I recently returned from an adventure in Guatemala. I spent 12 days relaxing and enjoying the culture of the Mayan People. The interesting piece is that often my girlfriend and I were the tourist attraction because we were the visual minority in many of the towns. It is quite an interesting experience when you are not used to being in the minority. In one town, my girlfriend and I were the only 'white' people for more than 24 hours. It actually felt that maybe we were in a 'Twilight Zone' episode and that were transported here by mistake where the Mayan Race was so predominant. Great learning experience!
Normally when I vacation, I try to see as much as possible because I know that there is little chance of me returning to country - since there are so many countries I want to visit before I die. This time, however, I found that although my girlfriend who was travelling with me wanted to go on a trek with a heavy backpack climbing up a volcano to freezing weather, I chose to return to lake Attitlan where I spend my days at an outdoor cafe, with the lake lapping at the shore, my coffee and breakfast brought to me at my table, while I sat under a grass hut enjoying the warmth of the sun and read my book and diarized. I came back to Toronto feeling re-energized and at peace.
The biggest challenge we had in Guatemala is trying not to get 'ripped off'. Although I am lucky and have fairly dark skin, my girlfriend is as white as can be and we automatically got identified as 'gringos' who can afford to pay sometimes 5 times the price of what the locals pay.
At one point we took a boat across the lake. Normally, we had paid 20 quetzales. This time, we had missed the boat and after much negotiation, the head honcho agreed to take us across privately for 30 quetzales each. Knowin that this would save us an hour wait, we decided to go. As we pulled away from the dock, the boat returned to the dock and picked up 8 more people. When I aksed the local how much he was paying, he said it's 6 quetzales - 80% less than what they were charging us.
When we got to our destination, I argued with the head honcho for over 10 minutes. He insisted that we pay our agreed upon 30 each and when I said that the locals were paying 6 he insisted that they paid 20. I called one of the locals to back up what I said and the navigator tried to get the local to pay the extra that we were supposed to pay. After much haggling, he took 10 quetzales each but neither of us were happy. I felt I needed to make a point after knowingly being cheated over and over while in the country.
The truth is that the difference between what he wanted and what I paid was only $3.50. Was it really worth it? In retrospect maybe not, however, as we walked away, one of the workers on the boat yelled at my girlfriend 'What's wrong with you, you gringo's can afford to pay for our gasoline!'
Alas, that is often the reality of traveling in third world countries and the perception of the locals of what people in first world countries can afford. The truth is that we can afford it, and we should be willing to pay.
The point is that I should be 'choosing' to pay rather than being tricked into paying. Funnily enough, that was the highlight of the trip and one of my 'fondest' memories.
The biggest challenge we had in Guatemala is trying not to get 'ripped off'. Although I am lucky and have fairly dark skin, my girlfriend is as white as can be and we automatically got identified as 'gringos' who can afford to pay sometimes 5 times the price of what the locals pay.
At one point we took a boat across the lake. Normally, we had paid 20 quetzales. This time, we had missed the boat and after much negotiation, the head honcho agreed to take us across privately for 30 quetzales each. Knowin that this would save us an hour wait, we decided to go. As we pulled away from the dock, the boat returned to the dock and picked up 8 more people. When I aksed the local how much he was paying, he said it's 6 quetzales - 80% less than what they were charging us.
When we got to our destination, I argued with the head honcho for over 10 minutes. He insisted that we pay our agreed upon 30 each and when I said that the locals were paying 6 he insisted that they paid 20. I called one of the locals to back up what I said and the navigator tried to get the local to pay the extra that we were supposed to pay. After much haggling, he took 10 quetzales each but neither of us were happy. I felt I needed to make a point after knowingly being cheated over and over while in the country.
The truth is that the difference between what he wanted and what I paid was only $3.50. Was it really worth it? In retrospect maybe not, however, as we walked away, one of the workers on the boat yelled at my girlfriend 'What's wrong with you, you gringo's can afford to pay for our gasoline!'
Alas, that is often the reality of traveling in third world countries and the perception of the locals of what people in first world countries can afford. The truth is that we can afford it, and we should be willing to pay.
The point is that I should be 'choosing' to pay rather than being tricked into paying. Funnily enough, that was the highlight of the trip and one of my 'fondest' memories.
