Home » Mexico » Paradise (?) Revisited, 4 Countries in 1 day, Guatemala Still Gorgeous, Mediocre Moles and More Mexicana Madness in Puerto Escondildo

Sorry, I’ve edited and re-edited but it’s still a long tail!

Starting off…..Back in sweaty, sultry, sloow, San Juan del Sur, if Puerto Viejo was desultory San Juan is sultry…..more gringo developments arising around us and a Japanese funded port facility (many Nicaraguan road bridges are signed “with the love and friendship of the people of Japan”, now I understand!) and the dolphin research centre next maybe?… but it’s still beautiful, maybe No. 2 after Bocas, went for my early morning dip and copped a sea wasp across my arm, blisters and pain, vinegar cure, sunsets at the Iguana Bar, D still hanging in, the usual crowd and some interesting travellers as always.

Paradise (?) Revisited, 4 Countries in 1 day, Guatemala Still Gorgeous, Mediocre Moles and More Mexicana Madness in Puerto Escondildo

Bill Shum
2006-08-21 17:09:01

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cement! Hijo de puta! However, soon I see a huge storm ahead, half hoping it will hit and wash me off but the lightning is too close and the wall of water too extreme, I get to a town and shelter in the servo, play games with the kids, also sheltering, find an amazing hotel, meet Byron from Nth California, will be in Oz later in the year, wish I had more time to talk, seemed like an interesting guy, maybe in Oz.

So, another day….crossed from Nicaragua thru’ Honduras, El Salvador and into Guatemala, 4 countries in one day!

Guatemala is so colourful, some compensation for the shit and derision they suffer. Back to good roads, altho’ one detour that meandered off into the jungle for 10 kms, our bizarre caravan….a solid line of cars, buses, trucks and a moto, streaming slowly like a column of ants thru’ the bush. Back to the little women, overloaded, looking just like the dolls, swaddled into shapeless bundles by the most intricately woven tapestries, reds and purples, the brightest colours, jet black long hair, Oaxaca, Mexicodark sparkling eyes, glint of gold capped teeth. Back to the evenly spaced out dogs.
Back to Antigua, lost a little lustre but still cool, a disturbing number of fcuking evangelistas, norte americanos, I sometimes see in their eyes the glazed, dazed look of the Yellow People of the 70’s, haven’t they got anything better to do? Like educate these people maybe?…..
Back to the Guatemalan Muscle Buses, squat, powerful, cornering at alarming speeds, belching smoke and emitting the most fearsome, gutsy, roar, fantastic, screaming along then braking to a sliding stop at any moment to pick up and drop off, always washed and polished, the elaborate, often corny, religious and film star based works of art all over them.

Then another frontera and back to Mexico, land of the long straight stretches and sudden deviations. 45 mins getting thru’ customs, some misunderstanding about my failure ...