Chichicastenango
No politics today: Today I again refuse to satirize the Democratic nomination process. They are doing quite a good job themselves. Instead I will talk about some excitement during a recent visit to Guatemala. It is a beautiful country on the south border of Mexico. Like the U.S. if is bounded east and west by the Atlantic and Pacific oceans respectively. The weather is not unlike Hawaii – eternal springtime.
First visit can get one hooked: My first visit to Guatemala was in early 2007. I spent most of my time visiting three universities and a college of dentistry that are all in close proximity of one another in the capital, Guatemala City. University Francisco Marroquin was named for a holy man and is the one that caters to the wealthiest students. Their curriculum: law, economics, medicine, assures that they produce many of the country’s movers and shakers. Universidad de Valle is also beautiful but most of its students do not come from the privileged background of its neighbor. Universidad Galileo is my favorite. They are the “University of the 21st Century,” as they were founded in the year 2000 by a brilliant scientist, politico and educator, Dr. Eduardo Suger.
Former capital Antigua: For many years Antigua was the capital but an earthquake changed all that and the capital was moved to the current location. Still, Antigua is a must-visit, especially if you get lonesome for ex-patriot Americans or if you wish to immerse yourself in one of the many Spanish language households.
Highways, byways, and buses: This time we were taken to a village several hours away in the mountains. The highways are improving under the plan of newly-elected President Colom, but driver education is something to be imagined. Our driver was named Louis. He had worked several years in the U.S. but returned home to care for his ailing father. Louis carried a handkerchief that he used to wipe his right eye while driving to Chichicastenango.
The narrow mountain roads had no apparent speed limits as we passed several police cars while doing 60+. Center lines mean little as we were passed around blind curves by buses doing 80+. I learned that every little boy in poverty imagines being a bus driver. The buses are personalized like some of the 18-wheelers in the U.S., with girlfriend’s names and home villages painted or etched in gorgeous artwork.
Locals and Yokels: Locals ride the buses along with their goods to sell at market, including pigs, chickens, bricks, tile, clothing, and any manner of items. The goods are stowed atop the bus and a “conductor” rides the top like a bucking bronco rider as the bus swings back and forth around suicide curves. At each stop the conductor amazingly knows whose baggage belongs to whom, for as the peasants exit the bus their stuff is tossed down to them even as the bus clamors to get back on the road. Time is money, you know.
After several close calls with other vehicles and mountain roads with no guardrails, we arrived in Chichicastanango. I asked our guide about his eye and he replied, “I recently lost this eye and have very bad cataracts in the other one.”
Thinking quickly I said, “I’ve always wanted to drive in Guatemala. Do you think I could drive back?” He agreed and I drove the return trip. The ride home was not nearly as eventful or as quick, but we arrived.
A little blogging music Maestro... Duane Eddy’s “Forty Miles of Bad Road” comes to mind.
Dr. Forgot
Showing posts with label Guatemala. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guatemala. Show all posts
Friday, March 7, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Traveling
Guatemala
Did you miss me? We just returned from a trip to Guatemala and did not have time to write while gone. The country is beautiful. It has had a peaceful and stable democracy for the past couple of decades and recently elected a new president. As an American in the political season we sometimes get caught up in our own affairs and do not realize the wealth of other cultures. This is ironic since we are the melting pot of the world.
Habla usted? One reason that we often don’t outward is that we are such a large country. Many of our states are larger than most countries. Another is our wealth. If California were a country, and some believe it should be (just kidding), it would be one of the world’s wealthiest. Another reason is that we can travel coast to coast and border to border for thousands of miles and everybody speaks the same language. In fact, Europeans often tell this joke: “A person who speaks many languages is multi-lingual. A person who speaks three languages is tri-lingual. A person who speaks two languages is bi-lingual, and a person who speaks one language is American.”
Surprises and excitement: I was surprised by the beautiful college campuses in Guatemala. San Carlos University is public and has some 40,000 students and a gaggle of areas of study. Francisco Marroquin University is perhaps the most lavish with stunning architecture in a gorgeous tropical surrounding. The university of the twenty-first century in Guatemala is Galileo University. It is headed by Dr. Eduardo Suger, a brilliant visionary who was a presidential candidate in the recent election. Galileo University is aptly named for the Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer and philosopher who led the scientific revolution in sixteenth century. Today’s students at Galileo emulate their namesake with studies and technology to rival that of any U.S. University.
