Guatemala

[Mountie]

Looks like more rain in Guatemala a possibility from TS Alex

[omegaet]

Several of you, including ourselves, are interested in Guatemala and either visiting or making return visits...this is a f.y.i. just in case it was not carried in your local newspapers:



http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/07/0...ent-narco.html

[bonniejoy03]

YIKES....Pretty scary! Thanks for keeping us updated.

[showard1]

Thanks for the info, Omega,



The article appears factual and to the point. Some of the bloggers' commentsare also interesting. Guatemala has a long history of corruption and violence. Drug cartels are but the latest greedy opportunists to take root in the fragile democracy. Only when the demand for drugs subsides will the problem find its solution. Sad to say, our country is right up there with the best of them in failing to address the reality behind the "blame game." What came first, the chicken or the egg?

[[email protected]]

Drugs are everywhere and if the folks in the US did not have an insatiable demand for them, then there would not be such a big problem.. I think they need to be legalized and sold like alcohol in government run stores and taxed - think of all the good that tax money could do. I never had any problems in Guate even walking around Antigua or Lake Atitlan at night. Even though the US is much bigger than Guate - we have just as much drug crime, violence and corruption! Just my opinion.

Denise

[omegaet]

bonniejoy03,showard1, & [email protected]......we dont have to travel to Guatemala, Nicaragua,Honduras or Mexico to find corruption and violence associated with illegal narcotics.

I posted the link to this article, since each of you have spent time in Guatemalaand likely the other aforementioned countries as well.

As "off the beaten path travelers," some of us have an interest and tendency to wander beyond the normal tourist areas.in doing so; we need to be a little better informed than most visitors to avoid our own problems.

We love Guatemala, especially the dynamic and hardworking people we have met and believe strongly in a better future for them and their children

[jsattapr2]

I just received the following email from the manager of Casa Palopo in Santa Catarina Palopó. It appears the rains have come again and the mud slides have begun:
================================================== =

here i am again!

apologize for the group e, again...

just wanting to let all know...heavy rains for 3 days = all roads OUT ...again.
no access to Pana, no access to the hotel.
but this time, no electric, no internet, no telphone.
needed to walk to the next village to take a boat to get to this village, pana, where there is internet.

all my hotel staff are ok, the hotel is ok.
we only had 3 guests trapped this time!
BUT, i sent them off today, and now it is just a matter of waiting to see when the roads can be cleared and the machines can come in to get the power lines up again.

so, my plan is to try to get here every 2 days to check email....sigh.

all a bit overwhelming and disheartening (and adreniline exciiting in an extreme adventure kind of way!!!)....

looks like rain again tonight...so off i go!!

thinking of you all...hugs (really, really wet soggy, moldy ones)...

please DO write as contact helps to keep spirits up!!!
and then there{s the hotel bar, which luckily has been restocked since agatha!!!


Jennifer/Jiff

[Mountie]

I just received the following email from the manager of Casa Palopo in Santa Catarina Palopó. It appears the rains have come again and the mud slides have begun:
================================================== =

here i am again!

apologize for the group e, again...

just wanting to let all know...heavy rains for 3 days = all roads OUT ...again.
no access to Pana, no access to the hotel.
but this time, no electric, no internet, no telphone.
needed to walk to the next village to take a boat to get to this village, pana, where there is internet.

all my hotel staff are ok, the hotel is ok.
we only had 3 guests trapped this time!
BUT, i sent them off today, and now it is just a matter of waiting to see when the roads can be cleared and the machines can come in to get the power lines up again.

so, my plan is to try to get here every 2 days to check email....sigh.

all a bit overwhelming and disheartening (and adreniline exciiting in an extreme adventure kind of way!!!)....

looks like rain again tonight...so off i go!!

thinking of you all...hugs (really, really wet soggy, moldy ones)...

please DO write as contact helps to keep spirits up!!!
and then there{s the hotel bar, which luckily has been restocked since agatha!!!


Jennifer/Jiff

Oh my! These poor guys in Guatemala can't seem to catch a break with the weather.

[omegaet]

Oh my! These poor guys in Guatemala can't seem to catch a break with the weather.

Received the same email from poor Jennifer at Casa Palopo and as far as I can determine, it is still raining in many areas of Guatemala. Doesn't sound like it is going to be much fun this rainy season for our friends.

We sent an email and hope to stay in touch with them...

[showard1]

Received the same email from poor Jennifer at Casa Palopo and as far as I can determine, it is still raining in many areas of Guatemala. Doesn't sound like it is going to be much fun this rainy season for our friends.

We sent an email and hope to stay in touch with them...

Have received news that the Lake Atitlan area was again subject to hours of relentless downpours resulting in more mudslides in the San Antonio Palopo area, mainly on the Pana side this time. Electricity is out, so communication has been sparse. Roads between Pana and G.C. have also been affected by the landslides and many sections are closed. Getting from Solola to Pana is difficult, but possible if you can get to the lake. It appears there is truly a "black cloud" over Lake Atitlan this rainy season. Lo siento.