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During my trip to Guatemala I will be studying Spanish at a language school and staying with a local family. The language school’s application asked if I preferred to stay with a family with or without children.

This seemingly innocuous question gave me pause because I had read about instances of mob violence in Guatemala arising from suspicions of child snatching. Guatemala is one of the top sources of adopted children in the world. In 2007, the country tightened its adoption regulations following allegations of profiteering and infant trafficking.

Given this history, it seems only natural for Guatemalan’s to question the motives of a foreigner who seeks close contact with children.

The U.S. State Department’s profile for Guatemala notes that:

in 2007, two foreigners (including an American citizen) and a Guatemalan kayaking on a river near Chicaman, Quiche were accused of stealing children and seized by a 500-person mob (estimated). Although threatened, the individuals were not physically attacked. The incident occurred after the group had been talking and joking with a local boy on the river bank. In Sayaxche, Petén, rumors escalated into mob action against a Guatemalan couple believed to be involved in child stealing. The husband was beaten and burned to death, and the wife threatened, but was eventually turned over to the police. A local American resident was also seized and threatened with death when he tried to intervene with the mob. In the same area, a family of American tourists, along with several Guatemalan motorists, was held overnight at a road blockade for possible use as human shields. Mobs have also targeted police, resulting in delayed or ineffective responses by law enforcement.

Taking photos of children may also arouse suspicions, the U.S. State Department advised.

Was my decision to stay with a family without kids prudent or overcautious?

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To continue the series about her trip to Guatemala, guest poster Nora Walsh tells us what it was like to greet 2010 in Antigua, Guatemala. The end of 2009 was punctuated by music, alcohol, and fireworks amidst Antigua’s picturesque city center.

By Nora Walsh

For New Years Eve we headed two-and-a-half hours back to Antigua to ring in 2010. We checked into the brand new hostel Dionisio, and headed for dinner at Kafka, where I savored the most delicious macaroni and cheese I have ever eaten. Then we joined the festivities taking place in the streets. Families, tourists, and Guatemaltecos from bordering cities descended upon Antigua to enjoy the picturesque colonial city and its agreeable weather. Bands were playing at every corner, flame throwers and circus parades gallivanted through the city entertaining the masses. Small kioskos sold beer and alcohol well into the morning, and everyone celebrated on the cobblestone pathways of the city center to call in the New Year.

As the year came to a close, the old buildings shook from the harmonized countdown, and when the clock hit 12:00am, a master display of fireworks unleashed, music blared, champagne sprayed and everyone rose in a chanting chorus of “Gaute, Gaute, Gaute!” It was invigorating and uplifting, instilling hope for a better year to come than the one just completed, marked by crisis and hardship on so many levels.

Normally the bars close at 1:00am in Antigua, but New Year’s Eve is the one night of the year they stay open until at least 4:00am. Many bars and clubs require a pricey reservation to spend the night in one location, but we preferred to enjoy the debauchery in the streets and wander in and out of bars with no cover. We stumbled upon an amazing live band at Sala, and an open air bar and music venue called El Chaman, set amidst a church ruin.

The following morning we had brunch in a 16^th century Spanish mansion courtyard called Café Condesa. After we pushed through our hangovers, we strolled the city fully appreciating its colonial architecture and its Scandinavian influence, with power lines running underground and impeccably clean streets. That evening we dined at the Mexican restaurant Frida’s, which reminds to mention that Guatemala has the BEST guacamole I have tasted abroad, and is consistent among cities. It is one of their main crops and they season it to perfection, free of any chili peppers or red onions, just mouthwatering guacamole, salt and lemon: riquisimo!

Other dining recommendations include brunch at La Terraza or Santo Domingo, sunset drinks at Café Sky, dinner at La Esquina, hookah at Gaia, and drinks at Café No Se, Café 2000, La Casbah, Reilly’s and Estudio 35.

We also did some shopping at Antigua’s main market.  For a reasonable deal here, you really need to low ball and stick to your lowest price, you will eventually get what you ask for (or maybe spend 5Q more) by making sure you have small bills, take them out and say this the amount you will pay for it. Let them haggle with you for a bit, restate your asking price, and if they don’t meet it be completely committed to walking away.

