Guatemala

Costa Maya is a cruise ship created stop; the Carnival, Royal Caribbean and NCL cruise lines built the pier and an adjoining shopping center and recreation center then leased the space to local entrepreneurs. With two ships in port today it looked like the day after Thanksgiving in the shopping area. This appears to be a great arrangement for all involved parties including the cruise ship passengers. We were here four years ago and know there’s not much to see or do so we stayed at the provide beach soaking up the sun and local color. Nita bought a pair of Coach Sunglasses and Avie bought some silver earrings both at bargain prices.

Wednesday 01/27/2010
Today we’re in Santo Tomas, Guatemala a country that dates back to before 2000 BC when the Maya people hunted and fished this land. The Europeans arrived in the early 1500’s, with the heaviest influence coming form the Spanish. From 1954 to 1996 a series of military enforced governmental administrations ran the country. Then in 1996 a guerilla faction over threw the standing government to bring peace and some stability to Guatemala.

It’s a country of 12 million people; half are Mayan, still living in farming villages growing corn and beans. We entered Guatemala from the Caribbean; our day trip took us up the Dulce River which connects the Caribbean to Lake Izabal. Our 20 passenger speed boat took us up a high walled canyon full of dense vegetation and wide channels home of many exotic birds. The people are fisherman while the children supplement the family income by selling shells from their carved out wood canoes to the tourists who venture up their canyon in aluminum speedboats. All third world countries are the same.

We finished our tour in Livingston, a city at the mouth of the river. It’s the only black ethnic group of people in Guatemala, the community reminded me of Jamaica, and I have no plans of ever going back to Jamaica or Livingston. I’m sure Guatemala could offer a better representation of their country and their people. Traveling with a retired doctor, Avie, we were told it would not be wise to consume any food in Livingston. Although I don’t often follow Dr. Avie’s fearful warnings, because I prefer to live on the wild side, I agreed with her on this one and only sampled the local beer, then had a late lunch back on ship. The sun has been warm and the humidity low so we are all acquiring a nice tan and a relaxed disposition.

It was good to get off the ship and see Guatemala first hand but the guides here need to be sent to China and Asia to learn how to run a tour; our guide just didn’t have anything of value to add to the tour and wasn’t organized. I’d like to introduce him to James of China.