Iguanamala

Monday, January 27, 2025

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

No iguanas were spotted in PV, but the very first thing we saw when we disembarked in Guatemala, before even reaching the end of the gangplank, was an iguana - or two or three. They are hideous and majestic at the same time, if that’s possible. Be careful where you step.

We did not see any quetzals here in Puerto Quetzal. They were the sacred bird of the Mayas and Aztecs. I thought they were extinct, but apparently they are still here, somewhere. They have incredibly long tails.

Quetzal photo from National Geographic

“Quetzal” is also the name of the currency in Guatemala, so the name of the port is somewhat ambiguous. 1 GTQ = about 13 cents US.

I’m not sure you can find Puerto Quetzal on a map. It might be another one of those made-up ports. It’s a small green oasis in the middle of a very large, very industrial port on the Pacific coast of Guatemala. Dozens of cargo ships are anchored nearby, and there are lots of industrial-looking structures and enormous mounds of a black substance, probably coal.

Guatemala has 37 volcanoes. Three of them are constantly active. One erupts once an hour. It was possible to see seven volcanoes from our balcony onboard our ship, before the clouds moved in.

Two volcanoes and one of the large mounds of coal being imported into Guatemala

There is a “town” 3 km away. You have to go there in a taxi because you are not permitted to walk through the industrial port, and if you did, you would then need to walk on the Pan-American Highway to get to the town, which is not a tourist mecca. We did not take any of the tours offered by the ship because they all involved long bus rides - 3 to 6 hours round trip. We have seen a lot of Colonial Central America before. Honestly, it is not that interesting and not that well maintained and there is black mold growing on it. 

Maybe if I contributed more tourist dollars to their economy, historic sites would be better maintained. Maybe not. There is a lot of poverty here, and I don’t think the economy here functions the way economies work in wealthier countries. There are so many Mayan and Colonial sites that need to be maintained, and the government just doesn’t have the money or the capacity to take care of them. For now, I think I will continue to avoid the bus tours and when I can I will buy a few things in the markets and leave a little money for the weavers and the musicians.

We have been on many wildlife tours in Central America, too, and for the most part, you see very little and you hear a lot of BS from the guides. The environment and the culture here are very similar to that of southern Mexico and Nicaragua. Guatemala seems poorer than Mexico. They used to receive extremely few visits from cruise ships. I am glad our ship is stopping here and bringing some money into their economy.

One way money gets into the economy of Guatemala is from the sale of hand-made goods at craft markets. The Guatemalans excel at weaving and embroidery. There were many colorful items on sale in the little market at the port. There was also a woman demonstrating weaving.

We enjoyed the marimba band that played on a large instrument that several people played on together. Here is a 16-second video to give you a taste.

And, speaking of taste, how about some fresh coconut?

I had a couple of geocaching activities to do. They were conveniently located inside the port area and were very easy. This is the cache that I “found” inside the visitor’s center.

Cute cache plus pen and eyeglass holder

When we left the port to return to the ship, we had to go through “security.” The security was operated by local officials. I’m not sure what the point of it was. We had to put our purses, bags, backpacks, etc., on a card table and then walk through a metal detector. Then we simply retrieved our bags. They never screened our bags or looked inside them. We did not have to show IDs. It was just silly.

Back on the ship we went through a proper security check, and then had a nice evening. Once again, the captain made an announcement about gastrointestinal illness and hand-washing, and so forth. It appears that we are on the verge of becoming a “plague ship.” I wish they would tell us the number of new cases every day. Come on, give us real numbers to obsess about.

Today’s fabric is Guatemalan weaving. The producers of genuine handmade woven goods generally use cotton thread and weave without following a written pattern.