• Guatemalan Musings
• El Salvador Musings
• Mexico Musings #2
• Mexico Musings #1

Guatemalan Musings

Please keep in mind that we were only here for two weeks, and only in Antigua and on the bus going to and from Antigua. Just like anywhere in the world, places within one country can vary greatly from others. Please read these musings with that in mind.

• Guatemala as a whole seemed much cleaner than El Salvador. The capital of San Salvador was much cleaner compared to the small town near where the boat is, and so it may be the same for Guatemala City. We stopped here on our way to Antigua. Antigua was very clean, as well.
• Antigua has many, many tourists, most taking Spanish lessons of some sort. We saw many Europeans, Japanese, Canadians and Americans. The family with whom we stayed said that many Antiguans don't like all the tourism, but realize that all the money pumped into the economy helps the city be more prosperous.
• Poverty is great, here, as in El Salvador. I spoke with my two teachers at length about Guatemala, etc. Most homes do not have hot water. Those who do have an electric water heater on demand - sort of. It's a small unit hanging from the shower head, plugged into an outlet (what was that about water and electricity? Something about it not being safe?), or wired directly to power. To get hotter water, you turn down the flow of water so more gets warmed. It was not what I would call a warm shower. More like tepid. Many people don't use these showers except in winter when it gets quite chilly here at 4,500 feet.
• Most homes do not have washing machines. All clothes are washed in the sink. Most sinks here (and some we saw in Mexico) are concrete or some such stone-like material, molded to form two or three large basins. There is one faucet (normally for the central sink). This is filled up, and dishes are rinsed using a bowl of water from that center basin. This is where clothes are also washed. I really want to know how they keep their whites so white when I can't keep my whites that white in a washing machine.
• Per one teacher, the Guatemalans don't care much for the folks from El Salvador (very crude and vulgar), from Belize (lots of drug dealers and drug addicts), and Honduras (same as El Salvador). She also said that there were a lot of Salvadoreñan girls working as prostitutes.
• Both teachers knew of people in the United States there illegally. I'm not sure how they get there since apparently Mexico is very strict for those traveling north. Illegally through Mexico as well, I would guess. The Western Union office always has a line outside, and I think this sign explains it all (translates as: Get money here from the USA and the world) On Saturday, the line was almost a block long waiting to get into Western Union to receive money. Per my teacher, many families have people in the States sending them money.

  

• A common mode of transport here is a motorcycle. It's obviously a lot cheaper than a car. The downside is that entire families ride them at one time. We've seen a man, woman, two or yes,even three toddlers on one bike. All without helmets. But we saw one family that took the cake: Husband with a three or four year old sitting in front of him on the "floor" of the scooter, his wife sitting sidesaddle behind him carrying an infant. All of the streets here are cobblestone and therefore quite bumpy and uneven. Yikes.
• This isn't particular to Guatemala, but also Mexico and El Salvador, all the papers show pictures of dead bodies when reporting stories.
• We saw dogs here that were in much better condition, and on leashes, than we've seen since leaving the larger Mexican cities. Every place we've seen with dogs as pets have been places with large tourist or transplant populations.
• We saw a group of 10 or so men playing basketball in wheelchairs. We have not seen any people in wheelchairs since leaving the US that I can remember. Maybe in part because the streets and sidewalks are so very bad and it can't be easy to get around. It was nice to see these men out and playing.
• The locals in Antigua are very poor, but seem to be in a better place than Usulutan, El Salvador. Is Usulutan just that much poorer? Or is there a certain pride in Antigua that we don't see in Usulutan?
• Banks do give loans for house here, but houses are extremely expensive. My teacher said, and I wrote it down to confirm that I was translating correctly, that homes sell for $6,000,000. Sold in dollars since it's so much. Obviously not many can afford houses, and most rent where they live. Many of the houses are sold to what she called mafia and drug lords.
• We saw many, many nice, new cars here. This is very much at odds with the poverty that we see. The other teacher explained that the people that do own homes have been selling them (not for $6,000,000 I'm guessing) to buy their kids a car. There are no bank loans for cars here. The interest rate, by the way is 20% for home loans.
• Antigua is a beautiful city. It felt like an old European city (according to Abe; I wouldn't know).

