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Published: September 15th 2009
Crossing into Guatemala at Ciudad Cauhtemoc
Instant chaos - but massively entertaining.It's three days since we officially made the transition from North to Central America, via Mexico into Guatemala.
And what a change. The whole country is going bonkers in the run up to independence day, which is the 15th of September. They managed to kick out the Spanish in 1823, and it was obviously such a big relief that they celebrate it each year with a massive party lasting two days.
It's a very poor country (the lowest GDP in all of Central and South America), but the friendliness of the people, the colours, and the subtropical volcanic landscape make it a superb place to ride through.
The majority of the population are indigenous, being descendants of the Mayans, whose ruined cities lie engulfed under thick forest. They are a very compact people (PC speak for 'short'), so it's not a problem identifying our Gulliver-like Gringo compadres if we're separated in a crowded festival.
Politically, it's reasonably stable at the moment, after spending decades suffering from the usual dictatorship/earthquake/multi-national corporation appropriation of assets/hurricane/CIA backed shadowy death squad-type problems that seem to afflict this region so badly. Long may that continue, as it's a fantastic place, and really
Market day in Chichicastenango
"'ere Pat, fancy a pint daaahn the Vic?" deserves better.
A footnote from Mexico.
Before we left, we visited Palenque, one of the most famous Mayan ruins. The main temple was built in around 600AD, but this is only the centrepiece of a city of around 1,400 buildings, most of which are now submerged under tropical forest.
Hasta pronto, amigos!
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matt
non-member comment
No rhythm in cymbals, no tempo in drums
Thanks, now I've got ABC on endless repeat in my head. Was that even the intended tune? Get used to the stature thing. In Ecuador last year, Ian thought we should dress so as not to draw attention to the fact we were clueless foreign gringos -- but it quickly became apparent that it would take more than a change of clothes to avoid standing out among the locals...