I’m back from Guatemala, but still sorting through photos and distilling observations in my mind, so in the meantime here’s a picture from Grenada, taken earlier this year. For some reason, Grenada kept coming to mind as I was travelling through Guatemala. More on that later, though. Once I’m rested and able to think properly again…
Photo: Market day in Saint George’s, Grenada – April 2008 – LV.
Posted by Lisa.
It used to be – once upon a time – that if you decided to travel you´d need to pack your trunks and plan for an excursion that lasted months, all spent in a single place. With the long journies and, I assume, the expense of travel, it was the only way that made sense. And I see a day where things return to that – where travel will be so expensive, thanks to our decreasing oil supplies, that the only kinds of trips we´ll be able to take are long trips that make the expense of it worth it.
In this window that we live in, though, even in a remote Guatemalan village like the one I´m currently in, tourists flock and the local economy depends on that. Villagers who would otherwise have no source of income make money selling their traditional wares: blankets, tablecloths and other textiles, mostly. Are they exploiting their culture for tourist dollars? Are the tourists exploiting them? I don´t know … some could see it either way. But they´re also raising money for their families, putting food on the table.
And I wonder how that will change if travel becomes less the norm and more the luxury that it once was.
(Keep in mind that, like traditional postcards, these virtual ¨postcards¨ I´m posting are written completely on the fly. I reserve the right to realize they make absolutely no sense later.)
Posted by Lisa.
There was a time, back when I was younger and much more inclined to buy and actually send postcards, when I liked to write to my friend Tim and tell him all about the prostitutes and beer offerings in whatever country I happened to be in. It was actually a coincidence – I happened to visit Cuba and Amsterdam in short duration, and in both locations there was something about the beer and prostitutes that stuck out for me (I was born a country girl, after all – the world´s prostitutes were a preoccupation for a long time). Tim, though, didn´t appreciate the gestures, given that he lived with his mother at the time, who´d glance over the back of the newly-received mail and wonder what kinds of friends he was associating himself with.
Anyway – this is supposed to be a virtual ¨postcard¨from Guatemala (without the photo, I´m afraid -we´ve taken plenty, but have no way of uploading them while here). I planned to write my observations on the local ladies of the night, and the beer they drink – just for old time´s sake - but sadly I have little to say about my usual subjects of interest. While an emblem from the local beer brand - Gallo – may top the main square´s huge Christmas tree, the drink itself is nothing to write home about. As for the other: well, I have yet to see (or recognize, at least) a prostitute. I´ve given up my past preoccupation with them anyway - I can see plenty just around the corner from my apartment now, after all.
I know I should be offering much more than this by way of observations and sharings of my experiences so far, but I´m not going to do that now. Right now I´m too busy with the experiencing itself. The observations come later.
Besides – I´ve far surpassed the amount of space offered on a postcard, anyway. There´ll be no room for the stamp.
Posted by Lisa.
photo: a skiier sculpture, Vail Colorado January 2008 by WH
THE LOCATION: On-board a boat somewhere on the Gulf of Mexico, drinking a glass or two of wine while chatting up a group of strangers.
THE SCENE: Dolphins emerge, frolicking (as dolphins do) behind the boat. Or hunting for food, perhaps; it’s hard, sometimes, to tell with dolphins. I take out my camera.
THE CRISIS: Dolphins, the slippery bastards, will not stand still for photos. As soon as they emerge, I snap. By the time the camera reacts, they’re back underwater. I continue to try, hoping a random shot will catch them unexpected.
THE CLIMAX: Someone on the boat is shouting. A warning of kinds. I ignore her; she just shouts louder. Something important is happening, I soon realize – look away momentarily. The dolphins evade me once again. The woman points me in the other direction. “The sunset,” she says. “You’re going to miss the sunset.”
THE END: A photo of a freakin’ sunset. Those damn dolphins never came back again.
Photo: Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico, Florida – October 2008.
Posted by Lisa.
