Sanitation...security...service
The 3 S's Guatemala needs to become a tourist draw like Costa Rica, according to ex-pat Jim, our host today at Atitlan Adventures. We splurged and did their 3 hour horseback ride up Atitlan Volcano, followed by the best meal we've had the whole trip. We encountered 3 microclimates--fog, rain, humid warmth--and, after suffering our last lancha ride back (and those tedious negotiations which leave you paying in advance and sitting there, sometimes 40 mins, until the boat is full), we have a dizzy combination of bow-sea legs.
Ex-pats like Jim are admirable, but strange stories we've encountered a lot around Atitlan. There's what Jim calls the nietzschean desire to build one's own world, which is admirable alone for all the hurdles down here. With him it's a true, frontier spirit (with the Norwegians in Santa Cruz, more of a frontier spirit over the Internet).
What's strange is the loneliness and isolation. He showed us his concrete and steel encased safe room (a necessity in Guate), and proudly declared he's stocked it to live there a month.
Guess I'm a little leery of those in such a hurry to escape people and the trappings of civilization.
Tomorrow's the getaway day to Guate City, mudslide in Solola permitting.
Add an E to those 3 S's: Efficiency.
