We've said goodbye to Belize and crossed the border into Guatemala. We've gone back and forth on this country. Originally we planned to spend a few weeks here. But in Mexico we heard reports that it was rapidly becoming unsafe so we decided to drive straight through (there is no way south without going through Guatemala, so no detours possible). Recently we've talked to some travelers who said it was fine. So now we've decided to feel it out as we go. If the vibe is good we'll explore, if not we'll head to El Salvador. We think it's going to be ok here. We heard crazy reports about how dangerous Mexico was, but with a little common sense and by following our intuition we were just fine. There is no doubt there are problems in these countries though.
So what is going on in Guatemala exactly? Where to start. Back in 1954 the good old USA, supporting the interest of big business such as United Fruit, orchestrated an invasion of Guatemala in one of the first documented covert CIA operations. Violence and oppression ensued fueling the formation of guerilla groups that led to a civil war that killed over 200,000 Guatemalans. Adding insult to injury, the US backed a crazy evangelical Christian, President Rios Montt. He initiated a "scorch earth" policy, burning 400 villages and killing 15,000 mayan men. (Thanks CIA. You rule). Needless to say the country was bent after that war ended. There were other sick things going on as well. The CIA funded an experiment where we infected 696 Guatemalans with syphilis for "scientific research". Seriously. Google it. It's amazing to me that Guatemala allows Americans into the country today.
Today, the drug war in Mexico is creating a new shit storm in a still recovering war-torn Guatemala. The Zetas are the most targeted Gulf cartel in Mexico's war on drugs. They have migrated across the border to avoid the crack down from the military. They've started taking over areas in Guatemala and forcing locals to join their group. In December the Guatemalan government declared themselves a state under siege and they launched an offensive against the Zetas. And all this because the USA really likes to snort, shoot, and smoke drugs. We create an enormous demand having only 5% of the worlds population yet consuming 60% of the worlds illegal drugs. What a frikin mess. (I really need to get around to writing my drug war post).
Our time in Belize has been a lesson in living in the moment. Looking back, I realize that this lesson was foreshadowed at the border when the guy at the car insurance booth told us that Kriol, one of Belize's many languages, doesn't use overt verb tense markers in speech that distinguish past from present; meaning, everything seems to happen in the present--even yesterday.
Where’s Tree? Oh there he is, right next to me. Can a mask implode? It’s been baking in the rocket box for months now. Is this damn thing on tight enough? I’m afraid to touch it. What if I have to vomit? Gross. What if Tree gets eaten by a shark? That one over there looks hungry. Where’s Tree? Oh there he is, right next to me. What if I run out of air and Tree doesn’t understand my hand signal because Mr. Stop Worrying and Just Relax refuses to go over the safety manual with me! What’s my air at now? Oh my god, I’ve sucked up half my tank in five minutes. Breathe slow, in out in out in out. That’s too fast, breathe long, iiinnnnn ouuttttttttttttttttt, crap I feel like that’s using more air than before. 
The next day, Tree went into Belize City to take the Sprinter to get a second and third opinion, and you’ll never believe what happened. They rebalanced the tires and Presto! The van is fixed! No broken tie rods, no busted ball bearings, no Argentina or Bust! board hanging from Kiki’s neck. The family is mobile again. 
The Recovery Plan - Tomorrow I will infiltrate Belize City looking for an auto repair shop that can work on a Mercedes Sprinter. Hopefully I'll be able to find a reputable shop. I will relocate the van from the airport to this location. I will secure a shipping address and research all the customs issues with sending parts from the US to Belize. Meanwhile my father will drive from the Florida Keys to Miami to purchase needed parts. Once the address is secured and customs are dialed he will Fedex the parts to Belize. Hopefully installation goes smoothly. Turn time, 1-2 weeks.
We've decided to take a little vacation from the van and head out to an island off the coast of Belize for a few days. We left the Sprinter in the long term parking lot at the airport in Belize City for a whopping $4 per day. We spent another $7 each for a round trip ticket on a boat to Caye Caulker Island. Kiki got to ride for free. The 45 minute ride across the Caribbean Sea was Kiki's first boat trip. We love being able to take her everywhere we go. That is a luxury we never had backin the US.
Aloha Belize! Man it's great to be back in a country with toilet seats and friendly cops. Crossing the border yesterday was butter. We were a little nervous about Kiki getting in. According to the research we'd done, Belize is one of the more difficult dog crossing borders. Stevie had dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's. We had a current health certificate from Oaxaca and all Kiki's shot records. We had her doggie passport filled out and we had jumped through the hoops to get the official dog import permit signed, sealed and delivered from the government of Belize. We were ready! 
We are finally preparing to leave Mexico and cross the border into Belize. On our final 8 hour drive across the southern border of Mexico heading east toward Belize I thought about our three and a half months here. When we crossed the border into Tijuana back on October 11th we had planned to rush through Mexico in 2-3 weeks. The American media machine had us so scared that we were half expecting to see gun fights as soon as we crossed the border. What we found instead was a country that left us dazzled. We immersed ourselves in Mexico and in return we were given a great gift. We saw Mexico's true nature. This is a country of proud, warm, helpful, hard working, stoic people. A country with magnificent colonial cities and ancient Indian ruins. There are lush jungles and rugged mountains. Beautiful deserts and warm oceans. We can honestly say that we love this country, and the people in it.
And to people back in the US we can only say one thing, DON'T BE AFRAID TO GO TO MEXICO. Yes, there is a war going on, but it is between the drug cartels and the government. The fear mongering US media is full of shit. All they care about is ratings, not facts. Most of the places we went were safe. Go to Mexico and talk to the people. See it for yourself. And then tell others what you find.
Did you know that one single event probably changed the entire history of the world? At the time that Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1492, the vast majority of the entire worlds population lived here. There were cities larger than anything in Europe and the people had advanced mathematics, farming, art, and culture. How did a few hundred Spanish Conquistadors defeat a population of millions and millions of people? The answer is simple, SMALL POX. This European disease killed an estimated 95% of the population within 25 years. It was by far the fastest and largest decrease in Earths population EVER. Small Pox originated from domesticated animals. The Europeans were able to develop immunity to this disease over thousands of years. But the people in the Americas didn't have domesticated animals when Columbus arrived. A meteor that hit Earth long ago caused an ice age in North America which caused them to go extinct. The Indians never had the opportunity to develop immunity to these types of animal diseases. Now, just for a second imagine what the world would be like had that meteor never hit earth? The conquistadors and pilgrims could have easily been contained or repelled. There would have been no Christian missionaries, no Manifest Destiny, and no United States of America. Maybe we'd be learning to speak Aztec while picking strawberries and hoping no one asked for our papers. A brown powered world? We were probably only 1 meteor away.
Contrary to what Tree would have you believing, there is more to Oaxaca then just its mezcal. Don’t get me wrong, mezcal is huge, but it’s not everything. After having spent two full days at Casa Raab in front of my computer, I decided that I needed to get out and explore Oaxaca city.
| Powered by web analytics software. |
| web hosting companies |
