Wandering Mexico & Central America

Ciudad Vieja (fleeing rockets and mortars)

Full Post: http://www.wideanglewandering.com/2012/12/ciudad-vieja.html

2012-12-08 (Please note the dates. I'm now posting in whatever order I please.)


Rickety Rocket Launchers by WideAngleWandering, on Flickr

The chicken bus stopped unexpectedly. The driver said something I didn't make out and everyone began to get off. I stepped off the bus and looked up to see the top of a rusty ferris wheel against the backdrop of a volcano. As I was wondering what the problem was with the bus, I heard the twin thwumps of mortars being fired. They exploded high overhead, sending cardboard shrapnel to the ground. I followed the crowd and rounded the corner to find a flatbed truck full of angels and demons blocking the road.

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful, though after finishing my business in the city, I found myself walking back to Antigua, wondering where the return buses were.

2012-12-09

The chicken bus followed the normal route today. After a fruitless visit to my mechanic, I walked to the centro to find some food. A sizeable crowd was picking their way through the aisles, shopping and eating. I bought some water and a tortilla with sausage and fermented cabbage (Mayan sauerkraut?) and sat down by the church. A banner on the wall depicted a wrinkly old white guy with a gold, jeweled staff topped with a crucifix. Inside, a pre-recorded sermon read by an overly-inflective voice actor played, followed by hymns. Outside, dozens of bells clammered for the attention of potential ice cream customers.

After a few minutes, the music changed to flutes and drums. Suddenly the bells stopped and the ice cream vendors started pushing their carts down the road. I thought a religious procession, the bizarre mix of the solemn and the raucous, might be displacing the vendors but suddenly the people on the street began to run. I stood up and looked for danger; the last time I'd seen a crowd move like that it was followed by a group of riot police firing tear gas. A short distance away, I saw a burst of smoke quickly followed by a loud report.

Read more ...
(sorry for the teasers - copying/pasting/fixing links/converting HTML to BBCode for the various fora has become a burdon)

Why Climb Volcan de Agua?

Full post: http://www.wideanglewandering.com/2013/02/why-climb-volcan-d...


Volcán de Agua by WideAngleWandering, on Flickr

We drove from Antigua to Santa María de Jesús early in the morning to meet our guide outside the travel agency on the town square. We'd made arrangements to hike to the summit, spend the night and hike back down the next day. Back home, I'd have made a trip like this with a light pack but this being Guatemala, we needed a horse and horse-guy, a cardboard box full of food, a rollaboard suitcase, a couple miscellaneous tote bags, a trip coordinator and a guide.

Read the full post, if ya wanna: http://www.wideanglewandering.com/2013/02/why-climb-volcan-d...

Thanks all for the kind thoughts.

A good resource for campground & hotel listings can be found on LifeRemotely.com under their PanAm reports. Not much info on Mexico unfortunately. I'm happy to share GPS locations and such if they want to email me.

And now the next post ...

Full Post: http://www.wideanglewandering.com/2013/03/the-bureacracy-of-...

2013-02-14


Waiting for the Rum by WideAngleWandering, on Flickr

Somehow, in the aftermath of liberation from Spain, the people of Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador were stricken with the ugly, self-indulgent sense of nationalism. They fought over territory and trade and eventually defined some imaginary lines to mark their borders. At these borders, each posted low-level bureaucrats and armed enforcers to make sure anyone crossing those imaginary lines knew just how important their nation was with respect to the others. That became onerous, since we're talking about nations the size of New England states , so they came up with the CA-IV agreement, making it easier for Central Americans and harder for everyone else to travel in the region. Today they have about as much hassle as I do driving into California from Arizona. Also like California, they can only aspire to someday be as sensible as Iowa and Nebraska are with their borders.

[URL="http://www.wideanglewandering.com/2013/03/the-bureacracy-of-lingering.html"]More on my adventures with Central American visa & vehicle import rules[/URL].

[Edited on 2013-3-1 by WideAngleWandering]

The Human Element

Semana Santa - Antigua Gone Wild

Full post: http://www.wideanglewandering.com/2013/04/semana-santa-antig...

2013-03-28


Alfombra by WideAngleWandering, on Flickr

I have managed to avoid Semana Santa in my previous trips to Latin America. I've always had a sense that in most places it would be more spectacle than cultural experience. More of a haven for pick-pockets and parking scams than for connecting with people. A few folks I know who normally live in Antigua leave during Semana Santa, citing trash, traffic jams and amazingly enough – decreased business. But, for whatever reason, I stayed and fought traffic, often driving the wrong way down trash-strewn one-way streets.

Full post/photos/video: http://www.wideanglewandering.com/2013/04/semana-santa-antig...

I'm currently in Nicaragua, where poor Betsy has succumbed to motor fatigue. It would seem that a 2H diesel is good for ~200k km with a turbo glide turbo before an overhaul is called for

And now, a post from the past (I'm way behind).

Full Post: http://www.wideanglewandering.com/2013/05/two-weeks-in-antig...


Clouds Over Antigua by WideAngleWandering, on Flickr

Two weeks in Antigua. I'm in that space where I need to settle in or move on. Unfortunately, Betsy is still in the clutches of a good but very slow mechanic for fuel injector service. I'm getting my cake and eating it too, however, with the help of Club 4x4 Guatemala.

See The Rest