Gridlock in Huehue

Huehuetenango is a town of about 200,000 in the mountains of Guatemala. We got into the city at about 3 PM and right away got into trouble. Grid-lock. The town is very, very old with streets going in all directions that were designed for horses and humans. Gridlock must happen frequently for as soon as it became clear that all the traffic was locked up, people around us calmly abandoned their cars and went for a cup of coffee. So civilized!

After about an hour the block cleared (the army came in to clear the traffic) and we looked for the tourist office. The tourist helped us find a hotel that would take dogs. People in this part of the world see dogs as dirty, wild things that no one wants in their house. We had more problems with finding the hotel what with the wandering, one-way streets and the traffic. The hotel turned out to be a great place…rustic, built on the side of a very steep hill. Guests stayed in little houses cut into the hillside above the hotel reception and restaurant.

In the morning we tried to get out of town but found ourselves going around in circles. We asked a taxi driver for advice and he offered to lead us out. He got us so far and told us the rest was a snap (in Spanish of course). Lost again. We asked for help and a guy got on his motor bike and led us out. Great fun.

Huehue is one place we to which we would like to return. But we vowed never again to go into anything other than a town with one street. The great cities like Guatemala City, and Managua would swallow us up.

They are throwing me out of here...internet cafe...no time for photos.