Guatemala
Trackchasing Country #44 Greetings from places on the way to and from Alotenango, Guatemala. Click on the links above to read about the advanced prep, touring and racing segments from this fun trip to the Central American country…Guatemala, home to my trackchasing country #44. PRE-TRIP – “GETTING READY FOR GUATEMALA” TRACKCHASING TOUR Greetings from the United States Everything written in the “Advance Preparation” section of this Trackchaser Report was reported before I ever landed in Guatemala. In order for a trip like this to be successful a good deal of advance preparation must be done. That planning takes place at the world headquarters of RLR – Randy Lewis Racing in San Clemente, California. However, to be honest I really didn’t put that much effort into this trip. Don’t miss my day one report in Guatemala following the “Advance Preparation” piece. The driving force behind this trip was Mr. Gabriel Lopez. Without his help this trip would have fallen far short of the mark. Also if you’d like to learn a little more about Guatemala the country check out the “background” information I prepared for you. It appears at the bottom of this report. I have condensed this section so you can get a good “feel” for this Central American country. I was not the first trackchaser to visit Guatemala. A few years ago, trackchasing’s unofficial commissioner, Will White, came here. Will always approaches his trips a bit differently than I do. TODAY’S HEADLINES Wow! An international trackchasing hotel sponsorship. …………..details in “Overnight Accommodations”. Secret international trackchasing agents rule!………………..more in “Advance preparation”. This will be trackchasing country #44. That’s special …………..details in “The Summary”. ADVANCE PREPARATION Am I running out of trackchasing countries? Coming into this trip, I have trackchased in 43 countries. Various trackchasers, including me, have pursued the hobby in 60 different countries. I was thinking that no other chaser had ever come to Guatemala to pursue the hobby. I was wrong. Will White came here back in 2004. Secret international agents rule! I am “tuned in” to the international racing scene via “agents” across the world. I think it’s safe to say I have more helpers stashed in every corner of this world than any other trackchaser. One of the very best of those agents is Rengar Infante. I first met Rengar in Costa Rica. He and I communicate from time to time regarding potential international forays. It was Rengar who put me in touch with Gabriel Lopez of Guatemala for this trip. I have Rengar to thank for this visit. Gabriel joins a long list of “international friends” who have helped me along my journey. I really can’t thank them enough. Great cooperation from Guatemala! Just about every country I visit speaks a language that is foreign to me. That makes it not only difficult to speak the language but to read it as well. That means that websites, printed in a foreign language, are not of much use when it’s time to plan a trip. The official language of Guatemala is Spanish I do have a great resource for gathering travel information on a country I’m about to visit. I’m a big fan of the forums provided by tripadvisor.com. There I can read about others’ experiences in the countries I want to visit. I can even ask my own questions about an upcoming trip and get answers quickly. However, there is no substitute for “on the ground support”. That support in Guatemala came from Mr. Gabriel Lopez. He patiently answered all of my questions in advance of my arrival……in perfect English no less. Gabriel runs an ad agency and PR firm. One of his clients is the Autodromo Pedro Cofino, this weekend’s racetrack. Gabriel worked hard to get the trackchasing hobby the much-deserved press it rarely gets. Why Guatemala? I picked Guatemala for several reasons. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Rengar had such good contacts here. I liked the idea that my “sponsoring airlines” had non-stop flights to Guatemala City from both Atlanta and Los Angeles. Finally, I was interested in adding another North American country to my list. Even though Guatemala is in Central America, Central America is on the North American continent! With the addition of Guatemala, my North American continent list looks like this: Barbados Canada Costa Rica Dominican Republic Guatemala Jamaica Mexico United States THE RACE There must be a race. No international trackchasing trip can be successful without a race. Of course, I have many foreign websites that advise me on upcoming races in places where I have never trackchased. I have also developed an extensive network of “international” contacts. These folks love to help out when they can. It’s exactly what I would do for them if they were coming to the United States. To tell you the truth I knew very little about this race. I didn’t even know, for sure, what the name of the racetrack was or where it was located before I boarded my flight in Atlanta. I came all this way on the word of two Central American men, Rengar Infante and Gabriel Lopez. They told me there would be a race on Sunday, August 15. That was good enough for me. We would work out the race details later. I had my bags packed (but not checked) for Guatemala. THE VISA Just your passport, please. That’s right. All I needed to do was show up with a valid U.S. passport and getting into Guatemala would be easy. No visa required. THE TRANSPORTATION Minnesota to Georgia to Guatemala? Makes sense to me. This was an unusual trip. Rarely do I tie in domestic (U.S. based) tracks with a foreign track visit. However, I didn’t want just “one” country wiping out my entire trackchasing weekend. That’s why I scheduled races in Minnesota and Georgia on Thursday and Friday respectively. When trackchasing historians look back on this trip they will likely scratch their heads. “He went from California to Minnesota to Georgia to Guatemala and back to California?” one will ask the other. “That’s what this time capsule says. Maybe there’s a typo” his partner will respond. The airline planning for this trip was simple. It wasn’t like getting to Europe and back two weeks ago. On that trip I have more than ten cities that I could begin the trip from in the U.S. and ten that could get me back from Europe. Guatemala was much more straightforward. There was one way in (once I arrived in the east) and just two ways back. I hope I can get back on time. Carol will be waiting for me so she can begin her next big trip. No checked baggage….that’s for wusses. I will be overnight for six nights on this trip. I will not check any bags. When one flies on a standby basis there are just too many downsides to having a checked bag. I’ve become a very efficient packer and never run out of clean clothes. TIME ZONES What time is it? Guatemala is in the Central time zone. However, they don’t appear to be on Central Daylight Savings Time. That surprised me somewhat. Actually the country is located pretty much due south of Mississippi! The Guatemala City airport is some 1,370 miles from Atlanta and 2,190 from Los Angeles. I’m closer to Guatemala City from my sleepy seaside village of San Clemente that I am too New York City. CURRENCY What do you mean you don’t take dollars! I really haven’t put much planning effort behind this trip. I only checked the U.S. currency rate against the Guatemalan Quetzal (above) at the Atlanta airport just before my plane departed. It looks like one U.S. dollar will buy 7-8 Quetzals. I plan on using credit cards wherever I can. When I land in Guatemala I will exchange a few dollars for Quetzals to use as petty cash. WEATHER I don’t care if it rains. My Apple iPhone weather “app” tells me the rain probability for this part of Guatemala will be 60% every day for the next ten days. Unlike the pansies who administrate and compete in American racing, wet weather does not deter foreign (to me) racers. They don’t cancel for rain. It is with this in mind that I venture into what is expected to be rain everyday. As long as they don’t cancel the race, I don’t care for a little bit of precipitation. OVERNIGHT ACCOMMODATIONS The first-ever international trackchasing hotel sponsorship. Wow! I struck gold here. For the first time ever I received a hotel sponsorship from the racetrack I was visiting. Can you believe it? Trackchasing, the hobby, is finally receiving the international recognition it deserves! I had been in contact with Gabriel Lopez regarding accommodations. I needed a recommendation on where to stay. I needed a safe location and a