Usually when you put your money away, or when you start to walk, they will give it to you for the price you asked.  Which, by the way, usually is a more than fair price we learned at the airport where we found embroidered handicrafts that were just as nice, if not nicer, for only a few dollars more than the market. We purchased brightly embroidered pillowcases and oven mitts. Great momentos, as it turns out, because we use them everyday.

There were some helpful comments to my “checklist” blog post yesterday.

I recommended taking an antibiotic such as Cipro on your trip. But travel writer Nicholas Gill said it’s a good idea to:

Buy Cipro in Latin America. They have some form of it at every pharmacy and for much cheaper than in the States.

To guard against being stranded without a passport or credit cards, I suggested taking along a photocopy of both. However, Jennifer Rose–the creator of the Staring at Strangers blog–further refined this notion:

Scan your passport and credit cards, save as PDFs, and send them to a Gmail account or an online document depository.

Terrific advice that I will definitely follow!

The new “Best” tab at the top of the blog takes you to some of the most popular posts on Travelojos.

Looking for a good book or DVD about Latin America? Check out the Travelojos Book/DVD Exchange.

Also, remember to subscribe to via e-mail or RSS feed.

Got a question or comment? E-mail me at travelojos AT gmail.com

With a trip to Guatemala coming up in May, I’m thinking about how to avoid problems once I get there.

Here is a checklist for visiting Guatemala or other countries in Latin America:

• Get a passport. With the exception of Puerto Rico, a passport is required to visit all countries in Latin America.
• Check if the country requires a visa. Most countries don’t require a visa for visits of less than 60-90 days. But Brazil does.
• Make sure your ATM card will work there. Find out which banks charge the highest/lowest fees.
• Remember to call your credit card company to tell them you’ll be traveling. Otherwise, the charges popping up in Guatemala or some other country will look highly suspicious.
• Have a basic understanding of the currency and exchange rates. The exchange rate in Guatemala is about 8 Quetzals to the U.S. Dollar.
• Photocopy your passport and both sides of your credit cards. Lock your original passport and photocopy of your credit cards in the hotel safe.
• Make arrangements to have someone pick you up at the airport. This reduces the stress level considerably by allowing you to avoid the crazy scene outside many airports in Latin America.
• Find out how best to avoid getting sick. A Travelojos reader commented the other day that he’s avoided stomach problems in Guatemala by taking a Pepto Bismal tablet before and after each meal.
• Bring some Cipro or other anti-biotic with you. My kids’ pediatrician saved our trip to Costa Rica by writing us a prescription for Cipro. I came down with strep throat, but was able to knock it out after about two days.

Did I forget anything? Please add your suggestions for the checklist.

Photo by Koalazymonkey (Via Creative Commons)

This post continues the series in which Nora Walsh tells us about her trip to Guatemala. In this installment, she recounts her time in Panajachel and San Pedro. After suffering from stomach problems in Panajachel, Nora recovers in time to enjoy the relaxing international night life of San Pedro.

By Nora Walsh

In Pana, we checked into a charming family run hostel called Hospedaje Jere  for $13 per night. It was clean and comfortable private room with a hot shower, the first one I had since the Jungle Party hostel in Antigua. Of course after scavenging the city by tuc tuc (10Q a ride) to make Christmas Eve dinner reservations for the following evening, I started coming down with something.

That something turned out to be an amoeba (at some point during the trip I relinquished eating only cooked vegetables and began to consume some of the crude but flavorful vegetables that accompanied my meals). BIG mistake. Despite the fact that I immediately started taking the Cipro I packed for this specific reason, I found myself crawling from the bed to the bathroom every half hour for three days. The only saving grace was that we checked into a four star hotel Posada Don Rodriguo.  Its French doors opened onto a grassy patio overlooking the lake and volcanoes. Added to this picture each evening was the melting sun. Seeing those sunsets made me feel lucky to be alive albeit chained to a bed and toilet for the remaining 23.5 hours of the day.

On to San Pedro. When my body finally stabilized, we marched on. We took the 45-minute, 25Q boat ride to San Pedro. When the boat departed, it dawned on me that I had forgotten to pick up my laundry before checkout, which consisted of every article of underwear I owned except the ones I was wearing! So upon arrival San Pedro, I had to call Posada Don Rodrigo several times until I was finally able to convince the hotel manager to put undies on a random boat coming to San Pedro and call me with the hour of its arrival so I could go retrieve them.

