Palabra of the day: tumulo. It means “speed bump.” At 8:00 a.m. I went to stand on the road to Ciudad Vieja where a million chicken buses blasted by as I awaited my ride to Cobí¡n. Forty-five minutes later I’d just about given up and my shoulders had nearly pulled from their sockets on account of my backpack when Cesí¡r pulled up. The van was packed and the only remaining spot was on a ridge […]
Read moreMonth: February 2008
Guate-Guate-Guate
“¦That’s what cuidad-bound bus conductors shout as they careen down the street looking for passengers. Here’s what I’ve gleaned from today’s news: Eleven bus drivers and conductors have been murdered over the past three days. ílvaro Colom, in office for fewer than thirty days now, suspects it’s an attempt to destabilize his government. Others say it’s organized crime taking revenge on companies that don’t pay a protection fee. Some drivers are quitting, and riders in […]
Read moreUna Persona Extranjera
I can’t make up my mind: stay in Antigua these last six days or make the eight-hour-each-way van ride to the caves at Lanquín and the waterfalls at Semuc Champay? My mind is flapping around like the Lent flags at Iglesia Santa Lucia. I’d like to show you where I’m living on Callejon del Burrito. Here are the living room downstairs and my south-facing view toward El Volcan Agua from my upstairs porch. While walking […]
Read moreTomorrow, Tomorrowwww
I spent almost all of today writing and messing with photos, so my day has yielded nary an experience worth telling, unless you count getting lost in the mercado and finding myself in an abandoned part of town beyond where the chicken buses sleep. But tomorrow, I promise… I haven’t even laughed once all day, so I have nothing funny to say. I cracked only one fake smile when I paid for my groceries. Maybe […]
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