08 October 2005
Tragedy in Guatemala
Over 1,400 people are feared dead in Panabaj, Guatemala. (article) A massive mudslide caused by Hurricane Stan destroyed the entire village. I have not been able to locate it precisely on a map, but it is apparently part of the municipality of Santiago Atitlán. That muncipality is at the southern edge of the Lago de Atitlan:
I spent about a week travelling around the lake last summer. It is without a doubt one of the most beautiful places I have ever been:
There are certain towns along the lake that are very touristy (by Guatemalan standards). The closer to the water you go, the more expensive it gets, though by American standards it is very cheap. Tourists there are of two types: domestic and international. Domestic tourists come mainly from Guatemala City for the week/end. Internationals tend to be backpackers from the US or Europe, with a few South Americans mixed in.
Something that stuck with me was how, the further you got from the shore, two things happened: the elevation increased, and the standard of living decreased. The lake is itself volcanic and is surrounded by volcanoes. One day, we walked up the hillside in what was probably the least touristed area we saw. The incline was very steep, and though occassionally the road/path was concrete, more often it was just dirt. Not an ideal place to have your house, especially during times of heavy rains. We got plenty of smiles from the locals, though I don't think they were too accustomed to a great tourist presence.
As we continued on, we descended a bit, and happened upon a soccer game being played by some teenage boys, surrounded by a group of women (moms, sisters, etc). My friend Howard and I asked to join in the game, and were permitted to do so, much to the amusement of the kids. Howie and I play on a soccer team together here in NYC, and we're not terrible, so it wasn't the worst idea in the world. We played pretty well, and I thought I would be cool and try to make some soccer talk, since I speak Spanish. Some of the kids spoke back a little bit, but not much, and I couldn't figure out why. It didn't hit me until they were speaking amongst themselves: their primary language was a Mayan dialect, and their understanding of Spanish was probably not much better than your average US highschooler's.
Anyway, we had a great time playing soccer with them that afternoon (though I sprained an ankle), and afterwards we went to the local one-room mini store and spent about $2 to buy drinks and snacks for about 15 people. We passed a little time hanging out with the group afterwards, speaking the shared 2nd language, them checking out the digital camera and us taking in the setting. Great people, for sure. And I'm sure they've had a grueling week, and that's all I can think about right now.
¶ 8:27 PM 
I spent about a week travelling around the lake last summer. It is without a doubt one of the most beautiful places I have ever been:
There are certain towns along the lake that are very touristy (by Guatemalan standards). The closer to the water you go, the more expensive it gets, though by American standards it is very cheap. Tourists there are of two types: domestic and international. Domestic tourists come mainly from Guatemala City for the week/end. Internationals tend to be backpackers from the US or Europe, with a few South Americans mixed in.
Something that stuck with me was how, the further you got from the shore, two things happened: the elevation increased, and the standard of living decreased. The lake is itself volcanic and is surrounded by volcanoes. One day, we walked up the hillside in what was probably the least touristed area we saw. The incline was very steep, and though occassionally the road/path was concrete, more often it was just dirt. Not an ideal place to have your house, especially during times of heavy rains. We got plenty of smiles from the locals, though I don't think they were too accustomed to a great tourist presence.
As we continued on, we descended a bit, and happened upon a soccer game being played by some teenage boys, surrounded by a group of women (moms, sisters, etc). My friend Howard and I asked to join in the game, and were permitted to do so, much to the amusement of the kids. Howie and I play on a soccer team together here in NYC, and we're not terrible, so it wasn't the worst idea in the world. We played pretty well, and I thought I would be cool and try to make some soccer talk, since I speak Spanish. Some of the kids spoke back a little bit, but not much, and I couldn't figure out why. It didn't hit me until they were speaking amongst themselves: their primary language was a Mayan dialect, and their understanding of Spanish was probably not much better than your average US highschooler's.
Anyway, we had a great time playing soccer with them that afternoon (though I sprained an ankle), and afterwards we went to the local one-room mini store and spent about $2 to buy drinks and snacks for about 15 people. We passed a little time hanging out with the group afterwards, speaking the shared 2nd language, them checking out the digital camera and us taking in the setting. Great people, for sure. And I'm sure they've had a grueling week, and that's all I can think about right now.
¶ 8:27 PM
