Travel News : US tourist hacked to death in Guatemala

My Views : Unfortunate that beautiful Guatemala gets terrible news once again. While I was travelling there, four belgian tourists got kidnapped. Given the history of violence and civil war for 30 years, there might still be residual effects. I was told west part of Guatemala near the borders most people would carry firearms everywhere or possess guns in their houses. East part of Guatemala along the Caribbean have problems of piracy. Still Guatemala is relatively a safe country if you are prudent in travelling, have decent common sense, other times its just having bad luck.

US tourist hacked to death in Guatemala
By JUAN CARLOS LLORCA,Associated Press Writer AP - Monday, August 11

GUATEMALA CITY - Robbers armed with machetes hacked a U.S. tourist to death and seriously wounded his wife in an attack aboard the couple's sailboat in northeastern Guatemala, the woman told The Associated Press on Sunday.


In a telephone interview from her hospital bed, Nancy Dryden, 67, said her husband, Daniel Perry Dryden, 66, was killed by four men who boarded their boat late Saturday while it was anchored in Lake Izabal.

"They poked us and stabbed us with the machetes, and they were asking for money, specifically dollars," said Dryden, who was listed in stable condition at a hospital in the lakeside town of Morales.

The thieves were apparently unhappy with the take. "We had a few quetzales (Guatemala's currency), but we had no dollars with us on the boat," Dryden recounted.

The Drydens, who are retired and live near Anchorage, Alaska, had bought the boat in February. They were equipping the vessel in preparation for a voyage into the Caribbean and eventually to the eastern coast of the United States.

Dryden said the four assailants may have reached the boat by swimming from shore and brandished long machetes that "seemed liked curved swords."

After assaulting the couple, the men demanded she hand over the keys to the vessel, which has an auxiliary motor. When she didn't _ she was unable to tell whether they wanted the keys to the boat, or a small dinghy the couple used to get to shore _ the men left, also apparently by swimming.

Dryden struggled over to the boat's radio and sent out a distress call. "I said we need help ... I said my husband was not moving," Dryden recalled.

She said she expects her children to arrive in Guatemala Monday and plans to be transferred to the United States for medical care.

Assistant Police Commissioner Luis Say said the attack is being investigated.

Located near Guatemala's Caribbean coast, Lake Izabal is popular among tourists for its jungle scenery and wildlife.

In March, protesting farmers briefly kidnapped four Belgian tourists at Lake Izabal to press for the release of a jailed activist. They were released unharmed.

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The Mayan City of Palenque

Quite a shock to me how the Mexicans have done up their part of the Mayan world, very touristy and very tacky. Outside at the entrance were tons of mexicans offering themselves as your tour guide for us$60. There were souvenir stalls right inside the mayan site trying to sell you their mayan inspired craft wares, quite sacrilegeious if you ask me. As with all their tourist sites, it only opens at 8am to 4pm, by this time it gets way too hot to walk around, the site was bare and there are hardly any trees sheltering the place. The tourists came in droves, flooding the whole place. It was the Mexican school holidays with many families coming all the way from the major big Mexican cities and noisy kids on their school trips.


Templo de las Inscripciones, the tallest building in the site.


Templo de las Inscripcions, image taken from el Palacio. It was so sweltering hot while I was here, I had to hide in the Palacio complex to recover from the heat.


Typical pyramidal structure of this mayan era. There were many similar like pyramids in the site. Top of the structure is the foliated cross design typical of Palenque.


Grupo Norte. It was like Mayan temple street aligned with stretches of temples. This image was taken from Templo del Conde where Count de Waldeck lived for a few years. This eccentric world traveller and explorer lived here for 13 years, mediating and practising his own version of the lost Altantic spirituality which eventually became the popular new age Mayanism belief. He was living here with his native mistress.

On the side note, Palenque is also the place where the Western travellers came in search of psychotropic mushrooms vendors for their psychedelic induced experiences.

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Mayan Ruins at Yaxha

Yaxha is huge, with many complexes, most still covered in mounts. It is said that this is the Las Vegas/New York or Megapolis of its time. Many came as traders or visitors. A pity I could only spend 2 hours here as I was on a guided tour. I had an informative guide who gave details of the place and a little on how the mayans lived as well as his own theories. Coming here is challenging if you did not take up a tour as there is only private transportation bring you to this remote place.


