Puerto Quetzel, Guatemala

It was 32 today and sunny with no breeze. We had the option of taking an $140 USD excursion to the colonial heritage city of Antigua but JS had already been there over 40 years ago so we decided to stay near the port for free. This time we docked at the cargo port, the largest in Central America. We saw huge shipping containers stacked several high with the words Chiquita or Del Monte emblazoned on the side. There were also several large, metal grain storage sheds and huge piles of imported coal.

To get to the main tourist port we took a free shuttle bus, a rickety old school bus, about 10 km up the coast. JS headed straight to the wifi restaurant and bought 2 locally brewed Gallo beer for $4 each, which allowed us each 1 hour internet time. I asked why my internet time didn’t at least come with a Coke, instead of him getting 2 beers and just got a shrug in response! “Oink, oink”, I replied.

The tourist market was fairly large with each stall owner anxious to make a sale. I wandered around once before deciding on my 2 small purchases. There was a lot of pressure to buy and the price dropped considerably but I either didn’t need, want or have space in my luggage for anything else. I did feel for them though because there is a lot of poverty in Guatemala. I was told by someone who did the trip to Antigua that there were a lot of “beggars with no limbs” and a lot of “guards armed with machine guns”.

It was now 3 o’clock and JS was getting grumpy with hunger so we headed back to the ship. A late lunch, naps and working off some of those calories doing laps around the ship (3.5 laps = 1.6 km) has been our usual afternoon routine. I know....it’s a tough life! Holland America used to be the only ship that had a veranda deck that went completely around the ship unobstructed. Our stateroom is located on this deck so it is very convenient for walks and lounge chairs.Read more