place that wasn’t too far from the racetrack. I had a couple of hotels that looked like they might fit the bill and asked for Gabriel’s opinion. He came back to me and asked me to wait a day or two. Gabriel figured he might have a “treat” for me. He sure did. Gabriel made arrangements for me to stay in the luxurious Porta Hotel Antigua. My rate would be just a fraction of the going price. I mean a fraction! Based upon the website photos this might just turn out to be a highlight of the entire trip. More on the Porta Hotel later. THE RENTAL CAR Oh my! After an attempted rip-off with my rental car in Latvia, I was a little bit leery of my next foreign rental. I would be renting from Dollar Rental Car this time. Rental cars in foreign countries can be very expensive. However, the rate for my car (above on the left) on this trip was just $43. No, not $43 per day, but $43 for THREE days. Wow! NAVIGATION Garth, my loyal and ardent GPS buddy doesn’t “do Guatemala”. I sure hope I can rent a GPS unit when I get to Guatemala City. Again, you won’t find a paper map anywhere near me when I travel. THE TRAVELING COMPANION You’ve all heard about the guy who killed the goose who laid the golden egg. It was with that in mind that I didn’t pursue Carol’s presence on this trip. She’s already been to Malta, Morocco, Brazil, Estonia and Latvia this year. Folks, those are both unusual and faraway places. Carol (above racing in New Zealand) deserved a travel break. I will tell you this. She’s not done with her international trackchasing travel for 2010 just yet. THE SUMMARY During the first seven months of 2010 my travel schedule has been daunting. I’ve made trips to Malta, Canada, Finland, Japan, Chile, Morocco, Brazil, Estonia and Latvia. That’s a pretty eclectic group of countries. I’ll bet I’m your only friend who has ever visited each of those countries. I hope so! In addition to that I was rained out of my 25th U.S. trackchasing state for 2010 last night in Georgia. I’m trying to be an “active senior”. This trip is more than special. I will be trackchasing in my 44th-lifetime country. No one has ever trackchased in more. Five years ago, I never would have imagined this. The Trip Editor’s note: Remember this trip started last Wednesday in Minnesota. From there I continued on to Georgia. Therefore, Guatemala would be days 4-7 of this unusual adventure. Day 4 – Saturday It was a simple plane ride to Guatemala City. This morning was a semi-leisurely wakeup call at the Westin Hotel in Atlanta. My flight from ATL to Guatemala City, Guatemala (GUA) didn’t leave until 9:50 a.m. Of course, I was flying standby to Guatemala. It’s the only way to go. There were eight open seats and I was fifth on the standby list when I left the hotel. Things like that can change but this morning they didn’t. I made the flight. To top it off I was given a business class seat for the three-hour flight. With such good fortune I was already beginning to forget last night’s rainout in Whitesburg, Georgia. There was nothing too remarkable about my airplane ride. They did serve a very good meal on board of beef fillet. Of course, up in business class all of the alcoholic drinks are free. I never have more than one. Rainy weather is the ticket in Guatemala. We landed in a driving rainstorm. Rain is predicted during the entire trip. I didn’t dress for rainy weather. I have a broad-brimmed golf hat (http://www.tilley.com/). Other than that I’ll just get wet. Customs and currency. Clearing customs took 30 seconds. Over the years this aspect of foreign travel has really improved. I quickly exchanged $40 U.S. for 280 Guatemalan Quetzal. That should give me enough local currency to pay for things on the street. Not much better than the Ugly Duckling Rental Car Company? Next up I needed to get my rental car. I was renting the least expensive car that the Dollar Rental Car Company offered. If I got lucky they would upgrade me to a better car. I don’t expect to be driving very far. There were some ten rental car companies with booths at the airport. Wouldn’t you know it? Dollar wasn’t one of them. I saw shades of Latvia and our exciting rental car experience happening again. The woman at the information desk told me to “Just walk outside. You’ll see somebody from Dollar”. That seemed like suspect advice but I went with it. Outside the modern airport there was a crowd of people either waiting to meet family and friends or selling a service such as a taxi ride. Just as the woman had told me I quickly ran into a fellow wearing a “Dollar Rental Car” golf shirt. He didn’t speak much English but assured me my ride to their off-site location would be here in two minutes. About 15 minutes later a guy drove up in an older somewhat dilapidated and dirty small car. I hopped in and away we went. I am comfortable with strangers. It was a good 10-15 minute drive to the Dollar location from the airport. I had two fears. First, that the traffic that darted in/out and around us would kill us! Secondly, if I survived this wild ride, how would I ever find the Dollar location when I had to return my car. The rental car manager was the best. When we arrived the manager came up to say hello and shake my hand. From that point forward, he made my rental experience so pleasurable (compared to the Latvia fiasco) that I didn’t even feel insulted when he told me that “liability insurance in Guatemala is mandatory”. That would be an extra $7 per day. However, I was renting the car for just $13 per day ($43 U.S. including taxes for three days) so I couldn’t complain. I confirmed that they also had GPS units to rent. Yes they did, even my brand, Garmin. Thank goodness. The “special rate” for the GPS was just $6 per day. I would have paid ten times that much to have the support of GPS. I challenge any trackchaser living to fly into Guatemala City, stay up in Antigua, go to the race track and then return to the airport without the benefit of GPS. Give it a try. We’ll see you next spring!! What do you expect for 13 bucks a day? I thought the car that took me to the rental car office from the airport was in bad shape. The car I was going to get wasn’t much better. It had a four-speed manual transmission. I don’t mind that a bit. However, there was no air-conditioning, no power steering, no radio, no power windows or door locks. It did have floor mats but they were worn almost completely through. This might have been the worst rental car since the time I tried to rent through the “Ugly Duckling Rental Car Company”. Guatemalans rock! Nevertheless, the manager made sure everything was working. At my request they even checked the air pressure in the tire that looked low to me. My riding lawnmower back in Chicago had bigger tires! The car came with a gas tank that was ¾-full. I asked them to give me a full tank. The manager assured me he would credit my bill if I came back with the tank at full. That seemed fair. I will say this. The manager at the Dollar Rental Cary Company was an omen of sorts. He was so nice, pleasant and laid back. Every one I met in Guatemala was like that. This group of natives impressed me very much. Now I had to earn my stripes. Now it was time for the “rubber to meet the road” so to speak. I was heading out into Guatemala City traffic. This would be an experience. Although it was Saturday in the early afternoon, the traffic reminded me of driving through Boston at rush hour. With no air-conditioning, hot and humid weather conditions and truck after truck spewing out diesel exhaust my lungs took a beating. For nearly the next hour I crawled along at speeds of 5-15 M.P.H. I had been told that due to the volcanic explosion on May 27, 2010, that the ash fallout had closed many roads. Since we were in the city I didn’t expect to see any of that. He didn’t need no stinkin’ green barrels. My GPS unit was calling for me to “exit right” onto a stalled freeway. I looked up to see the exit was blocked off with several green barrels (I guess Ohio bought all the orange ones). Not being able to make that exit was going to cause problems. However, there was one car ahead of me. The driver stopped, got out, and moved the barrels and drove right through. I figured if he could do it I could too….and did. I was already preparing my excuse if the local police wanted to stop me. Yes, a riot! The drive up to the quaint little town of Antigua was a riot. I’ve driven in some unusual conditions but this one was exciting. Guatemala has a unique bus system. If you want a ride you simply stand alongside the road (anywhere!) and wave