Day 34

"...here was a land of several millions of primitive people, poor from an economic standpoint, spread over an area far greater than that occupied by most European nations, and with every physical and linguistic disadvantage between them and the proper functioning of their system; yet despite these obstacles they achieved a sort of agrarian communism which was stable, self-sufficient, and slowly progressive over several hundreds of years. Life for the average indian was undoubtedly on a very primitive scale. Yet all who were able to work did; no sickness went uncared for, few crimes were committed, no aged or infirm lacked the necessities of life; and co-operation for the public welfare, rather than competition for profit, was the mainspring of Inca Economy. These are achievements which any civilized nation of today might well envy."

-John A. Crow, The Epic of Latin American History

Within the context of the ´New World´, at times begging for money in order to sustain a meager existence, the many poor indigenous people whom I have encountered since I began my travels in Latin American are indeed a changed people. Colonialism of the Americas -- "the greatest revolution in the history of mankind" -- and its blind pursuit of wealth and grandeur is a part of history that cannot be ignored when visiting Latin America. The consequent poverty and backwardness is very difficult to see. Nevertheless, despite the legacy of exploitation of the indigenous peoples at the hands of the European colonists, and the subsequent years of suppression and outright persecution, they remain a proud people with a rich culture and a spirit of perseverance. Perhaps more than anything else, this vivid and tangible energy has brought me great pleasure throughout my travels.

Presently, I´d like to share some of my experiences during the second half of my travels throughout Mexico, then into Belize and Guatemala:

Before Alicia and I left Merida in the Yucatan, we had the pleasure of taking in a free concert in the town square. With an almost Madonna-like stage presence, Alehandra Guzman put on a great show. She is evidently one of Mexico´s most famous female singers. Among the other thousands of spectators, of which I was nearly the tallest -- a genuine advantage -- we were squeezed in every direction while Alehandra did her magic. It was great! The picture to the right shows the flood of people rushing away from the concert. It was taken from our hostel in the town square, a beautiful colonial church is in the background beyond the bright lights on the left.

Next we left Merida for Chicken Itza, the most famous and most touristy of the Mayan ruins. This ancient city was built after a fusion of the Mayan and Toltec societies. The last great city of the Mayans, it was abandoned in the 14th century. It was nearly empty when the colonists arrived. Well, it wasn´t empty when we were their. Early in the day we enjoyed it in peace, but fled when the tour buses full of pale skinned tourists arrived from Cancun.

At last, we arrived at the Caribbean! Here we lived a despondent existence, hardly managing to make it through each arduous day. I jest. Still, life on the Caribbean was a life of many challenging choices. Choices like how long to lay on your stomach before allowing the sun to warm your back. Or, more difficult still was the decision of when to enter the aquamarine water -- the perfect temperature to cool you down. While in Cancun, we soaked up the sun and walked around outside of the fancy hotels, using their beach chairs for free while laughing at our neighbors whom were paying exorbitant sums of money to do the same thing we were. A short boat ride to Playa de Las Mujeres brought us to yet another environment at which to soak up the sun, this one without the wastefulness of consumer capitalism breathing down our backs. The series of difficult decisions continued unabated at Playa del Carmen, and Cozumel. Life was tough.

Our final stop in Mexico was in Tulum, another beautiful Caribbean beach. This one is quite unique, it has incredible Mayan ruins on the cliffs and spectacular beaches with very few people about. It was a great way to end our time in Mexico! By the way, the city that appears in the picture below was occupied when the European colonists came.

Next, we crossed our fist border into Belize, a unequivocally beautiful country, if a bit more expensive than we had grown accustomed. We caught a ferry to San Pedro, Caye (key) Amberghis. This is a great island town (although geographically more of a peninsula) with a spectacular beach that makes for a very comfortable walk to and from the different business. Check out the picture below. The culture here is very rich with linguistic and ethnic variations from African, to Creole, to European. The unique Belizean Creole idiom is very interesting to hear. I´ve come to learn that this idiom is not formally written, rather, it is passed on via verbal transmission.

Belize offered me the best diving of my life! The blue hole, a 1000 foot diameter submarine collapsed hole off of the coast, exhibits giant stalactites at 140 feet under water. Given the way stalactites are formed, this is evidence that this was once an underground cave when the water level was much lower during an earlier era (click on the link below). I was followed by a pack of say 20 giant reef sharks. It was nuts! I did two other dives along the second largest reef in the world, with the most marine life and coral i´ve ever seen. The rest of my time in Belize was spent relaxing and visiting with some friends of Alicia´s, two of whom live there, Angela and Casper, and one who came to visit, Deborah. We had a great time together taking in the scene in San Pedro, watching Casper play with various bands at a nearby touristy bar, and taking a road trip from Belize to Guatemala.


Blue Hole link: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/galleries/belize/photo2.html

Guatemala, Guatemala, Guatamela!!! What a beautiful country. I can´t say enough about this place. It truly stole my heart. I´m going to be quick...

We visited the pride of the Mayan ruins in Tikal -- short trip from the beautiful colonial town of Flores. Tikal is magnificent for several reasons: it is deep in the jungle, there are lots of ruins, and more archeological excavations are underway. It was like being on the set of an Indiana Jones film.

Next, we skipped over to the Enchanting town of Antigua, one of my favorite cities yet. Here we gazed in awe at the countless beautiful churches. Many of them were built by Cortes´s cronies. Too bad for them, many were devastated in a major earthquake in 1773. The remaining structures, many damaged to a point far beyond that which would permit them to be inhabitable, are STILL beautiful. It is incredible. That is the inherent consequence of unreinforced masonry and mud structures -- the damage I mean. Due to its ease and economy, this building method is still widely used in Central America! The knowldege gap, and inability of first world countries to share valuable insights that could save lives is stunning. I won´t get started.

More quickly now: we also climbed a very hot, and very active volcano near Antigua. Behold -- Volcano Pacaya! We were close enough to touch this flowing lava, sadly, pictures do no justice to this natural phenomenon.

Then, we crossed more beautiful mountains, jungles, and forests, to Lake Atitlan and spent some time on a lake ringed by three volcanoes. Gorgeous! Perhaps even more amazing is the fact that this lake was formed by the eruption of a predecessor to these volcanoes. A monster to be sure!

More mountains, jungles, forests, winding roads, a climb in elevation...Coban, and nearby Semuc Champey. A natural limestone bridge with cascading pools whose beauty I won´t even began to capture with words.

More mountains, etc, a drop in elevation.... Rio Dulce and a boat trip to nearby Livingston. The bridge below is the longest span in Central America (I think). Clearly, this is an example of knowledge being shared with the developing world.



















Not before some severe illness, we arrived today, day 34 or our journey, in La Ceiba, Honduras. We will soon embark on the bay Islands -- for more difficult decisions on the Caribbean.

Speaking for myself now, I am having an amazing time. I think of all of you at home a great deal, and wish that you could share in these experiences with me. Let me know how you are all doing. All of the best from Honduras!

Andres al Reves