Weekend at the beach
Door: Pieter
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23 Maart 2010 | Guatemala, Guatemala-stad
I wrote this one a few weeks ago, but I didn't finish and upload it, so here it is, with some delay:
Last weekend I went with Alberto and some other colleagues to the beach. Actually nothing really exciting happened, but I think the weekend was a good summary of Guatemala:
Punctuality
We planned to leave from the office at 3 o'clock exactly. Most of us hurried and finish work quickly, but of course not everybody did so, so in the end we left around 15:45.
Transport, infrastructure & traffic
The place where we were going is called Ocós and it is close to the Mexican border. It is only about 180km from Guatemala (as the crow flies), but we managed to take 6 hours to get there (ok, including a visit to the supermarket and a quick dinner).
High tolerance for noise & bad taste of music
On the way we had non-stop reggaeton music at the highest volume and the others did not get tired of singing along (I did).
Beauty (yes, also positive things)
Once arrived we realised we ended up in a beautiful place next to the beach, full of palm trees and space. We changed immediately and dove into the see under the moonlight.
Gap poor and rich
The next day when the sun rose we found ourselves in a huge house (for about 20 people) with the newest furniture, 2 swimming pools, a jacuzzi and a great view. I think in Europe you would pay at least a few €millions for it. Of course here it's a lot less (also because it's far from the capital), but it's still hard to accept that people live in this kind of places while others are dying from hunger just some kilometers away. Next to that, we were served all weekend by the muchachas (butlers, servants, don't know what would be the best translation) and their children.. We did not have to do anything; as soon as we finished eating, the muchacha would come and clean our mess while we had already returned to the swimming pool. Once we even asked for a coconut and one of the servants took a ladder to climb in one of the palm trees to take out a few coco nuts using his machete. Of course there was something nice about it, but realising under what kind of circumstances these people live did not make me feel very comfortable, especially seeing the children of 6-8 years old cleaning all day.. (I hope they go to school during the week days, but I'm not 100% confident about that).
Family
The house belongs to the family of one of my colleagues and some of the members of the family still lived near (in the village close to the house) and we went to see them on Saturday evening. We were welcomed everywhere (no Turkish style though) by her family who made a talk with us and left their other business for what it was (family comes first).
Again punctuality (deserves two examples)
We would leave around 1pm on Sunday, in the end we left around 5pm...
Disregard for risks
The guy who drove back used to be Latin American champion in motor cross and is a really nice guy, but on the way back he showed no respect for our lives, nor the concerns (advices, requests, worries, whatever you want to call it) uttered by me and Alberto (the others didn't seem to care). His speed varied between 150% and 300% of the speed limit (up to 160 km/h). It was not as scary as the chicken bus ride from Panajachel to Guatemala City, but still, it was definitely the last time that I and Alberto were in a car driven by this guy. The good thing was that it took just 3.5 hours to get to Guatemala City..
Criminality
When approaching Guatemala City we had to slow down because the police closed down a part of the highway. When we passed that part we saw why, two dead guys were lying on the street, one of them with a gun in his hand..
So, seems not too positive, right? Anyway, if I think of Guatemala as a whole I am really happy to be here and I really appreciate all the good things (the joy people have in their life, the warmth of the people, the diverse cultures, the beauty of the country, the luxury I live in and also definitely my job), but it's not a place where I would like to spend the rest of my life. Speaking of the future.. my contract at Esso will finish mid June (I might try to finish the end of May) and then I will take the plane to Panama and travel back to the north over land (or maybe the other way around, depending on the prices) and on August 13th I will take the plane from Mexico City back to Holland, where I should arrive August 14th.
Last weekend I went with Alberto and some other colleagues to the beach. Actually nothing really exciting happened, but I think the weekend was a good summary of Guatemala:
Punctuality
We planned to leave from the office at 3 o'clock exactly. Most of us hurried and finish work quickly, but of course not everybody did so, so in the end we left around 15:45.
Transport, infrastructure & traffic
The place where we were going is called Ocós and it is close to the Mexican border. It is only about 180km from Guatemala (as the crow flies), but we managed to take 6 hours to get there (ok, including a visit to the supermarket and a quick dinner).
High tolerance for noise & bad taste of music
On the way we had non-stop reggaeton music at the highest volume and the others did not get tired of singing along (I did).
Beauty (yes, also positive things)
Once arrived we realised we ended up in a beautiful place next to the beach, full of palm trees and space. We changed immediately and dove into the see under the moonlight.
