DAY 11 - PUERTO QUETZAL, GUATEMALA - FEBRUARY 6, 2010

TODAY WAS ANOTHER FULL DAY OF ACTIVITY AS WE TOURED THE LAKE ATITLAN AND THE MAYAN HIGHLANDS APPROXIMATELY 5000 FT ABOVE SEA LEVEL IN THE MOUNTAINS OF GUATEMALA.

WE WERE ON THE BUS AND ON THE ROAD BY 7:30 AM. IT IS JUST ABOUT TWO AND A HALF HOURS BY BUS. SHORTLY AFTER ROBERTO, OUR GUIDE FOR TODAY, INTRODUCED HIMSELF THE PA SYSTEM FAILED; SO BEING THE PLEASING GUIDE THAT HE WAS HE RADIOED FOR ANOTHER BUS. WE SLOWED OUR PACE AND WITHIN 20 MINUTES WE WERE SWITCHING BUSES ALONG THE HIGHWAY.

WE SOON EXITED THE MAIN HIGHWAY AND ONTO SOME VERY SHABBY SECONDARY ROADS. WE PASSED ARCRES AND ARCRES OF SUGAR CANE FIELDS, SOME BEING HARVESTED, OTHERS SHOWING SIGNS OF NEW GROWTH. SPRINKLED AMONG THE CANES WERE MILES AND MILES OF PINEAPPLE FIELDS. MOST OF THE PINEAPPLE WAS NEW GROWTH ALL IN SYMMETRICAL ROWS WITH BRIGHT GEEN FOLIAGE.

OUR JOURNEY SOON TOOK US INTO THE NARROW STREETS OF SMALL, POOR VILLAGES. CONCRETE BLOCK, METAL ROOFED HOMES LINED THE STREETS AND LITER WAS THROWN ALL ABOUT. PEOPLE GATHERED AROUND MANY OF THE SMALL ESTABLISHMENTS CHATTING, LAUGHING AND SEEMINGLY UNAWARE OF THEIR SURROUNDINGS. THE 2 LARGE BUSES WITH ALL ITS PASSENGERS DID HOWEVER CATCH THEIR EYE AS WE DROVE BY. THE YOUNG CHILDREN RAN CLOSER TO THE BUS TO WAVE AND SMILE.

ROBERTO ANNOUNCED WHAT OUR MARCHING ORDERS WERE WHEN WE WOULD BE ARRIVING AT THE NEARBY HOTEL WHICH LEADS TO THE BOAT LAUNCH. HE STRONGLY SUGGESTED TO MAKE POTTY STOPS IN AS MUCH AS THE BOAT RIDE ACROSS LAKE ATITLAN WOULD TAKE AN HOUR. ADDITIONALLY, THE LAKE IS BIG AND THE BOAT IS SLOW.

AS WE EXITED THE BUS HOARDS OF LOCALS CHARGED US TRYING TO SELL THEIR GOODS. THE SMALL KIDS ARE THE ONES THAT STRIKE YOUR HEART, WISHING YOU COULD BUY ALL OF THEIR GOODS, TAKING THEM OUT OF POVERTY, FOR A WHILE.

EVENTUALLY WE MADE OUR WAY DOWN THE LONG PATH TO THE BOAT LAUNCH. EACH OF US HANDED A LIFE VEST AS WE BOARDED, WHICH DOESN’T INSTILL ANY SENSE OF ASSURANCE. ROBERTO WAS CORRECT IN HIS ASSESSMENT THAT THE LAKE WAS LONG AND THE BOAT WAS SLOW. ALTHOUGH THE TRIP ACROSS THE LAKE WAS ONLY AN HOUR IT FELT LIKE MORE. THE SEATS WERE SMALL, CLOSE TOGETHER AND VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. MANY OF US FOUND OUR WAY TO THE FRONT OF THE BOAT, THROUGH A SMALL OPENING, AND STOOD ALL THE WAY TO OUR DESTINATION.

AGAIN, HOARDS OF LOCALS CHARGED THE BOAT, EVEN TO THE POINT OF CLOGGING THE WALKWAY ON THE PIER, TRYING TO SELL THEIR GOODS. THEY SEEMED TO “COME OUT OF THE WOODWORK” WITH EACH STEP WE TOOK TOWARD THE HOTEL. HOUNDING US TO BUY THEIR GOODS, THEY GATHER ALL THE WAY TO THE GATE WHICH WAS PATROLLED BY A SECURITY GAURD. I’M SURE THEY WOULD HAVE COME TO THE TABLES IN THE RESTAURANT IF NOT RESTRICTED FROM DOING SO.

THE MEAL WAS AGAIN INCLUDED AS PART OF THE TOUR. ALTHOUGH NOT ENTIRELY A SPANISH MEAL, THERE WERE TORTILLAS AND SALSA, STEAK, CHICKEN, POTATOES VEGGIES AND RICE AS PART OF THE OFFERINGS. DESSERTS WERE ALSO ON TAP WITH THE BEST ITEM BEING HOME MADE CHURROS.

