There are quite a number of salsa schools in Antigua but I would recommend La Salsa Dance Co. above all the others. The director of the school is Carlos Miranda, who is also an exceptional teacher, and if he is not available there are also other equally good teachers such as Andrés and Martin. There are usually two others: Julio and Selvin, but they are reportedly abroad in Europe at the moment. If you’d prefer a female teacher, there is just one at this school: Marisol, who is Carlos’ dance partner at salsa shows, competitions and the like.

The school has plenty of students, so if you’re more comfortable in group classes, there are those. However, if you only have limited time in Antigua and would like a crash course you can sign up for private lessons with any of the teachers for Q75 per class, with a discounted rate if you sign up more than a certain number. A lot of the time other students will be having their private classes at the same time as you, so most times it’s a nice unintimidating atmosphere with several pairs dancing simultaneously.

If you want to try a class before committing to anything, there are free group classes from 5 to 6 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays. Sometimes they are packed however, due to Spanish school students who come to shake their booty for the first time. But drop in anyway for a trial class.

There are also weekly group classes (if at least three people show up) for other Latin rhythms such as Bachata and Merengue. Otherwise, if no one shows up and you want to do it anyway you’ll have to pay the equivalent of a private class, i.e. Q75. For two people you’d probably have to split that amount by half.

Visit the school’s website (www.lasalsadancegt.com) for more details on class schedules and rates. Or if you’re already in Antigua, drop in and ask. There’s almost always somebody there.

After you’ve learnt some new moves and want to test them out in clubs, Antigua has a healthy salsa nightscene, the best night being Tuesdays at Sin Ventura (the pounding disco right next to Monoloco) where most the salsa teachers of Antigua show up.

Also, if you’re taking lessons at La Salsa Dance (the studio is housed in the lounge of a hotel), make sure you try lunch or dinner at the Korean restaurant called Veronica House named after its pleasant owner (tell them Emily sent you!) opposite the school’s studio. Both the school and the restaurant are contained in a small commercial centre called Centro Commercial Canoa (turn right out from Bagel Barn and it’s a few shoplots down the same street), which also houses a Spanish School.

What? EntreMundos volunteer fair
When? May 25th, 2 - 4 pm
Where? EntreMundos Office (El Espacio) on 6a Calle 7-31, Zona 1, Xela
Tel? (502) 5606 9070, (502) 7761 2179

© mricha15 - Xela’s Central Park

Quetzaltenango (more familiarly dubbed ‘Xela’) is probably the place to volunteer in Guatemala. It’s the country’s second city after Guatemala City, but smaller, somewhat safer (with exceptions: two of my friends were robbed at gunpoint, so you still have to be careful when it’s dark out), and with just the right balance of foreigners and locals to offer a sufficiently authentic local experience. Whatever you get in Antigua in terms of Spanish schools and bars and cafes to make your comfort zone, you’ll also get in Xela, but the latter is nothing like the seemingly self-absorbed bubble that is Antigua.

© Emily Ding - The famous arch in Antigua

But of course, as with everything, you have to give and take. And Antigua, being an old Spanish colonial town is, hands down, a lot prettier than Xela is. For the passing tourist who can only afford a few days, Xela might only stay in their minds as ugly and nondescript, kind of like Guatemala City. But for the dedicated volunteer or long-term traveller looking to stay in one place and live some semblance of a life, Xela is a good choice. From the people I’ve heard who have lived there, they’ve loved it.

The only reason I’m not in Xela, despite the fact that there is so much more there with which to keep myself occupied… is this nagging question I ask myself: “Why would I come to a country like Guatemala and live in a city?” I’m going back to London town in exactly three months, and I’ve lived all my life in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia also home to the world-renowned Petronas twin towers. Why then would I choose to live in the city here in this still-developing country? Better to live a small-town existence on the tranquil shores of Lake Atitlán which, have I mentioned, is the most beautiful lake in the world. At least, until I see something else to rival it.

Photos © Emily Ding

I guess this place attracts hippies as much as San Pedro does, but of the more health-conscious variety. No marijuana or cocaine here, it’s all about your spiritual well-being.

San Marcos is one of the many villages surrounding Lake Atitlán. It’s very beautiful, and much quieter than its counterparts. However, if you’re not into meditation or yoga or massages or emotional therapy or vegetarian food, one day spent here will probably be enough. However, I’m speaking from the viewpoint of a lone traveler; I’m sure if you have company, time will pass a lot faster here.

