Guatamala

GUATAMALA
Our day began with a tap on the door for room service. The order sheet lists 6:30 am as the earliest time they can deliver (this is different from larger ships where you can get 24 hr room service). Ed had asked for 6 am if they could. The tap came before 6. The young man smiled widely as he said “I’m your wake up call.” Our group met at 7:15 am and soon we were off. Our ship’s person was Ursula, the MD’s wife. She’s such a tiny little woman and Nicholas is about Ed’s size. The air conditioning on this bus was terrific. BUT the PA system was impossible. So finally Roberto announced that they had ordered another bus. Our bus would keep moving but slowly since we had a tight time schedule. Eventually the other bus showed up and we all switched. We were to assume our same seats but the configuration of this bus was different; still the confusion was minimal and folks were pretty considerate.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the scenery in Guatamala. There are 23 (or 32 depending on who is speaking) volcanos in this small country and 3 are currently active. We tried to get pics of the one near our route but the top was shrouded in cloud. Volcanic soil will grow almost anything (I guess cocaine is the exception? See later comment) so they export coffee, pineapples and sugar cane. We saw many trucks transporting blackened sugar cane stalks.
The quality of the highways varies; in one place, there was a 4 lane divided highway and they were doing construction to lengthen it. Most others were asphalt 2 lanes with some areas where folks waited for the other lane to pass. Most population areas are considered villages (less than 75K) or casarillos (up to 8 families in a small area). Women pick up sticks along the roads and in the fields to use for fuel; they do not cut down trees for fuel.
We saw many different varieties of flowers: bougainvillea, hydrangeas, bottle brush, and some yellow flowers, but I didn’t note as many freely growing flowers. Perhaps it’s not their blooming season.
Lake Atitlan
We traveled for a little over 2 hrs, rising in elevation along the way. At one point it looked like the bus was going downhill, but the driver put the bus in neutral and it rolled backwards: an optical illusion.
The lake is at 5 or 7,000 ft depending on who’s talking. It truly is gorgeous and the claim is made that it is the “most beautiful lake in the world.” There are 7 villages on it’s shores and you can see some very elegant homes at the shoreline.
We boarded a boat whose captain was 14 yrs old by some accounts. Eventually someone asked him and he said he was 26. The ride across the lake took 1 hour. The sun is very hot but the breeze was wonderful and the high volcano mountains all around are luscious. The sky was clear with large clouds and the active volcano had a crown of white fluff. At one point some fool in a speed boat (not a young man either) clearly had a goal to race across the bow of our boat before getting hit. He made it but just barely. Ed got some photos of him racing holding his hat on his head with a disinterested young boy in the bow.
Lunch
We were escorted to a resort up the hill which is very nice. We ate outside under tents by the swimming pool. The food was served buffet style and included steak, chicken, mixed vegetables, a rice dish, black beans, salsa, guacamole, tortillas or biscuits and more. For dessert there was a Guatamalan custard (actually just a vanilla custard: nothing special) with a churro stuck in it. This was a great combination. At the dinner table, I talked with Ellie about their tour to Antigua. It turns out that they had exactly the same buffet at their hotel stop.
After lunch, where we had about an hour, we headed back across the lake to meet our bus. The bus parked closer to the boat launch so it was a little easier for some folks. I think the altitude was impacting some folks as well though we had no problems. Everywhere we were, the local women were assaulting us with their pitches to buy their stuff.
The bus ride back down was uneventful except for the air conditioning not being as cold as many wanted. Roberto played a DVD about Guatamala but it mostly featured music by local composers played by a marimba group. Marimba is a xylophone but played on wood, not metal. Our screen quite working about 1/3 of the way through but we adapted.
Late getting back
Our bus and the other partner bus were late as we were due to be on board by 4:30 p. There were frequent phone calls asking where our bus was. Eventually we made it but not before Roberto reminded the women that there would not be time to shop at the tents set up on the pier. Still a few die hards tried. AS we were waiting in line, I saw a sign at the Guatamala tourism booth saying you could get a passport stamp. I asked about it and since we weren’t given our passports. I asked if she had a piece of paper she could stamp for em. Tthe lady stamped a map of Guatamala for me. Then she gave me a little pamphlet that has a women fabric bracelet on it with instructions to tie three knots and make a wish on each knot; the second one was to wish to return to Guatamala. Ed got one too and this is a nice souvenir.
On the way, Roberto told about the pier fees when a ship stays overtime. Here they aren’t bad: so many cents per foot or cabin or something like that. But the pilot and pilot boat fees are what are a shock. Recently a bus broke down and was 2 hrs late getting back to the ship. This meant the pilot and his boat were waiting for 2 hrs. This cost the ship $5000. Can you imagine what that figure would be in a larger port?
Education and socio economic status
Their illiteracy rate is high because the indigenous (Mayan) people don’t believe in education. This is the party line any way. I don’t believe education is free or mandatory. As usual there are a lot of “facts” given by the tour guide that sound specious; this is one of them.
There are only 2 SES classes: rich and poor; there is no middle class. Roberto described the two types of rich: the old rich who are gracious and understated. And the new class (read drug lords) who are brash, flashy, and cruel.
Equal Rights?