A special delivery

When they arrived at last in a tiny little cardboard box marked with my name on it, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning, jumping up and down like a four year with glee, box in hand, knowing I wouldn’t have to go I wouldn’t have to go commando the rest of the trip. It´s the simple pleasures of traveling that make me love it so much!

Glowing from my belated Christmas gift, we hit the town to celebrate, which is when we discovered that San Pedro is a chilled-out hippie haven, lined with bars called Shanti Shanti, Freedom, Buddha, Alegre Pub (Happy Pub), The Clover and the Reggae Bar, with at least one of them hosting live music nightly.

We stayed at an Israeli owned and European operated hostel called Zoola, which had a delightful restaurant housed under a colorful circus tent, outfitted with low tables and floor seating engulfed in a vibrant rainbow of pillows. The menu was an eclectic international mix and came in generous portions.  The closer it got to New Years Eve, the more Israeli backpackers the hostel attracted, until we realized that we were the only non-Israelis lodging there. When we woke up in the morning I sometimes wondered if I was in Tel Aviv, not Guatemala, since the only thing we could hear was Hebrew chatter.

Although we had originally planned to stay for only two days, two days turned into five days as we soaked up the relaxing vibe of San Pedro. By day we hiked around town, sampled a new restaurant, or took a lancha to check out a nearby village. By night we dined on delicious cuisine at Le Jardin, Jarachik and Ventana Blue, checked out live music, played ping pong at Alegre Pub, or sipped cocktails while watching projected movies that were still playing in American theatres at D’Noz and Bhudda Bar.

Zoola Restaurant

We learned during our stay that only three months prior Lake Atitlan was deemed unsafe to swim in due to algae problems and pollutants from sewage and runoff fertilizers.

Previously,  you could swim, fish, kayak and cliff jump into its waters. It has become a cumbersome problem that Guatemala can’t afford to fix on its own and is looking for international help to save the lake with water treatment plants.

We were told that Spain has donated money and hopefully the United States will follow its lead. It would be an unforgivable shame to lose such a beautiful natural habitat. For up to date information on the lake visit www.lakeatitlanhealth.com.

When I first learned of Christopher McDougall’s best selling book about long-distance running I dismissed it as another tale about Mexico’s Tarahumara Indians.

It was from McDougall’s story in Runner’s World magazine over a decade ago that I first became intrigued with these mysterious people who can run 100 miles or more on some of the world’s most treacherous terrain.

But since that time plenty of travel writers have come back from Mexico with tales of the Tarahumaras’ exploits.

My interest in the book wasn’t piqued until I saw this video of McDougall explaining how running barefoot could improve your running form.

It’s McDougall’s insatiable curiosity about running that drives this stranger-than-fiction true story, which ends with an ultra-marathon race between the Tarahumara and some of the top runners in the U.S.

Running Injuries. When he’s not caught up in helping to organize what the subtitle of his book appropriately calls “the greatest race the world has never seen,” McDougall is trying to figure out why he is plagued with running injuries.

The answer, he tells us, is to forget everything the modern world has taught us about running.

Expensive running shoes? The Tarahumara run through the Copper Canyon region of Mexico in sandals made from discarded tires.  The coach of Stanford University’s track team tells McDougall that his team experienced fewer injuries after switching over from expensive to cheap sneakers.

The Joy of Running. Elaborate training plans? McDougall learns that running is an enjoyable activity, not a punishment for eating. He describes how the Tarahumara’s love for running “lets them blaze through the canyons like dolphins rocketing through waves.”

Age? People have evolved to run long distances. One expert tells him that humans don’t experience a decline in running performance until age 64.

But the book goes beyond celebrating the Tarahumara. McDougall introduces us to the ultra-marathon culture in the U.S. and some of its leading figures.  It turns out that a woman often has as good as a chance of winning an 100-mile race as a man. Like the races they run, the runners McDougall depicts in his book each have their own quirks, which make for some hilarious scenes.

Most ultra-marathoners, McDougall says, are in it for no more than the joy of running. The reward for completing the 100-mile race in Leadville, Colorado is a belt buckle.

Like a long foot race, the pace of Born to Run is slow at first, but it steadily picks up steam as it progresses and concludes with a riveting finish. This is the most enjoyable book I’ve read in a long time.

The U.S. State Department’s updated Security Travel Alert for Mexico cautions U.S. citizens against visiting parts of the northern states of Durango and Coahuila. It also cites recent violence on the highways between Monterrey and the U.S. and updates certain crime statistics.