Gap poor and rich
The next day when the sun rose we found ourselves in a huge house (for about 20 people) with the newest furniture, 2 swimming pools, a jacuzzi and a great view. I think in Europe you would pay at least a few €millions for it. Of course here it's a lot less (also because it's far from the capital), but it's still hard to accept that people live in this kind of places while others are dying from hunger just some kilometers away. Next to that, we were served all weekend by the muchachas (butlers, servants, don't know what would be the best translation) and their children.. We did not have to do anything; as soon as we finished eating, the muchacha would come and clean our mess while we had already returned to the swimming pool. Once we even asked for a coconut and one of the servants took a ladder to climb in one of the palm trees to take out a few coco nuts using his machete. Of course there was something nice about it, but realising under what kind of circumstances these people live did not make me feel very comfortable, especially seeing the children of 6-8 years old cleaning all day.. (I hope they go to school during the week days, but I'm not 100% confident about that).
Family
The house belongs to the family of one of my colleagues and some of the members of the family still lived near (in the village close to the house) and we went to see them on Saturday evening. We were welcomed everywhere (no Turkish style though) by her family who made a talk with us and left their other business for what it was (family comes first).
Again punctuality (deserves two examples)
We would leave around 1pm on Sunday, in the end we left around 5pm...
Disregard for risks
The guy who drove back used to be Latin American champion in motor cross and is a really nice guy, but on the way back he showed no respect for our lives, nor the concerns (advices, requests, worries, whatever you want to call it) uttered by me and Alberto (the others didn't seem to care). His speed varied between 150% and 300% of the speed limit (up to 160 km/h). It was not as scary as the chicken bus ride from Panajachel to Guatemala City, but still, it was definitely the last time that I and Alberto were in a car driven by this guy. The good thing was that it took just 3.5 hours to get to Guatemala City..
Criminality
When approaching Guatemala City we had to slow down because the police closed down a part of the highway. When we passed that part we saw why, two dead guys were lying on the street, one of them with a gun in his hand..
So, seems not too positive, right? Anyway, if I think of Guatemala as a whole I am really happy to be here and I really appreciate all the good things (the joy people have in their life, the warmth of the people, the diverse cultures, the beauty of the country, the luxury I live in and also definitely my job), but it's not a place where I would like to spend the rest of my life. Speaking of the future.. my contract at Esso will finish mid June (I might try to finish the end of May) and then I will take the plane to Panama and travel back to the north over land (or maybe the other way around, depending on the prices) and on August 13th I will take the plane from Mexico City back to Holland, where I should arrive August 14th.
-
24 Maart 2010 - 07:15
Margriet:
wat een geestig verslag weer; ik lees ze altijd met veel plezier jouw verslagen: zeer beeldend, dankjewel. Je zult het vast wel gezellig hebben met je vader. Leuk dat je een deel van jouw leven daar op die manier met hem kan delen. Veel plezier, Margriet -
24 Maart 2010 - 08:47
Mirjam:
Enerverend, zo'n weekendje aan zee...
Leuk weer, zo'n levendig verslag. Ben benieuwd naar je jungle-ervaringen straks! -
07 April 2010 - 21:10
Paul:
Ik lees dit pas na terugkomst in Nederland. Na een paar zeer interessante weken in Guatemala kan ik me d'r een hoop meer bij voorstellen dan voorheen: vooral de chicken-busses (uit eigen ervaring). Ook idioot rijgedrag ken ik inmiddels. Alhoewel ik de verschillen tussen rijk en arm niet zo extreem heb meegemaakt, kan ik me er nu heel veel bij voorstellen.
Bedankt nog voor de geweldige ontvangst !! -
07 April 2010 - 21:10
Paul:
Ik lees dit pas na terugkomst in Nederland. Na een paar zeer interessante weken in Guatemala kan ik me d'r een hoop meer bij voorstellen dan voorheen: vooral de chicken-busses (uit eigen ervaring). Ook idioot rijgedrag ken ik inmiddels. Alhoewel ik de verschillen tussen rijk en arm niet zo extreem heb meegemaakt, kan ik me er nu heel veel bij voorstellen.
Bedankt nog voor de geweldige ontvangst !! -
04 Juni 2010 - 11:28
Paul:
zo joh,
binnenkort de laatse week bij Esso. Amuseer je op je afscheidsfeestje
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