August 11-15 -- Guatemala was supposed to be a "difficult" port. The presidential and congressional elections take place in early September, and so far, this has been the bloodiest election campaign to take place here. At last count, I believe there were 42 election-related killings this summer. The candidates campaign with bodyguards. Part of the problem is that the drug cartels are trying to get their hands into the government, because Guatemala is a very convienent thoroughfare to Mexico and the United States for drugs.
Secondly, there is a great deal of suspicion about the motives of Americans coming to Guatemala, since adoption of Guatemalan children is relatively frequent. There have been cases of Americans innocently taking pictures of or talking to children, and then being attacked because it was thought they might be preparing to steal them.
Finally, three days before we arrived, the Pacayo volcano erupted, resulting in the cancellation of two field trips, and while we were here, the Fuego volcano erupted. Whew! However, as far as I know, there were no problems while we were in Guatemala, and everyone got back onto the ship OK.
The ship was docked here for five days, and I took field trips for the first three of those days. One difficulty is that the port of Puerto Quetzal is out of reach of everything - the closest city (Antigua) is a 2-hour drive by bus. And all of the field trips I went on centered around Antigua. First, I went to the Filadelfia Coffee Finca or plantation, where we got to see their operation from beginning to end. This was a much more realistic tour than the Britt Coffee Plantation in Costa Rica.
The next day, I was on a tour called "Textiles, Traditions, and Tortillas." We went to "La Casa de Artes," where the owner talked to us about the history of textiles in Guatemala. This is a truly fascinating topic, since each village weaves a specific design. The speaker was very knowledgeable and I enjoyed listening to her. We also got to see a presentation of two traditional dances by a professional dance troop. We ate at a lovely restaurant (heavy on the red meat), and spent the afternoon at a Master Weaver marketplace in a nearby town, San Antonio Aguas Calientes. Yes, there's a hot spring there. We saw the women weaving, then had the opportunity to buy their products. For textile lovers, it was a perfect day!
Finally, on Aug. 13, I went on a trip to a place called the Open Windows Library, in the town of San Miguel Dueñas, where they provide a place for children ages 3-18 to study before or after school, and provide a library and computers for them (public schools do not have libraries here). We brought study materials and books to donate to the library, and we spent a couple of hours interacting with the children.
I should mention that in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Guatemala, we had thunderstorms on a daily basis, any time from 5pm to late at night, since this is the rainy season. The lightning and thunder were truly impressive!