your hand. That will prompt a bus driver commanding a 60-70 passenger sized school bus shaped vehicle to come across four lanes of traffic in the space of 100 yards to pick up just one passenger!! When I came across a series of cobblestoned roads that threatened to jar out the excellent crown work that Dr. Lamming has done over the years, I knew I was in Antigua. I’ll be staying here for three nights. This was going to be fun. It took some doing but I finally found the Porta Hotel Antigua. It seemed the GPS wanted me to turn down some one-way roads going the opposite way. It was 2:30 p.m. and they wouldn’t let me check in until three o’clock. Not a problem. I was hungry. My first meal in Guatemala. I sauntered out by the hotel pool and ordered lunch from there. The weather is warm and humid. It rains off and on continuously. This is not my favorite type of weather but at least it was not scorching hot. High temperatures were only in the mid to high 70s. The front desk was nice enough to place a call to Gabriel for me. He lives in Guatemala City. Before I arrived I had invited him to join me for dinner upon my arrival. My phone conversation confirmed that he, and his girlfriend Sylvia would come to Antigua for dinner tonight. Would you do this? Let me run this past you. How comfortable would you be in meeting up with a semi-total stranger from a foreign country after only communicating over email? I’ve done this several times. I’ve met people at their houses, in restaurants and at the racetrack. More than once they’ve ended up taking as much as a day out of their schedules just to show Carol and me their country. I think just about every person on these international trips could meet the “NIMS” people requirement. Not everyone but 99%! What a hotel room! When I travel I stay in some bad hotels and some good ones. Let me tell you about these trip accommodations at the Hotel Porta. My room was beyond belief. I wasn’t sure what to expect and this was better than anything I could have expected! First, the room was large. It must have been some 35’ by 20’ feet or so. The ceilings were nearly 20’ tall with exposed beams in dark wood. The floor was made from antique raised stone. My room even had a huge fireplace. This hotel and rooms like this are expensive. I’d tell you what I’d paid after Gabriel “did his magic” but that wouldn’t be good “guest behavior”. Let’s just say that with the savings I received I’ll be able to stay out on the trackchasing road just a little bit longer! It was time to have dinner with the locals. At 8 p.m. Gabriel and Sylvia met me in the lobby of the Porta Hotel. Both of them had “movie star” good looks. They were each closer to 30 years of age that I am by a lot! We hopped in Gabriel’s Peugeot and drove a few blocks into the center of Antigua. Antigua is unique and upscale. Think of it as Guatemala’s Newport Beach, Scottsdale, Georgetown or Chicago’s north side. They have American fast-food restaurants but their logos fit the décor of the Baroque architecture. Many buildings are what would be considered “ruins”. I love everything about the place except the cobblestone streets. They are horrendous to drive on and equally bad to walk on. The area of cobblestone streets must cover ten or more square blocks. Where should we eat? Gabriel had asked me what type of place I’d like to eat in tonight. I simply told him, “let’s go somewhere unusual”. He picked a perfect spot. When we arrived a special dance ceremony was going on. The performers all wore masks and dark outfits. They used bullwhips as part of the show and then invited customers to join in toward the end of their performance. You’ll see some of these sights and sounds and much more in the YouTube movie from this trip. Don’t miss it. Gabriel, Sylvia and I sat down to enjoy our dinner. It was helpful to have Gabriel reading the Spanish language menu. Fortunately, there were some English “sub-titles” included. He and I both went with a “shrimp kabob”. This entrée had huge pieces of shrimp, mushrooms and red peppers on a 12” scour. We all enjoyed each other’s conversation. Sylvia is trained as a nutritionist. Gabriel received his college degree in Industrial Engineering. Now Gabriel works in marketing and Sylvia is in the travel business!! We couldn’t pass up the desserts before taking a leisurely stroll around the area. I thought it was great that folks of this age would spend an evening with someone of my “experience”. Yes, I’m talking about youngsters dining with oldsters. I think they were just curious about anybody crazy enough to do what I do. We had a plan for tomorrow’s race. Once back at the hotel I bade Sylvia farewell. She’s not a big race fan and won’t be at the race tomorrow. Most women are not huge race fans. Nevertheless, I very much enjoyed meeting her. Gabriel and I agreed to meet at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. We’ll head out in separate cars to the racetrack then. So far this trip is going very well. To be continued…………………. Thanks for reading about my trackchasing, Randy Lewis World’s #1 Trackchaser Guatemalan saying: Everyone is the age of their heart. “GUATEMALA – COUNTRY #44” TRACKCHASING TOUR MOVIE TIME!! I’m trying to give you the experience of “being there” on these trackchasing trips. However, my movies are still in a very rudimentary form. Maybe they will never get out of that stage! I took this movie, and all of the movies on this trip, with my cell phone. Sometimes it’s hard to drive a stick shift car in a foreign country with a Diet Coke in one hand, a still camera in the other and a cell phone video camera in the other hand. Wait! How many hands is that? Nevertheless, if you agree that “something is better than nothing” you might like what I have for you. Currently, I’m providing my photos via YouTube AND Picasa (changed to SmugMug in 2020). YouTube allows you to just sit back and watch. Picasa might offer better photo quality but be a little more work to view. Several people have weighed in with their opinions on which format they like best. At this point, I would say YouTube is winning. I probably won’t keep both formats in the future. If you feel strongly one way or the other please send me an email and let me know what you think. GUATEMALA! Greetings from Antigua, Guatemala, THE COUNTRY LIST #44!! RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Lifetime Trackchasing Countries # 1 – UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – Peoria Speedway – Mt. Hawley (oval) – Track #1, Peoria, Illinois – circa 1955 # 2 – CANADA – Cayuga Speedway (oval) – Track #174, Nelles Corner, Ontario – 1988 # 3 – AUSTRALIA – Parramatta City Raceway (oval) – Track #180, Granville, New South Wales – 1989 # 4 – UNITED KINGDOM – Northhampton International Raceway (oval) – Track #378, Northhampton – 1999 # 5 – NETHERLANDS – Driesum Racetrack (oval) – Track #839, Driesum – 2005 # 6 – BELGIUM – Bellekouter oval (oval) – Track #841, Affligem – 2005 # 7 – FRANCE – Circuit de Croix en Ternois (road course) – Track #843, Saint-Pol sur-Ternoise – 2005 # 8 – GERMANY – Nurburgring (road course) – Track #844, Nurburg – 2005 # 9 – NEW ZEALAND – Western Springs Speedway (oval) – Track #1,134, Western Springs – 2006 # 10 – MEXICO – Triovalo Bernardo Obregon (oval) – Track #1,281, Tiajamulco de Zuniga, Jalisco – 2007 # 11 – BARBADOS – Bushy Park Racing Circuit (road course) – Track #1,296, Bushy Park – 2007 # 12 – THAILAND – Bira Circuit (road course) – Track #1,300, Pattaya – 2008 # 13 – SOUTH AFRICA – Durban Grand Prix (road course) – Track #1,315, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal – 2008 # 14 – JAMAICA – Dover Raceway (road course) – Track #1,322, Brown’s Town St. Ann – 2008 # 15 – SWEDEN – Sturup Raceway (road course) – Track #1,335, Malmo – 2008 # 16 – DENMARK – Ring Djursland (road course) – Track #1,336, Tirstrup – 2008 # 17 – CZECH REPUBLIC – Automotodrome BRNO (road course) – Track #1,381, Brno – 2008 # 18 – AUSTRIA – Lambrechten Stock Car Track (road course) – Track #1,382, Lambrechten – 2008 # 19 – IRELAND – Tipperary International Raceway (oval) – Track #1,388, Rosegreen – 2008 # 20 – GUYANA – South Dakota Circuit (road course) – Track #1,390, Timehri – 2008 # 21 – CHINA – The Guia Circuit (road course) – Track #1,392, Macau – 2008 # 22 – COSTA RICA – Autodromo La Guacima (road course) – Track #1,398, La Guacima – 2008 # 23 – ANDORRA – Grandvalira Circuit (road course) – Track #1,404, Port d’Envalira – 2009 # 24 – ARGENTINA – Circuito Efren Chemolli (oval) – Track #1,406, Buenos Aires – 2009 # 