Guatemala City

First of all, let me tell you where Guatemala is... Guatemala is right below Mexico, the Pacific Ocean to the west, Belize and the Caribbean Sea to the east, Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. The weather is pretty much steady, there are only two seasons, dry and rainy but either one is pleasant so we call Guatemala the land of eternal spring. The best time to travel is in the dry season that is from October to around May. The temperature is about 77°F in the low lands and jungles and about 55°F in the highlands. The whole country is roughly the size of Tennessee and there is only one major city, Guatemala City, so almost all international flights come here, the airport code is GUA. Guatemala City is a metropolis on its own, you can get almost anything you want, MacDonald's even delivers to your door but like many big city it has its risks so while there stay in the upper scale and touristy areas. The City has a great variety of hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and car rental options. When you fly in from out of the country you can spend a few days here. The center of the city has some really old and beautiful buildings. There is a place called 4° North. This is a pedestrian only part of town that used to be industrial warehouses, now rebuilt and promoted so now you can find cafes with sidewalk tables, live music, all kinds of foods and art all in one plus some of the best night clubs. There is some thing going on all the time.Then you have what we call the "Zona Viva", the live zone. Here is where some of the nicest hotels and restaurants are. This is one of the safest areas of the city. In the city also is the Mayan city of Kaminaljuyu.

We Guatemalans call ourselves "chapines" and this applies to any one from the country but more specifically to some one from Guatemala City. I don't know why so if there is any one there that has a good answer to this please let me know.


This is a link to a view of Guatemala City
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4OS7anYD44