2007 November, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala
click on image to expand, use
browser back button to return
When the road is straight & true, I romp ahead
When it twists & turns, I make the best I can
Lao Tsu
 We take a break in a mountain lodge truckers cafe |
 Sara takes a rain check to avoid dazzling drivers with her footwear |
|
They say that in Guatemala the buses overtake on blind bends ... |
Riding from Antigua to Quetzaltenango looked relatively simple until …. riding up a hill along a 3 lane road, 1 lane against us, 2 with us, and we're overtaking a car so in the middle lane … when from around this blind bend appear 3 lanes of traffic heading towards us !! Que passe aqui ?? Ooops, so I flash & use the horn a lot … and two lanes make an effort to move in, except that one car moves out again & it's a narrow squeeze but with a bit of acceleration we make it (thanks Lane :) . Later on it starts raining & we hit some road construction, with buses from both directions on some mission from their god perhaps to get to their heaven faster & they're overtaking without opportunity … visibility is like 15m due to mist, we're bouncing along the pot-holed road & we're wet through & it's <expletive> freezin up at 2400m … so after a couple of hours of this we hole up at a small hotel; this wasn't in the plan ;)
Picture of freezin, wet, mountain conditions .. As if ! we were busy staying alive |
 Like a scene from the X-files, but we were the aliens |
With no heating we let our gear drip dry in the room whilst our tea was a pot noodle & the best crisps we could get ... |
 Looks innocent enough now eh ? |
 We arrive in Quetzaltenango in glorious sunshine |
Xelapages |
 & celebrate with a cup of mint tea |
 All very colonial as the bike boots are licked clean by the hired help (1/3 days wages for one pair) |
 Undercover market shot |
 just like Paddys market ... complete with the ginner |
 Some strange ritual where locals danced with identical face masks |
 ... haven't got a clue |
 Tony's tacos, 3 for Q10 |
 Xmas lights outside the local nite spot |
 |
 Boiled banana as a puddin ? |
 Raul is Graham's teacher, politically & socially aware, top dude :) |
We enrol at INEPAS a Latin Spanish language school with links to community activities |
 Gilma is Sara's teacher |
A Spanish language monthly journal with a mixture of social & political comment. Raul writes political articles. (makes for interesting homework :) |
When I <Scouse> first visited Guatemala I read a book by Rigoberto Menchu, <the link is the best I can find on Amazon> concerning the struggles of an indigineous woman ... |
| ... it was with great pleasure that I found out that Rigoberto not only entered the recent (Nov 07) presidential elections but came 6th (out of 12, the only woman). Impartial observers did comment on the spate of violence, where 2 politicos were murdered and in one area over 25 ballot boxes were burnt. Rigoberto's position is indeed significant. |
www.entremundos.org "Guatemala's Community Connection" Note : the content of this web site is outside the control of TheDangerousBoys and is in no way endorsed by the DBs ... however, it's really interesting & we suggest that you check it out but as always on the 'net think, check & decide for yourself :) |
try this, it's in English |
 A visit to a local village catches a funeral |
 |
 |
|
 and life in the village for some |
 |
 |
 |
 Note the colours & animal theme |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 Burning offerings ... for those who want a more indiginous burial ceremony |
 |
 the butchers |
 the scenery |
|
 |
Back in Quetzaltenango |
 A local internet cafe |
 |
 |
 |
our pad for a week |
||
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 our curl-o-matic hair curling shower ... also doubles as a defibrulator |
When the road is straight & true, I romp ahead
When it twists & turns, I hang well back in the power band as all vehicles are definitely out to get me
Biker Scouse in Guatemala