El Salvador Musings

• In Mexico, most cars were American-made. In El Salvador, most are Japanese-made.
• It is very green here. The landscape and clouds riding to San Salvador reminded us a little bit of Texas - mostly flat and big, puffy clouds. Lot of wide open land here in between the cities.
• There are a lot of shacks for housing, women washing laundry in the river or culverts, wood-burning fires (in place of propane) for cooking (free wood versus propane), etc. There are obviously poor and wealthy in this country, but the poor are very poor. I have seen nothing to compare to this in the United States. Even Mexico wasn't this bad on this grand a scale.
• I saw a number of gentlemen plowing fields with oxen and the old-style plows.
• Most of the women that we saw selling in markets, on buses, on streets wear beautiful aprons.
• The cities and sides of the roads are very littered. Many people simply throw trash down wherever they are or out the bus window.
• In addition to bottled water, you can buy water in a bag. It makes less trash and isn't as messy-looking when someone tosses it on the side of the street.
• We have noticed very little smoking here compared to Mexico. Healthier or just can't afford it? I also noticed a number of people (all men) running in San Salvador. We were there only 2 days, but I saw more men exercising in those two days than all our time in Mexico. I can't begin to imagine or explain why this might be.
• From the handful of people that we spoke with, it seems that they don't have a great opinion of Mexico. Mexico does not welcome Guatemalans or Salvadorans into Mexico without a lot of conditions and checking (to prevent illegal immigration). I'm not sure this is the reason or the relative wealth of Mexico compared to Central America.
• There were only a handful of women wearing shorts or short skirts. 99% wear skirts or pants. There were also very few women wearing revealing tops or skimpy clothing. We noticed in Mexico more women dressed like a lot of Americans in the skimpy clothing. Not here.
• There were a lot of smiles on faces. Nice to see.
• El Salvador seems to be a very pro-American country. We have seen the US flags in many places, clothing with English writing, a fair number of billboards with English/American themes. The hotel manager, Nelson, told us that the president of El Salvador had recently met with a bank to ask for small business loan policies to encourage growth in his country. This bank has recently started giving these loans out. The unemployment rate is 25% (to Mexico's 30+%). It would be interesting to see what that looks like in 5 years if these small businesses continue to be encouraged.
• 80+% voter turnout at the last election (according to our talk with Nelson).

Mexico Musings #2, April 25, 2005

• We have eaten out a fair amount while in Mexico. Only on a few occasions have we been waited on by a female. Waiting tables seems to be a predominantly male thing. Only in Zihuat did we have our first female waitress.
• We've been in a couple of eateries where we asked for something specific - Valentina sauce or saltines. We were told, "Un Momento." 5 minutes later the waitress walks into the restaurant from the street (we never saw her leave), carrying a bag. Then, presto, we have what we requested. It is not unusual for the employees or business owners to go get something specifically that you requested.
• When making purchases we try to use the smallest bill possible. In some cases, all we have is a $200 peso bill ($20 USD). Time and time again, we've seen our change come from many different sources. The merchant will get $20 pesos from the drawer, $20 from her wallet, $20 from the coworker's wallet, etc. We have no idea how they keep track of who sticks what into the change pile, but they don't make any notes about it. Perhaps they're all related and so it's all in the family and doesn't matter? It's very strange to watch.
• I've had a very difficult time finding a mailbox. That sounds strange, I know. They are few and far between. And stamps to mail postcards were harder to find.
• There is a problem of poverty around the world. We speak of poverty in the US, and each year we hear that the number grows. The baseline for determining poverty keeps changing and that's why the number grows, but that's another topic. The majority of people in the States considered under the poverty line don't know true poverty. We know of a number of cases of people living in "poverty" in the States. They have refrigerators, microwaves, car(s), computers, air conditioners, etc. Certainly not to diminish their struggles, but that is not true poverty. It might be that those under the poverty line in the States don't have all the major comforts of middle or upper class, but it's not poverty. No running water, dirt floors, one-room huts that house families - that's poverty.
• I always have heard the term "Rude Americans," and how we are viewed around the world as horrid people. And I'm sure there are those Americans traveling that can be very rude. What we've noticed over our travels, though, is that the rudest that we've seen have been Canadian. This is not to say all Canadians are rude. It's just that the rudest behaviors we've seen have been from Canadians and not Americans. Do the Mexicans just assume they're Americans because we have that reputation, and the rudest are speaking English? Don't know. We've made the assumption that they were Canadians based on a couple of factors: they spoke with that distinct Canadian accent, they spoke Canadian French, they said they were from Canada. In all cases but one, we heard them say something about home and Canada.