25 – QATAR – Losail International Circuit (road course) – Track #1,408, Doha – 2009 # 26 – BAHRAIN – Bahrain International Circuit (road course) – Track #1,410, Sakhir – 2009 # 27 – UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Dubai Autodrome (road course) – Track #1,411, Dubai – 2009 # 28 – COLOMBIA – Autodromo de Tocancipa (road course) – Track #1,415, Tocancipa – 2009 # 29 – SPAIN – Motorland Aragon (road course) – Track #1,416, Alcaniz – 2009 # 30 – PORTUGAL – Circuto de Murca (road course) – Track #1,417, Murca – 2009 # 31 – ICELAND – Kapelluhraum (road course) – Track #1,420, Hafnafjorour – 2009 # 32 – HUNGARY – Hungaroring (road course) – Track #1,426, Mogyorod – 2009 # 33 – SWITZERLAND – Hock Ybrig (road course) – Track #1,427, Hoch Ybrig – 2009 # 34 – ITALY – Vighizzolo d’Este Stock Car Track (road course) – Track #1,428, Vighizzolo d’Este – 2009 # 35 – DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – Autodromo Mobil 1 (road course) – Track #1,515, Santo Domingo – 2009 # 36 – MALTA – Ta’Qali Race Track (road course) – Track #1,521, Ta’Qali – 2010 # 37 – FINLAND – Lake Pidisjarvi Ice Track (road course) – Track #1,524, Nivala – 2010 # 38 – JAPAN – Suzuka Circuit (road course) – Track #1,530, Suzuka – 2010 # 39 – CHILE – Autodromo de Interlomas (road course) – Track #1,531, Temuco – 2010 # 40 – MOROCCO – Circuit de Marrakesh (road course) – Track #1,535, Marrakesh – 2010 # 41 – BRAZIL – Circuit de Caruaru – Aryten Senna (road course) – Track #1,540, Caruaru – 2010 # 42 – ESTONIA – Laitse Rally Park (road course) – Track #1,571, Laitse – 2010 # 43 – LATVIA – Bikernieki (road course) – Track #1,572, Riga – 2010 # 44 – GUATEMALA – Autodromo Pedro Cofino (road course) – Track #1,580, Alotenango – 2010 The ‘International Big 5’ standings. During the last 34 months, I have added 35 trackchasing countries to my list. That’s an average of just over one new country every month for nearly three years. NORTH AMERICA A total of 60 different countries have hosted trackchasers. Forty-three of those countries have been seen by at least two of the “Big 5” international trackchasers. Of course, that means that 17 of the 60 countries have been visited by just one trackchaser. I classify those as “unique” visits. Up until today Will White had a “unique visit” for Guatemala. I’m sorry (I guess) to erase Will’s last “unique” country. He’ll have to scout out somewhere else where no one else has ever trackchased. I have now been trackchasing in 8 North American continent countries. Although Guatemala is in Central America, Central America is on the North American continent. My eight North American continent countries include Barbados, Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico and the United States. TODAY’S HEADLINES Guatemala scores a “perfect 10” as a trackchasing destination. …………..details in “The Objective”. Gabriel Lopez and his buddies went way out of their way to welcome me to Guatemala……………….more in “The Trip – Day 5 – Sunday”. This was one of my more dangerous trackchasing adventures………………more in “The Trip – Day 7 – Tuesday”. THE OBJECTIVE, THE TRIP, THE PEOPLE…AND A WHOLE LOT MORE The Objective It’s really about the sights, sounds and culture. Obviously, trackchasing in as many different countries that I visit requires a good deal of time, money and patience. Why do I do it? It’s just plain fun! It’s fun to see how other people who reside a long way from my place live their daily lives. It’s fun to see tourist attractions that very few people in the U.S. get to see. The most fun is getting to meet the people, if only for a short period of time, to learn how they think and feel about a wide range of subjects. An “on the ground” contact is the best. Before I set off on a “new country visit” I do my best to make contact with someone “on the ground”. The internet has allowed me to be very successful in this regard. I got my first computer back in 1985. I saw my second trackchasing country (Canada) in 1989. You can do the math. I have visited a few countries that I would give a “perfect score”. By the way, you can’t do better than a perfect score. I’ve met some of the most incredible people, seen some of the most incredible sights and watched some excellent racing along the way. When the people in those countries get this report they know that I’m talking about them. Folks, add another chair to the “perfect score” table. Guatemala has been added to the list! I’ll tell you below why they qualify. I had a wonderful time during my short three days in the country. But wait! There’s more. Please don’t miss seeing both the pictures and the movie I made about this visit. I can only tell you so much in words. On the other hand, a picture can make you almost feel like you were there. A video can definitely make you feel as if you were with me in Guatemala. The Trip Editor’s note: Remember this trip started last Wednesday in Minnesota. From there I continued on to Georgia. Therefore, Guatemala would be days 4-7 of this unusual trip. Day 5 – Sunday Why stop now? Today is “race day”. This is trackchasing country #44 for me. Three years ago I had seen racing in just nine countries. A lot of water has run underneath my airplane during the past 36 months. It’s been a blast. I hope to continue adding new countries to my list as often as possible. The plan for this morning was to have Gabriel Lopez, my Guatemalan host, swing by the Porta Hotel where I was staying at 7:30 a.m. I would follow him out to the track. This way it would be easy to find the track and I could leave whenever I needed to when the races were finished. A different kind of cultural experience. Gabriel drives a snappy red Peugeot. I’m driving a rather dowdy Suzuka Maruti. The 40-minute drive was a “cultural experience”. Gabriel took some shortcuts on unpaved roads. The potholes nearly swallowed up my little $13 per day rental car. To top it off the potholes were filled with rainwater from the overnight soaking we got last night. You definitely won’t want to miss the photos from this adventure. Racing was scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. this morning. We arrived at just past 8 a.m. Gabriel is the public relations person for the track. His ad agency does TV ads for the races and he produces a racing-oriented magazine called “Motion” (www.facebook.com/revistamotion). Gabriel knows everyone associated with the Autodromo Pedro Cofino track. I think he might have introduced me to more than 50 people! This included track officials, media members and race drivers. It was nice meeting every one of them. A fast lap in the pace car. Gabriel had a wide range of activities scheduled for me. We started with a ride around the 2.4-kilometer track in the pace car. How many people get to do that? I’ve been lucky enough to have several rides in pace cars. First, we took a slow lap while he explained a little bit about the twisting layout. The second lap was a “fast lap”. It was a “hold onto your seat, don’t let the squealing tires scare you” kind of lap. I think that lap will make a great addition to my Guatemalan movie. This was above and beyond the call of a good host. The next activity was beyond my wildest dreams. When we jumped out of the pace car, we were standing at the start/finish line. They were just about ready to play the Guatemalan national anthem. By the way when that song is played everyone takes off their hat just like they do in the states. I noticed all of the drivers congregating around the area for what I thought was the driver’s meeting. Then someone began to unfurl a huge colored banner. The banner was some ten feet wide and five feet tall. What the banner said shocked me. They were welcoming me to Guatemala racing. The big sign read: RANDY LEWIS 1575 tracks 44 different countries GUATEMALA Wow! To say I was blown away would be putting it mildly. Imagine the thought and pre-planning that went into making that happen. It’s one of the very best gifts I have ever received. Then I was asked to stand behind the banner with all of the drivers and trophy girls for picture-taking. When that was finished the drivers gave me a big round of applause for coming to their country. It was really me that needed to be giving THEM a round of applause…….so I did. This was something very special. Now I just have to convince Carol to let me display this banner in our living room! Gentlemen, start your engines. It was time for the racing to begin. There were six official races on the docket. The race length for each event was scheduled for between 12-24 