a close and it's been nice to have a little bit of home in the form of sports with me on the trip. So, it was a night filled with sports while I worked on planning future flights. I also ironed my laundry in an attempt to help it dry quicker - the humidity here is a killer. It was time consuming but eventually worked. I definitely wish my day had gone differently, but sometimes you just have to roll with what travel throws at you!

4 countries down, 192 to go.

To learn more about Monique's Guest House click here.