Tuesday, October 30

Guatemalan Adventure - Part 1

By Chris Hallman
Woodward Camp

Do you want to do a show in Guatemala?

When I heard the question, I could hardly jump fast enough at the chance. All my life I've wanted to travel, a desire fueled largely by the stories that I've read in BMX magazines. Pros always list travel as a big perk, to the point that after a while it seems that travel is a birthright of sorts for BMXers. Well, after nearly twenty years on a bike I can now be counted among the fortunate. It's not that I haven't traveled, and my bike has always been the reason for my travels, but I've never had a trip completely paid for by my bicycle. Besides, Davenport, IA and Fort Wayne, IN , are not the exotic locations you dream about as a young lad glued to the pages of a BMX magazine.

nice view...

When I agreed to go I didn't even know where Guatemala was, which in a way made it all the better. I knew it was somewhere in Central America, but nothing more. A quick trip on the Internet and I was well versed with facts about Guatemala. Turns out it's directly south of Mexico and also borders Belize (never heard of it), Honduras, and El Salvador. While Honduras conjures up images of Cigars, El Salvador accesses TV images of guerrilla warfare. On the bright side I also discovered that the country is home to some 26 or so volcanoes, a plethora of caves, and gets rocked by earthquakes (los terremotos) on a semi-regular basis. Sounds like just the adventure I've been waiting for.

Armed with this trivial information and a spattering of high school Spanish I boarded the plane and set off for Guatemala. After a routine flight from State College to Washington D.C. I boarded another plane headed for El Salvador and experienced my first twinge of culture shock. As I squeezed down the aisle through a sea of ruddy faces and big brown eyes, I realized that I was the only white guy on the plane. Instructions were now given in Spanish first and English second. For the first time in my life I was the minority, and I realized that the world no longer catered to me.

Wild dogs in the street can be a problem.

I didn't see much of El Salvador other than the airport, which was like any other airport, but from there things got interesting in a hurry. Shortly after take off en route to Guatemala City we flew directly over a smoldering volcano. I was happy as a boy chasing pigeons to have the window seat that day I tell you. I stared out the window for the entire flight and dreamed of exploring the country below. I grew even more excited as we circled Guatemala City from the air. The city is surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, and the land is scarred by deep green ravines which cut the city into pieces. As we grew closer the poverty became evident. Massive shanty towns with garbage spilling into the great ravines. It's a wild looking country, a bit chaotic, but full of life.

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Related Photos:
Guatemala Living Gallery
Getting Started wtih BMX Photography