Bob LaGarde

A few thoughts on Business, Politics and Adventure

Guatemala – Huehuetenango to Casablanca

I’d just finished clawing my way out of yet another crowded, congested, and confusing Central American city, woven tight with a seemingly haphazard maze of narrow, bumpy, noisy streets where cars stopped, turned, parked, and passed with no discernable attention to any sort of procedure.  I had given up on camping long ago, so each day was planned around the goal of reaching some destination with a hotel by about 4 pm.  Today’s target was Escuintla, about 40 km inland from the Pacific coast of Guatemala and roughly 140 km from the El Salvador border.  I had decided to avoid Guatemala City and take a westerly route which would take me from Guatemala directly into El Salvador instead of crossing through Honduras first.

 

I was following the CA-1-Pan American highway down the western side of the south central slopes of the mountains headed toward Guatemala’s own San Cristobal.  From there the CA-1 turns due south, following a winding course across the western edge of the southern most part of the Sierra Madre mountains, offering what must be, some of most stunning, breath-taking views in the world.  My route will take me through another famous Central American city, Antiqua, around mid-day, unfortunately, too early for me to plan more than a brief excursion before heading on to Escuintla.

Slideshow of ruins in Old Antigua

 

I hated the thought of staying another night in busy, crowded city so after having gone back and forth through the Escuintla several times trying to find an ATM and stopping at the only clean looking identifiable hotel and finding it closed, I decided to take my chances and press on.  It was only 2 pm when I reached Escuintla, giving me at least another 2 hours to try to find a more suitable place for the night. A guard at the Citibank where I finally located an ATM gestured directions to me for the way out of town toward El Salvador so off I went.  I quickly found myself back on CA-2, now a narrow, gently rolling, peaceful two lane road.  There weren’t many cars or people along the way.  Nor was there the usual village after village crossing interrupting the rhythm of the road.  The highway was mostly straight, gently rising and falling across the Guatemalan lowlands.

Bob LaGarde - Road trip through Central America - Entering the rolling coastal plains of western Guatemala
The rolling coastal plains of western Guatemala
 
As I got further out of town I came across stretches of road lined with sugar cane fields ready to harvest with soft white plumes waving just high enough in the air to block my view, encasing me in the roadway ahead.
Bob LaGarde - Road trip through Central America - Sugar cane fields alongside highway CA-2 outside of Escuintla
Sugar cane fields alongside highway CA-2 outside of Escuintla

There were only two cities between Escuintla and the El Salvador border and both looked to be very small.  It would be fortunate if there happened to be a clean hotel to be found but I was starting to think it was more likely that this would be the first night I might actually camp on the road. The landscape looked inviting so I started thinking about how I might approach a landowner to ask if could camp on their property.  I’d decided that it wouldn’t be wise to take a chance and just camp randomly without permission.

Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, I a long white fence with clean, nicely laid out lettering sprung up in front of me announcing the presence of a “Hotel, Restaurant, and Piscina.”  There was a groundsman standing just outside the open gates, touching up the sparkling white paint.  I manage to slow down just enough to get a glance through the open gates where I spot a wide thatched roof covering a sprawling open patio set with tables and chairs.  I’m  jolted by the excitement of finding such an inviting looking oasis, far away from the city, out here in the quiet, coastal countryside.  I pull to the side of the road and slowly back up the empty highway until I can turn into the gate to properly check out this unexpectedly welcome discovery in the Guatemalan countryside.

Bob LaGarde - Road trip through Central America - De Don Juan Hotel, Restaurant and Piscina
De Don Juan Hotel, Restaurant, and Piscina

I rolled down the passenger side window as I pulled through the gate in case the grounds keeper tried to wave me off.  I’d adapted to moving cautiously as I explored this unfamiliar part of  the world. He continued obediently tending to his work, not even looking up, so I drove on through the gate and into the well maintained grassy grounds.  The grounds were clean and open, shaded by a comfortable mix of large old trees with white painted trunks with patches of grass and sandy soil below.  The large patio with a tall peaked thatch roof lay directly ahead. The patio was surrounded by a short stucco wall covered by lush green vines.  I noted that there was one car parked in front of the patio and another parked off to the side, suggesting to me that they were, in fact, open for business. As I pulled forward to park, I spotted a couple of Guatemalan girls working on the patio, setting up the tables and arranging the chairs, definitely looking as though they were preparing for guests.

 

I got out of the car, feeling myself becoming mesmerized by the atmosphere and drawn in with the anticipation of something good about to happen.  As I walk toward the entrance to the patio I  spot a long curving stone bar with a green tile top off to the side. Sitting in the middle of the bar is a young, attractive, sandy blonde haired woman dressed comfortably in slacks and a white oxford blouse.  I make my way forward, announcing myself with my now customary greeting. “no hablo Espanio,” followed with the question, “do you have a room?”  The woman gets up from her stool at the bar and walks toward me.  I’m quickly trying to process it all.  She had been sitting there at the bar with a well-groomed Latino man and between them was a small cut-glass bucket of ice, a pitcher, and a bottle of scotch accompanied by a plate of fresh cut limes.  As the woman approached, she announces, “yes, we do.”

 

Bob LaGarde - Road trip through Central America - View of mountains southwest of Huehuetenango
 
My little paradise in southwestern Guatemala has changed hands a few times over the years and the thatched roof of the patio and bar has been replaced by a faux tile roof. The bar is just under the root to the right of the walkway which leads to the pools and outside tables.
 

Next Up:  Part 3: Guatemala: A Girl and a Gun – New Years Eve at the Glacie’s Hotel

By: Bob LaGarde

Originally published December 30, 2010 at www.southboundrambler.com

Updated: May 1, 2016