After a long struggle with multiple days of good parties, a little bit of sickness, and quite the journey on a series of chicken buses, the back of a pickup truck, and a boat trip through the thick mangroves of the Pacific Coast of Guatemala, Harvey and I have survived the Xela experience and find ourselves in the serene and beautiful beachtown of Monterrico.
Our time is Xela was absolutely fantastic to say the least. Spending two weeks getting to know not only the city but many of the people was an invaluable experience, and Jamil and his roommates hospitality can never be overstated. My time is Xela was mainly spent navigating the markets, looking all over town for a guitar store (didn’t find one), befriending both gringos and chapins alike, jumping in the deepend of street food, and drinking what is quite possibly the greatest booze ever created: Quetzalteca.
Quetzalteca is an aguardiente, which is similar to rum in the fact that it is a derivative of sugar cane, but very different in regards to the fact that a liter of it costs about $3.50. Now back home when you think of any booze that would cost $3.50—let alone an entire liter of it—you probably would make a face of disgust and vow to never, ever try that cheap, harmful liquor. It is with this sentiment that Quetzalteca will blow your mind, because this liquor not only mixes PERFECTLY with just about any mixer but I have yet to have a hangover from drinking only Quetzalteca. In fact, I feel great the next day. I’m not sure if this is a good thing.So after a few nights of making fools out of ourselves trying to learn how to dance salsa, we were able to catch a few nights of live music. While the dance clubs are a lot of fun in Guatemala, this country is obsessed with maybe five songs and it seems as if those are the only songs that get played. So some live, original music was a nice relief from all of that. We were able to catch one salsa band that absolutely set the dance floor on fire (for everyone else—not our gringo asses), and watching seasoned salsa dancers at their best is one of the coolest things to experience. Moving across the floor with movements that resemble water, the men spin the women around, contorting their bodies in a way that defines not only the beat of the song but oftentimes gravity itself. But being gringos that haven’t had enough practice to tear it up on the salsa floor just yet, we needed to find some enjoyable music more our speed.
This past Saturday seemingly all of the youth in Xela packed themselves in a small club to witness the energy of latin reggae artist Dr. Sativo. Originally from Guatemala, Dr. Sativo made a name for himself not only playing with his former band, Barrio Candela, on the streets of Barcelona, but also releasing an ode to his homeland (a song aptly named “Guatemala”), which received quite a bit of praise in these parts of the world. Dr. Sativo’s nine piece band drew up a new definition for the word party, as seemingly every Spanish speaker in the room knew every word to every one of his songs. Sharing one of our last evenings in such a spectacular city with just about all our friends that we’ve made in this country was beyond blissful, and it will defiantly go down as one of the top highlights in this country.
Then we woke up the next day.
A little beaten and battered, we all went out to breakfast to enjoy some greasy hangover food and hot coffee. Not feeling the best (due to a bit of a sickness that had been bothering me for a few days), I took a heavy dosage of vitamins and Dayquil to help battle my illness.
Due to the sheer amount of pollution in the Guatemalan cities, I haven’t really felt close to 100% since being in the country. While it seems that a bit of my asthma from my youth has made a slight comeback, really I can’t imagine anyone (asthma or not) not having a difficult time breathing with so much diesel exhaust in the air.
While my self medication allowed me to make a quick recovery in under 24 hours, Adam, did not fair so well. In addition to feeling a bit affected by the pollution, Adam also unfortunately thinks he ate a bad piece of meat at a BBQ we had prior to the Dr. Sativo concert on Saturday. His stomach didn’t fair too well, and in an effort to combat his sickness with as much haste as possible, we visited the Xela Red Cross for a little checkup.
A full IV, antibiotics, and two and a half hours later we were able to leave the Red Cross, but his sickness led to the three of us to make a decision to postpone Chiapas, Mexico and head to the beach. However, the only problem with heading to the beach is the fact that you have to take the stomach-turning chicken buses roughly seven hours to get there. We made the decision to head that way on Tuesday morning, and after boarding a chicken bus early, it did not take to long for Adam to realize he probably wouldn’t make the journey in one piece.
To be honest, there are a lot of things in Guatemala that aren’t for everyone—and you learn that very quickly down here. Being crammed into a chicken bus with sweating Guatemalans literally sitting on your lap while they slurp off every bit of meat off the chicken that they just bought through the bus window, is not something I would recommend to too many people. Hell even sitting on a chicken bus without it being crammed is not for too many people, especially if you get tense when driving. Some of the street food, while delicious, may look sketchy at best, and without being too graphic lets just say that just about everyone battles with their stomach at some point while visiting. However, I’ve found that pushing through these things are what makes the struggles worth it.
It’s very easy for someone to come to Latin America and go to the places that make life easy and seem like you are in the States. But while you can do these things very, very easily down here, I always wonder what is the point? What can you learn about the people, the culture, the way of life of the people in Latin America if you stay within your comfort zone? What do you learn from your fellow countrymen/women and global citizens traveling abroad when you sacrifice everything for adventure? Hell, what do you learn about yourself?
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| This book: Don't read it while in Latin America. |
There aren’t enough words in my vocabulary to show the amount of respect I have for those down here, on the ground making an impact. I have the deepest, deepest respect for those I have befriended not only in Habitat and the Peace Corps down here, but those who are traveling, volunteering and writing back home about these places (not only in Guatemala but throughout Latin America—especially anyone reading this in Haiti).
My biggest regret of this trip is how little I have felt I have done. There are a million and a half excuses, but none of them hold up to the truth that I have just been lazy with my time. There is still time left, and I hope I am able to give back more than just a few quetzales, a “thank you”, a smile, and my story. I hope to learn this language in the future, because without it you can only get a glimpse of the life down here. Also, for the record, Guatemala isn’t just a life of struggles and have-nots, but also a place of culture vibrancy, smiles, and an unbelievable willingness to help outsiders—a willingness that I really have not felt in too many places through my travels in the United States (unless, of course, money was involved).
Going through the struggles down here, while living through your own personal hell of a sickness is not something I would wish upon anyone. Due to his sickness (and after a few days he looked like he lost quite a bit of weight), Adam made the decision that it was his time to go, and I’ll defiantly miss having him around. I had more than my fair share of apprehensions about traveling down here, and I almost didn’t even come. But it was because of his persistence and my faith in his judgment that I made it down to this country, and for these experiences that I have had and for these friends I have met, I cannot thank him enough.
Adam leaving has certainly started a new chapter in this adventure for us, and while we will miss him, Harvey and I plan to push forward. When talking to Adam, he stated that being abroad for an extended period of time really makes you realize where your boundaries are and you really learn something about yourself. For me, I’ve learned that this experience is only the beginning, and I thrive in these environments. I’m thriving in the unknown. Thriving abroad.
A side note: I want to mention that technology is pretty cool. For $20 I purchased a little mobil modem for my computer that works all over Guatemala (even on black sand beaches). Why would I do something like this is such a pristine area? Well, Radiohead has a new album out, and I'll be damned if I can't hear it while the sun sets over the Pacific Ocean this evening.
The surf is breaking, and the ocean is calling my name. I miss everyone back home, and I hope they know it. I’ll try to catch a wave for all of you down here in the hot Guatemalan sun.
The surf is breaking, and the ocean is calling my name. I miss everyone back home, and I hope they know it. I’ll try to catch a wave for all of you down here in the hot Guatemalan sun.
