rabbi mark in guatemala

So my friends I promised one last blog entry, and my newly married friend Taylor (Mazal Tov, Taylor and Jen, who are right now in Jamaica, not smoking the Sensemilla because Taylor wants to be a US Attorney) reported to me that his only diversion at work was reading my exciting travels while at his law firm. So here's my last travel entry in order to summarize my experience, post a few last photos, and tell you about SF. So Livingston was pretty. I drank rum from a coconut and had fish, watched the sunset over the Caribbean (ok, 'behind' the Caribbean technichally), then went to a bar by the beach, and drank some more with Sonia. Ahem. The next morning we returned by boat to Rio Dulce and caught the 2:30pm bus back to ... read more

First a quick disclaimer- photos are loading up about two per hour. It doesn't look good for a lot of pretty pictures. But hang on, I'll try again at th next backwater town internet dive... Sunday morning I arose at 5:30am to catch the mini-bus to Tikal. There I ran into a British guy from the bar at my hostel, Mark (of course), and we walked around for the next 5 hours at this giant city in the Jungle filled with stone temples and Mayan history. The city was built by a certain Mayan tribe out of the jungle between 600 and 900, when they abandoned the city, possibly because of droughts. But the Mayan history is not the reason I was there. Two reasons to haul across Guatemala for Mayan jungle ruins: 1) Monkeys 2) ... read more

So leaving Coban, a medium sized town, for the north and more rural part of Guatemala took me to places where most tourists whizz past on the highway without stopping, kinda like Bakersfield, or Compton. It took me to the town of Chisec for a bus change and then to the town of Raxruyjah (Ray-roo-haah). Being in two towns with absolutely no tourist appeal, let alone tourists, and no interesting indigenous Mayan practices or dress, I had an opportunity to ask the question that was on my mind coming down here: What is third world poverty like? First of all, this question and its investigation gives me some guilt. To be a poverty voyeur seems wrong. These aren't anthropology subjects, they are people. But I've worked with low-income folks in the US, with poor people ... read more

So I wanted to do an entry just on the mundanities, because thats a good way to really know what travelling in Guatemala is like. So, Food I love black beans. Which is good. Because the typical Guatemalan breakfast and dinner is eggs, rice and black beans. Lunch includes chicken or even beef instead of the eggs. Which means I eat eggs instead with rice and beans. 3 meals a day. For the past 2 1/2 weeks. Mom, make me a brisket for Shabbos when I get back and I promise you I'll never forget mothers day again. Showers There are two kinds of showers. Cold Showers. And Not-as-cold showers. A cold shower is just a showerhead on a cold water pipe. Any hostel that has this system is also cheap, dirty, and poorly lit. ... read more

Lots to say, so, you know, if you have to pee, go now. Friday morning waking up in Panajachel I take a boat across Lago de Atitlan figuring I'd spend a few hours in a little local town. After an incredibly picturesque ride, I arrive at a beautiful little town with a few backpacker hostels, little cafes, two tiny markets, some cliffs for rock jumping and sunning, and 5000 Quat'chi'chel indiginos, children and dogs just sunning themselves and growing coffee and avocados. This is compared to Panajachel, which is like one long street from the main highway to the lake with nothing but Guatemalan stands of native blankets and t-shirts, internet cafes, tourists, and italian restaurants on a dirty and ugly stretch of lake. Realizing that spending shabbat in San Marcos is a MUCH better idea, ... read more