laps. However, rain was predicted to arrive by about 11:30 a.m. Therefore, a “Plan B” was developed that shortened each race by a few laps. Full access. Gabriel had provided me with a paddock “wrist band” and a journalist’s “vest”. These two wardrobe additions allowed me to go anywhere on the property I wanted. I took full advantage of this special privilege. I spent the next four hours walking around every nook and cranny of the Autodromo Pedro Cofino. There are so many simple things that “intrigue me” at the international tracks I visit. I met several important Guatemalan racing people. I spent time in each level of the “media tower”. There I exchanged business cards with several people. They were more than willing to talk to me in my language. I’m sure these contacts will lead me to even more international trackchasing opportunities. Super Ganadero! Behind the grandstands was a long line of commercial displays. The fans enjoyed this area that included lots of music and food. I always enjoy seeing what concession items are offered and how they are prepared. Today did not disappoint. I went with a Super Ganadero. For 20 Quetzals (about $2.50 U.S.) I got a hamburger with cheese topped with a fried egg on a huge roll that had some sort of “butter” like dressing. It was greasy and delicious. I drowned it down with a Brahva beer. When I ordered my drink I wasn’t sure what I was getting. It turned out to be a beer. I am always surprised that many of these international tracks I visit don’t sell diet soft drinks. There were a series of grandstands that surrounded about 1/3 of the track. Gabriel told me they were expecting a crowd of nearly 3,000. The fans were well-behaved and “into” their racing. The P.A. announcements were all in Spanish. Therefore, I couldn’t really understand to many of the details being offered to the crowd. Track history. This track has been here for 6-7 years. Recently it was renamed for its founder “Pedro Cofino”. Unfortunately, Pedro was killed at the track when he was struck by an out of control racecar. Gabriel tells me that the senior Pedro Cofino’s son also named Pedro runs the track now. You can get more current info about the track at their website, http://autodromopedrocofino.com/. The best advice I can give you is to look at the photographs I took today. The movie will show you what the racing looked like. I think I covered everything there was to see and then some. I’m suspecting you’ll get the feeling of “being there”. I hope so. After the races…. When the races were finished, I headed over to the Le Reunion Golf Club (http://www.lareunion.com.gt/). Gabriel had mentioned this club offered the closest hotel to the track. Yes, they do but their rates touch nearly $400 per night. I figured I would stop by for a drink and some lunch and check the place out after the races. It took me a moment or two to talk my way past the Spanish only speaking guard and his shotgun-toting friend. Then I drove over 20 minutes on the roughest cobblestone road in existence. If I don’t get a flat tire out of that I never will. This was the life. The trip was worth it. This is a beautiful resort. I sat down in an easy chair and looked out over the lush green golf course view. They have one of those “never-ending” swimming pools. Two of our houses have had swimming pools. If I ever have another pool (which we probably won’t) it will be a “never-ending” design. I noticed a hotel guest was using his laptop. That gave me the idea they must have Wi-Fi. They did and it wasn’t password protected. I used my iPhone to check my email for the first time in nearly two days. For a guy that checks his email about every 15 minutes all day, I had gone through withdrawal. I recommend TruPhone. When I have a Wi-Fi connection in a foreign country I can use my TruPhone iPhone app to “call home”. Luckily, I caught Carol. We talked for nine minutes with a crystal clear connection for the princely sum of 51 cents U.S.!!! After lunch and a drink it was time to try to jar my fillings loose again on the cobblestone entrance road. I couldn’t imagine driving that thing every day. The rest of my drive back to the Porta Hotel did NOT include the unpaved shortcuts that Gabriel had used. I was content to simply follow my Guatemalan Garmin GPS back home. I also saw the “other side” of Guatemala. This drive took me through some very much impoverished areas of Guatemala. When you drop to the floor to say your prayers tonight thank God for your good fortune and pray for the poor living throughout the world. I had picked up my rental car with ¾ of a tank of fuel. The rental car manager told me that I could return the car full and he would credit me for the difference. I noticed a gas station in a rural area. It might be best to stop now when there wasn’t much traffic in the area. In Guatemala they fill the tank for you. I had to confirm they would take my Visa credit card. This was difficult to do since the gas station attendant and I didn’t speak the same language. I needed to go inside the station’s convenience store to talk to a young girl who also didn’t speak English much. More firepower than is needed….or not. We used sign language to get my gas pumped and my Diet Coke paid for. While I was there I noticed two guards, each carrying what looked like a “sawed-off” shotgun. Wow! This was a rural gas station with a small convenience store. Did they need two heavily armed guards for that? Check out the photos. I risked being shot so you could see what I’m talking about. Souvenir shopping. Once back at the hotel there was still time to visit the Sunday “handicraft” markets. There I found the cutest little hand-woven shoes and coin purses for the twins. They are even color-coordinated. I love it when I can be in touch “with my feminine self”! I did negotiate for these purchases. The first time I passed through the market the woman selling the shoes let me “walk” over a single U.S. dollar. At least I knew I had reached her “bottom line”. I’ve learned in my negotiating training that when people won’t negotiate any further and let you “leave the table” you’ve reached their bottom line. Since it was still a great gift at a super price I returned 15 minutes later to make my purchase…..at her (above) price. My GPS had gotten me from the racetrack back to the hotel in good shape. However, I’ve found that when I go out walking from the hotel, I can never find my way back!! The entire downtown area of Antigua is like a huge cobblestone maze. The streets aren’t marked well and if I get out of town without a twisted or broken ankle I will consider the trip a huge success. I’ve taken to asking the security people, stationed on most corners, what’s the way back to my hotel. I usually only ask after I have walked for blocks and begin passing the same thing for the second or third time! I finished off the evening touring, on foot, the streets of Antigua. I had a delightful dinner of tacos freshly grilled. This was a culinary highlight of the trip. Day 6 – Monday Let the touring begin. I was originally scheduled to fly back to California today. However, I decided that just two overnights in Guatemala wasn’t enough. That’s one of the major advantages of “standby” flying. There are no penalties for a last-minute cancellation or any change in plans. I had to ration my clothing. This decision to stay another day in Guatemala was made after my trip began in Minnesota. There would be ONE small penalty. I had just enough changes of clothes for “fresh stuff” for each day of the original six-day trip. Now I would have to wear something twice since we’re not near Paul Weisel’s house and Carol isn’t here to do the wash! If I make my flights I’ll get back home Tuesday afternoon. That will give me 36 hours in the Golden state before we head off on one of those “passport required” trips. But what tour should I take? The first item on this morning’s agenda was to scout out available tours. The staff at the hotel doesn’t speak English all that well. However, they speak English much better than I speak Spanish…..plus I’m in THEIR country. I just try to be patient and always reconfirm a time or two whatever it is I think we’ve agreed too. The tour that best fit my time schedule and budget was a visit to a nearby coffee plantation. Gabriel had mentioned that it would be a good trip. I’ll be back by early afternoon. There will be time to see the famous Santo Domingo hotel then. This was highly recommended by my golfing buddy, Charlie Hulse. I love to act on ideas from people who “have been there”. I’ll