There are a whole cluster of signs to various hostels and restaurants near the dock where you disembark, but as they all seemingly point in the same direction they are unhelpful. But don’t worry, you don’t need a guidebook. Just be prepared to take a stroll and see things and you will find everything. From the dock, take a left, and follow the first fork up, or the second fork, or the third. Work your way around and you’ll find where everything is.

And if you want to get yourself into hippie pants and wander around barefoot, you wouldn’t look out of place either.

Santiago Atitlán is one of the many villages surrounding Lake Atitlán in Guatemala. Upon arriving on Santiago’s shores, you will be greeted by tuk-tuk (or rather ‘moto taxi’) drivers eager to bring you on a tour of Santiago for a fee. I’ve been inundated with offers as low as 50 Quetzales, and offers as high as 100 Q. Always negotiate.

If my tuk-tuk guide is anything of a standard comparison, you will first be brought to the Mirador, from which you will get a view of the lake and Santiago, and also a distant glimpse of the Lavandería Maya, where Mayan women wash clothes on the shores between 8 - 10 a.m. and in the evening between 3 - 5 p.m., so I was told. The Mayan women can wash their clothes in their own homes, but it’s long since been something of a custom to congregate by the lake to do their laundry. If you want to get up close and personal with the Tzutujil Mayan women, walk down a little dirt slope to the lakeshore from the Mirador. My guide was Tzutujil (chances are it’ll be easy to find one) so he could converse with the people I met in Santiago and act as a translator for me, in Spanish. If you don’t speak even a little bit of Spanish it will probably be difficult. I say get right down to where the laundry-washing is going on, because the view is incredible. The Mirador view is a tad bit impersonal.

The 3rd destination is the Peace Park (El Parque de la Paz), the site to commemorate the victims of the 1990 massacre by the army, where thirteen villagers, including children, were killed.

Then you’ll be brought to the house of Maksimon, a god of the Mayans who actually smokes and drinks. There is a special committee designated to guard Maksimon, who entrusts him to a different house every year, and people are welcome to pay their respects to him for a small fee. It costs Q2 to enter, and Q10 to take a photo. It might be a bit bizarre for some of us to see a paper doll being fed cigarettes and cigars while someone leads a prayer to him, but those who believe in him take him seriously, so show some respect when you’re in his presence.

Your last destination will be the Catholic church, which is currently undergoing some cosmetic construction.

Aside from these places though, you can negotiate with your guide to take you somewhere else you’re interested in for an extra fee. I was interested in the small village of Panabaj, which was destroyed by Hurricane Stan in 2005. You will see the hollow remains of the Hospitalito, which is currently being rebuilt in a safer, more secure location, and which still needs donations. I also went to take a look at the temporary housing of the victims of Hurricane Stan. Three years on and they were still living in shacks in a open dirt field. It’s very much worth a visit.

As far as impressions go, Santiago is very much a workaday village, and much bigger than either Panajachel, San Pedro or San Marcos, which are more popular haunts of tourists and hippies. Santiago lacks the kinds of bars or restaurants we’re used to, and is probably not much fun if you’re traveling alone. In Panajachel or San Pedrogas (so nicknamed for its abundance of marijuana and cocaine activities, drogas meaning drugs) or San Marcos, if you’re eating on your own in a restaurant, chances are you will find company as you are shuffling burritos into your mouth, one way or other. But in Santiago, that will probably be more difficult. However, it probably offers a more accurate picture of what life in a Guatemalan pueblo really is like.

Where to stay in Santiago:

I stayed in Hotel Chinimya, which is a short walk away from the dock (’embarcadero‘) and its abundance of restaurants. Rooms are basic are perhaps a little cramped but comfortable nonetheless, with hot water and an attached licuado stand, useful if you need your fix of fruit shake every morning. It is also right next to an internet cafe, so that’s convenient. It’s one of the cheaper options, about Q70 for a private room with shared bathroom. It’s expensive compared to accommodation rates in Panajachel or San Pedro but considered cheap in Santiago.

For more luxurious - and accordingly, more expensive - options, try Hotel Bambu (which is rather far from the centre of Santiago, but I guess isolation is the point) or Posada de Santiago, which costs on average about $USD 50 per night for a private single room.

ALL PHOTOS © EMILY DING

© meltravels — An old US school bus repainted into the infamous public ‘chicken bus’

If you’re flying into Guatemala City, upon arrival at the airport there are shuttles (even without prior reservation) to Antigua, from where you can then further your journey to other parts of the country. Otherwise, take a taxi to a bus terminal to catch a chicken bus to your destination.

Pros and cons between a shuttle and a chicken bus?