While the new version of the travel alert focuses on specific areas of Mexico, it leaves intact the section addressing crime and violence throughout the country. Among the list of hazards is kidnapping. The alert notes that dozens of U.S. citizens have been kidnapped in recent years and “most of their cases remain unresolved.”

This bleak picture of Mexico comes just as college students are preparing for the Spring Break season. Last year, several colleges warned students headed for Mexico to exercise caution. But most stopped short of advising them to cancel their trips.

While most of the violence has occurred in Mexico’s northern states, much of the media last year depicted the entire country of Mexico as a boiling cauldron of mayhem and violence. This combined with the H1N1 outbreak caused a 20 percent decline in tourist visits to Mexico last year.

Early indications are that Mexico may be in for the same treatment in 2010. Citing the updated security alert, the New York Times In Transit blog went with this lede:

Mexican beach resorts may get fewer college students from the United States this spring break. This week, the State Department renewed its travel advisory alert for Mexico, singling out the states of Michoacan, Coahuila, Durango and Chihuahua, along the United States-Mexico border, as especially dangerous for United States travelers.

Of course, the blog neglected to mention that popular beach destinations such as Cancun or Puerto Vallarta are far removed from much of the violence.

In fact, the Christian Science Monitor reports that violent crime is actually decreasing in Mexico:

Mexico’s homicide rate has fallen steadily from the highs it reached in the late 1990s, according to both Mexico’s Department of Public Safety and the Citizens’ Institute for Crime Studies, an independent nongovernmental organization in Mexico City. By the institute’s findings, Mexico fares better in terms of security than many other Latin American countries including Brazil, Venezuela, and El Salvador. And in terms of large cities, Mexico City’s crime rate is on a par with that of Los Angeles.

While it’s unlikely that many tourists are planning to spend their spring break in Durango or Coahuila, those who intend to visit those states would be wise to pay heed to the U.S. State Department’s warnings. The alert states that:

Recently, the cities of Durango and Gomez Palacio in the state of Durango, and the area known as “La Laguna” in the state of Coahuila, which includes the city of Torreon, experienced sharp increases in violence.  In late 2009 and early 2010, four visiting U.S. citizens were murdered in Gomez Palacio, Durango.  These are among several unsolved murders in the state of Durango that have been cause for particular concern.

The U.S. State Department also noted that certain highways in Mexico are particularly dangerous. Specifically, it states that:

Travelers on the highways between Monterrey and other parts of Mexico to the United States (notably through Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros) have been targeted for robbery and violence and have also inadvertently been caught in incidents of gunfire between criminals and Mexican law enforcement.  Such incidents are more likely to occur at night but may occur at any time.

The alert also cites updated crime statistics for Ciudad Juarez. In 2009:

• more than 2,600 people were killed,
• there were more than 16,000 car thefts, and
• 900 carjackings.

The U.S. State Department also advised that “many cases of violent crime are never resolved by Mexican law enforcement, and the U.S. government has no authority to investigate crimes committed in Mexico.”

What do you think about the updated travel alert?

Photo by joseloya (Via Creative Commons)

Soon after I began focusing on all things Latin America a few years ago, I had a contractor working on my house whose college-aged daughter was living in Santiago, Chile.

“Why would she pick Santiago over Buenos Aires, or some of the other places in Latin America that keep popping up in the Washington Post’s travel section?” I wondered.

But over time, I came to understand why Chile was a place where you wouldn’t worry so much about sending your daughter.

It possesses a stability that eludes many of its Latin American bretheren.

Low Crime Rate. For starters, its crime rate is relatively low. Even the hyper-security conscious U.S. State Department notes that “few crimes have been committed against Americans.”

It also seems like a nice place to live and work.  Regarded as having the least corrupt government in Latin America, Chile and its capital city Santiago have become known as the region’s “economic miracle.”

Bicentennial. In anticipation of its bicentennial on Sept. 18 this year, Chile embarked on a major initiative to further improve its infrastructure.

There’s just one problem that the country can do almost nothing about: frequent earthquakes. By dint of geography, major seismic activity there has been documented since 1570.

Like the residents of Los Angeles or New Orleans, Chileans know that a natural disaster can strike at any time.