spend the rest of the afternoon just scouting out Antigua. When the sun sets I’ll have a nice comfortable dinner on my last night in Guatemala. Tomorrow’s wakeup call comes at 4 a.m. (3 a.m. San Clemente time). I’m hoping to get on a non-stop flight back to Los Angeles that leaves at 7:40 a.m. That’s, of course, that’s if I can find the off-airport location of the Dollar Rental Car Company in the dark. Don’t fail me know Mr. Guatemalan GPS! I don’t drink coffee but I recommend the tour. My tour of the Filadelphia (NOT Philadelphia) coffee plantation was perfect. They picked me up at my hotel for this tour. The charge for the two hours plus excursion was just $18 U.S. Our tour guide was very informative. With just five people in the group everyone could ask as many questions as they wanted. Following the tour we all sat down to have, what else, a cup of coffee. I don’t drink coffee. The members of our group found that somewhat amazing. Three members of our group live in Israel. It was interesting talking to them about their country’s security. I wrapped up the afternoon with “coffee gifts” for everyone back home. That form of gift is nice and squishable for my already overstuffed bags. Next attraction please. There was still plenty of daylight when I returned to my hotel. I took this opportunity to tour the five-star Santo Domingo Hotel in Antigua (http://www.casasantodomingo.com.gt/). This was quite the place. They have their own ruins!! I took lots of pictures here. Golfing friend Charlie Hulse has recommended this place. It was a good choice to tour, although I was more than pleased with where I was staying at the Porta Hotel. I wrapped up day of touring with a filet mignon dinner at a local steakhouse. They don’t do filets they way I’m used too…..but I didn’t mind, that’s why I travel. International coverage of trackchasing. As I was leaving the restaurant I remembered something my Guatemalan host had mentioned. He was expecting to have some “coverage” of my racing visit in the leading paper in all of Guatemala the Prensa Libra. I asked the waiter if the restaurant had a copy of the paper. They did! Sure enough there was a color picture of the drivers and me with the banner the group had given me at the track. Well done, Gabriel. I tried to wrap up the evening with a massage. However, the two places I stopped at were “booked”. I should have made a reservation earlier. With that I was off to bed. I had a long day of travel ahead of me for tomorrow. I had received just about the best trackchasing souvenir ever. Thank you Gabriel and gang! Day 7 – Tuesday Do NOT try this at home. I was truly dreading this morning’s trip from my hotel to the airport. Yes, I would be getting up at 3:55 a.m. (2:55 a.m. San Clemente time). That was early. However, the biggest issue that concerned me was the drive. I had to return my car to the Dollar Rental Car location in Guatemala City. Their location was “off-site”. Off-site doesn’t even begin to describe where they were. Luckily, I had rented a GPS unit from them. Not even for a million dollars! I will tell you this. If you offered me a million dollars to find their location, without using GPS, in a 24-hour period coming from my hotel I don’t think I could have done it. English isn’t spoken much around here. I had trouble being understood just about everywhere I went. This is not unique to Guatemala. While I can “get by” traveling to the countries I visit without knowing the native language, it is very rare to have a “true” conversation with anyone. That’s why I so much enjoyed having dinner with Gabriel Lopez and his girlfriend Sylvia earlier in the trip. This was dangerous stuff. Let me take you through the gruesome details of this morning’s drive. First, my car was parked about three blocks from the hotel. That’s where the “hotel parking” location was. It was exclusively cobblestone streets and uneven sidewalks in this area. The hotel had very limited “side street” parking near its entrance. I asked if I could park my car out front late on Monday night so it would be there for my 4:15 a.m. Tuesday departure. No, I couldn’t do that. I was told it wasn’t “safe”. If it wasn’t safe parking in front of the hotel, I certainly didn’t want to be walking three blocks to the car at 4 a.m. I asked for alternatives. The hotel desk clerk told me they could have someone get the car. She told me it would be waiting for me at 4 a.m. in front of the hotel. That was convenient for me, but I was concerned this might not happen as described. This morning I was out of my room at 4:15 a.m. The Dollar rental location opened at 5 a.m. I was told there wouldn’t be any traffic and the drive would take 45 minutes. I was giving myself plenty of time for my standby flight time of 7:40 a.m. As I was leaving my room one of the hotel bellmen was heading toward my room. I had mentioned I needed the car at 4 a.m. I’ll bet they thought I had overslept. I make lots of mistakes but I rarely oversleep. I always set two alarms. Truth be told I was up and doing my stretching exercises (lower back) before the alarm rang. I hadn’t slept well worrying about the drive and flight availability. You got the key? No, I don’t got the key. It was pitch black out and raining lightly. The bellman and I walked up to the car. He looked at me. I looked at him. The car was locked. He didn’t have the key. I didn’t have the key! He didn’t speak English. I didn’t Spanish. Apparently, one of the other employees had driven the car to this point. After some sign language between the two of us, he radioed this compatriot and the key was retrieved. I can’t make up stories like this! I hopped in only to just about break my neck. Most Guatemalans are about a foot shorter than me. The driver’s seat had been moved to the most forward position by the man who moved my car. Rubbing my neck, I hooked up my Guatemalan GPS machine. I never left the GPS in the car when I wasn’t in the car. That piece of equipment rivaled my iPhone and my MacBook Pro in value. All three of them went in the hotel safe when they weren’t being used. By the way, my MacBook Pro has several pluses my old computer didn’t have. One major one is that it fits in just about every hotel safe to be found. I was in the car. The GPS was “searching for satellites”. Off I went. In the first few seconds I was reminded of the one and only thing I found annoying about the beautiful little enclave of Antigua, Guatemala. The cobblestone roads!!! They were a beast to walk on and a beast to drive on. Was this a setup? The best I could do getting out of Antigua was about 12 M.P.H. My GPS came with the Dollar Rental Car location saved in the “favorites” section. I began to wonder. ANYBODY could name ANY location “Dollar Rental Car Company”. Was this a setup? Was I driving directly into the hands of thieves and pirates? There wasn’t much I could do at this point other than trust in my fellow man. I continued to drive. My “much past it’s prime” little Suzuki didn’t have much for headlights. Normal beams went out about ten feet. Brights extended the illumination to maybe 20 feet. I drove with my brights on the entire way. Not a single car “bright-lighted me back” so that might tell you something about the condition of my headlamps. Last night a major thunderstorm hit the area. The thunder and lightning was so strong it made my hotel room’s lights flicker. I stopped charging my computer for fear the storm would “fry” it. The roads into Guatemala City weren’t good to begin with. The storm had left a good deal of “tree debris” in the driving lanes of the highway. It was raining harder now. I also noticed several landslides that had deposited mud and rocks into the roadway. The rocks were bigger than basketballs. The rain-slicked road in the darkness made it more difficult to see. There wasn’t much vehicular traffic during the first few miles of my drive. My GPS started out with an “estimated time of arrival”, ETA, of 4:59 a.m. If I drive the posted speed limit I would likely arrive at 4:59 a.m. in this example. If you can drive faster than the limit, you’ll get there sooner that the GPS projected ETA. By the time I was nearing my destination my ETA had “elongated” itself to 5:21 a.m. I had lost 22 minutes in a 45-minute drive. I don’t think I ever got out of third gear! Given all of the above obstacles I guess I was doing pretty good. There were a couple of instances where I came upon a fork in the road and made the wrong choice. It wasn’t too difficult to simply make a “three-point” turn and get back on track. If you have never used GPS you might not know that when you make a wrong turn the GPS politely speaks “re-calculating” rather than “You’re an idiot! You made a wrong turn. Turn around and pay more attention!”