The highest point often belongs to some king or high royalty. The view here overlooks the River Yaxha. This city is one of the very few places that was built near some natural water source, perhaps because this was the trading capital of the mayan world and the river led to other parts of the region as well as Mexico. Somewhere along the river was also where the reality show, Survivor - Guatemala was shot.


The unescavated part of the woods filled with young ceibu trees.


El Mirador - the lookout platform, after a fair climb up, you could see the tree canopies as well the whole place, with a tiny peak of the highest complex in the area. The tree in silouette is a ceibu tree part family of the ceiba, one of the sacred trees in the mayan world. While up here, the howler monkeys were belching out their very intensive calls, it was as if they were serenading to me, howler monkey style.


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The woods at Uaxactun

My travel companion of this part of the adventure

Its quite lovely how the trees are growing amists the ruins keeping the place cool and protected from the blazing hot sun, and most of the ruins here are left in their mounts. These are tended by the very friendly locals who prune and upkeep the place on a daily basis.

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Infrared Images of Mayan Ruins at Uaxactun

The woods of Uaxactun


The woods


Grupo ruins, as with all Guatemalan mayan ruins, they are tastefully restored with trees growing between the ruins. Quite unlike the Mexican sites where it is mostly bare and exposed.


One of the major astrological study complexes where the stars are aligned with, I spend part of the evening starglazing at some of the complexes.


Shows the difference between the exposed buildings and the ones still in their mounts. This site possibility residential quarters with many tiny rooms.


As with all sites, there is always a complex at the highest point looking over at the whole area. A tall building possibilty the king's residence. The complex over looks the town of Uaxactun and beyond.



Most ruins exposed and escavated have long collasped The stones are left as it is and not restored.

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On why Lake Atitlan is in Infrared

click for bigger view

It takes time to get to know her, spend a few more days with her than the usual 3 days, Lake Atitlan will slowly reveals herself to you. She is truly gorgeous and magical, often labelled as one of most beautiful lakes in the world.

Turn out I was not much of an early riser while at San Marcos de laguna. Even after setting up my alarm countless of mornings, I still could not make it for the sunrise at 5am. Only at dawn does the cloud cover disppear over the volcanos. And so I resorted to my infrared filter to uncover the beauty of this beautiful lake. This was taken late in the morning about 10am. On infrared, it reveals a little more of San Pedro Volcano, and you probably can make out part of Volcano Toliman

The only morning I managed to wake up in time for sunrise, was also the morning I did not bring my camera out.

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Lake Atitlan in Infrared

The docks and the two volcanos, Toliman, San Pedro(left)
view from San Marcos de laguna
Lago de Atitlan, Guatemala
Infrared Image in monochrome


The docks and the two volcanos, Toliman, San Pedro(left)
view from San Marcos de laguna
Lago de Atitlan, Guatemala
Color Infrared Image

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http://ihavetravellust.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/the-woods-at-uaxactun/
http://ihavetravellust.wordpress.com/category/central-america-2008-apr-may/
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Tikal Ruins in Infrared

Tikal Gran Plaza in diptych
view from Acropolis Centro
Petén, Guatemala
click for bigger view


Tikal Great Plaza View from Acropolis Centro
Petén, Guatemala

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http://ihavetravellust.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/the-woods-at-uaxactun/
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Semuc Champey on Infrared

Infrared landscape images of Semuc Champey, Q'eqchi' Maya town of Lanquín, Guatemala


The pools


The woods


The private pool


The rapids of Rio Cahabón

All images taken by Hoya IR filter and Ricoh GRD

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http://ihavetravellust.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/the-woods-at-uaxactun/
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The Monster of Tulum Ruins

Tulum Ruins, Yucatan State, Mexico

Iguanas are everywhere in this Mayan site which sits on top of a cliff overlooking the Caribbean ocean. This monster poses proudly for a few seconds before being frightened by troddles of rowdy tourists on organised tour packages trying to snatch its photo.

It almost feels like a Godzilla movie set at some ancient city.

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http://ihavetravellust.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/the-woods-at-uaxactun/
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Wanna see Maximon?

Santiago, Lago de Atitlan, West Guatemala

"Wanna see Maximon?" chanted all the touts running towards me as I barely stepped out of the ferry at Santiago, Lake Atitlan.

