Traveling can be a slog.  And it was the last couple of days.  We had decided to break the trip into two legs so as to provide more interest and less ‘ endurance’ in-the-air time.  Good plan, theoretically, especially when there was a required lay over of five hours anyway.  The Sheraton Gateway was a good place to stay and they ‘hosted your wait time’ even when the room day was over.  We killed more than a few extra hours by the pool rather than in the airport.

But hours are hours no matter how you look at it and we were in transit a long time.  By the time we got to our rented house in Antigua at 11:30 yesterday morning, we had been awake for thirty hours straight. Normally I try not to exceed half of that.

It helped no end that my seatmate on the plane was a Christian Republican who loved G.W. Bush and wished he was still in office so that the US could invade and take over Mexico and Guatemala.  This was interesting because he was, in fact, Guatemala/American himself and simply believed that the US was the land of milk and honey-money and that the world would be better off run by Washington.  We didn’t argue (I don;t do that much anymore) but I listened fascinated and contented myself with asking a few difficult questions.  It was entertaining.

Next time (if there is ever a next time), I’ll just try for the shortest duration  overall, entertaining seatmates notwithstanding.  Breaking it up just didn’t quite pan out. No complaints tho.  Had it gone to 31 hours, I might have gone a little nutty but 30?  Piece o’ cake.

Last night, we ventured out.  Old rented-with-the-house Land Rover at our disposal, we drove into town. for dinner  OHMYGAWD!  I had forgotten what ‘developing’ nation’s infrastructures were like.  We barreled along with motorcycles, chicken buses, trucks and cars down the cobble-stone streets in the pitch dark with pedestrians, bicyclists and donkey-wagons looming along the ill-defined edges without so much as a hint of light or reflective tape.  Sheesh.

And the city of Antigua itself?  Completely alive and hopping!  Streets and restaurants  were crowded, sidewalks full, motorcycles and scooters zipping about.  It was ‘lively’  and friendly and busy, busy, busy.  Generally speaking, it felt safe and welcoming but the overwhelming impression was one of “getting along nicely, thank you!”  There are, of course, a lot of poor people scraping by but the immediate impression is one of a thriving economy, at least in this town, the most popular destination in the country.

In fact, our airport-shuttle driver and ‘at-your-service’ guy attached to the rented house pointed out the larger, nicer homes in downtown Antigua which he claimed fetched over $2M US!!!  And these are not houses that ‘look’ like they are in that bracket.  We were shocked!

Alamos in northern Mexico is a restored Spanish colonial town about 15% the size of Antigua.  San Miguel Alende is a mid-country Mexican city recreated in a similar gringo-influenced and occupied theme and about 1.5 times larger than Antigua.  These places attract gringos and they then become touristy.  Some nortanericanos are so drawn, they buy in.  Then, of course, they sell out to newly infatuated gringos because only gringos can afford to buy the now-updated and restored villas.  Thus gringos create a market within a market.  And some kind of weird amalgamation of displaced-but-now-working locals hang on at the periphery catering to the rich and funky who have moved in to enjoy what used to be a traditional lifestyle which they alter wholly by their presence.

The result?  It’s a theme park.

Iglesia La Merced

It is not a bad thing, I suppose.  But it is definitely an off-shoot of the globalization phenomena.  And, it does have a few ugly aspects like the McDonalds on the town square and that sort of thing.  On the other hand, the indigenous Mayans are doing better.  They have more opportunities, better education, more money………all the things they want. They look better.  Healthier.  And they are not in the least bit reticent or shy like they used to be the last time we were here thirty-four years ago.  Less charming, perhaps, but still kind and gentle.

Sunday Market

For them, it has not changed so much anyway.  They still live in their villages.  They still work for the ‘man’ .  But this ‘man’ is well off, polite, respectful and not feared.  Even better, these gringos help out in clinics, organize things and are pretty generous as well.   Gringos aren’t loved so much as tolerated and, sometimes, even liked somewhat. But they are not ‘homies’ and the locals seem to mostly and basically just suffer them gladly. Hard not to – they are definitely the economic backbone of the area.

More to follow….