Well hola my very special readers. Thank you for reading.
This is surreal. My first major long-term trip abroad was to West Africa in 2002, yes, indeed, 11 years ago, a Guide's lifetime. I used to walk into Cape Coast once a week, along the beautiful coastal road, ignoring wolf-whistling taxi drivers and purchasing chunks of sumptuous pineapple from women at the side of the road, then spend a few thousand pesos checking my e-mail in a dodgy internet cafe. Fast-forward to 2013. Here I am in Guatemala, using a tiny laptop, connected to complimentary hotel wifi, sitting on my bed, blogging about my day. When I've finished, I'll do a quick tweet. My, how technology has changed!
We left Our Cabana at 6.45 this morning. It was very sad to leave, as it had become our World Centre home for the last week or so. I hope that if you are a Leader, you have taken my advice seriously and that you are planning a trip there in the near future? Go on - give your girls a World Centre experience - it is awesome and will change lives.
I have spent a good chunk of travelling time today, sleeping - as mentioned, it's one of my key skills. I slept from Our Cabana to the airport, then on the flight to Guatemala. I inadvertently had to surrender my suncream at security, after neglecting to put it into my checked baggage. How embarrassing.
So we flew to Guatemala City, then bundled into a waiting bus with our guide Manuel, who took us to Antigua (not the Antigua in the Carribean, obviously). The hotel is gorgeous. It is based around a characteristic courtyard, with a genuine Guatemalan band playing music on glockenspiels and a double base (or 'big violin' according to my room mate), adding so much character to the place. Hearing them play on arrival was magical and I could have sat listening for hours.
Manuel took us on a walking tour of Antigua, which is like a film set, a step back in time. The streets are full of horse-drawn carts, women selling their wares - invariably local cloth, all in a balmy and very tolerable temperature - cooler than Mexico, but still humid and warm. Perfect.
We wandered around the Cathedral, then saw the old cathedral which has succumbed to many earthquakes, which Manuel assured us happen here on a daily basis, due to the location of Guatemala across two tectonic plates. I slept through a minor earthquake in Japan once, and would do the same again, quite obliviously.
This evening we ate in the hotel and were treated to a display of Guatemalan dance, accompanied by the same band who were playing earlier. Some group members even joined in with the dances, after being dragooned by the peculiarly-clad dancers. It was actually remarkably similar to morris dancing, in that they had similar rhythms and dances, although the scary masks were a bit strange. This was 'folklore dancing' according to the advertisement. Coupled with a glass or two or Sauvignon Blanc, it was a wonderful evening, with delicious food, prefaced by obligatory tortillas and finished off with local coffee. Sublime.
We have been following the 'No More Page 3' campaign coverage, which has been on BBC News all day today, and very widely retweeted. Girlguiding has signed up to 'No More Page 3' and end the objectification of women. The campaign has been on BBC and ITV News today and in the national press. If you haven't signed the petition, you can do so here: http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/dominic-mohan-take-the-bare-boobs-out-of-the-sun-nomorepage3 - come on, let's make history.
More tomorrow. Hasta luego.
No comments:
Post a Comment