I feel a little worried about the cold snap in Guatemala. Twenty-one homeless people have frozen to death in the Guatemala City, and I’m slightly concerned that my blood, thinned by Managua’s heat, may make me another victim. From the … Continue reading →
I have one more story from Guatemala which illustrates how the repression can operate. I tell you these things because the average tourist, sticking to the tourist sites, having no contacts in the country and speaking little Spanish, will not … Continue reading →
Rosa (not her real name, and I’ve changed other details to protect her) is a middle class Guatemalan woman in her early thirties. She lives in Guatemala City with her husband and three school-age children, and tries to maintain a … Continue reading →
In the capital, I met a Guatemalan woman friend in a restaurant as arranged. We spoke with voices low; certain words and acronyms were whispered or scribbled on a piece of paper, then crossed out, as we discussed the current … Continue reading →
In San Lucas Tolimán I visited an orphanage. As a child, I’d always wondered what growing up with many other kids and no parents would be like. This one has about 120 boys and girls from ages 3 to 19. … Continue reading →
In Santiago Atitlán I stayed in a little house loaned to me by its tenant, a young American, while he was away. The house had one room, two wooden sleeping platforms with straw mats for “comfort”, a table and chair, … Continue reading →
I’m so sleepy, but this is such a treat. That’s Orion, almost directly overhead, and the Milky Way is pouring down its blessings on me. I’m snug under my sleeping bag, cushioned by other people’s baggage, the hood of my … Continue reading →
As soon as I descended from the bus, I was surrounded by a half-dozen beautiful, charming teenage girls in the richly embroidered multicolour huipiles (blouses) of Nebaj, long red cortes (skirts) with thin gold stripes, and wide embroidered belts which … Continue reading →
“Rio Azul – where the people and the army work together,” the sign said. We were four squeezed into the cab of a cigarette distributor’s truck. My Swiss friend and I were taking advantage of the drive in order to … Continue reading →
My horse managed the last switchback of the steep narrow rocky trail, and stopped to look at the view – or to let me look while his black sides heaved in and out. Below us was a valley in the … Continue reading →