Mexico Musings # 1 - these are just things that we've noticed about Mexico that struck us as different. Most of these are not necessarily better or worse, just different. It's been fun to observe the people and culture of Mexico. It's a wonderful place.

• It was quite difficult to find businesses or houses in Mexico since we kept looking for addresses. Most businesses and addresses are listed with cross streets only. If you want to go to the local marine store check round the intersection of 5 Mayo y 16 Febrero.
• We've noticed that many children are riding in cars without car seats. And loads of toddlers and older ride in the back of pickup trucks with the rest of the group. Fortunately we've not seen too many accidents or dented vehicles.
• Most of the streets that we've seen up to this point are dirt, gravel or cobblestone. In Puerto Vallarta and La Paz, the main streets traveled were concrete although the main beach drag is still cobblestone.
• There seem to be very few dogs as pets. The exception, it seemed, was in La Paz where there were loads of dogs in fenced yards. There were a lot of pregnant dogs in La Paz. With the overflowing population of dogs, however, it didn't appear that too many went hungry. No so in all the other places we've visited so far. In the small towns, the lack of cats or dogs was very noticeable. In the cities such as Cabo or Puerto Vallarta there are many strays. Most of those scrounge for food outside restaurants. We've seen one owners discourage this by throwing a bucket of water on the dog. We've heard many tales of abuse, but have not seen any for ourselves.
• More often than not the folks here in Mexico speak more English than we've seen visitors and cruisers speak Spanish. I am to fault in this category, too, as I rely on Abe's Spanish to get us through. I am learning more and more. Frequently I ask Abe how to say something, then turn around and repeat to whomever I'm trying to communicate.
• There are few gas stations. Certainly not on every corner as in the States. And I have not seen any other "brand" than Pemex. Oil was nationalized a few decades ago.
• We don't do much shopping (there's no room for most things on the boat!), but it is fun to walk into different stores and see the local art and culture that can be seen in the local economy. It seems that everyone that walks into the store is closely watched for shoplifting. Just about every store has a package check-in where you leave your backpacks. We have been followed closely by employees who don't say anything, but keep very close tabs on us. I'm not sure if it's because we look like tourists, and they have a big shoplifting incidence rate among tourists or if they follow that closely to locals as well. We were in a marine store in La Paz looking for a particular size screw. We would pick up one screw, check the size and put it back. All the while there was a gentleman standing less than 3 feet away from us, to our side, not saying anything, just staring. I can appreciate that this helps cut down on stealing. It is a tad bit uncomfortable, though. In the US, I'm sure we're watched just as closely, but through video surveillance.
• One of Abe's musings is that the ease of finding that particular widget that we might need is gone. We don't have a car, and no phone other than pay phones. That adds a little bit to the search. Even with that, however, there generally isn't one place that you know will have a widget. You think that maybe Jose's or Gigante might, but aren't sure. You go to both of those places without luck. Then do you try the local ferreteria (hardware store)? We're becoming very adaptive with our projects and how to build what we need with parts we can't find!
• Along the same lines there is lack of computers at every turn as in the States. There are computers at larger grocery stores checkout counters and more so in larger cities. Get off the beaten path a little and you will find that most of the small markets and such track purchases by hand. They will write the purchase of each item in a hard bound ledger. I don't think this tracks inventory, because they seem to have whatever they have at that moment. They take what the delivery guy brings. We're guessing this tracks sales only. In Turtle Bay, the local market allowed residents to purchase all on account. Pick up whatever you need now, except beer, and pay the bill at the end of the month.
• Each bus or taxi that we've been in has had it's own personalized feel. Everyone has something hanging from the rear view mirror. There are a lot of religious items (rosaries, crosses, pictures of Mother Mary), others have pictures of children, baby booties - all sorts of things. It's quite a kick to check it all out to get a feel for what's important to the driver.
• We've only started taking buses in Puerto Vallarta. All places previously visited were small enough that we could walk most places. The buses are a hoot! We've never waited longer than 5 minutes (even that's a stretch) for the bus we need. They're everywhere. And all seem to be carrying the 40+ passengers for which there are seats each time we've been on board.
  • Each bus has a wooden tray that holds all sorts of change. Most fares are 4 pesos ($.40 USD). There are no transfers from one bus to another on one fare as there was in San Francisco.
  • Most drivers own their bus. You can be sure that they try to race each other to get to the next stop before the other bus so that the winner can get the fares.
  • All buses write (most handwritten) or print on the destinations on the windows.
  • You have to know a little bit about the routes to know which bus it is you need to take.
  • Most buses carry an air hose somewhere around the gear shift. Abe said that most military vehicles also had air hoses. These roads are quite hard on the tires, I would imagine.
  • Doors are opened before getting to the stop. You can see some people jump off or get on before the bus has come to a complete stop.

