really easy, so you can figure out the pronunciation of this town
yourself--however, in case you feel un-motivated...
Chee-kee-MOO-lah
Say it out loud to yourself--isn't that just the coolest name ever?
Better than Albuquerque!
So, I was sort of hoping to make it into Honduras tonight, but I didn't
make it--still in Guatemala. The pullman bus (Greyhound-style) out of
Guate. was wicked slow, and terribly non-entertaining. Forgive me for
complaining about safe driving, but COME ON! You PASS slow drivers in
this country, even if it's a blind corner on a mountainside. However,
the bus driver for Rutas Orientales had evidently been trained as a
schoolbus driver in the states, so no driving about about 12kph for him.
So, in addition to the fact that I didn't get as far as I would have if
I had taken chicken buses, I feel guilty about being an elitist,
traveling by tourist shuttle (ugh!) then fancy bus. At least I could
sleep. And although the tourist shuttles are pricier than what the
average Guatemalan would pay taking chicken buses, it works out to be
about the same for me, because I always get taken so badly in Guatemala
City taxis. Next time I'm here, I'm going to spend a couple of days in
Guatemala city figuring out the bus system, where you can travel from
one end of the (monstrous) city for about 15 cents (if you don't get
robbed along the way).
To put it prosaically, Guatemala City blows, but I really have to get
more comfortable with traveling around it, if I'm going to spending more
time here in the future. I'm pretty much okay with traveling around the
whole country, but the city is still a bit of a mystery to me.
On the other hand, Chiquimula is nifty. I've been thinking about
spending an extra night here and visiting the pilgrimage site at
Esquipulas tomorrow, though I would like to give myself plenty of time
to enjoy Copán, and to soak in the (bloody, exploitative) Mayan history.
As an aside which may appeal to the average middle-school boy (or adult
of that maturity level), I picked a book up about the Maya when I ran
out of other English-language reading material. Among other fun facts,
it describes how Mayan male nobles would initiate themselves into
adulthood by piercing their penis with a stone knife (obsidian?). That
totally gives me the willies. No pun intended.
Anyways, Chiquimula is described as pretty much a "point of transit" for
travelers by the Lonely Planet book (and I am more of a traveler than
anything else at this point in the trip), but it's a pretty prosperous
town, and there is a nice plaza, a cool market, at least a few nice
looking restaurants, and a Paíz, which is one of the local chains owned
by Wal-Mart.
...I know, I know--Wal-Mart is evil--but their grocery stores have some
advantages down here.
First, they have much stricter health standards for produce and meat
than the people selling veggies across the street in the market (who
have no such standards). They're also reliable buyers for local
producers, and they sell a fair quantity of locally grown organic food,
encouraging the growth of a local organic industry.
But in any event, after spending a couple of days in Antigua and another
couple of days in Panajachel, it's nice to be in a place where there
aren't too many (any?) pasty faces around. That will all end, though,
if I go on to Copán. Think I'm talking myself into staying another
day. We'll see what I decide. Local fair's going on here, so it might
not make a difference what I decide, if the hotel's already full up for
tomorrow. If I'm going to pack my crap up again, I'll just pack up and
move on.
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