Livingston Part 1

Quick Facts:
Population: Cerca 5500
Languages: Garifuna,Spanish, English and little bits of just about everything else
Location: The Caribean Coast of Guatemala on the Rio Dulce
Atractions: Caribean Atmosphere, Beaches, Cool People, Siete Altares
Places to stay: For Party people there is the Casa Iguana for people who want to party but need a calm plasce to sleep Hotel Viajero up the road from Casa Iguana, and for people who want a quiet, secure place by the beach with a tower tto watch the sun set and rise the Flamingo.

Livingston is my favourite town in Guatemala to visit I have been there twice already and will be going several more times before I leave here. The tourists sights are few and easily seen in 3 days but thats not what takes me there. Well maybe the wonderfull Playa Blanca is part of it but really its the town itself and its people and history. But before i get into that lets talk about the sights to see. There is the Siete Altares(Seven Altars) which have nothing to do with Christianity its a seven tiered water fall with seven little pools in between the falling waters. The deapest are the second and the 7th counting from the bottom up. Not only are they nice to see but in the Caribean Heat of livingstont the cold fresh water is a joy to swim in and during and shortly after the rainy seasonits great to jump into the 7th. And possibly the 2nd if your small and aim your jump well. Then there are the two small beaches near livingston itself. They arent very impressive looking and very small but the swimming is great because the bottom is soft all the way out and there are as good as no waves and it stays very shallow untill about 100 meters(more or less 100 yards) out theres a little buoy and untill that standing should be possible if your not very short. Then there is the Playa Blanca which can only be reached by boat(or technically a day long jungle trek but I havent heard of tours so take a boat). Its a little piece of paradise on earth a long beutiful beach with a little beach house serving Coco Frios some hammoks and beach lounges and jungle behind you with the ocean in front you can even see Belize across the water. Then there is the Manatee reservation as well the rest of the scenic Rio Dulce(Sweet River) and Lago Izabal. But none of that is enough to explain why I like Livingston so much. For that we have to start with what it represents and for that its time for a history lesson. The problem with a history of livingston is that sources don`t agree insofar as its possible to find them at all. So what you are about to here is compiled from the internet 2 toursist guides and lots of conversations with locals, who almost always speak english, usually with a suspiciouly Jamaican accent. The history of Livingston begins in Africa. A group of slaves ships was setting sail for the new world with a cargo of enslaved Africans on board. They were fortunate enough to shepwreck on the Caribean Island of St. Vincent. There they found a native Arawak population weakend by war with the Mayans. They were abale to takeover the island and intermarry with the locals, this ¡s also where there unique culture began to form, a language with Arawak grammar and many african loan words and there tradional music and its asociated dances Punta. They esatblished a free black state in the Caribean. The English obiously could not let this stand and sent many an expidition to crush the fledgling state. But a convient deal with french pirates gave the Garifuna sufficient Firearms to resist for a long time at least 100 years. Eventually howver they were defeated and fled breifly to anothe island only to be eventually captured and taken the the Honduran Island of Roatan. From there they spread to Honduras, Belize and Livingston. Livingston was founded in the late 1790s. And for a while was Guatemalas biggest port untill Porto Barrios was established by the Belgians and Germans. And from there I will continue next time.

Transport In Guatemala Part 1

Nothing summarizes capitalism gone mad in Gautemala better than the "public" transport system. I put public in quotes because it doesnt recieve a drop of goverment money outside the capitol and in the capitol its litterally a drop, a tiny subsidy. Many of you have probably heard of Chicken Busses. What they are is old(1950s-1990s) american school busses. These are chosen because they are cheap and have a great safety record(when new, on good streets). They are often brightly colored, and always privately owned. And they are almost always packed way beyond full. In benches meant to seat 2 school children you find 3 or 4 adults and then they pack they ailse full and but lugage on top, and the money collector usually rides leaning out the front door. Sometime the baggage handler rides on top with the luggage. And then despite this they race around Guatemalas rough, bendy, hilly and pot holled streets and speads no american school bus driver would consider. Why? Because if they dont they wont make any money. Take the Guatemala Ciudad to Antigua route. It costs 8 Quetzales for a 60km ride.(roughly a $ or .80€). There is no indusrty regulation no scheduled bus times, he who gets there first gets the passengers, hence the speed, and because the fares are so low there is always room for one more, always.

Long time no Blog

Its been so long because Ive been out doing things instead of writing about them but this is a slow week. So know im going to add as many articles as I feel like Writing.