It's not a great picture, but at least you can see the writing on the window and that there is fabric and fringe hanging in the front window.

• There seems to be more personal responsibility here Mexico. We had a personal experience that contrasts the differences. We were having breakfast at a restaurant. Abe moved the chair and one of the legs went into a hole. The leg broke and when Abe told the waiter about it so the waiter could take the chair away, the waiter joked that he would put the cost of the chair on our bill. Had this happened in the US, he would have been afraid of a lawsuit. Another example of this: You don't get off a moving bus, then turn and blame the driver if you get hurt. The doors open, the driver expects you to not get out until the bus stops. If you do and get hurt, it's your own darn fault! This is quite a refreshing change from most of the crazy litigations that are occurring in the States now.
• Payday is very small for most Mexicans. A dock worker at Marina de La Paz made $70 pesos (less than $7 USD) a day. A trained hospital nurse (heard from Pam & Scott) makes $250 USD every two weeks. That equates to $6,000 USD a year. Granted, the cost of living is much cheaper here in Mexico than in the States. Some lower income families send their children to work at a very young age to supplement the family's income. In the large tourist towns you may see children as young as 2 or 3 selling Chicklets gum. The cute factor gets more sales, I guess. The main jobs that we've seen children in are normally baggers at grocery stores and busboys (all males) at restaurants. These kids tend to be 12 or older. We also have seen some young kids (below 12) singing on buses or streets, asking for pesos when finished. This is not "play" money, but money that is given to the family to help pay for food, housing, clothing, etc. Most kids look very happy though. It seems That the adults make sure that they also have time to play.
• Our favorite meals so far in Mexico have been at the local taco stands. You generally can buy one taco for $10 pesos (less than $1 USD. Yes the US dollar sign and the sign for pesos is the same. It can be confusing at times). Even if you go into a "larger" restaurant for tacos than a street stand you're not likely to get utensils. If part of your taco falls onto the plate, pick it up with your fingers. It was odd that we didn't notice the lack of utensils the first couple of times in a taco restaurant. It was very natural to use our fingers to pick up the dropped pieces. I'm sure they would provide a fork or spoon upon request, but we say, "When in Mexico, do as the Mexicans do." That's what this trip is all about!
• Every Mexican that we have met and talked with has been extremely helpful, kind,and cheerful. They smile when I try out my Spanish, and actually repeat words a couple of times to help with my pronunciation. Americans may consider that Mexicans are living impoverished lives because of lack of this or that. It seems that Mexicans are far more content with living than a lot of Americans that we see. They certainly know how to slow the pace down. That having been said, Abe and I both agree we wouldn't give up the US of A to move here permanently.