. The machine not only tells you it is recalculating “around your mistake” but it computes a new route for you if you don’t or can’t get back to the original route. These truly are the most wonderful machines. As I got closer to Guatemala City the pedestrian traffic began to increase. The people heading to work looked like “shadowy stick figures” in some poorly designed video game. The next to last thing I wanted to do was dent my rental car. The very last thing I wanted to do was run over someone. Don’t mess with Guatemala City. I was in Guatemala City by now. I had been told by lots of people, including Gabriel, that this area of Guatemala was “not to be messed with”. The car doors were locked and I hoped I wouldn’t have to stop at any red lights. I only saw one red light during the entire trip this morning. There were three cars ahead of me and they all blew through that light without so much as a brake light. I did too! Finding Guatemala City with the GPS was only a minor victory. Now I had to find the EXACT location in a maze of unmarked streets while it was still dark. I use GPS exclusively. I have known it to get you to the general area but not to the “front doorstep”. I needed to get to the “front doorstep”. I didn’t have a working phone. I couldn’t stop and ask directions. In the area I was driving, there weren’t going to be many English speakers. I also had a time deadline. I didn’t have TIME to get lost. Close but no cigar. When I got to within less than ½-mile of my destination I was being directed down a series of one-way side streets. This didn’t look like the area where I had picked up my car. I tried three times and still ended up back in the same spot. I stopped under a bright street light. There was no one else around. I figured the rental car paperwork might have a street address. Of course, I couldn’t find the paperwork. A bathroom might have been nice at this point as well. However, I am trained as both a Marine and a golfer. This wasn’t a big problem. I needed to get off these side streets. I knew the Dollar Rental Car location was on a busier highway. I saw a highway that fit that description. Just as I was about to enter the highway I looked left for traffic and, lo and behold, there was the Dollar rental location. The GPS unit had directed me to the BACK of their building. Had it been daylight I would have noticed that. The only way to reach their entrance, that I could see, was to drive down the wrong way on a one-way street. I began to wonder how many traffic laws I had broken this morning. You speak Spanish? The friendly manager who had made my initial visit into Guatemala was nowhere to be found. The fellow behind the counter said, “You speak Spanish?” in English. I told him I did not. Those were the last English-speaking words I heard from him. However, “airplane sign language” learned as a child helped me explain that I needed to get moving so I could catch my plane. It was now 5:40 a.m. I was forty minutes behind schedule. The airlines always want you at the airport two hours before your international flight. That’s really not necessary but someday it will be. I didn’t want today to be that day. I entered the line where people were getting their boarding passes. I noticed several people along the side filling out “international paperwork”. I didn’t have time for that. I got in line without any paperwork. Of course, that was only a temporary solution. It was soon obvious to the “authorities” that I was missing my completed documents. Luckily, the man who confronted me was nice enough to go and get the forms I needed. I filled them out while standing in line. This put me ahead of the people who had moved out of line to compete their forms. I was flying standby this morning as I do every morning that I fly. During this trip I had discovered there was a non-stop flight from Guatemala to Los Angeles. That had not been a concern coming eastward because I was stopping in Minneapolis and Atlanta along the way. I had checked the “flight load” last night before I went to bed. This was after discovering that the hotel lobby had free Wi-Fi. There were 15 business class seats open. However, coach class was overbooked by 26 people. There were four other people on the standby list who had a stronger seniority date than me. Add it up. If everybody showed up I wouldn’t get on the plane. Yesterday’s GUA-LAX flight went off with one open seat. I grumbled too myself that if I hadn’t stay over an extra day to “see stuff” I would have made that flight. However, today was today. I paid my three-dollar “airport security fee” and cleared security easily. I even had time for breakfast. Free password. The airport’s “free Wi-Fi” didn’t really work. However, the Carlos & Carlos’ restaurant where I was eating had “password protected” Wi-Fi. I asked my server for the password. He probably wouldn’t mind if I shared it with you. It’s “1234567890” There! If you’re ever in the Guatemala airport you’ll know where to get free Wi-Fi. I checked the load factors. They are updated as people check-in. An hour before flight time there were 13 business seats and no coach seats available. I was third on the standby list. Of course, “late arrivers” who had a paid ticket could still keep me from getting on the plane. I ate my fried “plantains” stuffed with chocolate and the rest of my breakfast while I used my iPhone to “check the loads”. I just about choked when I saw I had been assigned a seat so early in the process. I would be flying business class all the way back to Los Angeles! Please don’t try this at home either. Folks, I know that everyone would like to fly around the world in business or first class paying what I pay. However, if you had to DO what I do to make this happen I think you’d rather pay for your ticket! Thanks for reading about my trackchasing, Randy Lewis World’s #1 Ranked Trackchaser Guatemalan saying: A weapon is an enemy even to its owner. TRAVEL DETAILS AIRPLANE Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Minneapolis, MN (MSP) – 1,535 miles RENTAL CAR #1 Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport – trip begins Elk River, MN – 47 miles Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport – 109 miles – trip ends AIRPLANE Minneapolis, MN (MSP) – Atlanta, GA (ATL) – 906 miles RENTAL CAR #2 Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport – trip begins Whitesburg, GA – 41 miles Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport – 88 miles – trip ends AIRPLANE Atlanta, GA (ATL) – Guatemala City, Guatemala – 1,370 miles RENTAL CAR #3 La Aurora (Guatemala City) International Airport – trip begins Alotenango, Guatemala – 34 miles La Aurora (Guatemala City) International Airport – 59 miles – trip ends AIRPLANE Guatemala City, Guatemala – Los Angeles, CA – 2,190 miles Total Air miles – 6,001 (4 flights) Total Rental Car miles – 256 (3 cars) Total miles traveled on this trip – 6,257 miles TRACK ADMISSION PRICES: ERX Motorpark – Complimentary (normally $10 U.S.) West Georgia Speedway – $10 (refunded with rainout) Autodromo Pedro Cofino – Complimentary (normally $10 U.S.) Total racetrack admissions for the trip – Zero!!! COMPARISONS LIFETIME TRACKCHASER COMPARISONS There are no trackchasers currently within 200 tracks of my lifetime total. Official end of the RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Trackchaser Report GUATEMALA – FAST FACTS* GUATEMALA! Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. HISTORY On September 15, 1821, the Captaincy-general of Guatemala (formed by Chiapas, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Honduras) officially proclaimed its independence from Spain and its incorporation into the Mexican Empire, which was dissolved two years later. Guatemala’s “Liberal Revolution” came in 1871 under the leadership of Justo Rufino Barrios, who worked to modernize the country, improve trade, and introduce new crops and manufacturing. From 1898 to 1920, Guatemala was ruled by the dictator Manuel Estrada Cabrera, whose access to the presidency was helped by the United Fruit Company. It was during his long presidency that the United Fruit Company became a major force in Guatemala.