Day 10: Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

We arrive in port on another beautiful day. Not as humid here so the weather is definitely changing as we head north. Our bus ride takes about 1 ½ hours to reach the colonial city of Antigua. It is 4000-5000 ft. above sea level (depending on which tour guide you get apparently…unless somehow it is a floating city?) and the guide promises that it will be much, much cooler at that elevation. (Okay he was freezing when we got there but it was only at most 10 degrees less than what we’d been experiencing every day since leaving Florida so only a small relief to us!)

Guatemala appears at first glance to be quite a bit more prosperous than other countries of Central America we’ve visited. There is a paved 4-lane highway leading from the pier, an on-ramp and a flyover bridge - the first that we’ve really seen evidence of here. Our guide explains that this is a private highway but it will take us all the way from the port to Antigua. We pass a small cemetery. Once again, as in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, we see that they do not bury their dead in the ground (the water table is usually too high to allow this) but rather in crypts above the ground (they will stack them 3-4 high). Often during the process they will actually place the body in a coffin and allow decomposition to take place. Once only the bones remain they are placed in smaller (more easily stacked) boxes.

Our first stop after we pass many coffee bean plants (and shade trees? Is this is what is meant by “shade grown” coffee?) along the road is naturally the Coffee Museum and the Museum of Mayan Culture. We learn the process by which coffee could be made but frankly, our guide tells us, the local people drink an instant coffee (made from the beans that float to the surface during the first rinsing process - basically the beans that are too bitter for coffee). In order to export the beans, they must be whole, unprocessed beans. Though they are originally collected in large bags (Gerry estimated 100 lb. bags of coffee beans) that contain some sort of poly-fibers to protect the beans from spoilage, insects, etc., the coffee can only be shipped in cotton bags and so they will be repackaged before shipping.

At the conclusion of the tour, we are offered samples of coffee but the effort and fascination is totally lost on both Gerry and me so we wander around in the beautiful courtyard instead while others finish their sample and look for anything that they could buy in the meantime.

Then it is across the courtyard we go to learn about Mayan culture and music. Our guide (Alfredo) shows us the pre-Colombian artwork and the music of the various regions of Guatemala. He explains that only the the “spinners” (those who climb up and dangle from a rope as they spin back to the ground) are the only ones allowed to wear sneakers with their native costume, however we saw photos of other groups doing it as well.

Back on the bus (it was a rather aerobic excursion today), we head off for lunch. I can’t imagine where it is going to be - I really don’t see anything that will accommodate our group until we enter a doorway from the street. Now inside we can see that it is a really lovely paradise in here - the Hotel Antigua. It is all built around this gorgeous courtyard. There is a swimming pool in the center and off to the left is a covered, yet open-air restaurant for the people staying at the hotel. Beyond that is a huge buffet area with shaded table areas. Once again the food is wonderful - guacamole, steak, chicken cooked in a pumpkin sauce (much better tasting than I’m sure I’m making it sound here!)

We wade thru the vendors now stationed at the hotel entrance and determined to make a sale (where are the tourist police when you need them?) and head back to the bus. We visit a church (partially destroyed by earthquake in the 70’s) and hear about Hermano Pedro, Central America’s first saint - a Spanish missionary on his way to Cuba who wound up in Guatemala instead (I think he took Christopher Columbus’ directions) and was eventually canonized by Pope John Paul II on his last trip to Central America (2002).

While in the courtyard of the church, Gerry was approached by an elderly woman trying to sell trinkets (really these seem to be made of plastic so I’m not thinking they are truly Guatemalan) - others had dismissed her completely when the necklaces were $1/each so she was now offering them at 6 for $1 (US always!) Gerry saw her and using his wonderful bargaining skills finally negotiated the price to $5 for the 6 necklaces. The woman tried to give him more necklaces but he stuck by his original deal. I really do love it when he does that!

From there it was back on the bus for our final stop. The skies were darkening dramatically, the rain wouldn’t be far off. The small cobblestone streets were becoming more crowded and we often had trouble making turns or just negotiating our way thru them. Finally we arrived at the Jade Museum.

We were greeted by the owner who gave us her spiel about her fabulous place. It seems she and her husband had come to Guatemala 35 years ago as archeologists. She approached the Guatemalan government and told them that she had rediscovered their Mayan jade mine. They said thanks, but no thanks - there is no jade in Guatemala. And she set about to prove them wrong. For the past 35 years they have been busy with their “Jade Factory”. This establishment mines (why does “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” come to mind?) jade - white jade, blue jade, green jade, even the elusive black jade - in abundance. Then they set up shop where the locals will polish the jade (they have a set up right there in the center of the factory) - women working with a face mask (that for all I know was just provided to offer protection from the swine flu). They have no eye protection from the fine dust created during polishing and no ear protection (and the sound is roughly the same you would experienced if you had your head stuck in a bowling ball return machine…for about 8-10 hours a day!) They probably pay them well (by Guatemala standards) but definitely nothing compared to US standards and certainly the markup on the merchandise she sells in the “museum” (do museums typically have all the exhibits tagged with sale stickers?) allows her quite a profit. The final part of the museum “tour” is to view her “retirement rock” - a 35 lb. piece of jade that is probably worth tens and possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is nothing more than stealing from this incredibly impoverished country. Needless to say I will not be wearing jade any time soon. (And I don’t know when I will come across a better example of the term “ugly American”.)

Terri’s Travel Tip: Always play the games! After dinner last night I convinced Gerry to come play “Country-Western Trivia” (I told him it was a geography quiz). Our group (now named “The Saddle Sore-losers”) figured it would be cause for celebration if we got two questions right (we figured Johnny Cash and either Dolly Parton or Patsy Cline might show up as answers). Imagine our surprise when we actually won - showing that we knew only slightly less “nothing” than the others! Now we’re hoping tonight’s theme is “Quantum Physics” (because we know even LESS about that!) Our prize was a bottle of champagne. Whoo Hoo!!!!

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