Truth is, they don’t differ very much in terms of comfort. Taking a chicken bus from Guatemala City, which is the starting point for most buses, you’ll be guaranteed a seat so you won’t have to be swaying interminably in the center aisle.

And in terms of time saved, I’ve found that there’s no significant difference between the two either since all the drivers drive like hell’s on fire anyway. The chicken bus will make stops for people to get on and off but that doesn’t contribute to a significant delay in reaching your destination. Any delays will be due to highway constructions.

In terms of cost, the chicken bus is generally cheaper, although for some routes there is no significant difference. For example, from Antigua to Panajachel or Guatemala City, you can get it as cheap as $5 or $7 with a shuttle, which works out about the same as a chicken bus. But for longer routes there might be a larger margin of difference.

Point is: if you’re hesitating about taking a chicken bus, don’t… unless: (1) you have a hefty amount of luggage, then you might want to consider a shuttle, or (2) if you don’t want to take the chance of being robbed while you’re asleep or unaware - I’ve had my wallet stolen from me before while I was asleep, and I met a traveler once who unknowingly had his pocket sliced open with a knife and his passport and cash stolen. But the better reason to opt for a shuttle over a chicken bus is (3) not having to make multiple connections. A shuttle brings you from A to B in one vehicle, sometimes even door to door.

However, for every first-timer in Central America, the chicken bus is an experience not to be forgone since it offers up a true local experience (once you’re a veteran you’ll probably tire of it). So here I’ve listed a few places in the country you might want to make your way to from la capital, with the bus terminal addresses provided in Spanish.

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This was played every six hours on Guatemalan TV in September 2007 to commemorate the month of the country’s independence. Guatemala became independent from Spain on September 15, 1821. This video will also show you the amazing greenery of the country, its landscapes, its people… all the nice things about Guatemala. The more unpleasant ones… well, you won’t find it here.

¡Guatemala feliz! que tus aras
No profane jamás el verdugo;
Ni haya esclavos que laman el yugo
Ni tiranos que escupan tu faz.

Si mañana tu suelo sagrado
Lo amenaza invasión extranjera,
Libre al viento tu hermosa bandera
A vencer o a morir llamará.

CHORUS:
Libre al viento tu hermosa bandera
A vencer o a morir llamará.
Que tu pueblo con ánima fiera
Antes muerto que esclavo será.

Fortunate Guatemala! May your altars
Never be profaned by cruel men.
May there never be slaves who submit to their yoke,
Or tyrants who deride you.

If tomorrow your sacred soil
Should be threatened by foreign invasion,
Your fair flag, flying freely in the wind,
Will call to you: Conquer or die.

CHORUS:
Your fair flag, flying freely in the wind,
Will call to you: Conquer or die;
For your people, with heart and soul,
Would prefer death to slavery.

Upon arriving in Granada, most people will head straight for The Bearded Monkey to find a bed. I’m sure it’s a fantastic hostel — at least, it is surely the most popular, something along the tradition of Big Foot in León or The Black Cat in Guatemala. But if you’re looking for something cheaper and more offbeat, which isn’t even listed in the guidebooks yet, there’s Hostal Nicarao, very near el Parque Central.

It’s on the same street as Hostal San Angel, which is listed in most guidebooks, and which is also slightly more expensive than Hostal Nicarao, though still cheap, all things considered. In all honesty, I probably would have checked into San Angel if I’d found it first, but Nicarao was a cheap and cheerful alternative nonetheless. There is a big open courtyard right smack in the middle which keeps the place mostly bright and sunny, something which is a consideration for me since in a bid to save electricity, most places in Nicaragua don’t turn on the light in the day. So if there’s no natural light coming through it can be very dim. In fact, most restaurants and businesses often look like they are closed in the day, because it’s so dark you can’t see the inside from the sidewalks.

It’s easy to get to Hostal Nicarao. From the southeast corner of the Parque Central, walk south to the end of the first block. On the way you’ll see San Angel, and then a few doors down, Nicarao, which sits on the corner. It’s got a very colourful wall to advertise its presence. You can’t possibly miss it. And you can probably walk right in and find a bed to settle in for a few nights. There’s no website or online booking system for the hostal, and anyway if it’s full there are an abundance of other options.

It’s manned by some local guys who I suspect have a penchant for porn (but what guy doesn’t, I suppose). They close the doors after 1 a.m. but that doesn’t mean there’s a curfew. All you have to do is knock and they’ll open it for you. Knock loudly though, and be patient and wait a little bit. They have to switch the channel to football before greeting you, you see. It’s only appropriate

There are dorms and private rooms, beds are clean and bug-free, fans to save you from the heat, a communal kitchen, and I think, laundry services. They also have a resident computer, but they charge you for using the internet. I don’t remember them having hot showers, however, so if that’s a problem for you, I guess you’ll have to go somewhere else. But the weather in Nicaragua, especially in Granada, is sweltering. I had no need or desire for hot showers except when I was in the highlands like Estelí or Jinotega. You’ll probably love cold showers in Granada. Taking one in the middle of the afternoon is absolute bliss!

