I’ll Meet You at the Feet of the Volcano – travelling to Guatemala

Posted: March 11th, 2010 | Author: rominska | Filed under: General, digital wondering | Tags: Antigua, Chiapas, Guatemala, kill all hippies, Mexico, primal screm, volcano | No Comments »

My brave, free-spirited, restless friend Gardi is all over the place. Literally. Born in Mexico, she lived in Chicago, Toronto, Paris, Sao-Paulo, Ramallah, (and possibly some other cities which aren’t listed here) and now she’s in Guatemala.

We met in Toronto, from which we both escaped in the midst of our graduate studies – but we keep the habit of meeting every once in a while. When she lived in Paris I stayed with her in her bohemian apartment in the Bastille (and managed to lose the key and therefore had to climb in through the windows in order to let us in), when she moved to Ramalla, she was a regular guest in my apartment in Tel-Aviv. Now in our post-academic lives, she’s been moving around and has the habit of taking me to trips with her. She writes the most lively descriptions of the people she meets, the adventures she goes through and colors the scene with so much excitement and panache that i’m always tempted to book a flight and visit her. No matter where she is.
“come Romimiku come” she tells me – “come for as long as you want” – she writes. And I am booking flights, making plans, rebooking the flights and changing the plans, because Gardissima is like the wind, and all over the place.

These days Gardi is hanging in Central America – and i am so eager to see her. Getting the temporal-spatial coordinates and understanding where we’re meeting and for how long she’s planning to stay in one place could’ve driven anyone insane, but this uncertainty, I must admit, adds more excitement to the adventure.

So it all started in January. In reply to my email asking if I can come visit her in Mexico around April- I got this email:

(dance, dance, dance)

Yes MOTEK come!!!!! as long as you’d like; 2, 3 weeks whatever. I’ll scrape up and maybe I’ll go to the beach with you. And I’ll take you to Puebla. COME!!!

more soonish

muchos besos

g

The initial plan was Mexico City, Puebla (Gardi’s hometown), and head to the beaches – but then G had to move on….

Motek!!

Sorry sorry OK I’m bored here in MC and I want to go away and finish my book and it looks like the destination will be San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas for about 6 weeks; the problem is that Easter Week happens between the last week of March and the first of April which makes travel almost impossible logistically and financially and I’ll most likely go to Guatemala from San Cristóbal to see my friend francis from there. SO I PROPOSE THAT you join me either in Chiapas (before the end of march but if it is to early, the second week of april OR meet me in MC by mid april) SORRY FOR THIS MADNESS!!! and for not having concrete plans; this is what it looks like so far. It’s super cheap to fly from MC to Chiapas (about 250 dlls round trip) AND OF COURSE I’d be happy to come and meet you here in MC (and we’d stay in Miguel’s apartment) anytime around and after mid-april)

g

My response was:

Gardi bella

I have to admit that i’ve never heard about Chiapas before but San Cristóbal de las Casas looks beautiful

and i’d love to come meet you and hang out with you wherever you tell me

so the plan sounds great we just need to decide on the dates

yes – it will be easier to travel after easter – no problem with that – may even work for the best if we’ll plan to meet on the second 1/2 of April – can we meet in Chiapas and then hang out in MC?

could that work?

and how far from MC is Chiapas anyway?

i am excited!

Mexico City out – Chiapas in. I googled San Cristóbal de las Casas and loved what I saw. Started planning my trip when this email reached me:

I made it to Chiapas today San Cristobal is more charming than I remember; wayy more hippies, eco freaks, new age weirdos, yogies and zapaturistas than I exxpected: Hence the fact that I haven[t found a place to stay:I"m running away from them!!
So it's pretty much likely that I'm not going to Toronto in May[...]  SO MUCH WORK!!!!!!!!
more soon guapa i’m exahusted
xoxoxoxoox

I’m so excited you’re coming I can’t waait to see you!

g

Hippies, eco freaks, new age weirdos, yogies and zapaturistas? Sounds like a party. I got really into this trip to chiapas but apparently G can’t stand them, and couldn’t find a place to stay. and then i got this email:

hey motek!!!
I can’t stand it anymore!!!!
This place is too full with the tecnojjipis, ecotourists, zapatourists, gringos handing out glasses to the indians and doing their teeth, organic restaurants, yoga joints, fair trade joints… and not that tthe native population really benefits from all of this; it’s ridiculous; I found a place to stay but it won’t be free till next week maybe wednesday, maybe friday (!!!) SO my best friend from undergrad Francis offered me to come down and help me find a place in either antigua, guatemala city  or somewhere in the jungle (sounds SUPER GOOD)
So I might just do that… when you come I can meet you in San Cristobal (it’s a 12 hr sharut ride); Or meet you in Mexico City (i’d take a flight from Guatemala to MC it’s too far) From MC to Sancris: I left silvia’s house at 10.35, late to take an 11.25 flight i made it and by 2.30 I had a hotel and was sitting down enjoying lunch. You fly from MC to Tuxtla (1.30 mn) and then take a sharut from Tuxtla to San Cristobal (1 h)

g

So it turns out that Chiapas is filled with hippies,”handing out glasses to the indians and doing their teeth”… I guess that’s a good enough reason to move on.

and Antigua is the next stop. Jungles, Volcanoes, adventures – i am in. I love her emails, all energy and caps lock, and exclamation marks. they set my imagination on fire, though i have to admit that my travel agent is a bit exhausted…

Nevertheless – when this email reached me -i really didn’t care anymore….

“hey guapisima!!

Was thinking of you all day
got into Antigua Guatemala last night IT IS GORGEOUS… Yes Antigua is BEAUTIFUL and the places to go to as well; I’m at the very feet of one of the volcanoes (it’s ashing, like my volcano back in Puebla)… 2 others are VERY close.”

she says that the weather is heaven (4 seasons everyday: winter in the morning, night, spring between 10-12, summer 12-4, autumn 4-7) and that she’s already mapped out all the Hippy hangouts around so she knows what to avoid – it’s going to be great, I can feel it. hopefully – no women prisons will be involved…

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