The Howard Johnson's

So, after Antigua we went to the Howard Johnson's. Alan was able to get a special government rate that should have been a little less expensive than the Marriot. I have put a link to the website. The pictures look nice but it says that the internet is free (it's not) the staff was not multilingual at all etc. One really good thing is that my Spanish improved by leaps and bounds while I was there. Well, it was interesting. The place was a bit dirty and then the sewer backed up and the toilets overflowed. Then I got sick. I thought I had a case of Monezuma's revenge until Alaina started having diarrhea. When she had her fourth one and it (excuse me ladies) smelled just like mine and she also had a fever, I took her to the hospital. I knew as sick as I was that the diarrhea would dehydrate her to death. So in she went. It was the most modern hospital they have in Guatemala. As it turned out we both had rotavirus. How fun. Alaina was in for 3 days. They put her in a private room and in a regular hospital bed. No crib. Then they told me I would have to stay with her and watch her 24 hours a day because they were not going to do it. Well, a hospital bed with a mobile child doesn't work. She would fall out in 2 shakes. I was only given a straight chair to sit in and I knew it was impossible to spend several days there, with me sick, and not sleep at all. Plus I would be unable to take her and her IV into the bathroom and I was going a lot. (I lost 14 pounds in Guatemala) So I hired private duty nurses around the clock. Lucky for me they only cost 300 quetzles a day which is about 80 - 90 dollars a day. And they were real nurses not just some lady to watch the baby. So I felt better and was able to go home to the hotel at night and get some rest. The whole hospitalization cost us about $3,000. Can you imagine what it would have cost in the States? I can't tell you how upset I was to discover that had they given her the rotavirus vaccine she would not have had to suffer this. It costs $ 100 and the attorney didn't want to pay it. Had they asked us we would have paid it for her. The morning she was to be released, I moved us back to the Marriott. It is cleaner, nicer, not much more expensive (it turned out the other place gave us the rate without including the taxes which were a lot and made it cost almost as much as the marriott with out the benefits) and they had a baby lounge with swings and bouncers and toys etc. The camera broke down at the HOJO's so no hospital pics. Sorry. These however are more pics from our time in Antigua and the 2 from the HOJO's.