{"id":105,"date":"2009-05-25T04:49:18","date_gmt":"2009-05-25T04:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sentradiaries.com\/blog\/?p=105"},"modified":"2014-05-20T04:49:35","modified_gmt":"2014-05-20T04:49:35","slug":"149490","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sentradiaries.com\/blog\/149490\/","title":{"rendered":"149490"},"content":{"rendered":"

writing from san pedro, a small town off lake atitlan. it’s harder to get to than panajachel…but apparently much calmer and less touristy (note: all the lake towns seem to survive off tourism).
\npondering guatemala so far, i’m reminded of bruno’s (sacha baron cohen) interview of a fashion designer…do you believe in consistency?…no. the country seems to be made up of opposites:
\n-most of the roads are great…BUT they periodically will have huge rocks in the middle.
\n-most people don’t own cars…BUT i always seem to be stuck behind a truck and the roads always smell like vehicle exhaust (there are no smog checks here….i’ll post another picture later)
\n-from the road, the houses look simple and with small farms…BUT a large percentage of the population is landless (or so i hear)
\n-the woman at the hotel at antigua told me business is fine (even after i had negotiated the room price)…BUT the mechanic who fixed my exhaust says that business is way down because of the economy (the choice is simple: bread or a quiet car).
\n-the countryside is beautiful…BUT the cities seem to be crazy, and polluted with smog and noise.
\n-every morning is beautiful…BUT every afternoon thus far, it has rained.
\n-the country seems to be poorer than Mexico…BUT most items are equal to or more expensive (such as gas & some food).<\/p>\n\n\t\t