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Internet access anywhere in Guatemala with a Tigo USB modem

Posted on February 11th, 2012 webmaster 4 comments          Print

I wanted to check my bank account one day but the Internet at the hostel I was staying at wasn’t working.  Then I saw a guy using his laptop in the dining area and I asked him if he was able to pick up a Wi-Fi signal.  He told me he’s using one of these Tigo USB modems to get Internet connection.

Tigo is a mobile phone service provider and appears to be the main provider here in Guatemala.  You’ll see their logo everywhere when you walk around any town.  You can purchase a USB modem for 175 quetzales ($22) and you’ll get free 15 days (8GB limit) after your first plan purchase.  The different plans are:

• Q10 ($1.28) for 1 hour with a 200MB limit
• Q25 ($3.20) for 1 day with a 1.5GB limit
• Q75 ($9.60) for 1 week with a 3GB limit
• Q145 ($18.59) for 1 month with a 1GB limit
• Q199 ($25.51) for 1 month with a 3GB limit
• Q299 ($38.33) for 1 month with an 8GB limit

I purchased mine in Panajachel at a Kodak store.  There are other places you can get them from, just look for the Tigo logo and ask at the store.

Installation is pretty straightforward.  The device has about 32MB of memory which stores the desktop software to configure/manage it.  Windows will automatically install the device drivers as soon as you plug it in, then the management software installation wizard will launch.

As far as speed is concerned, the fastest download speed I’ve gotten so far was just over 1.6 Mbps over an HSDPA data network, which is very good.  HSDPA is also known as 3.5G and Tigo’s network is supposed to be capped at 3.6 Mbps.

You won’t always be on HSDPA, though.  I’ve seen it switch among WCDMA, EDGE, and HSDPA networks.  HSDPA has the fastest bandwidth but EDGE or WCDMA aren’t bad either.  I’m able to stream Pandora just fine on HSDPA, lags once in a while on EDGE, and haven’t tried it on WCDMA yet.

You can buy prepaid cards with code to load into your account, which you can then use to purchase different plans.  You can also do it online and pay using your credit card.  Even if you have no more credit left in your account, Tigo will still let you connect to their website (and only their website) so you can purchase more credit.

It comes with a SIM card which you insert inside the USB device.  If you have an unlocked GSM mobile phone, you can use this SIM card with it as well.  You get your own phone number also.  My Dell Streak phone/tablet took the SIM card and showed Tigo as the carrier, but I haven’t tried making a phone call with it yet.

This is really handy to have when traveling as there’s a good chance you’ll end up in places without Internet connection when you need it the most.  It’s nice to have as well when you’re on long bus rides and need some entertainment or just want to get some work done that requires an Internet connection.

I really like how they give you so many prepay options so you only pay for what you use/need.  If AT&T or Verizon offered similar options back home I probably would’ve gotten one of theirs as well.

Here are some pictures of the device and the management software:

Climbing the active Pacaya volcano

Posted on February 10th, 2012 webmaster No comments          Print

View from the top of Pacaya volcano

About an hour and a half from the center of Antigua, Guatemala is the park entrance to the Pacaya volcano.  Pacaya is an active volcano that actually last erupted just two years ago on May 27, 2010.

I’ve been on other volcanoes before, but this is the first time I’ve been on an active one.  My Spanish school in Antigua organized a tour one afternoon and about 7 of us joined in.  A shuttle picked us up in front of the school, which cost 70 quetzales (around $9) round trip.  There were 4 other people on the shuttle, they really filled it up.  We left around 2:30 PM.

You can ride a horse if you like

At the park entrance, you have to pay 50 quetzales (around $6.41) to get in.  As soon as you get off the bus you’d be surrounded by children selling you walking sticks.  They’ll sell it to you for 3-5 quetzales.  I didn’t buy one but I could see it being pretty helpful especially on the way down.  You can choose to ride a horse also instead of walking for about 100 quetzales ($12.82) one way.

