Writings By Date| Guatemala Is Not Mexico | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Next, there was the food. One would think that Guatemalan cable stations must pick up The Food Channel, because they certainly demonstrated a broader selection with their dishes than other countries. In Mexico, the only spice they seemed to have was cilantro (which, unfortunately, I can't eat). In Belize, the spices were beans and rice (or, if you preferred, rice and beans). But Guatemala had a flair for creativity, with selections that were never the same from one restaurant to the next. Their dishes were spicy, but never too spicy, and always full of flavor. More than once, I had to wonder why I've never seen a Guatemalan restaurant in the US.
And did I mention that Guatemala is cheap?! Meals often cost no more than a few dollars for the two of us. I could spend more money at Starbucks than I could in half a day at an internet cafe. Telephone calls anywhere in the country were only a few pennies. Hiring a tour guide for two people for an entire day costs almost as much as going to the movies in the US. And one of the best hotels we've stayed at on our whole trip was in Panajachel, where $13 a night got us a comfortable bed, private bath with hot water, cable TV, bottled water every day, and even little shampoo packets. Hey, even the $95/night Hampton Inn didn't give us bottled water.
Also cheap, and the biggest reason for tourism to this country, is Spanish instruction. Dozens, probably hundreds, of schools offer courses ranging in length from a few days to a few months. Most include homestays and meals with a local family for total immersion. A typical week-long program with 5-6 hour days of one-on-one instruction and lodging with a family runs around $150. (That was, in fact, one of our main goals for Guatemala, but unfortunately, my illness and bad weather in Belize delayed us, and we couldn't push back our departing flight to Costa Rica.)
Sadly, "cheap" comes with a price, and that is a poor economy with equally undesirable living conditions. Economically, there's no arguing that Guatemala is a poor country. Huge numbers of people, especially indigenous Mayans, must resort to selling trinkets to get by. Farming is often done in the most inhospitable conditions, on steep mountain slopes or other rough, hard-to-reach terrains. Those who stray very little from the beaten paths in Antigua or Flores probably won't see this, since these cities flourish from tourism. But walking around the streets Panajachel or any of the neighboring towns on Lago de Atitlan, you'll see just how rough things can be for the people.
