La hija del Puma

Visiting a country such as Guatemala, just like Vietnam nowadays, almost makes you forget that this country suffered from more than 30 years of civil war. It just doesn't show so on the faces of the people. Although lots of guns still float around and tourists do get mugged from time to time (just two weeks ago, an American tourist got shot when he didn't want to give over his valuables), the situation has indeed improved since the end of the violence in 1996. More and more tourists come and visit the marvels of Lago Atitlan, Tikal and the Maya highlands. Moreover, people seem to have some good hope for the future : just two weeks ago, after 2 rounds of relatively fair elections, a new government got voted in, casting a lot of expectations. And the most important thing : Rios Montt, the notorious former dictator didn't even make it to the second round. But that doesn't mean problems are nearly over. Aside of the magical beauty of the country and its enormous touristic potential, Guatemala has to deal with lots of corruption, urban violence, road unsafety, environmental problems and widespread poverty. Just taking the chicken bus from Panajachel to any other town in the highlands says it all : everywhere along the road you see open garbage belts, people throwing trash out of the window, small pueblos made up with golf plates and crazy drivers taking curbs like they want to die. Locals pay nearly nothing or very little, tourists at least double or triple of that. One chicken bus crashed yesterday, killing 16...well that's very comforting to read in the newspaper on the bus! But besides all that, what sticks in my mind are the smiles of the people, the colors of the markets in towns such as Solola and Chichicastenango (although that last one is overrun every Sunday by tourists) and just the laid back feel of it all : there is always manaña. And just that is amazing, considering the pain and the horror the Guatemalans went through during the civil war. A very good movie about that is La hija del Puma, based on the real story of an indigenous girl who witnessed her whole village being slaughtered by death squads, and her brother being captured by the military. Fleeing with her family to Mexico, she believed that with the help of the protecting spirits of the puma and the owl, she would find back her brother. The search turns into a nightmare as she gets closer to the reality of the massacre. Quite a strong tale, and the fact that the movie has only been legal in Guatemala since a couple of years makes it all the more potent.I intended to watch the movie with Rosa, my Spanish teacher in Panajachel, since we talked a lot on the subject. Coming from a Maya family, and been able to vote just recently for the first time, it certainly moved her spirits. But it didn't work out at the language school so I watched it here in Antigua : luckily, the Maya Moon, the hostal I stayed at two weeks ago, showed it last night. It's funny how things always seem to fall in place when you're travelling, well one way or another. Just waving to a lancha yesterday morning at 9.30, getting to Pana, hopping on a chicken bus or two and getting here in Antigua just 3 hours later, nice going for only 3 euro! And then meeting people on the bus or on the street you already met at some moment at the lake, Antigua, in Tikal or even in Mexico. 'I'll see you around!' is certainly some line to use here! So after nearly two weeks of pura vida at the Iguana Perdida (they nearly made me stay there for another week!), I am moving on, heading west again to the Caribbean coast, up the Rio Dulce to Livingston. And hopefully by the end of the week, I will make it to Honduras, saying goodbye to Guatemala. It will be a sad goodbye, because I really loved it here uptil now. I guess you could get stuck around here forever. But travelling on, I have good perspectives as well : white sand beaches and coral reefs to dive on around the island of Roatan, more volcanoes and lakes and lots of surf in Nicaragua, and last but not least, finally seeing back my love Leen, in no more than 4 weeks already! Time flies when you're having fun. Hasta luego!