A guide was assigned to our group and then we started moving.  I’m not sure if a guide is required to enter the park.  I would’ve actually preferred not to use a guide so I could move at my own pace.  He moved a little too fast for me.

The trail was pretty steep, especially in the beginning.  It’s about a 3.5-kilometer (around 2.17 miles) hike and I have to say that it was a pretty tough climb for me.  The scenery at the peak is definitely worth it though!  Beautiful views of the other towns, Guatemala City, lakes, and mountains from up there.

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Learning Spanish in Guatemala (Week 1 – Antigua)

Posted on February 6th, 2012 webmaster 1 comment          Print

Inside Sevilla Spanish school

One of my goals  for my round-the-world trip is to learn Spanish.  I want to learn enough that I’d be able to hold a conversation in Spanish by the time my trip is over.

When I was doing my research on which country to take classes in, Guatemala kept coming up.  It’s supposed to be the cheapest country to study in and Guatemalans speak the language very clearly.

I originally thought about starting classes in Quetzaltenango (Xela) as it’s supposed to have the cheapest language schools in Guatemala.  It’s also supposed to be not as touristy as Antigua so I’d be forced to really communicate in Spanish.  However, when I reached Antigua I was already itching to study the language so I decided to go ahead and take a week of classes here.

I had no idea which school to go to so the first couple of days I just walked around looking for schools.  It just happened that there’s one right across the street from the hostel I was staying in called Spanish Academy Sevilla.

I checked it out on TripAdvisor and it had a couple of good reviews.  I did some more research and someone in the Lonely Planet forums recommended it.  It seemed good enough to me and I didn’t really want to spend too much time researching other schools so I signed up the same day I found it.

I just walked in to the office in the morning and the lady at the front desk was very friendly and gave me a quick overview of the school.   The tuition is $125 for 5 days ($25/day), 4 hours a day, Mon-Fri and comes with a book and a notebook.  Free coffee and tea throughout the day.  They also have some free activities like salsa lessons and bike tours, and some paid ones such as climbing the active Pacaya volcano and coffee tours.

The students seem to come from mostly the USA, Canada, and Holland.  I met at least 4 students from Holland, 4 from the USA, and 3 from Canada.  There was one from Germany and one from Sweden.  The age range really varies.  I say half of us are in the mid to late 20s and the others are probably in their late 30s, 40s, and 50s.

This is not the cheapest school in Antigua but the tuition is pretty similar to a couple of other schools I checked out.  She also told me that I could just try out one day first if I like and decide if I want to continue.  I went ahead and paid just for the first day and she told me I could start right that afternoon from 2-6pm, so I did.  I paid for the rest of the week that same afternoon after spending a couple of hours with the teacher that was assigned to me.

These are one-on-one classes (I believe all Spanish schools in Guatemala are like this) so the lessons can be customized to your needs.  If you happen to not like your teacher you can request a new one anytime.  My teacher was really good and we got along very well.  She sometimes tells me stories in Spanish about her friends and family and I was actually able to understand most of it!

She started me with the most commonly used words and phrases that are useful when traveling as I specified that I wanted to learn Spanish mainly for travel.  I figured that once I know enough to get by, I can then practice the language as I visit other Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America and keep learning.

Four hours is actually a lot in a day.  I thought about getting really serious and sign up for the 6-hour lessons but 4 hours is enough as I need the time in the afternoon to review and practice a bit.  It’s really neat to be able to use what you learned right away outside the class.  It really makes a big difference as you’re easily motivated to learn more.

I feel like I learned more in that one week, 20 hours of lessons than the one year of Spanish class I took in high school.  When I walk around Antigua and listen to people’s conversations I can definitely pick up a lot more than I did when I first got here.  I still have a ton to learn and still takes me quite a while to put sentences together when I try to to talk to the locals, but I’m sure I’ll get a lot better as I practice speaking more.

I’m heading to Lake Atitlan next and taking another week of lessons there.  I’m actually finding learning a new language fun.  I think it really adds to the travel experience.