One of the passengers asked Roberto about equal rights for women in Guatamala. You may recall that several years ago an indigenous woman (Mayan I believe) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for equal rights efforts. He said, and I know this from previous reading, that she was not very popular and was not deserving of the prize. But he began by saying: “We are machismo men” and our word is final in the house. But the women they enjoy complete equality and they control the household. I did note everywhere that the women seemed to be the ones doing the work. Men cluster around street corners and shops seemingly doing nothing. I’m sure there must be many who are hard working but we only saw them for lunch as chefs (at least they had all the costume of such) and waiters. No women in those jobs which I assume are fairly good pay for the resort.
Also among the vendors, you don’t notice the men until you look at your photographs later. They are always in the background, even the boys. They are never in native dress whereas the farther up into the highlands you go, the more females are totally dressed in native costume. They are known for their tapestries, again made by women, and the pattern of the blouse tells where they are from. The skirt is a wrap around piece of material anchored by belts of fabric at the waist. They carry often enormous bundles on their heads and I never saw one remove those bundles.
Even small girls are caring for siblings at very young ages. One girl who didn’t look older than 8 yrs old had a baby of about 10 mos in a sling and she carried it all day. The baby must have weighed quite a bit for her size. There were a few other women with babies in slings. The babies never fuss and I always worry about them being drugged so they won’t be a bothering them while they sell.
Vendors?
I think the aggressiveness of these folks might be exceeded by the Turkish but not by much. They are literally in your face in and in your way. They swarm like flies. They tell you things are made by my grandmother and yet you can tell they are probably acrylic and machine made. There are some loomed tapestries which are quite lovely but still not worth the asking prices for their economy. I heard some folks on the bus discussing one woman who paid $75 for something. I haven’t a clue what could have been there worth anywhere near that amount.
They accosted us as we went from the bus to the lake and when we arrived across the lake for lunch, the same vendors were there waiting for us. The pitch is the same: “My name is Letitica. I remember you. You buy when you come back (across the lake)? I make you special prices.” The children say “Money for my school.” There’s little English they don’t understand though some of the children who appear to be preschool age, are still struggling with pronunciation.
One of the most disconcerting things they do is to get so close to you. Many of these folks don’t have good balance and may be using canes or other devices. Especially when we are climbing steep stone steps without guard rails, they scoot around these folks, take up half the step space (which isn’t wide enough for one American man anyway) and many folks are very frightened as the rest of us are for them. Mercifully they are not allowed on the bus, or on the boat though many would sneak on with impunity and the staff would scramble to get them off before we left the dock; even as the boat left, many were still in precarious positions and would have stayed on the boat if they could have stowed away.
At lunch, they were kept behind a wrought iron fence but they set up shop there and the barrier provided little impediment to hawking their wares. Many people were more comfortable with this arrangement as you could look at the products without being accosted.
I maintain my composure pretty well until they start touching my arm. They can see the medical sleeve. I change from nice tourist to Ms. Not so nice at that point. It is only the adults; the children never do this.
So: what products? There were a few tote bags with appliqué designs as well as some cloths about 3 ft x 2 ½ ft. Small table runners or chair covers. Most are machine made; some are clearly done on a loom. Many necklaces and bracelets made of diverse colored beads; none very attractive. Some necklaces made of wood and faux jade (they tell you it’s real of course. Jade is one of the products of Guatamala) are actually attractive and would match an ethnic themed outfit.
Security
Two busses travelled caravan style with a police car with us. We were told this was in case of a traffic jam. The police would move all the cars aside so we could go past and thus we wouldn’t lose time. Sure… We passed a truck carrying sodas and beer with open sides. An armed, and here I mean military quality rifles, guard was perched in the center of the truck bed protecting the cargo we presume. There are police seen with regularity in the more densely populated areas but as you rise into the highlands, they are seen less and less.
The guide claimed that some people smoke marijuana but otherwise they have no drug problem. Cocaine will not grow here; he never said why. But he did say that the country is a warehouse for drugs moving north. He even described air drops of packages of cocaine.
Dinner
Glen and Mickey weren’t there but we all shared our day. Jean and Jeff stayed on the ship except for looking around the tents on the pier. Ellie and Lysle went to Antigua where there is a Music Museum (Ellie is a music teacher). There was a walk of several blocks to see the local sites. Ellie said there was a policeman on every other corner. Lysle stayed on the bus because he is unstable when walking and the cobblestone streets were more than he could manage with the inclines and such. He does take trekker sticks and we should have taken ours for the Lake trip too.
Entertainment
Claude Eric did a short program. He has a wonderful music theatre style and a marvelous voice. This was followed by a juggler “comedian”. I stayed until I couldn’t bear it anymore (in all candor: he was a good juggler and his comedy was rather simple but unoffensive. However, this is more Ed’s thing than mine. I spent the time before dinner and other bits of time downloading our 300+ (between us) photos and deleting a lot. Taking photos through a bus window keeps the memories for us but would be lost on others. And we just keep shooting hoping we’ll get something crisp enough to recognize.
Tomorrow we have a day at sea. Hurrah! And there’s a special Sunday buffet which is always a great treat. The Red Hats have an informal get together just after noon and before they go to the buffet. I’m not sure if I’ll join them or not.