Guatemala needs more than cruise ships and tourism...

As you have seen in my previous blogs, I have been traveling around the Santo Tomas - Puerto Barrios area of Guatemala. I have been on ship sponsored tours, mayan villages, boat rides, bus rides and more. The new catch phrase in tourism, especially in Guatemala is "Sustainable Tourism". Many guatemalans graduate with this degree from the university, however most cruise ship tours are not sustainable. This is something we need to realize, much like natural resources, that tourism can also be sustained for future generations to enjoy. Not just a I-went-on-a-cruise and saw this (and never went back)...here's some pictures. Some of the new tours that the cruise industry is in the process of developing are similar to the mayan village tours and "Volun-tours". Just like this village, there is 100s more all over the country...in 100s of other countrys...all over the world. The skies the limit. Yes, we need to start thinking locally but don't forget globally!



This is a typical rural classroom in Guatemala. It is a mixture of mostly guatemalan and small percentage of mayan kids. Its actually quite big and not overcrowded. The kids are in school for 4 hours per day. They get a snack (local is hired to cook) and normal lessons in reading, writing etc (teachers are locally hired). However, they are always in need of school supplies and more. Plus, there is no school nurse in case something was to happen during school. The nearest clinic, when I visited was closed as the doctor was on a 1 month holiday and no relief. Any serious medical issues and villagers would have to go to bigger clinic in Puerto Barrios, which is 45 minutes away.



This is a new classroom building that was just finished a month ago. However, what you do not know is the building foundation and walls were funded by the Guatlemalan government 6 years ago. They funding never included a roof. The roof was completed 3 months ago and already has holes in it. The electrical lines and light fixtures have been ran in all the buildings but there is no power source yet. If and when the school gets funds, the process takes a long time.



The bathrooms are good for being in a rural setting, gravity flush toilets and tile, plus separate stalls. However, these were built 3 years ago and the doors are falling off and are right next to the cooking area. There is no sink, just a spiget that has water for kids to wash hands. No hand or paper towels, let alone soap.



The kitchen (comida) is a shack with 2 firebrick sections for making the snack. They use firewood for heat and put in pans, etc to make tortilas, chicken etc. However, the water source is also the spiget. The school president says the water is potable but no clear, sanitory source for the water.



This is a sign outside the village limits regarding the combination of a few agencies and government assistance. The total is Q138,000 Quetzals which is roughly $17,250 USD. If you notice the number of inhabitants, which is 3476, that equals about $4.96 per person. Local plantations in the village sell food and crafts to the local market in Puerto Barrios, but not only to help the school but also for their own families. There is only 3 such plantations that have a variety of products like pineapples, pimento chiles and bananas. To give you an example of how much they make, 200 lbs of the pimento chiles (dried) only equals $100 USD. There are many agencies and non-profit organizations that can assist but they can only do so much.

I am not saying you need to go out, quit your job and fly to Guatemala to offer your assistance. There is other ways to donate time, school supplies and also money. You see how much $5.00 does. Again, I am not saying you should call, "Save the Children" and donate your life savings. Things are being done, just know in 3rd world countries such as these, it happens at a far slower pace. Ironically, the US Military (looked like US Navy) was on site to assist in building a basketball court among other things. We may not be able to develop a tour that will help this village yet. I just want to let everyone know that a little help goes a long way in Guatemala.

Guatemala Eco Social Tours

Well, up the Rio Dulce River once again! This time my destination is the mayan village of Q'ana Itzam. This village is the vision of Social Travel. A new kind of tour that incorporates history, culture and humanitarian cause. Most of your investment in the tour will actually go back into the village for further development and help pay for salaries of village doctors, laborers and other supplies.



This is the second school building being built. The village has 45 kids and their education will keep them up to date with other children in Guatemala. These kids will be given the same quality education without traveling to the bigger cities where the mayans are still being discriminated to this day.



This is the "Deer Dance". It is a living story of the beginning of time for the Mayans through the period of the Spanish arrival to Guatemala. The costumes are replicas of the original used by their ancestors. Before each performance, the mayan elder ladies bless the show and after a ceremonial prayer is also performed.





