I was in the middle of the post below (January 3^rd) when “zap” the screen on my laptop gave out. Black and white vertical lines that would change as I typed. Sh*%&t. I was just getting into the grove with the Tigo card and laptop and finding a rhythm in writing. But, alas, it was not to be. Back home now, awaiting the delivery of the new laptop screen tomorrow and I thought I’d do a small (turning out to be big) wrap up of impressions from the trip and the transitions back to another world.

 

First – the post in progress as I was able to save it – everything worked on the laptop but the screen:

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Comfort Zones

We came over the mountains today on a lovely high mountain road in the “chipy chipy”. Not sure of the spelling, but it is the local phrase for that misty rain that we don’t have in New Mexico. Beautiful scenery with a bit of neblina (fog) and clouds shrouding the mountains. Dirt for 2 hours then we “descended” into country a bit dryer but with that high mountain moistness and coolness. We had planned to stay in Quiché, but decided to go another 20K to Chichimaltenago as tomorrow is one of the biggest markets in Guatemala. Likely will be more touristy, but it is …

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Another 2 weeks of travel and lots of cool things to see and do. Some pics from the latter part of the trip interspersed…
Now, back to impressions:

In general, the “nice” restaurants and hotels (by US standards) are owned by expats (pick your Anglo/European nationality). In a few instances we found Guatemalans who had lived abroad for quite awhile and returned home as owners, but it was not the norm. This US transition in culture has not hit the Guatemalan psyche.

 

Walmart incognito. There are Walmarts in Guatemala – only in Guatemala City as far as we saw, however, there are two other chains Pais (an upscale supermarket in large towns) and Despensa Familiar (in most towns of any size) that are Walmart in disguise. Costco is also there under the name of Price Mart. Not sure if these were existing stores purchases by the American companies, or if it is a marketing strategy. But, seems to be working. BTW, our Costco card does not work at Price Mart.

 

 

Churches… the presence of evangelical churches is high in Guatemala. Don’t remember seeing this presence in Mexico or Ecuador. As for the Catholics – in Mexico, it seemed every town had a cathedral, even small towns. In Guatemala, towns all have a catholic church, but the footprint is much smaller – not so many grand facades and not always on the plaza. Much more in line with what we see in New Mexico with smaller churches. What was happening in Mexico???

 

What is it with carved giraffes? We are not in Africa. Yes, parrots, toucans, armadillos, jaguars, butterflies, etc. – endemic creatures to the area. But carved giraffes? They are very cute and well done, but please. One of the few totally touristical (a new word we just love from a local guy we met in Livingston) things we saw in Guatemala.

 

Guatemala has lots of really beautiful scenery and the friendliest people I have met anywhere in the world. Just about everyone we met had a smile for us and seemed accepting of our presence. Not true in many other places. A very appealing attribute. Contrary to all the information regarding Guatemala having one of the highest murder rates in the world (both families we know in Guatemala have had a family member murdered) and it being very unsafe in general, Jim and I never felt unsafe. We traveled quite widely in both small and large towns and in remote areas and never had that “we better watch out” feeling. Granted, the safety issue may be more with locals but you do hear stories about tourists as well.

 

Probably the hardest thing for me overall on the trip, was lack of warm (forget hot) showers. When we were in Monterico on the coast, the weather was hot and humid, so a cold shower was OK. But in other places, it was cool in the mornings and, it sure would have been nice to have some warmth in the water. Most of the hotels told us they had hot water, but it was just not the case. Solar hot water heaters are somewhat common, but I’d say they have not really figured them out. Obviously, not a priority. It always amazed me, how well turned out everyone was knowing they were taking cold showers. Much heartier than I!

 

So, getting home, the first shower was oh so wonderful. No it was glorious!! The other thing that really struck me was the smoothness of the roads. Guatemala has some good roads, but they all have topes (speed bumps) in them. There are hardly any road without topes, even on major highways. That coupled with the cobbles of Antigua and the potholes of many smaller roads and it did get a bit old. Heading up I-25 towards home, I felt I was floating on air. (Actually a bit like getting on my modern motorcycle after riding across the country on the 1927 Cannonball bike)

 

We are settling in, almost caught up on all the things put on hold and gearing up for a late-winter and spring of house chores getting the house ready for another nieces wedding. She has chosen our home and expansive views for her special event. Very flattered.