Arriving in Guatemala

Leaving Australia and arriving in Los Angeles

My flight to from Brisbane to L.A was 11 hours but it felt like so much longer! I read a few trashy magazines (thanks Hayden + Sam) and watched an episode of the Big Bang Theory (thank you Kieran for getting me into that show!). I tried to sleep but I only snatched a couple of hours. 

The lack of sleep was mainly (a) due to the tiny plane seats (economy class you suck) and (b) because there was a baby right next to me who would just not stop crying. He literally cried for 80% of the flight. I feel sorry for his parents, I know he was probably sick or something and they were doing their best, but still, hmmphhh.

Anyway on a more positive note, I touched down in L.A at about 6am on the 9th Jan (which was super weird because I left Aus at 11am on the 9th..talk about time travel much). I didn't get my luggage for ages though!

I had to wait until midnight that night until my flight left for Guatemala, so I had the whole day to kill in L.A. I didn't want to lug my luggage (haha) around  with me so I googled a place for storage (thank you free airport wifi) and called a luggage company who came and stored it for me (expensive - $40 - but worth it).

The Day in L.A

So now I just had a backpack with my essentials in it, and feeling much lighter and free, I asked the security guards at the airport Starbucks which was the best place to go in LA. They recommended Venice Beach and told me the cheapest way would be to catch numerous buses. So I gathered my courage, went downstairs and caught the "G" bus (apparently I could catch either the G or C) to the interchange. Then I asked a whole heap of bus drivers there which was the way to Venice Beach, and they were all really helpful and directed me. I hopped on the second bus, and a nice fellow passenger helped me to get off at the right stop at Venice Boulevard.

I walked around there for a little bit and got completely lost! Eventually I found the bus stop for the third bus to take me to the beach. When I arrived I was a little disappointed - there wasn't much there, just heaps of stalls and a big skate park. The sand stretch of the beach itself was massive. To be fair, it was overcast and a little chilly, so not really beach weather which probably explains the lack of crowd.

After chilling on the beach for a bit (I lay on the sand and had a quick snooze) and kinda wandered around then managed to find my way back to the airport using buses (and of course I got lost a few more times!).

I got back to the airport around 3pm, and didn't want to have my luggage just yet, so I pretty much just found a random stretch of waiting seats and slept for like 4 hours straight. Then, feeling much more human, I called and got my bags back then had my first ever Burger King - in Aus it doesn't count because we call it Hungry Jacks..

Finally it was midnight, and I sat next to a lovely old Guatemalan lady on the plane. She was really nice and kept smiling at me and saying things that I assumed were nice but of course I didn't understand. In the middle of the flight, she got out this bun out of her bag and insisted I share it with her! It was really doughy and sweet tasting. 

After landing, I waited outside the airport for the Maximo Nivel (name of the volunteer organisation) guy to pick me up but he was heaps late! When we drove through Guatemala city, I was dead tired but managed to notice that all the powerlines are tangled up and there were like no safety precautions! Then I feel asleep, which turned out to be my plan for the rest of that day :-)