summer on repeat: Crossing the Border

Dear Readers,

Finally we get to move on to Guatemala. From the town of San Ignacio, in Belize, it's a short taxi ride to the border. Going through the border to Guatemala was a breeze. But the easy times couldn't last forever. Unfortunately, my guidebook wasn't so clear on what the next step should be once you've crossed the border, and there were no other travelers around to offer any suggestions. I was immediately flooded with requests from taxi drivers offering to drive me to Flores, which was my next destination. The prices they were asking for seemed astronomical, because after all I'm in Guatemala and things are supposed to be cheaper, right? Well, apparently transportation is not always cheaper, but that's a whole 'nother blog. Eventually I settled for paying 70 Q (quetzales), a little less than $10, to get to Flores. I'm pretty sure i payed double what the locals were paying considering the taxi driver drove me to the border town and then put me on a local minibus (more like a minivan). I did get to sit in the front seat which is one of the most comfortable ones in the van. This was very fortunate because the road, if you can even call it that, to Flores was in really bad shape. The road wasn't paved and there were massive holes and divits causing the driver to go really slowly and in a winding pattern to avoid the bigger bumps. The border town and the drive to Flores left a not so great first impression of Guatemala. After having actually been here for almost a month I have to say my first impression is not the one that I will leave with. The border town was dusty and dirty, and also seemed to be very poor and chaotic. Certainly that is a part of Guatemala, but really there are so many different sides to this country it is constantly surprising you.

When I finally got to Flores and checked into the hostel I was relieved that it was less than $5 a night. Yay! Finally, something cheaper. But then I looked at the hostel menu. Most meals were more expensive than a nights accommodation, which is a pattern everywhere.

Flores is a very cute little town. It is basically an island in the middle of a lake, and it attracts a lot of tourists because it is clean, colorful, and supposedly safer than the neighboring towns.

Either the first or second night I was there Guatemalans celebrated this burning devil festival. It wasn't as exciting as it sounds. In Flores people celebrated by taking devil pinatas and burning them in the streets in front of their homes, and by setting off tons of firecrackers. Apparently, other towns such as Chichicastenango, have much more elaborate celebrations. In Flores, everything was over in a matter of minutes. I think burning the devil is supposed to cleanse your house of bad spirits for the new year. (I've included a couple pics of the night at the end of this blog.)

Next time: The Mayan ruins of Tikal.

xx,
gwen