MAYA-HO! _{Guatemala, Easter 2003}

Thursday 22 May 2003

The journey and these journal notes are nearing an end, but not quite yet. Staying at the Best Western Motel was certainly culture-shocking (soft pillows! drinkable water!) but not ear-shocking, thanks to fairly good soundproofing. But step outside and notice that this is MUCH louder than Guatemala, many more vehicles, but with emission controls at least.

Just a few chores for today. Over to the East Bay for some business at Ikea, preceeded by a stop at the Emeryville Public Market for brunch in the food court. What to eat? Afghan, Indian, Korean, Vietnamese, Viennese, Portugese, Mexican, Chinese, Russian, German, Italian, Polish, so many options. We go for a great cheap Indian curry -- WELCOME BACK TO CALIFORNIA, land of choices (and non-smoking venues). That EPM food court used to look scruffy, but now appears pretty prosperous if not luxurious.

Up to Marin County this afternoon for some food-shopping, for Maureen's medical checkup, and then we're HOMEWARD BOUND. Back to comfortable beds and cat, to non-diesel atmosphere and non-trashy fields and potable water and sticker-shock shopping (and fuel about as expensive as in Guatemala). Back to the usual. For a while.

Heading Towards Home

We make the now-familiar crossing of the great Central Valley in heavy traffic and high heat, well over 90°f. On one of the levee-enclosed Delta islands, traffic stops, and not because a drawbridge is drawn. If this was Guatemala, half the drivers would be out pissing on the bushes right now, and Mayan women would have erected shaded stands by the roadside and be selling wet drinks and fresh fruit to occupants of the waiting vehicles.

We listen to the news. Still no Saddam, no Osama, no weapons of mass destruction, no US economic recovery - but the UN has given the OK for the US and UK to drain Iraq dry, to run the country and siphon off its oil to pay for 'recovery' - with all the contracts going to US & UK firms, of course. The same old corrupt crap from the same corrupt gang, on a scale that dwarfs Banana Republic looting. Welcome to the New World Order. But I digress...

The Central Valley and Sierra foothills are very green, covered with wildflower blooms - the snow and rains lasted longer than usual, now providing a hot late spring. We talk of how much we enjoyed Antigua, about renting a house and car there for three months, maybe next year. But first we need to get home, tend to local stuff for a month, then maybe do an RV trip (with cat) up the Rockies, up into (now not so cheap) Canada.

We pull into the local business center and order a big veggie take'n'bake pizza, walk around under the pines while it's being assembled, calculate the cost - under US$20 (Q160), like a splendid dinner in Antigua or a whole day's feed in Pana - and finally get back to the house (still there) and RV (still there) and cat (still there, and very needy).

Reassure the cat, bake the pizza, haul in the luggage - much easier than unloading the RV after any trip. Devour pizza and beer while looking at THE MAYA TEXTILE TRADITION (Foxx and Schevill - 1997, Abrams) and MAYA OF GUATEMALA: Life And Dress (Carmen L. Pettersen - 1976, Ixchel Museum). Now I can read these and our other books on contempory Maya life, and they will MEAN something, not just be semi-abstract renderings of almost-imaginary scenes.

And now, unpack the bags, throw all the clothes into laundry piles (AT LAST - NO MORE HAND-SCRUBBING IN BATHROOM SINKS!) and unwrap the goodies. Piles of huipiles, stacks of gifts, some paintings, some ceramics. Hmmm, some 'ancient' pottery fragments aren't shosing up, and the jade jaguar, and a few other things. Maybe they're wrapped in dirty clothes...

That's enough for today, for this trip, for these notes. Tomorrow we dash back downhill to the county seat for important business, more food-shopping, greet friends and family; then uphill again for laundry and decompressing and planning the next excursion. But that's another story. Stay tuned.

Love & homecomings, Ric & Maureen

Saturday 31 May 2003 - Follow-Up Notes

BEERS: We encountered 3 domestic Guatemalan beers. The commonest and lightest and least flavorful is Gallo (GUY-oh: Rooster). Somewhat tastier is Cabro (CAW-bro: Goat). My favorite for flavor and texture was Moza (MOH-zah: Girl or Maidservent or Waitress), a black bock-style brew. These are all about 5% alcohol.

