How to get to the clinic

When landed at Guatemala City International La Aurora Airport

Clear the passport control (there is no visa fee to be paid). You will be informed that you are allowed to stay in Guatemala for 3 months; an entry stamp will be put into your passport. 

In the aircraft or at the airport, you will be given a customs declaration where information on donations (‘donaciones’) and/or medical supplies (‘medicamentos’) to be disclosed. You need to check those points if you are carrying any of the above mentioned positions. Here is an example: 

You need to give this document to the customs officer when leaving the airport. Your luggage is likely to be checked and x-rayed. 

You need to: 
State your name (My name is… - Mi nombre es.../ I am from… - Soy de...); 

Inform the officers that you are with Health&Help NGO (I am a volunteer with Health&Help - Soy voluntario de la organización Health&Help); 

Confirm that you are carrying donations for the clinic (I have donations for the clinic - Tengo donaciones para nuestra clínica); 

Show the letter from Health&Help (This is a letter from our organization - Esta es la carta de nuestra organización). 

In case your luggage is held by the customs 

Don’t panic; 

Inform the officers that you are a volunteer and helping the Guatemalan citizens pro bono (Please, I am helping citizens of Guatemala pro bono - Por favor. Soy voluntario y ayudo a la gente de Guatemala sin ganar dinero); 

Assure the officers that you are giving the donations away, not selling them (We will give the medicine to our patients; we don’t sell them - Nosotros no vendemos las donaciones. Las damos a la gente enferma); 

Try hard to stay calm and assure the officers you came with good intentions (Please, it’s for a good cause - Por favor, es por una buena causa); 

If it doesn’t work, please contact Viktoria Valikova or Karina Basharova; 

Under no circumstances leave donations at the airport. Insist on having no money and being a volunteer, working pro bono (I am a volunteer, I don’t have money - Soy voluntario, no tengo más dinero).

Money exchange

You need to exchange dollars into quetzales (local currency) in order to hail a taxi or take the bus to Momostenango. Please note that the exchange rate at the airport is not as good as at the bank. 
1$ = 7,35Q

Buying a SIM card

Find the nearest Tigo office (tienda Tigo), using Google maps. Get there by foot or take a taxi. Double check the opening hours. 

The sim card costs 5Q (I need a sim card - Nesesito un chip); 

Top it up with 100Q (2Gb+whatsapp and facebook free of charge) (I need to top it up with 100Q - Quiero poner cien quetzales de saldo); 

Dial *123#. Choose Paquetigos para Navegar 2 - Siguiente 0 - and choose 99Q plan. 

Reboot your phone and check if the Internet is working.

In case our volunteers pick you up at the airport

When exiting the airport, a crowd of people will make it hard for you to find the volunteers. We are using a café, situated 20 meters away from the airport entrance. 

In case you are travelling to the site on your own

red eye flights 

Please inform your manager about your late night flight in advance. There is a slim chance you will catch a bus after 3pm, so you need to go to the hotel. There is an option to book a room at Dai Nonni Hotel near the airport; it is a free of charge accomodation for volunteers. There are limitations of the number of stays per month - please contact your manager to find out more. In case there are no rooms, you need to book a room in any hotel of you choice.

You will see taxis, parked on the opposite side from the airport. Tell the driver you need to get to your hotel. Tell your driver the address or show it on the map.

“I need to get to ...” - “Necesito ir al hotel…”

The taxi costs around 50Q (cincuenta). You need to insist on 50Q as taxi drivers tend to overcharge white tourists.
In case you are successfully connected to the wi-fi network, call an Uber: you will save more.

direct connection before 2 pm 

You will see taxis, parked on the opposite side from the airport. Tell the driver you need to get to the bus stop “Trebol” (El Trebol). 
«I need to get to the “Trebol”» - «Necesito va para el trebol»;

«The bus to Momostenango» - «Autobús para Momostenango». 
The taxi costs around 50Q (cincuenta). You need to insist on 50Q as taxi drivers tend to overcharge white tourists.

When arrived at the “Trebol” bus station, you will see a lot of buses with destination signs under the front window. You need to find the bus going to Momostenango. 

Your luggage must be placed right next to you or under the seat. You will be offered to put the luggage on the rooftop; do not agree as it might be stolen. 

indirect connection after 3pm 

There are no direct buses to Momostenango after 3pm. You need to take the bus to “cuatro caminos”. It costs around 15-20Q.

When arrived at the “cuatro caminos” bus stop, you need to find a bus to Momostenango. The drivers will help you find the necessary bus. Please double check the destination sign on the bus, though.

In case you are not able to carry your luggage, you may ask the drivers to help you; be careful and double check if the luggage is placed inside the bus. It might be stolen if placed on the rooftop. 

How to get to the clinic 

When arrived at Momostenango, you need to find “Louse Pizza” place. Using the free wi-fi, call Karina or Viktoria.

«Where is Louse Pizza»?» - «Donde louse pizza?» 

The wi-fi password can be asked from the waiter. 
«Can I have the wi-fi password?» - «Dame la contraseña a Internet?» 
«Can I call my friend?» - «Puede llamar a un amigo?»

Please contact us at the number your manager gave you. 
We will be there in 30 minutes; in another 30 minutes, we will arrive at the clinic.