Travels of the Bay family and the Yoda Van

Today was our last day in Guatemala. We have been here for over 5 weeks and we have seen more than we are able to comprehend. There are only 2 sites we still would like to see, but I think we can do that on our way home. One site is a famous textile market in Chichicastenango and the other are the ruins of Tikal, the most spectacular Mayan pyramids.
Even though I didn’t like Antigua (the most beautiful city in Guatemala) too much and I was counting days to be done with the language school and head on to warmer climate in El Salvador, I wouldn’t want to miss this week. We had an extremely nice ending to our stay in Guatemala. We went out with a couple from Switzerland and a couple from Austria who we met last Wednesday on the Day of the Dead.

We went to an Austrian restaurant and ate wiener schnitzel, had plenty of beers and just enjoyed each others company. We saw lot of things on our trip and had a lot of experiences, but one of the highlights is talking to other travelers and sharing stories. We have learned so much from other travelers and after 3 months on the road we can finally give back to others what we liked and what we learned. Unfortunately we ran out of diapers for Julian and had to leave the restaurant early, but one of the couples we will probably meet again in Costa Rica. On the way home we took on of the local taxis called Tuctuc. I don’t really know how to describe them. They are part motorcycle part car. They have a 2 stroke engine, three wheels, no steering wheel, but a motorcycle handle and a bench that seats 3 people. We have seen those things all over Guatemala, but never took one. The kids really liked it and I would have probably enjoyed it more if I would have known the address of our family, but instead I had to give the driver directions with my broken Spanish.
November 1^st is the Day of the Dead, a day that is celebrated in all of central America, Mexico and probably many other nations around the world.  I don’t know too much about the history and the traditions about this day, but we have always been curious about it. In Guatemala on of the traditions is to build kites, and write message on them for the friends and relative that passed away. Some people work on those kites for months and they were huge (like 3 story buildings). We were told to go to Santiago de Zacatepequez and watch the kites. We took 3 chicken busses an actually found the place. We had no idea where to go and decided to just follow the crowd. The crowd became bigger and bigger and the street was getting narrower. At times it was almost impossible to move. We saw some kites in the air, but it wasn’t too spectacular, but we kept following the crowd. At one point I looked around and only saw happy faces, people celebrating, enjoying the food and just having a good time. It took me a moment to realize that we were in the midst of a cemetery. People were sitting and standing on tombstones and walking over freshly dug raised piles of dirt where people were buried.  To launch the kites you had to run over this uneven terrain, which was quite difficult at times.  Cemeteries in Europe are sad, somber places, and this place was full of life.  It was also full of colors as every grave was decorated in bright yellow and purple marigolds, and we were all surrounded by the colorful kites and clothing of the indigenous Mayans.
The chicken buses on the way home were packed.  Our whole group got separated and Allison and I had to take separate chicken buses home.  We all came home happy to have met such nice friends and also to have witnessed such a neat holiday.

We just started the last week in Guatemala and we are taking one more week of Spanish classes in Antigua. Antigua is one of the most beautiful cities we have seen on our trip and yet I don’t really like the city. Our Lonely Planet travel guide describes Antigua perfectly.

“Antigua’s profusion of language schools and drinking holes has made it a magnet for half-assed language students and serious cocktail swillers alike, and there is always a sizeable gringo population. Some people love it, some people hate it, but you’d be silly to miss it.”

Before coming to Antigua we were invited by a couple we met in Semuc Champey (the place with all the boring, horny people) to spend a few nights with them in their apartment in Guatemala City. Guatemala City is a place we initially were not interested in, because we heard that it is dangerous and that there is not too much to see. However, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a comfortable (free) bed and a lot of modern amenities (e.g. a shower with water pressure, hot AND cold water, carpet, McDonalds, etc.). Besides we really liked Kari and Adam and they had very interesting stories to tell about their teaching assignment in Alaska. We spent one night watching movies they made during their 2 year stay in Alaska on a remote island north of mainland Alaska (in Anwar, the remote place were the republicans want to drill for oil). They showed us movies of the locals catching whales and slaughtering them. It was pretty bloody, but it was a once in a lifetime experience for them, and their stories even made me consider to start teaching and also start foreign assignments. Yet again, we heard great, interesting stories of other travelers traveling in their own way.

Guatemala City was exactly how I pictured it to be. It had busy roads, McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut and every other imaginable fast food joint. It even has Taco Bell, Chuck E. Cheese and Hooters. The only thing that’s missing for it to be a real world class city is Starbucks.

Like most big cities in Guatemala, or the rest of the world for that matter, crime is a huge problem. The statistics on crime in Guatemala are mind-boggling. I heard all kinds of crazy numbers. Ever since the civil war ended in 1996, crime moved from the mountains to the cities. Gangs started forming that rival any gang in Los Angeles, Chicago or New York. Tourists are not affected by the violent crime, as long as they following simple rules like don’t go to remote places at night, don’t show your money around etc. Common sense, really. The only idea you get about crime as a tourist are the armed guards protecting businesses. In the parking lot of a mall we went shopping at there were at least 15 armed guards. I was real happy to see that even beer trucks have an armed guard on them. The Guatemalans have their priorities straight.

I also read that a lot of street children live in Guatemala City and they are either sniffing glue or end in prostitution, dead or missing. Although we didn’t see any, they must lead similar lives to the thousands of wild street dogs in Mexico and Guatemala and probably in the rest of Central America. While in the states dogs get to wear Halloween costumes, in Guatemala cars don’t even break for them (no joke). I have seen several almost hits, one dog being hit by a car, and countless dead dogs on the side of the road.

Remember the Wolf? Wolf was the guy in Las Vegas who fixed our car and gave me great advice on how to drive the Yodavan. (Unfortunately I didn’t ask him about a passenger limit for the car.) Anyways, the list of things to fix on the Yodavan was growing and luckily Kari and Adam knew Oliver. Oliver is a 25 year old guy who runs a repair place called “Das Auto” which was just down the road from where we were staying. Oliver changed the oil, replaced the 2 mirrors which were broken in Xela, fixed our trunk door and checked the breaks which were smoking when we were driving to the coast for less than $60 US. So the next time you run into car problems near Las Vegas or Guatemala City let us know and we will hook you up with either the Wolf of Oliver. We still have a leaking gas tank however, so if anyone of you knows a VW mechanic near San Salvador get in touch with us since that is where we’ll be next week.