More Monterrico

Panajachel

Volcano Erupting

I left Panajachel at 6am to catch a shuttle in Antigua to get to Monterrico.  The ride was absolutely beautiful going through the mountains and through many small villages.  On the way I was thinking of the way we live in the US compared to Guatemala and how unfair life really is.  I’m sure most are very happy living the way they do, but makes me feel really guilty that I feel that I need so much stuff.  While in Santa Cruz I was talking to a couple that were celebrating their 50^th anniversary with a trip all over Guatemala.  They were telling me of a shuttle trip that they were one where they passed trucks like you would see in the states hauling cattle, but they were stuffed full of people, literally stuffed full with everybody standing up.  They talked to their driver and the driver said that they were being brought south to harvest bananas and that they would be like that from early morning to 7pm except when the truck had to stop for fuel they could all briefly get out.  The driver knew this because he said that he used to be one of those people.  They are being treated this way just so that every convenience store in the US can sell bananas for 33 cents a pound.  People have to do what they have to do to survive, but I don’t think I will ever feel the same eating a banana again after hearing that story.  Well, anyway, it was a good shuttle trip to Antigua.  My shuttle from Antigua to Monterrico was to leave at 8:30 and we didn’t get there until 8:45, so I was thinking that I may be staying a night in Antigua.  Luckily when I got there the shuttle was waiting for me because I was the only passenger.  I hadn’t eaten anything yet, so I asked the driver, who spoke no English, if he could stop at a shop so I could get something to eat.  He understood shop and pulled over at a store where I bought 2 cokes, a bag of cheetos and a burrito for 23Q which is about $3.  I gave one coke to the driver for stopping and he was very appreciative.  I figured if we were going to be in the shuttle together like 2.5 hours, I may as well keep him happy.  It worked, he even would pull over and show me things to take pictures of and tell me what they were called.  We stopped to see a volcano erupting, another one that was just cool, and this hill that was in the shape of a Mayan.  Then when we finally got to Monterrico he basically said “ok, this is it, time to get out”, at least that is what I heard in the limited Spanish that I’ve acquired.  I asked him where my hotel was and he kind of pointed down the road and made a hand gesture like I take a left.  I was trying to ask him how far of a walk, but had no idea how to say it in Spanish, so he decided it would be easier to just drive me there.  He was very nice and I gave him a nice 20Q tip for it.  He saved me maybe a mile of hauling all my stuff, so it was worth it.  I proceeded to go to the reception area which is right next to the bar and was greeted by a German fellow, but they had no reservation for me.  He showed me the book and there was one for Chan, so I said that was me and I’m sure it was because it was for the type of room I wanted and for the same length of time I wanted to stay.  The room wasn’t ready yet, so I went to the bar and had a couple Gallos and some nachos.  The beer selection in Guatemala is very limited because one family that owns Gallo basically controls it all.  They own all the beer companies in Guatemala and also control any other beer that is brought in.  Another beer Brahva from Brazil tried to come into the country and sell their beer for less, so the owners of Gallo bought half of the Brahva company.  I was talking to a guy at the bar who said that there are 16 rich families in Guatemala that own everything, so they basically have control over everything.  Well, anyway, Monterrico Beach is absolutely amazing.  It is in Southern Guatemala on the Pacific coast and the beach is a dark volcanic sand.  While I was at the bar I met a guy from Monterrico that works at a turtle hatchery and he said he also runs tours of the mangrove swamps in the mornings.  I told him I would go, so we set it up to go at 5:30am.  My room was ready, so I moved in and took a little nap.  I got up and went for a walk on the beach, I was thinking of going swimming, but the waves were huge and breaking close to the shore.  At one point I decided to watch these 2 guys try to launch a boat from the beach.  There was an older gentleman and a younger guy who were launching it and the younger guy was very ancy about getting the boat in the water, the older guy just stood there watching the waves.  There were like 8 to 10’ waves coming in, so I thought it would be pretty interesting.  About 15 minutes later the older gentleman motioned to go and they pushed it in, started the motor, and were off into the ocean.  Not as exciting as I thought it would be, but the older gentleman knew the waves and just when to go.  I went back to Johnny’s and met a guy named Bill from Uruguay who was going on the same trip as I was in the morning, Bill talked way too much.  He knew everything and wanted to tell you everything which was fine because it was some company.  I had dinner there and watched the sunset which was amazing.  I didn’t have my camera with me, but will take some pics of the sunset one of these nights.  There is a beach soccer field and volleyball court in front of the hotel, so I also watched some locals play for a bit.  Once the sun goes down and it starts to get dark the mosquitoes come out for like 20 minutes, and then disappear.  I hung out at the bar till maybe 9 and then went to bed because I had to be up early in the morning. 

My alarm went off at 5:15 and I went outside to meet our guide who was waiting outside, Bill was there as well.  We walked to another hotel to get a woman from Colorado named Sue, and proceeded to walk to the other side of town to where the guides boat is.  It was a small wooden boat with 2 benches for us to sit on, he stood up and used a pole to guide us through the swamp.  The Mangroves were cool and there were lots of cool birds everywhere, and there were these cool fish they called four-eyes that would just kind of skip along the surface of the water.  The guide and Bill were explaining everything to us as we were going through.  At one point we almost got stuck, but the guide got us through it.  He did say that it was the last time he would go through that particular area and Bill was very excited because he had never been to this area before.  He was filming everything and asked us if we minded being shot and maybe being on YouTube.  Didn’t really matter to me and Sue didn’t mind either.  We got off once to try to find iguanas, but had no luck.  The guide said that the kids shoot them with slingshots and sell them, so there aren’t as many of them around anymore.  They probably end up in US pet shops to live in a cage the rest of their lives.  He also said that they catch shrimp here and they get 5Q a pound for jumbo shrimp, that’s less than a dollar a pound.  How much do jumbo shrimp go for at Shaw’s?  Anyway, we got back and Bill invited me up to his place where I met his wife Gina.  We went and had breakfast and Gina talked me into going to Tekal next week.  She gave me some places to stay and said you can’t leave Guatemala without seeing the ruins there.  Then Bill came over and said to stay at different places and always had a reason why it was better; I’m just going to go by Gina’s recommendations.  I had a nice breakfast of 3 eggs, chorizo, beans, a bowl of fruit, and coffee.  They were leaving today, so I said goodbye, went back to my room, and here I am now.  I will be here until Monday.