WE WERE INSTRUCTED TO BE BACK ON THE BOAT AT 1:00 PM, AS THE SCHEDULE WAS EXTREMELY TIGHT. OUR INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE SHIP WERE TO BE ONBOARD BY 4:30 PM. THE SHIP WAS SET TO SAIL AT 5:00 PM.

AS WE ARRIVED AT THE ORIGINAL LAUNCH SITE THE LOCALS BEGAN RUNNING TO THE PIER EGERLY AWAITING OUR ARRIVAL. IT WAS ALL WE COULD DO TO WALK THE HILL BACK TO THE BUS AND STILL BE POLITE, COURTEOUS AND IN A HURRY. OUR FIRST HURTLE, GETTING THROUGH THE LOCALS, WAS ACCOMPLISHED AND GETTING THE LARGE BUS THROUGH THE NARROW STREETS WAS OUR DRIVERS NEXT TASK.

HOME FREE AT LAST, SO WE THOUGHT. SHORTLY AFTER DESCENDING THE MOUNTAIN WE AGAIN WERE HAMPERED BY THE ROAD PAVING CREWS DILIGENTLY INSTALLING A NEW ROADWAY. ARRIVING AT THE SHIP ON TIME WAS NOT BEGINNING TO LOOK VERY GOOD. AS WE GOT CLOSER TO THE PORT ROBERTO’S CELL PHONE RANG ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. EACH TIME THE SAME QUESTION WAS ASK, “HOW CLOSE ARE YOU?”.

AS WE ARRIVED AT THE SECURITY GATE THE LINEUP OF TRAILER TRUCKS WAS ENDLESS. SO CLOSE, YET SO FAR. ROBERTO EXITED THE BUS AND RAN TOWARD THE GATE. OUR DRIVE PULLED THE BUS INTO THE LANES COMING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, THEN BACK TO THE CORRECT SIDE AND FINALLY INTO THE FAR RIGHT LANE AND THROUGH THE GATE AND TO THE PIER. ARRIVAL TIME 4:40 PM.

THE GANGWAY WAS CROWDED WITH PEOPLE; BUT ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, SO THEY SAY. THE PACIFIC PRINCESS MOVED FROM THE PIER AT

5:00 PM AS SCHEDULED. ACAPULCO HERE WE COME.

GEORGIA AND I SKIPPED DINNER AGAIN. BECAUSE WE HAD TO MUCH TO EAT FOR LUNCH WE CHOOSE THE HONORABLE WAY OUT. THERE IS NO NEED TO FORCE FEED JUST FOR THE SAKE OF EATING. WE DID MANAGE A SMALL SALAD AT 7:30 AND MADE IT TO THE EVENING SHOW BY SHOWTIME...8:15.

CLAUDE ERIC, THE SINGER FROM THE OTHER NIGHT PERFORMED FOR 40 MINUTES AND A YOUNG FELLOW, WHO JUGGLES, AND CLOWNS AROUND, FINISHED UP THE EVENING. BOTH WERE VERY GOOD AND VERY ENTERTAINING,

FACTS ABOUT GUATEMALA:

13 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRY WITH 3,5 MILLION LIVING IN THE CAPITAL GUATEMALA CITY. THE SOUTH PRODUCES SUGARCANE, COTTON AND LATEX WHEREAS THE NORTH PRODUCES COFFEE, VEGGIES AND MANGO.

THERE ARE 24 DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS IN GUATEMALA AND 24 DIFFERENT DIALECTS. GUATEMALA IS HOME TO 34 VOLCANOS, 3 OF WHICH ARE ACTIVE, 2 OF WHICH ARE LOCATED IN THE PUERTO QUETZAL AREA.

85% OF ALL TOURIST TO GUATEMALA ARE EUROPEANS, FOR SOME STRANGE REASON. 70% OF ALL LAND IN GUATEMALA IS OWNED BY ONLY A FEW PEOPLE AND THEREFORE THERE ARE ONLY RICH PEOPLE OR POOR PEOPLE...THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS MIDDLE-CLASS.

SCHOOLING IS NOT MANDATORY, THERE ARE 14 DIFFERENT ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS.

AS AN EFFORT TO KEEP PEOPLE WORKING IN THE HARVESTING OF SUGARCANE, IT IS ALL ACCOMPLISHED WITHOUT THE USE OF LARGE HARVESTING MACHINES. IT IS ALL CUT BY MEN WIELDING MACHETES. WITH CONTROLLED FIRES, TO BURN AWAY THE FOLIAGE, THEY CLEAR SMALL AREAS JUST LARGE ENOUGH TO HARVEST IN 2 DAYS OR LESS. IF THE CANE IS NOT HARVESTED WITHIN THAT PERIOD THE CANE BEGINS TO FERMET AND LOSES IT VALUE.