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Published: March 21st 2009
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Tim version:
* Headed out of Flores, out of Guatemala, and into Belize - Guatemalan border officials tried to rip me off some money, didn't work, and walking into Belize I felt so happy to be out of Guatemala!
* Stayed with a couchsurfer in San Ignacio and had an incredible couple of days chilling with them and a few other couchsurfers from Germany, tubing and enjoying the local town and market.
The version that loves this Belizean music:
Heading out of Flores still feeling sick I didn't rush it. Instead I splashed out on a good breakfast and didn't leave until around lunch time. I even took a Tuk-Tuk to the bus as walking was making my wheeze so much with this chest infection that it just wasn't possible. I found me a chicken bus for the border run, a dusty bumpy ride, and in no time was at the border. I met some people entering Guatemala at the border but made ure not to pass on my negativity (unlike I do sometimes through this thing heh) about Guatemala, and enjoyed some good local food and licuados and stuff. The money changers were offering terrible rates
so instead I used all my cash on food and stocked up the belly for the rest of the days travelling.
Now, the border guards... in true Guatemalan style that I've found. My Spanish by this point is getting OK for this kind of stuff, but these guys were just pricks. Firstly they rapid fired spanish, fair enough... so I explained that I do speak it, but not the best so could they please speak a little slower. Nope, the pace picked up and he just seemed annoyed. I apologised for not being able to speak better Spanish, but he just seemed more annoyed. The guy took my passport, spoke some more Spanish that I didn't get, then took aaaages looking at it. After taking a while, he told me there was a 20Q cost to leave. Now I didn't know if there was or not, and still don't and don't care, but the way this guy was acting and that amount being the usual bullshit amount and me not seeing anyone else handing over any cash, I thought no way. So I asked himto explain and suddenly not even he spoke very much Spanish, or anything for that
matter! With some angry words exchanged, he put my passport to the side and told me to wait and I asked to see his boss or a person who spoke English. After making me wait a while, one of them said I needed to pay and I said no, so after staring at me he asked if I was coming back and I said no way, so he let me go. He neither spoke English, nor was he the boss.
My final rundown of Guatemala is that while many love it, it isn't for me... the people I find less friendly, the place more commercialised (but not in a good way), scams much more setup, standard racism against those not from Guatemala I find common (reverse racism, its a funny thing...), and yeh, just not as good as the countries surrounding it! My advice would be to check out the sites you want, but thats it... if you want to hang around and feel the culture, there are a select few places such as Quetzaltenango that were good but besides that you are far better off in El Salvador or Nicaragua!! I don't think I'll be back here.
Now Belize- ahhhh so so good! Chilled, much more friendly, much better setup, and with prices set and big signs everywhere explaining what was going on including even Taxi prices from there to various places, I was so much happier! I took a taxi to Benque, then a bus to San Ignacio, found the bar my host was talking about, rang and found out how to get to his place, enjoyed a Belikin beer and headed to his place at Bullet Tree Falls. A family! Rather than just a single guy, the usual deal, his whole family was there, and it made for a really good atmosphere.
I spent my time in Bullet Tree Falls taking a swim in the river past their house, chatting with him and his family, playing water baseball and tag with their kids in the river, tubing down the river, and generally enjoying life. Some other girls from Germany were staying there too and we spent a day in San Ignacio checking out the market and some of the loca sights. I got to buy and try some Sorrel too, a really sweet highly alcoholic local wine that tasted incredible! The market in San
Ignacio, after being in Central America, seemed so deserted and so relaxing it was awesome. Tubing down the river was also a big highlight as we all to have a good chat while floating along, a lot about Belize and it's economic and social situation and the imapact of Creol (unfortunately its impacts mostly seem negative). The language issue was interesting as he was saying that it has features such as every town spelling the word "fire" differently like "faya", or "faia", or many other ways, making signage difficult. It also has over 20 words for sex but often not even one for love, which really sets things up terribly. Its a very short, sudden language, often lacking the ability to say things in a soft way with manners and instead things are almost ordered, which seems over time to turn the people into the way that the language is structured. After seeing Spanish and it's lack of use of "please" and "thankyou" instead often replaced by more use of tone of voice and physical movements, I believe it too... languages really can shape people. This really inspired me to, after the trip especially, learn more languages (at least their
structure and feel) to better understand the cultures that speak them and how they shape people. Using languages in a written and digital form lacks the tone of voice and physical movements that helps Spanish so it does make me wonder how many languages convert to a digital format, very important for me. Emoticons actually become really necessary hehe.
Oh yeh, the music. Terrible to my ears in Guatemala! I don't like it, and they turn speakers way up past what they're capable of. Belize, not the case!! Better music and they know how to use sound systems. I can't tell you how many this made me and how much it changes the feel of the country! Bob Marley all around =)
After a few days in San Ignacio and Bullet Tree Falls it was time to head to the beach again, though this time not for waves but for some underwater adventures instead! I was still too sick and couldn't pop my ears so no diving, but everything was perfect for some snorkeling...
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