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Published: October 21st 2007
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Hola!
What is the story. Well Im here in Antigua at the min. Its about an hour west of Guatemala city. Its and old colonial town with cobbled streets and old colonial buildings, many of which are still damaged from earthquakes. It looks kinda cool but is heavily gringofied. I was planning on staying here for 2 or 3 weeks to learn spanish but once I got off the bus and saw all the tourists, all I wanted to do was get back on and hit the hills!! Heres what happen since I last posted.
On Friday I left my hotel in Guatemala city to find an ATM so I could pay for my room. I was walking around like a lost sheep for about an hour when I decided I had to ask someone. I went up to a guard outside a shop who was wielding a rather impressive shotgun but alas, he spoke no english and we couldnt understand each other. But this old man came over and asked me in english what I was looking for and said he would bring me to the nearest one and so starts the story of Claude Dechappe, a 70 year old french man.
Claude has a sail boat in Rio Dulce, wich is on the west coast of Guatemala. That has been his base for the last ten years on and off. 2 Days before I met him he was robbed of all his money in the city. He said it was his own fault and the first time he had been robbed. He was paying for something on the street and made the mistake of taking out all his money (he said the bottle of wine he had drank for lunch might have had something to do with it!) when 3 guys came from nowhere. One had a plank of wood and hit him on the shoulder and his leg and robbed him blind. When I met him he was still in quiet a bit of pain. He had to wait untill Monday for money to come from France, but he was able to eat, where we had lunch, every day and stay in his hotel and he didnt have to pay untill his money came through.
After showing me to the atm we agreed we would meet for lunch. 2 hours later we were sitting in a little shack eating fish and talking like old friends. Claude had open heart surgery 3 years ago and once he was well enough came straight back to central America much to the dismay of his family. He started travelling in Central America in the 60´s, fell in love with the people and has been here pretty much since. He drove a motorbike through Chile in 68, a year later he walked the Andes and the great Mayan trail. He has spent 6 months living in the jungle in Brazil with a tribe whos name I cant remember, and crossed from Panama to Columbia via the Darien Gap (150 mile of the most bio diverse jungle in the world and home to Columbia´s FARC rebels!). He has sailed all over Central and South America and told me that he still has 20 to 30 years left in him yet! He told me never to go to Trinidad cause he got deported for not having a hotel booked on arrival, and the people were basically ignorant to him. I could go on with the stories but I would be here all day.
I told him that I plan to walk from Ecuador to Chile. His eyes lit up and said that he would maybe walk for a month or two with me if I didnt mind!! Claude, my friend, any time brother!! I am meeting him in 2 months in Rio dulce and hopefully sailing with him to Cuba!! Yea Boy!!!!!! He told me to ring him once a week to let him know I am ok!! On hearing I left my knife at home, he gave me his, which is rather shit hot. To return the favour I bought him lunch (about a dollar fifty and gave him some pain killers) Thats Claude, Ill stick a picture of him up later.
So anyway Claude saw me off at the bus, which I had to get to a big shopping centre, which is where the bus to Antigua left from. You should see this shopping center, about 40 stories high at least and completely made of glass. 2 massive towers with a bridge on the top linking the two. It felt a bit out of place as once you went accross the road it was like crossing the poverty line. I though I was in a poor part of the city the night before, well I was wrong. On the way to the shopping centre the bus went through the slums, a bit similar to the slums of Rio in Brasil for anyone who has seen them on tv. I feel privelaged to have had the life I have had so far. So many people in the west have money and no happiness, gratitude, or sense or giving. Im lucky I had the parents I had. Here they have nothing and yet you see a smile at every turn. Anyway I eventually got the bus to Antigua.
Stepping off the bus in Antigua was like stepping into a tourist trap. Claude said it was one place in Guatemala he had never been because of all the tourists, I think that he and I think along similar lines. The Lonely planet book said it was a must and although it does look cool Im beginning to think that the lonley plant book is opening up more place like this than needs be. Fancy coming to Guatemala and eating at Mcdonalds or Burger king? The hotel I´m staying in is costing me about 35 quetzal which is about 3 euro fifty. Its basically a family house with rooms for rent. I have 2 double beds in mine!!
I said to myself that I would splugre the first night and go out and get pissed, which is exactly what I did. I started in the only Irsh bar in Guatemala, which hasn´t had an Irish owner for about 20 years! I ended up in a night club with a guy from Puerto Rico and danced the night away. He kept asking me was i drunk because I was drinking so much!! I told him that I was only warming up!! Well I can tell you by the end of the night I was well an truly warmed up!!
I was fair dying yesterday!! It took me the whole day to recover, helped by ´the cure´I had at an English bar where I watched South Africa kick Englands ass in the rugby world cup final. I watched it with a couple from New Zealand who were really cool. It was the 3 of us shouting for South Africa and the rest of the pub shouting for England! As you can guess, we were in our element. I was so knackered after from the night before and the ´few´beers I had watching the match that I ended up in bed at 5pm!! A great idea untill I woke up this morning at 5am and couldn´t go back to sleep. So up I got and went walking the streets. It felt cool to be the only gringo walking about. I was gonna leave today for Lago de Atilan, a big lake surround by 3 volcanos, but the shop that sells second had guitars isn´t open till the morning so gonna wait untill then.
Thats it for now. Anyone who feels like leaving a message, please do. I´m off now to find a book on Che Geuvara to broaden my mind.
Peace and Adios.
Daithi
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Cousin Dave
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Good man Daithi
Glad to see old habits die hard, about a week and you only lost your knife and your ipod. I'm impressed. Alternatively you also found a load of stuff too, old French guy, opportunity to slag the brits. Good old Daithi. Oh yeah Molumphy got an All Star. West