GUATEMALA | Tuesday, 11 October 2005 | Views [350]
We have spent the last week in beautiful Antigua which has been little affected by the destruction wrought by Tropical Storm Stan in large parts of Guatemala. The death toll for the country is now over 600, with tens of thousands of homes washed away and extensive crop loss.The stories and pictures in the local paper are harrowing. Villages up in the hills above Antigua have been badly damaged by mud slides caused by the heavy rains. Graham and other tourists helped over the weekend at the nearby village of Jocotenango with digging out mud from houses and building a dam.The main road to the north of Antigua, which runs up to the Mexican border, has been washed away in several places and many bridges have collapsed. This has made it difficult for medical teams and digging equipment to reach devastated villages . Tourists in towns to the north of us have also been marooned and there are stories of riots where food has run short.We count ourselves very lucky in being so little affected here. We spent last week at Spanish language school where we have 4 hours a day of one to one tuition. Antigua has a dozen language schools with Americans and Europeans coming here for Spanish lessons at very good prices.Last week we also stayed with a Guatemalan family for more practice in speaking Spanish. An interesting insight into local life. And they had a lovely dog!Our lessons continue this week and then we will decide whether travel further north in Guatemala is atall feasible.
Tags: On the Road
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