Way down yonder in Totonicapan, way down the road
In the back of a picop, dusty 'n rough
Couple of Guatemalans helped me find my bus
I've been gettin' some hard travelin' Lord
That may be a little too obscure of a reference, but it's been bouncing
around in my head for a couple miles. Or kilometers, as they use them
down here more often.
Spent the night in Totonicapan last night--wanted to at least poke my
head into the municipality which has such unusual forestry-related
outcomes (very high) and hang around for the enormous Saturday market,
which seems to take up about half the city (though the streets look so
different with market stalls in them, I have no way of knowing exactly
how far the market extends--I found myself repeatedly turned around when
distracted by beautiful looking carrots or really cheap kitchen knives.
Incidentally, a very high quality (though rather utilitarian) carving
knife down here goes for about $3.50. That's more than Bolivia, where
they were about a dollar, but still a hell of a deal. I imagine they're
cheaper in Brazil, as well, as they're all made by Tramontina, the very
high-quality Brazilian cutlery firm.
I was hoping that once I got to Totonicapan, I would discover direct
buses from there to Quiché, where I would then be able to move on easily
to Uspantán, but I had no such luck. When I inquired about pickup
trucks, the answer was in the affirmative (although a hesitant
affirmative, as I am only a stupid Gringo).
But I decided that I would try to catch a pickup truck for about an
hour, and if I didn't have any luck, I would walk down to the bus
terminal and go that way.
But I thought the direct route from "Toto" to Quiché is much shorter,
and I thought it would be a lot less complicated, though I'm not sure I
was right about either of those things. It is shorter in distance, but
I'm not sure how much time I saved. Nevertheless, it was a hell of a
beautiful (if dusty) ride. Definitely worth the extra effort (and
embarrassment).
So I spent about two hours wandering through the market this morning,
and I got some good pictures and video, I think. Then I headed back to
pack up, and I was out of the hotel room at about 11:30.
I found the correct corner for the Quiché pickup trucks, and while
there, I was approached by a friendly and helpful Guatemalan guy with
his daughter, who were headed my way, and pointed me in the right
direction. We found a truck, hopped on board (hopefully without bumping
too many heads along the way) and we were off.
The first portion of the trip was incredible. First, through the
beautifully maintained forests of Totonicapan municipality (one of the
only places in the country without a deforestation problem) and then,
out into beautiful pastoral landscapes (where the forest has been cut
for agricultural purposes). It's hard, though, looking at those farms,
to not think about the way we (the US) more or less unthinkingly plowed
the great plans under and completely changed the ecosystem of much of
the landscape between the Appalachians and the Rockies.
Stunning country. As I told someone, like a sublime combination of
Virginia, Pennsylvania, and the Rockies.
In any event, we made it into San Antonio, where we changed pickups for
the remaining 20 minute ride into Quiché. Along the way, the Guatemalan
guy got off, but not before assuring me that the truck would take me to
the central plaza in Quiché and recommending a spot for lunch (Pollo
Campero, of course!) From there, on to a chicken bus, and on to
Uspantán. On the chicken bus, I ran into another Estadounidnense with
whom I had a nice conversation about her peace corps experience in
Lesotho. I learned a lot. For starters, it's pronounced Le-soo-thoo.
And now I'm back in Uspantán, just two rooms down from where I was a
week and a half ago. Not quite home, but it feels good to be sitting
still again.
No comments:
Post a Comment