After a small earthquake last year, Margaret Snook–the creator of the Chando Chile blog–noted that:

Chile has more seismic activity (tremors and earthquakes) than any other country on Earth. Yep! Not only the most, but the biggest too… The 1960 earthquake in Valdivia (southern Chile) registered 9.5 on the Richter scale, the highest in recorded history!

Oddly, the earthquake on Saturday coincides with Chile’s last big quake on March 3, 1985. It measured 7.5 on the Richter scale, caused deaths and over $1 billion in property damage.

Here’s hoping that a quick recovery from its most recent earthquake is among the things Chile will celebrate on its  bicentennial.

Photo by thejourney1972 (Via Creative Commons)

In this second installment of a three-part series on Guatemala, guest poster Nora Walsh takes in the beauty of Lake Atitlan, and some time to relax and reflect in San Marcos

To get out of Chichi we hopped on a chicken bus (an old US school bus decoratively painted for its second life) for $1.50 and rode an hour and a half to Panajachel on Lake Atitlan. When we arrived in Panajachel, we walked about ten minutes from the bus stop to the docks, where I parted with the girls I met at the hostel and caught a 25Q ($3.10) “lancha” or a small boat to a village on the lake called San Marcos. 

Caveat: Unethical salesmen will try to convince you that you’ve missed the last boat to your destination (no matter what time of day it is). They will try to convince you to take their private boat for 100Q or more, rather than the standard 25Q, which is the tourist price, not the local price which is 10-15Q.

San Marcos is known for its beauty and spirituality. It’s home to many meditation and holistic centers including Las Piramides, which has two meditation temples, pyramid-shaped cabins, a library, medicinal herb garden, communal kitchen, sauna, a private dock, a vegetarian restaurant, and also offers courses spiritual courses.

Having recently herniated discs in my neck and lower back I needed more of a medical massage than a relaxing one, and serendipitously discovered Pascal Steiner who owns Vitialis Health.  Pascal is a Swiss transplant who is schooled in various massage techniques as well as Neurostructural Integration Technique (NST), which is essentially a soft tissue osteopathic-style therapy, designed to remove pain and physiological imbalances by restoring the structural integrity of the body.

I spent $30 for a 45-minute session and was not disappointed. Although, I wish he would have warned me beforehand that after the therapy I could not expose myself to extreme temperatures (no sauna) or get any other treatments (no relaxing massages) or do any  physical activity (no volcano hiking) for up to four days, so that my body could fully integrate the massage therapy.

So with few options for treatments the following day I got Reiki and Chakra Balancing (my first time ever) at the Holistic Centre. I had a warm Canadian therapist who removed my energy blockages and also realigned my chakras, three of which were out of balance: Base, Throat and Third Eye. It was here I actually learned that you have seven chakras and their attributes,  which piqued my interest to learn more.

The next morning, after doing 8:00am yoga at my hostel’s palapa, I checked out of La Paz and spent a few hours on the Schumann Dock, which has the most beautiful view of the lake with a backdrop of the three volcanoes.  It is the perfect place to sit and reflect in one of the most idyllic settings I have ever experienced. After some peaceful relaxation, I caught a lancha (which come every half an hour) back to Panajachel to meet my man for Christmas.

In this three-part series, guest poster Nora Walsh tells us about her trip to Guatemala. For Nora, Latin America is a place to “enter at your own risk.” But the awards awaiting those who do far outweigh any mishaps they might experience along the way.

Antigua

By Nora Walsh

In 2009, I longed for a trip to Brazil for Christmas and New Year’s. I hoarded all of my vacation days for this trip, until my significant other, who happens to be Argentine, persuaded me to go somewhere other than South America for our holiday. After long, drawn out discussions of who wanted to go where and why, we finally settled on a trip neither of us will ever regret: Guatemala.

Mid-December I crammed my backpack with all the appropriate gear including: lots of layers (it’s 50 degrees at night) an MSR Packtowl UltraLite from EMS, Clifbars, antibacterial hand gel and towelettes and a Gortex raincoat. Then I hopped on a five-hour Spirit flight from La Guardia to Guatemala City. Which leads me to my first tip for travelers, book your airfare early! We spent close to $1,000 each on airfare. Had we booked it before late October (when there was already little space left on any flights), it would have been roughly half the price we paid.

Because I was spending the first week alone, and Guatemala City has the highest homicide rate in all Latin America according the 2007 Crime Observatory, my family was concerned. I reminded them I had traveled alone through South America for a year in some of the continent’s most “dangerous “ cities. During that time I had acquired the street smarts to know where to go, and where not to.

