Well I've arrived in my new home and this will have to do me for Christmas. It isn't plush, but it is terribly affordable, well located, and it has hot water and WiFi. I'm in a town called Panajachel on the edge of Lake Atitlan and it's a cracker. I already really like it and I've only been here a day. Yes it's on the tourist trail, but the best hotel in town is a dodgy 3 star and where I am is probably a 1 star thereabouts, but it is fine for me. The rest of the town is genuine Guatemala, and all the better for it. I think this place reminds me of somewhere like Mandalay, or Ometepe or somewhere like that. It's an honest town with no pretensions and has an 'if you don't like it then you can sod off' feel about it. On that basis alone, I rather like it.
The bus dropped me in the main street which has a hatful of bars and restaurants, right outside a rock bar and naturally the first thing I did was step inside to check it out. Bloody marvellous. Soft Rock plus beer, plus wings, plus fries, and all a mere 100m from my hotel - I think someone is looking after me upstairs and gave me my Christmas present early.
I've always been a bit down on Guatemala. It's to do with them wanting to have Belize for their own. And lovely Belize is both an ex-colony and a member of the Commonwealth, so they bloody well can't have it, no sir-ee Bob. The last time they tried, a couple of RAF Harrier jump jets flew around in circles for an hour or so near Guatemalan airspace and they decided to stop trying. But I'm being unfair, all that was quite a long time ago now and they seem to have been more pleasant neighbours of late. So I've buried my own prejudices and have discovered that Guatemalans do enjoy a bit of rock. I was bracketed by two very enthusiastic husbands as I sat at the bar last night. Their wives seemed less wildly excited by men with perms and spandex pants than their spouses, but we're all different of course. It turned into a raucous singalong and I felt as though I ought to move so the two fellas could embrace and wave lighters in the air together, but I sat my ground and watched my plate of wings bounce up and down on the bar to the rhythm of lusty blokes banging palms on wood in time to some very catchy choruses.
A fairly typical dusty Guatemalan road. ...Not for the fainthearted.
The bus dropped me in the main street which has a hatful of bars and restaurants, right outside a rock bar and naturally the first thing I did was step inside to check it out. Bloody marvellous. Soft Rock plus beer, plus wings, plus fries, and all a mere 100m from my hotel - I think someone is looking after me upstairs and gave me my Christmas present early.
I've always been a bit down on Guatemala. It's to do with them wanting to have Belize for their own. And lovely Belize is both an ex-colony and a member of the Commonwealth, so they bloody well can't have it, no sir-ee Bob. The last time they tried, a couple of RAF Harrier jump jets flew around in circles for an hour or so near Guatemalan airspace and they decided to stop trying. But I'm being unfair, all that was quite a long time ago now and they seem to have been more pleasant neighbours of late. So I've buried my own prejudices and have discovered that Guatemalans do enjoy a bit of rock. I was bracketed by two very enthusiastic husbands as I sat at the bar last night. Their wives seemed less wildly excited by men with perms and spandex pants than their spouses, but we're all different of course. It turned into a raucous singalong and I felt as though I ought to move so the two fellas could embrace and wave lighters in the air together, but I sat my ground and watched my plate of wings bounce up and down on the bar to the rhythm of lusty blokes banging palms on wood in time to some very catchy choruses.
A fairly typical dusty Guatemalan road. ...Not for the fainthearted.
Lake Atitlan and two of its numerous volcanos. It's really very pretty!
Me. ...And some unexpectedly enthusiastic Latino rock fans (the man in the cap had just been informed by his wife that he was paying a little too much attention to Twisted Sister, and not quite enough attention to his not half bad looking missus. So he had a minute or two of sulking before going back to rocking out).
Nice, looks like you are in the right place for a good Christmas. Presumably no Turkey for you this year?
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