Wanderlust's blog

One of the joys of living in a foreign country is getting used to the new methods of bathing and taking care of daily needs. Guatemala is no exception. Take this for example:

Photo by JoePhoto

This is what we use for showering . . . doesn`t it look safe? Instant hot waters have been used by third world countries like Guatemala for a long time, while in the Western world, they are still considered a luxury item. The problem down here is that most people end up doing their own wiring, which, as you can see, leaves a bit to be desired.

I`ve actually had one of these things (frequently referred to as widow makers) blow up while I was showering.

Chances are, you`ve heard of Guatemalan time. It`s the same as Latino or Central American time. North Americans might call it "being late".

The fact is, life just moves at a slower pace down here and if you don`t just give in and go with the flow, you`ll be frustrated 99% of the time. I learned this the hard way, because back in Canada, I was that person who showed up 5-10 minutes early for everything, who had things all neatly scheduled out and who needed a plan. All that went right out the window once I got down here!

Photo by rahego

Here, it`s still normal to have a siesta after lunch.

Back when I was about 13, I had a fascination with Central America. The main reason was the descriptions in a missions brochure that I had, not of the country but of the transportation. I thought it sounded very interesting, riding on a chicken bus . . . though I may have been somewhat influenced by the movie, Romancing the Stone with Michael Douglas . . .

Still, I finally made it down to Guatemala and presto! I`ve had a chance to enjoy most of the fun methods of transport that were described in that old brochure!

Chicken Buses
These are a lot of fun. They are just old buses from the U.S., you know, the ones that have gone past the maximum 10 years of service?

When I first announced that I was heading to Central America, my mom ran to the library and got me a book on the insects there. I`m pretty sure she meant it to scare me off going, though she said it was just for educational purposes. The bugs in it were freaky, but I just tried not to think about them and went on my merry way.

Let me tell you, tropical bugs are not meant to be ignored.

When traveling, you get a lot of advice and one thing MANY people will tell you is not to eat the street food. I totally disagree.

If you really want to experience a country and its culture, there is nothing better than sitting down next to the locals at the nearest open air grill and chowing down on something vaguely unidentifiable and yet amazingly delicious. Will you get sick? Undoubtedly, but not as often as you think. Will it be worth it? Most definitely!

That’s not to say you shouldn`t be careful about what you eat, but if you spend your entire stay ordering from 5 star restaurants, you`re going to miss out on a huge chunk of the experience.