A religious experience: Guatemala has much to offer and a rich history. Indigenous Mayans performed dentistry and brain surgery in today’s Guatemala when Europeans were fighting with spears. Ruins of the ancient cities are visible in many parts of the country. To get to those places requires a car or bus ride that is guaranteed to bring religion to the hearts of any American who thinks the LA freeways or the I-95 corridor is a traffic experience.
We visited several locations including Chichicastenango, a historic mountain village about three hours from Guatemala City. It is famous for the market that draws many different indigenous Indian groups who sell to locals and tourists. The village is breathtaking as is the trip to get there. Mountains roads, many of which are being improved to four lane highways but are still often under construction, mixed with bus and truck drivers who are out of the best chase scene in any James Bond movie make the trip one that will cause any atheist a reason to find religion.
Back to puns, politics, and satire next week: We will likely need the weekend to recover from our travels but fear not. Our tongue-in-cheek election coverage and Las Vegas updates will return next week. In the meantime we will pause to reflect over the Guatemalan experience where we met some of the most intellectual and hospitable people and saw some of the most beautiful countryside in the world.
A little blogging music maestro… Rick Nelson’s “Travlin’ Man.”
Dr. Forgot.
Did you miss me? We just returned from a trip to Guatemala and did not have time to write while gone. The country is beautiful. It has had a peaceful and stable democracy for the past couple of decades and recently elected a new president. As an American in the political season we sometimes get caught up in our own affairs and do not realize the wealth of other cultures. This is ironic since we are the melting pot of the world.
Habla usted? One reason that we often don’t outward is that we are such a large country. Many of our states are larger than most countries. Another is our wealth. If California were a country, and some believe it should be (just kidding), it would be one of the world’s wealthiest. Another reason is that we can travel coast to coast and border to border for thousands of miles and everybody speaks the same language. In fact, Europeans often tell this joke: “A person who speaks many languages is multi-lingual. A person who speaks three languages is tri-lingual. A person who speaks two languages is bi-lingual, and a person who speaks one language is American.”
Surprises and excitement: I was surprised by the beautiful college campuses in Guatemala. San Carlos University is public and has some 40,000 students and a gaggle of areas of study. Francisco Marroquin University is perhaps the most lavish with stunning architecture in a gorgeous tropical surrounding. The university of the twenty-first century in Guatemala is Galileo University. It is headed by Dr. Eduardo Suger, a brilliant visionary who was a presidential candidate in the recent election. Galileo University is aptly named for the Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer and philosopher who led the scientific revolution in sixteenth century. Today’s students at Galileo emulate their namesake with studies and technology to rival that of any U.S. University.
A religious experience: Guatemala has much to offer and a rich history. Indigenous Mayans performed dentistry and brain surgery in today’s Guatemala when Europeans were fighting with spears. Ruins of the ancient cities are visible in many parts of the country. To get to those places requires a car or bus ride that is guaranteed to bring religion to the hearts of any American who thinks the LA freeways or the I-95 corridor is a traffic experience.
We visited several locations including Chichicastenango, a historic mountain village about three hours from Guatemala City. It is famous for the market that draws many different indigenous Indian groups who sell to locals and tourists. The village is breathtaking as is the trip to get there. Mountains roads, many of which are being improved to four lane highways but are still often under construction, mixed with bus and truck drivers who are out of the best chase scene in any James Bond movie make the trip one that will cause any atheist a reason to find religion.
Back to puns, politics, and satire next week: We will likely need the weekend to recover from our travels but fear not. Our tongue-in-cheek election coverage and Las Vegas updates will return next week. In the meantime we will pause to reflect over the Guatemalan experience where we met some of the most intellectual and hospitable people and saw some of the most beautiful countryside in the world.
A little blogging music maestro… Rick Nelson’s “Travlin’ Man.”
Dr. Forgot.
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