Connected in the Third World!

Today we took it a little easy and drove from Guatemala City to Puerto Barrios after a good nights sleep in our hotel in Zone 10 of one of the largest and most confusing cities I have ever had the pleasure of visiting.

We were on the road at 8 a.m. and negotiated our way through the morning rush traffic, narrowly avoiding a number of motorcyclists who felt they were immortal weaving in and out of traffic to the sound of honking horns, and the odd finger gesture from frustrated motorists. Thank goodness we quickly found our route out of the city and were once again winding through the hills and mountain tops of rural Guatemala.

In both Mexico and Guatemala, Mic and I have both been astounded by the number of people from all walks of life who if not doing something, are glued to their phones, either chatting, texting or playing games. It was amazing today as we drove by a very large ranch and about 20' off the road, with no one else around for miles, there was a an older farm worker taking a break from tending the fields; texting on his smart phone. It is amazing the connectivity that has been achieved in these third world countries, yet in Canada there are many areas that still have yet to be connected. Just how does that happen?!? Get on it Canada.

After covering approximately 283 kilometres, we finally arrived at our destination in Puerto Barrios; the MarBrissa Hotel. It is an older resort type hotel which has a wonderful rustic charm, yet you can tell at one point the resort had been a rather posh and exclusive place to be.

Today's tip is about currency. Make sure that before you enter a country and get into its heartland, away from the borders where American or Canadian currency may be accepted, be sure to exchange your money so you are not left in a pinch. Although we did exchange our Mexican pesos at the border in Guatemala, we ended up being able to exchange a little more American money this morning at our hotel in the Guatemala City, but from what I understand, this is not common and the banks seem to be few and far between in Guatemala.

Tomorrow we will be heading into the final day of our journey as we head into Honduras. Last border crossing. Until tomorrow!

PS. Sorry, my internet connection is too slow to upload photos today. :)