This deity of the Mayans has become such a huge tourist attraction that every local boy and man you meet would offer to bring you to the current abode that houses Maximon. A rather worldy street punk of no more than 10 years old managed to get my business after I bargain him down to Q5 to bring me see the Deity.

After a short walk to the current resident, once again I was asked Q10 for entrance to see this rather strange looking effigy. In the same room as Maximon, there was an effgy of a dead jesus after he was crucifed, bleeding limbs and all. It seemed quite strange but not usual to mix cathoism figures with mayan deities.

There were chants going on in this tiny quarter, two men were kneeled down giving offerings to the Deity. One had a white veil drapped over him, had I not given him a second glance, I would have thought it was a lady quietly chanting away. The other one had a mobile phone stuck to his ear, constantly spitting in front of the effigy while having his phone conversation and in between that, taking huge puffs from his big fat cigar. Obviously a multi-tasker of sorts and one who does not have good hygiene, the floor in front of him was covered in huge wet puddles of his thick spit. (You can probably make out some puddle at the far left bottom corner of the photo)

Took out my camera and snapped this only shot in the room before I was once again asked for more money. To take a photo of Maximon I would have to offer him more dinero, I declined and left after lingering a little bit more.

Here's the whole story of Maximon by Wikipedia

Maximón is a deity worshipped in various forms by Maya people of several towns in the highlands of Western Guatemala. The Spanish named him as Maximon and the Mayans know him as Railaj Maam.

The origins of his cult are not very well understood by outsiders to the different Mayan religions, but Maximón is believed to be a form of the pre-Colombian Maya god Mam, blended with influences from Catholicism. Maximón may also be called San Simón. Originally, he was believed to be a Catholic priest who had looked after aboriginals during early 1600s.

Where Maximón is venerated, he is represented by an effigy which resides in a different house each year, being moved in a procession during Holy Week. During the rest of the year, devotees visit Maximón in his chosen residence, where his shrine is usually attended by two people from the representing Cofradia who keep the shrine in order and pass offerings from visitors to the effigy. Worshippers offer money, spirits and cigars or cigarettes to gain his favour in exchange for good health, good crops, and marriage counseling, amongst other favours. The effigy invariably has a lit cigarette or cigar in its mouth, and in some places, it will have a hole in its mouth to allow the attendants to give it spirits to drink.

Maximón is generally dressed in European 18th century style, although with many local variations. In Santiago Atitlán he is adorned with many colourful garlands, while in Zunil (where he is known as San Simón) he has a much more intimidating style, with his face obscured by dark sunglasses and a bandana.

The worship of Maximón treats him not so much as a benevolent deity as a bit of a bully whom it's wise to keep on the right side of. He is also known to be a link between Xibalbá The Underworld and Bitol Corazón del Cielo. His expensive tastes in alcohol and cigarettes indicate that he is a very human character, very different from the ascetic ideals of Christian sainthood. Devotees believe that prayers for revenge, or success at the expense of others, are likely to be granted by Maximón.


Paper cutting decorations adorned the house which Maximon currently resides.

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You are in the territory of the Zapatista

As seen on the way to the Miso-Ha Falls in the state of Chiapas, Mexico.

"You are in the territory of the Zapatista,

Strictly prohibit the dealing of arms, consumption of drugs and alcohol, illegal sale of wood. No destruction of nature.

Zapata lives and fights on.

Here it commands the town of Gobierno obedience".

The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, EZLN) is an armed revolutionary group based in Chiapas, one of the poorest states of Mexico. According to the Lonely Planet Central America guide, they are the cult heroes of Chiapas. In Chiapas where more than one in four people are Maya, the Zapatista claims to fight for their indigenous rights.

The group takes its name from Emiliano Zapata, the anarchist commander of the Liberation Army of the South during the Mexican Revolution, whose forces were colloquially known as the Zapatistas. Somewhat muted politically these days, it was quite interesting to see this signage up where many tourists pass to visit the popular sights of Miso-Ha, Aqua Azul and Aqua Clara Falls.

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http://ihavetravellust.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/infrared-images-of-mayan-ruins-at-uaxactun/
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In this village call Uaxactun

It had been a little challenge just coming here to Uaxactun, the northern part of Petén, Guatemala and part of the Tikal National Park. You pay Q25 to enter the village via the Tikal Ruins.