In Transit. When I arrived in Guatemala City, I used an ATM inside the airport (it has a better exchange rate than the currency exchange booths) at an exchange rate of 8 Quetzales-$1.00. Directly outside the airport I caught one of the minivan tourist shuttles to Antigua. I paid 80Q for the hour ride to the old capital.

Chichi

When I tried to withdraw more money from my account in Antigua, I realized that I had forgotten to call my bank and credit card companies ahead of time to let them know about my trip. For security reasons they had cut off my ATM access and line of credit, so I was stranded with only the cash reserves I had packed. I spent a whole morning trying to get it straightened out, which is not how I like to spend any morning, let alone a morning on vacation.

Antigua. Because I was traveling alone, I opted to stay at a hostel (I highly recommend booking online beforehand during high season) so I could meet some travelers and learn the lay of the land. It always helps to meet people who have been traveling around the country for awhile to get some tips on where to go and what to do. I met a solid international mix of backpackers at the Jungle Party Hostel, where I stayed in a freshly built room (they are putting the final touches on it the day I arrived) for $7 per night. The service, food, and $1 drink happy hours were amazing.

Not all hostels are this good. A Swedish girl I bunked with told me she had all of her valuables and passport stolen during a stay at the hostel Ummagumma.

While at Jungle Party I met two American girls from California who were traveling to the renowned market in Chichicastenango (Chichi as it is affectionately known), which only takes place on Thursdays and Sundays, and is one of the largest in Latin America. Because I planned to return to Antigua when my boyfriend arrived, I decided to travel with them and as a bonus catch the Festival de Santo Tomas the following Monday. It turned out that most of the hostel was going as well so we rounded up 11 people and found a shuttle that knocked of a couple dollars from our fare ($7 to $5) since we filled the whole van.

Festival Santo Tomas

Chichicastenango (Chichi). Unfortunately, during our three hour ride to Chichi, the rain slammed down and since driver’s miniature tarp covered about 4 of the 11 bags that were on the roof, the majority of us had bags soaked entirely through. The whole ride I was longing for one of those backpack ponchos so I didn’t have to freeze in soaking wet clothes that remained damp the whole two days we spent there.

The Chichi market was a typical Latin American outdoor market—selling foodstuffs, handbags, medicinal plants, flowers, pottery, textiles, electronics, pigs, chickens, machetes etc. But it was hard to get the full feel of it because of the rain.  I did love the Festival de Santo Tomas, a religious festival representing a mix between Mayan and Christian beliefs. On December 21, the Mayans welcome winter and its legendary Christmas messenger: Olentzero, and also honor the apostle Saint Thomas. Located next to the market is the 400-year old church of Santo Tomás, built atop a Pre-Columbian temple platform where K’iche’ Mayan priests still use the church for their rituals, which I was able to witness firsthand.

The town plaza was packed with people and the parade started with “fireworks”, which truly sounded like old fashioned canons one offing fireballs, giving off earth cracking sound. It was a bit startling.  This was followed by a colorful parade of enormous flowered floats carried by men and women in vividly embroidered Maya garb. What never ceases to amaze me is the amount of weight indigenous women can balance on their heads; I’ve always wanted to learn how to do this because it seems like such an impressive party trick to pull out after a few drinks.

As excited as I was to be there, I definitely was not feeling the love from the Chichi natives. I wasn’t sure if they were sour because it was raining on their parade or they just generally don’t like tall white North American girls. It was a very bitter reception even after flashing the brightest, warmest holiday smile I could muster, and still, nothing but scowls in return.  And God forbid you ever capture a picture that includes a native, and if you do, you better be willing to pay.

When we exited the maze of the market, we stumbled upon a live band with about 200 onlookers. I am never one to stand still when there is music on, so I began to shimmy in place to the music and realized a couple minutes later that about half the crowd was staring at me, and some were even smiling! I thought to myself “I’ll be darned, if this is the only way I can get people to smile in this town I am going to do it!” So I started dancing a little more, which stirred even more attention, including the local TV cameraman and locals snapping cell phone photos. I contemplated the idea of collecting money for my picture, but decided that I was racking up some good photography karma for the remainder of the trip and I had received my 15 minutes of Guatemalan fame, so decided it was a fair exchange.