Don't know of a hotel in CV, but there are some reasonably priced apartments for rent by the day, week, or month... Could you please recommend a safe, clean hotel in Ciudad Vieja that is reasonably price. Thank you.

many thanks:-) M. When I volunteered in Ciudad Vieja I often would read the postings for runners at the City Hall. They ran everyday from Ciudad Vieja to Dueñas and back. It is a nice run and you don't have to worry about the cobble stones since they run on the main road. I am sure they continue to do this even though I haven't been back in the last 2 years. You may want to check it out.

Ir seems no ham to be found, oh well. I could not find Astoria yet, is it in the Centro Commercial of San Cristobal, or next to it? Went ClubCo , Walmart, And Pricesmart, seemed to me Walmart was not really priced too high, am I wrong, for a brand new nice size Wok for 85Q's, to me a great deal. patrick My family thanks you all I will call the number and see, and guess we are going to look at Wal-mart this weekend. Again many thanks for the responses, I have trouble googling these places, so I thought I might ask, because most people are happy to share, as am I. Also Astoria is on my list to stop in for sure. Again many thanks to all

My husband (who is a Chapin) and I have a bank account at BanTrab. Do we just go there and deposit the check into the account and wait for it to clear? I wasn't sure this was possible, so I decided to ask the experts...LOL...you guys... :) Thanks for the help...I'm on my way to the bank! I have a bit of an edge, my novias son works for Banco Industrial so I have him take care of cashing checks from the US. Before that, I'd have Guatemalteco friends deposit my check in their account and wait for it to clear the account in the US before receiving my Q's from them. Maybe Guategringo can answer for you, but I think it's a bit difficult if you don't have an account at a local Bank.

It was a drug charge. Damn! But I am still eligible to live there as a tourist right? Stay for 6 months exit the country and come back People in this part of the world are very simple. They may not have misdemeanors and/or felonies. A conviction may be a conviction, no difference. If it shows up on a police report, you probably have a problem. You need to consult a Guatemalan immigration attorney on this one. If it had anything to do with drugs or sex, forget it.

Thanks, Francesca. We are thinking that NGO work with a stipend of $400-500 would be a really helpful addition on top of a more "livable" salary provided by the other position. Our plan is for my husband to spend the first three months doing Spanish studies to improve his language skills and then to look for something else. My main question is about the possibility of getting legal permission to work. I still don't have a formal offer from the initial position, so we are also wondering about visas to work in Guatemala. If you are looking for NGO work here are the best resources: www.idealist.org, and there is another good resource in Xela Mundo something, just can't remember right now! Here you'll find volunteer and paid jobs. Most NGO jobs unless in the City are low paying jobs in line with local salaries, or you'll get a stipend of about $400-500, which is your lucky will cover your rent! Regarding the 2nd half of a couple finding legal paid work - probably pretty hard. But there are lots of volunteer positions and as I mentioned ones with a stipend too. If you are interested in around the lake this has lots of local NGOs but you'll need to speak good Spanish as you will for most paid jobs, only volunteer positions sometimes require an intermediate level of Spanish: http://www.conectandoatitlan.org/. But really your best bet is the job section of idealist.org! Good Luck Francesca

Thank you, bajasur. Gail is great I recommended

Thank you. I looked them up on Facebook. It looks good. yes In Panajachel you have salon Manolia in Comercial San Rafael Calle Santander. Run by Daniela Bossi who is a young guatemalan hair dresser and speaks english