There is only one public bus per day and it leaves from Santa Elena, stopping at El Remate at 3pm and Tikal at 4.30pm and arriving at the Mayan village around 6pm. One public bus out of the place at 6am in the morning. Nothing else leaves unless you are lucky to hitch a ride from a virtually non-existent private transportation. You would be stranded for at least 1 night

The 2 hour bus ride turned into a 3 hour long journey with intermittent waits for passengers and stops by the Bus attendant climbing on top of the bus with his machete, cutting up the creeping jungle all ready to engulf the only limestone paved route that links civilisation to the village. Come rainy season, this road would be flooded and transportation may not even come through.

The area around Tikal has been protected since 1990 by the Maya Biosphere Reserve. The reserve was intended to stop timber companies, farmers, and ranchers from cutting down the trees. Once you are out the protected zone, you see massive deforestation and agricultural crops growing everywhere.

Uaxactun pronounced as Wa-sha-toon was coined 8-stones by an American archaeologist back in the 1920s. This place according to the popular Mayan Archeology theory was said to have been an astrological learning place for Tikal elites. There are ruins scattered around the village and the villagers are happy to point the roads leading to them if you ask.

When you enter the village, you see a large field in the center once a air-strip constructed by the Carnegie Institution that had conducted archaeological excavations back in the 1940s. This was the place where Mayan archaeologists embark on long difficult treks into the thick jungle searching for lost ruins.

Now the village is used as a transit stop-over place for all sorts of people, poor Guatemalans on their way to Mexico and United States in search of work, rich American Game hunters sporting exotic jungle animals for fun, Mayan archeology enthusiast studying the abandoned ruins glyphs and braving 3 day treks to the remote El Mirador ruins. No one else ever visits this place, you might be lucky seeing a tourist here every few weeks. On the good side, you literally have the whole ruins to yourself.

I met a group of Guatemalans in the bus and met them again at one of the only 3 restaurants in the village. A friendly Guatemalan introduced himself, speaking with a clear mid-western American accent. After a brief conversation, he soon revealed that he was acting as a 'tour guide' to these group of Guatemalans. They were spending a night at the restaurant, making their way to the Mexico border and then onwards to the United States seeking their riches and their ideal new American life.

He was quite proud and pretty open about what he was doing, happily talking to me about what he does for a living. Being a guide for these poor people soon to be illegal workers in the United States, (should they be so lucky to make it across the borders.) He worked near Chicago, spending 4 years learning his english ; boasting he earned US$150 a day tending a ranch.

"We make sure they will have proper papers crossing the Mexico border, I have connections that will ensure safe passage for my group at this border. Without me, they will definitely be
caught by the Mexican police and extorted more money, probably jailed. Tomorrow morning they will take my truck onwards to the border, we have connections here so they will be safe. Then once across the border, they will be taken to where-ever they want to go in the States."

The group did not understand a word of english, were a quiet yet accommodating bunch, I had only managed communicating with them in my raw basic spanish. I was surprised they even allowed me to take photos of them. It was only the family working in the restaurant wary about this Asian Foreigner talking to the group.

In other parts of Guatemala the average pay was between Q500 (US$75)-1000 (US$130) a month. It was no wonder these poor workers were risking their lives for a chance to work in the United States for a better life for themselves and their families.

My heart sank for them, I wished them luck and was gestured by the owner of the restaurant into a separate room for my dinner. I do hope they make it to United States and achieve their American dream.








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http://ihavetravellust.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/wanna-see-maximon/
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http://ihavetravellust.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/semuc-champey-on-infrared/
http://ihavetravellust.wordpress.com/2008/05/11/tikal-ruins-in-infrared/
http://ihavetravellust.wordpress.com/2008/05/11/lake-atitlan-in-infrared/
http://ihavetravellust.wordpress.com/2008/05/11/on-why-lake-atitlan-is-in-infrared/
http://ihavetravellust.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/infrared-images-of-mayan-ruins-at-uaxactun/
http://ihavetravellust.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/the-woods-at-uaxactun/
http://ihavetravellust.wordpress.com/category/central-america-2008-apr-may/
http://ihavetravellust.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/the-mayan-city-of-palenque/
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