This is a statue dedicated to Yum Kaax. In Maya mythology, Yum Caax ("lord of the woods") was the personification of maize and a god of agriculture and nature.Alternative names: Yum Kaax, God E.Perhaps having origins in ancient northern hunting tradition, Yum Ka'ax, also called U Kanin Ka'ax, is known to indigenous peoples of North America. The one invoked by hunters, he is owner of all the game. He can appear to hunters in an instant, and possesses songs that will allow a hunter success or allow his arrows to come back to him.



The all the houses in this village have running water (using catchment systems and PVC piping, solar energy that is stored in batteries for electricity. They also operate a small hotel/bar for visitors. The bungalows were donated and built by foreign donators. 100% of the money goes back into the village development and some salaries of those who work their. The idea for the tour is also to have approximately 75% of the price of the tour to go directly to the village as well as the protection agencies and national park fees of the area. Another feature will also provide the tour guests a donation card, so that they can deduct it from their taxes as charity. Their is no name for the tour and is yet to be on any cruise line program. However, I firmly believe this tour is a great value and will help assist other villages similar to Q'ana Itzam survive in a modern world.

Saving the world one tour at a time!

Well folks, its back to work! But only one of the greatest jobs in the world. Today we were in Santo Tomas de Castillo, Guatemala. This is a relatively new cruise ship port and highly recommended to take a ship sponsored tour or relax onboard. However, there are taxis and water taxis that do independent tours. For my newest adventure, we went by boat from the cruise ship pier to the Rio Dulce river. Here is where culture, people and rainforest all live in harmony. Livingston is a garifuna village (european africans) that settled at the mouth of this river. There is also monkeys, houses, private residences (we saw the family of Gallo beer fly off their residence in a helicopter) all along the river while a dug out canoe paddles against the wind and current. But the true beauty of the Rio Dulce are the canyon walls that raise well over 500 feet above sea level. Modern boats and dug out canoes converge on a daily basis traveling from village to village and fishing spots. Divers on the edge of mangroves search for crabs. Others go along the limestone wall searching for the elusive jade vains that may embed in these rocks. As the river winds it narrows and you see where sail boats spend weeks in rental houses along the river. Right now the pelicans are preparing for their migration up north. There are hundreds of them. Imagine a modern jurrasic park scene as you travel up river. Further up river is a fork where a private reserve and off shoot that leads to Ak Tenamit. Upon arrival children are on holiday so they are not in class. They are doing homework on the rivers edge around the school. Most times the kids are in class making tortillas, planting corn and learning about rotating the crops to different spots every year, doctors help the women learn how to give birth (mayans are scared of hospitals) and other teach the children about creating souvenirs for tourists and at the same time conserving the rainforest they live in. These kids still go by the Mayan Calendar which as you know ends on Dec 21st, 2010. But they are being helped to cope. Most of the kids speak spanish but are being taught to keep their mayan language. The mayan alphabet has over 800 letters, so no wonder there is 22 different dialects. This is a missionary school where descendents of the mayans can get an education in tourism. They spend upwards of their entire life (to 18 yo) at this school. Volunteers poor in from all over the world, teaching these kids to embrace their mayan roots and live in harmony with nature. Doctors, engineers, farmers and teachers help these mayan children make it in the modern world. If allowed to travel to the biggger cities, many of these kids would be scorned and discriminated for being mayan. For those who didnt know the Civil War in Guatemala was between the government and the mayan people. They have lived on this land for centuries and has been handed down over generations but no official deeds to these lands, so the government was trying to just take it away. There are many more facets to this school, this region of the Dulce River and culture of this Guatemala. This blog just isnt big enough for all the details, so I highly recommend to go yourself...

We ended the day with a nice lunch at a hotel on the edge of Livingston and then quite a rough boat ride back to the ship. We traveled nearly 2 hours in land along the coast and river, seeing the real Guatemala. Don't just cruise to these ports of call...explore and experience.