previous  |  panajachel  |  atitlán contents  |  next

Excerpts

Guatemala City, Guatemala
Office of Immigration

Entry:

Sitting in the immigration office in, as they say here, "Guate"- the Capitol. Have been here almost two hours and feel like I'm about half way through. Am asking for a 90-day extension on my visa. The lines are long and the staff overworked. Some of the people in the lines are tourists who speak so little Spanish that they are frustrated and confused. Susan, the British woman who came to extend her visa also, disappeared a while ago with Emilio, the driver of our van who brought us here from Panajachel. Looks like she is going to have more trouble than I.

When I got the prints of my photo that was taken for their files, I looked at the person staring out of the picture. I was surprised at what I saw. I guess I haven't noticed, but I am much thinner than when I left the States. The woman who typed up my papers described my hair as oro and the color of my eyes as celestes.