I was searching for photos of Nicaragua on Flickr in hopes that they would jolt the deepest recesses of my memory of that indefinable country (I have no photographs of it because I didn’t have a camera with me while I was traveling there), and I stumbled upon this collection of the revolution (and also some photos of the proceeding years leading up to the Contra War) by Marcelo Montecino. This first one in particular, which immortalizes a soldier who had just returned from the front, is my favourite because of the juxtaposition of violence and innocence: the baby, and then the rifle; and the smile on the father’s face. The rest of the selected photos will show you that the revolution wasn’t just the story of men, but of their women and children, too.

However, history has clearly proven that revolutions tend to go wrong along the way, and the Nicaraguan revolution was hardly an exception, as was Cuba’s, no matter how many people go touting Che Guevara with his beret on their chests. As a reminder, I’ve got a t-shirt of the Che wearing Bart Simpson on his chest, a cartoon strip by Matthew Diffee for The New Yorker (you can buy your own here). I don’t have to tell you, I love the irony.

When all is said and done, there is a certain dangerous romance in the idea of revolution, the possibilities of change it induces you to want to believe in, which is obviously why so many people sign up to it in the first place. And well, I guess that’s what these following photos illustrate: the romance, the idealism and the camaraderie… but also the more inhumane parts of it, like putting rifles into the hands of children.

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When the Reagan administration began its war against Nicaragua, I recognized a deeper affinity with that small country in a continent (Central America) upon which I had never set foot. I grew daily more interested in its affairs, because, after all, I was myself the child of a successful revolt against a great power, my consciousness the product of the triumph of the Indian revolution. It was perhaps also true that those of us who did not have our origins in the countries of the mighty West, or North, had something in common – not, certainly, anything as simplistic as a unified ‘third world’ outlook, but at least some knowledge of what weakness was like, some awareness of the view from underneath, and of how it felt to be there, on the bottom, looking up at the descending heel.

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Revolution and romance have always been inextricably linked, and there is no better example of this than Nicaragua, the underpopulated isthmus (“it was the emptiest of the countries of Central America”, and still is) that forms part of the slender waist of America. The mere whispers of its syllables is poetry, and despite — or because of — its poverty one needs only to delve into its recent history to find romance and ideals and hope, which luckily, isn’t very difficult. Her history echoes at you wherever within her borders you travel: through the bullet-holed walls of the fading buildings, the colourful revolutionary murals, the young men you meet who were even younger when they fought in the revolution… As the Indian-British author Salman Rushdie (The Satanic Versus, Midnight’s Children) wrote in The Jaguar Smile, a firsthand account of his three-week visit to Nicaragua in the July of 1986 for the seventh anniversary of the triumph of the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN):

In Nicaragua ‘at seven years’ the walls still spoke to the dead: Carlos¹, we’re getting there, the graffiti said; or, Julio², we have not forgotten.

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1. Carlos Fonseca was the founder of the FSLN in 1956, and who died in November 1976, two and a half years before the Sandinista victory. [↩]
2. In his memoir, Salman Rushdie also relates the story of Julio Buitrago, who had been surrounded in a ’safe house’ in Managua along with some others. “Finally he was he only one left alive, resisting the might of Somoza’s tanks and heavy artillery hour after hour, while the whole country watched him on live television, because Somoza thought he’d captured a whole FSLN cell and wanted their destruction to be a lesson to the people: a terrible miscalculation, because when the people saw Buitrago come out shooting and die at last, when they saw that just one man had held off a tyrant for so long, they learned the wrong lessons: that resistance was possible.” [↩]

If you want to have a package sent over to Nicaragua, you need to know a few things. As a tourist, if you’re completely clueless, you might have a hard time tracking your package. It’s a rather tedious process, and one in which your things might easily get lost amidst all the bureaucracy.

The circumstances: I was waiting for a package to arrive from the United States and tracking it online, I learnt that it left the States December 5 and arrived at the Nicaraguan customs office December 10. But by December 17 my package still had not been dispatched to my friend’s address in the capital city of Managua, which I’d designate it to be posted to.

Increasingly frustrated and anxious because I was supposed to have left Nicaragua 3 days ago, I decided to look up the customs office and request for my package in person.

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