[13] 1944 TO PRESENT DAY This period was also the beginning of the Cold War between the U.S. and the USSR, which was to have a considerable influence on Guatemalan history. From the 1950s through the 1990s, the U.S. government directly supported Guatemala’s army with training, weapons, and money. In 1954, Arévalo’s freely elected Guatemalan successor, Jacobo Arbenz, was overthrown in a coup orchestrated by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the 1954 Guatemalan coup d’état. Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas was installed as president in 1954 and ruled until he was assassinated by a member of his personal guard in 1957. Substantial evidence points to the role of the American United Fruit Company as instrumental in this coup, as the land reforms of Jacobo Arbenz were threatening the company’s interests in Guatemala and it had several direct ties to the White House and the CIA. The 1970s saw the birth of two new guerrilla organizations, The Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP) and the Organization of the People in Arms (ORPA), who began and intensified by the end of the seventies, guerrilla attacks that included urban and rural guerrilla warfare, mainly against the military and some of the civilian supporters of the army. In 1979, the U.S. president, Jimmy Carter, ordered a ban on all military aid to the Guatemalan Army because of the widespread and systematic abuse of human rights. The Guatemalan Civil War ended in 1996 with a peace accord between the guerrillas and the government, negotiated by the United Nationsthrough intense brokerage by nations such as Norway and Spain. Both sides made major concessions. The guerrilla fighters disarmed and received land to work. During the first ten years, the victims of the state-sponsored terror were primarily students, workers, professionals, and opposition figures, but in the last years they were thousands of mostly rural Mayan farmers and non-combatants. More than 450 Mayan villages were destroyed and over 1 million people became displaced within Guatemala or refugees. Over 200,000 people, mostly Mayan, were killed during the civil war. Since the peace accords, Guatemala has witnessed successive democratic elections, most recently in 2007. The past government has signed free trade agreements with the United States and the rest of Central America through CAFTA, and other agreements with Mexico. In 2007 elections were held in Guatemala. The National Unity of Hope and its president candidate Álvaro Colom won the presidency as well as the majority of the seats in congress. GEOGRAPHY Guatemala is mountainous, except for the south coastal area and the vast northern lowlands of Petén department. All major cities are located in the highlands and Pacific coast regions. Volcán Tajumulco, at 4,220 meters, is the highest point in the Central American states. Guatemala has long claimed all or part of the territory of neighbouring Belize, formerly part of the Spanish colony, and currently an independent Commonwealth Realm which recognizes Queen Elizabeth II as its Head of State. Guatemala recognized Belize’s independence in 1990, but their territorial dispute is not resolved. Negotiations are currently underway under the auspices of the Organization of American States and the Commonwealth of Nations to conclude it. NATURAL DISASTERS Guatemala’s location between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean makes it a target for hurricanes, such as Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and Hurricane Stan in October 2005, which killed more than 1,500 people. The damage was not wind-related, but rather due to significant flooding and resulting mudslides. Guatemala’s highlands lie along the Motagua Fault, part of the boundary between the Caribbean and North American tectonic plates. This fault has been responsible for several major earthquakes in historic times, including a 7.5 magnitude tremor on February 4, 1976 which killed more than 25,000 people. Natural disasters have a long history in this geologically active part of the world. For example, two of the three moves of the capital of Guatemala have been due to volcanic mudflows in 1541 and earthquakes in 1773. VOLCAN PACAYA On May 27, 2010 the Pacaya volcano started erupting lava and rocks on Thursday afternoon, blanketing Guatemala City with black sand (and forcing the closure of the international airport). It was declared a “state of calamity.” The Pacaya volcano left about 8 Centimeters of ash and sand through all of Guatemala City. Cleaning works are in progress. DEMOGRAPHICS Guatemala has a population of 12,728,111 (2007 est). About 40% of the population is Ladino, also called Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and Spanish). Whites (primarily of Spanish, but also those of Italian, German, British and Scandinavian descent) make up about 16% of the population. Amerindian populations include the K’iche’ 9.1%, Kaqchikel 8.4%, Mam7.9% and Q’eqchi 6.3%. 8.6% of the population is “other Mayan”, 0.2% is indigenous non-Mayan, making the indigenous community in Guatemala about 40% of the population. There are smaller communities present. The Garífuna, who are descended from Black Africans and indigenous peoples from St. Vincent’s, live mainly in Livingston and Puerto Barrios, and other blacks and mulattos. There are also Asians, mostly of Chinese descent. Other Asian groups include Arabs of Lebanese and Syrian descent. There is also a growing Korean community in Guatemala City and in nearby Mixco, currently numbering about 10,000. Guatemala’s German population is credited with bringing the tradition of a Christmas tree to the country. The ever-increasing pattern of emigration to the U.S. has led to the growth of Guatemalan communities in California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Texas, Rhode Island and elsewhere since the 1970s. CULTURE Guatemala City is home to many of the nation’s libraries and museums, including the National Archives, the National Library, and the Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, which has an extensive collection of Maya artifacts. LANGUAGE Although Spanish is the official language, it is not universally spoken among the indigenous population, nor is it often spoken as a second language. Twenty-one distinct Mayan languages are spoken, especially in rural areas, as well two non-Mayan Amerindian languages, Xinca, an indigenous language, and Garifuna, an Arawakan language spoken on the Caribbean coast. According to Decreto Número 19-2003, twenty-three languages are recognized as National Languages. RELIGION 50–60% of the population is Catholic, 40% Protestant, and 1% follow the indigenous Mayan faith. Catholicism was the official religion during the colonial era. However, Protestantism has increased markedly in recent decades. More than one-third of Guatemalans are Protestant, chiefly Evangelicals and Pentecostals. It is common for traditional Mayan practices to be incorporated into Catholic ceremonies and worship, a phenomenon known as syncretism. The practice of traditional Mayan religion is increasing as a result of the cultural protections established under the peace accords. The government has instituted a policy of providing altars at every Mayan ruin found in the country so that traditional ceremonies may be performed there. There are also small communities of Jews estimated between 1200 and 2000. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints currently has over 215,000 members in Guatemala, accounting for approximately 1.65% of the country’s estimated population in 2008. EDUCATION The government runs a number of public elementary and secondary-level schools. These schools are free, though the cost of uniforms, books, supplies, and transportation makes them less accessible to the poorer segments of society and significant numbers of poor children do not attend school. Many middle and upper class children go to private schools. The country also has one public university (USAC or Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala), and 9 private ones * Much of this info comes from my research at Wikipedia. It wasn’t as easy to make YouTube videos back in 2010. This covers all elements of the trip including the on track racing. . Getting to Guatemala from the U.S. and a peek inside my luxurious hotel. . My day in pictures set to video from the racetrack. You will not be able to get this soundtrack out of your head all day! . Now it was time to kick back and enjoy Guatemala. Let’s go touring! Don’t miss my photo albums from my visit to Guatemala. Just click on the links below! I finished off my trip to Guatemala touring coffee plantations and more
Editor’s note