Gallo can be had almost anywhere, either in 350 ml (11.6 oz) or 1 liter (33.3 oz) bottles. Best to give it a twist of lime. At least pathogens can't live in it. And it's cheap. The strongest beer we found was Sol (Sun), at 5.9% (this is the local Guatemalan S@L, not the imported Mexican SOL SUPERIOR) and it's cheap too. And its logo is very catchy, very cyber: @

The first Spanish phrase many Gringos learn is "Otro cerveza, por favor" (another beer, please). The next phrase learnt is "Donde esta los banos?" (where is the bathroon?)   The one leads directly to the other, eh?

LOSSES: We didn't really lose much on this trip. And it was all my stuff. My pickpocketed Baggallini wallet; my nice collapsable Watership Trading hat and a warm Columbia Thinsulate shirt, both negligently left somewhere. A pair of cheap socks, probably dropped in Pedro's van. Oops, a Sony 128k memory stick is unaccounted for (no, it's back home). I think that's about it.

SHOES: It's fun to trip around in wild places wearing Teva-type river sandals or other free-toed footwear. It's NOT fun to wear such when walking in a polluted environment, and have various nasties get in through your skin. Unless you're in a chlorinated swimming pool, wear something more substantial, eh? I should have worn my boots at all times...

DRUGS: I mean the prescription or over-the-counter type, not street drugs. (It's prudent to avoid the latter when one faces the untidy prospect of a third-world jail.) We've found that Gringos (and others) are susceptible to a number of infections and infestations, and that a good local physician will know what to prescribe, having encountered a number of afflicted Gringos in their career.

We've also found that these health problems may recur after one has left the vicinity of the prescribing physician. So it's prudent to overstock on foreign prescription drugs, if you have the money. Get the scrip filled as specified, and go elsewhere and do it again. Then if/when the bug or worm or whatever hits you again, you'll be ready. If you've returned to the First World already, it can be bothersome getting a Guatemalan prescription filled or translated.

BIKES: So many girls on pedal- or motor-bikes, bouncing along cobbled streets. Fun to watch. So many bikes rolling swiftly, silently downhill. Hard to hear. So few people wearing helmets. Easy to crack. So many small bikes for small people. There go my knees...

BAG & GEAR:

Before I had my pocket picked, I walked around Antigua carrying a medium-sized two-strap daypack with all sorts of potentially useful gear inside. Then I got security conscious - I bought a cheap teardrop-shaped one-strap bag and reduced my load considerably.

The main vulnerability of any daypack or large purse is that in a crowd, a thief can slash the bottom - all your goodies fall out. Oops. Or they can slash the strap, which is why some folks run wire cables through the strap. Or they can just grab the bag, which is why some folks tie a line between bag and trouser belt. Everything helps.

Many teardrop bags have zippable interior pockets, good for stashing valuables. My cheap aquisition didn't, so I tied my passport carrier directly to the bag. Anyone slashing the bag would then NOT be able to grab my most necessary docs and cash.

OK, so here's what I found necessary to carry around all day, every day. This whole kit weighs about 3 pounds without the 'occasionals' or 8 pounds fully loaded, including water.

IN MAIN POCKET:
• rescue scissors (Kolco DGBM) - LEATHERMAN multi-tool - plastic flute (Dixie) - guitar picks & slide - pocket kite (Lagoon Games)
• digital camera (Sony DSC-P20) & spare memory sticks & charged batteries
• walky-talky (AudioVox GMRS-1535) - wideband radio receiver (Icom IC-R2)
• calculator (Texas Instruments TI-25x Solar, the universal translator)
• notebooks (3x5" & 6x10") - pen & pencils - Spanish dictionary & phrasebook
  
  And Occasionally:
• binoculars (Tasco Voyager 10x25) - digital voice recorder (RCA RP-5012A)
• portable computer (Sony VAIO PCG-432L) (carried if hotel room is insecure)
• waterproof windbreaker - cap - shirt - guidebooks - maps - water bottle
  
  TIED TO ZIPPER PULL:
• passport case - whistle - room key(s)
  
  IN POCKET #1:
• flashlight (Duracell Durabeam compact) - compass (Victorinox Recta) - thermometer w/chill table
  
  IN POCKET #2:
• pills (painkillers, decongestants, antibiotics, etc) - chewing gum - hard candies - waterless antibacterial handwash (Springbrook PEAR FRESH) - handiwipes - toilet paper - digital thermometer (Becton Dickinson L5J-2MB)
• knife-fork-spoon set - pocket screwdriver
  
  IN POCKET #3:
• bandana - cloth measuring tape - woven string bag

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