23 August 2007

Boat Tour and Livingston

Today we took a boat tour of the area, and headed out to the Garufina town of Livingston, on the Atlantic Coast. The river is amazing, as it is mostly undeveloped and you can really feel like you´re in the middle of the jungle. We were able to see Guatemala´s largest lake, where many locals take their vacation.

We also were able to stop by a local school. In this part of Guatemala, the locals only speak a regional Mayan dialect, so, the schools teach the children Spanish so that they can communicate with the rest of the country. Unfortunately, these local schools must live off of donations, as they do not recieve help from the local government.

Livingston is a very laid back town, very different from the rest of the country. The Garufina, are the black Guatemalans who originated from Nigeria, but were sent to this part of the world by th British to be slaves. You can find many of them up and down the Guatemalan, Honduran, and Nicaraguan coasts, they have a distinct language and culture from the rest of Latin America.

In the town, we tried a local dish called Tapado, which is essentially every type of seafood you can think of made into a stew. Mine included an entire fish, an entire crab, several prawns, and also plaintains. It was amazing! While dining, we were also treated to some local music.

Later that night, back at our island hotel, we witnessed one of the most amazing thunderstorms I´ve ever seen or heard. Our tiny cabins shook with every crash and the rain completely poured down on us. I guess thats what I get for coming during rainy season. Tomorrow we head to the small town of Flores.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

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