 Guatemala
(Tikal - Guatemala Stadt - Antigua)
Guate - a country full of extremes
[November 2, 2004] Now I am in the 3rd world country, I thought
after crossing the border from Belize and had driven a few
miles on a shitty road. After the nearly perfect paradise
I was pushed into the poverty, a brutal reality. No more white
sandy beaches, therefore no electricity, no fresh water supply
and no sanitary installations. Nada! The kids bathing in the
dirty brown waters of the river while the mothers were cleaning
the clothes in the same river.
A couple hours later and with lots of thoughts in mind I
arrived in Flores, a nice town on a peninsula separated mainly
for tourists. Policemen guarded the entrance, welcome to reality.
Nadine and Cello, my Swiss friends, had already organized
a little room with parking for the bike, a warm welcome. On
the next day we went to Tikal, the former great city of the
Mayas. And today revealed in their original beauty with the
myths of the Maya culture while surrounded by jungle.
The road to Guatemala city is in good condition, I pass a
nice landscape like with lakes, rivers and jungle. The main
city itself proved to be dirty, loud and not promising at
all so I decided to continue towards Antigua. Here I started
to go back to school, this time for more intensive Spanish
lessons to improve my skills for the future countries. And
still to have an opportunity to learn more about the country,
the people and their life.
So again I had a short vacation during my hard trip…
yes, once more, friends. Party at night, school in the morning,
siesta in the afternoon, all topped by 3 meals a day. A habit
I could adopt very easily with no pain. And good excursions
followed as well like the Volcano Pacaya
or playing soccer with the locals, showing the Aleman style
(rather animal style).
During the 2 weeks I had good and intensive discussions with
Rolando, my maestro, about his country, the civil war, the
free elections and the actual problems. While hearing these
stories one gets quiet and things more about our luxurious
lifestyle and our youth filled with everything. And one gets
thankful for the chances we have had. Especially when seeing
the little boys polishing the shoes and earning the money
for the benefit of his brothers and sisters.
It was not only the civil war but also the hard and strong
earthquakes that left destruction of the countries assets.
But it also left a special charm I found in Antigua.
And the people have arranged their life with this force, too.
With these strong impressions in mind and having meet new
friends I said Goodbye and took of in direction El
Salvador, the neighbour in the South. And leave Guatemala
behind with its beauty and strong contrasts.
Hasta la proxima,
Rasmus
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