Champerico
By Paul Lyons
The Pacific Coast of Guatemala is not a tourist destination. The unrelenting heat, generally squalid conditions and poor surf do not attract people from outside of Guatemala. It is hard to imagine this. The water is warm. The people are friendly and the coast, being so close to places like Costa Rica, El Salvador and Mexico, must be equally appealing. But it is not a mistake. While going to the beach is always fun, the Pacific Coast in Guatemala, especially if you are into surfing, is not the place.
We spent three days in Champerico the weekend before the big week of Semana Santa – early April. The trip from Xela to the coast is perhaps more interesting than the coast. Dropping down from the highlands along a windy road with many detours because of road closures, one experiences many changes in vegetation and climate. Along this route the mountains are so steep there are few inhabitants and little agriculture – throughout Guatemala people farm lands that are extremely steep. Eventually one comes down to a plateau that stretches to the Pacific Coast. The driving gets easier, the temperature rises and the vegetation becomes more tropical.
After going through numerous small towns, with their many open air taxi cabs that look like golf carts, and driving down a straight stretch of highway with large agricultural farms and strange Brahma cows grazing, we arrived in Champerico around noon.
A guy riding a bicycle along side our taxi picked us out immediately as tourists. He was riding while carry some supplies in one hand and lead us to the beach. The signs were few and it was not obvious where the beach was, so we were glad he wanted to assist us. As we came upon the beach, our escort took us to his restaurant, which of course was his motivation all along.
All of the restaurants along the beach are basically the same, serving fish, chicken and shrimp fried up to a nice greasy consistency that taste great while looking out at the ocean and sipping on a cold cerveza Gallo. Because it was Semana Santa, the prices were not as low as one would have expected, but it was all quite tasty. During our first lunch we were treated to a performance by the Gallo Girls. We were not sure that the Gallo Girls was their actual name but it seemed to make sense and stuck throughout our stay. Gallo is the major beer company in Guatemala, and to keep their market share they spend a lot of energy promoting the product. The familiar rooster logo is painted on the side of stores and there are endless banners at every event. The Gallo Girls were simply an extension of this effort. The entourage consisted of a sound system, an emcee who looked like he partook of about ten too many free servings of Gallo cerveza the night before and of course the Gallo Girls, who’s job it was to dance in their bathing suits to the latest Latin hits. The emcee would banter about this and that and pick out unsuspecting males in the audience and try to get them to dance with the Gallo Girls. Meanwhile, at the next table was a large family where all the women were dressed in traditional Mayan garb - all in all, a bizarre juxtaposition of cultures. As the Gallo Girls show went on a few sun-drenched, guys got coerced into dancing on stage and a crowd gathered around the restaurant. To be perfectly honest, I was not sure what the attraction of the whole thing was. The music was really awful, the emcee had nothing on Bob Barker and the Gallo Girls, while one seemed to have studied with some master from Western Africa, were a bit self conscious about the whole thing. But it was definitely a spectacle for when the show was over the whole restaurant and nearby onlookers cleared out like cockroaches in a Harlem apartment when you turn the lights on.
The following few days were spent, body surfing in the warm surf, eating more fried fish and surprisingly decent pizza and hoping for the surf to improve. The bottom of the beach at Champerico is just too steep. When the swell is larger than 5 feet it simply closes out. The currents are also extremely strong and I was surprised that during our stay that nobody drowned. During the nights we went to the fair that was just recently constructed and experienced the roller coasters, Ferris wheels and other rides. The fair was just beginning, which was lucky for us, as later in the week it was predicted the place would be packed.
After a few days we were all completely baked and burned and ready for a cooler climate. We sent for our taxi-driving friend, Lionel and we headed back on a clear morning.
Lionel suggested we stop by Fuentes Georgina, which is a natural hot springs in the mountains on the road back. We agreed and were happy that this became part of the trip. Fuentes Georgina is an awesome spot with nice pools, cabins you can rent and a decent restaurant. The road to it is also a pleasure as the irrigated farming features many crops that we had not seen so far in our stay in Guatemala. After soaking in the hot pools for about an hour and a half and eating lunch at the restaurant we made our way back.
One of the last interesting things on this trip was driving through Zunil, a town about 20 km south of Xela. Zunil is on a steep hill and seemingly an old town. The roads are all of stone and very narrow. The Catholic Church bells were ringing and all of the people were in indigenous Mayan clothes. If one were looking for a very tradional city that was not inundated with tourist, Zunil would be an excellent choice.
As we returned to San Marcos, we realized that the Highlands are really the place to spend your time in Guatemala.
Gallery:
Beach at Chamerico, were the currents are strong the the surf marginal
Pier at Champerico
On the road in Retalhuleu
Andy, Kai and Lucia at Fuentes Georginas
|
Add Comments +
RECENT COMMENTS:
|
 |
|
RECENT ESSAYS:
By Paul Lyons
April - 2006
Shopping in San Pedro
4/15/2006 10:07:38 AM
The Rooster
4/17/2006 3:56:27 PM
Agua Tibia
4/24/2006 8:45:36 AM
Climbing Tajumulco
4/26/2006 5:18:30 PM
» Champerico
4/27/2006 9:54:56 AM
May - 2006
Leonel Zolorsano Wins
Taxi Driver of the Year Award
5/12/2006 11:27:10 AM
Remembering Tikal
5/15/2006 9:40:27 AM
Pelican Café Spanish Institute
5/24/2006 9:43:50 PM
June - 2006
If You Need Me, I’m at the Shop
6/1/2006 8:45:09 AM
Finca Niagra #57
6/12/2006 6:45:53 AM
World Cup Report – Part 1
6/14/2006 7:36:14 AM
How My Son Was
Converted to Catholicism
6/15/2006 6:11:52 PM
The Rainy Season
6/16/2006 8:42:20 AM
World Cup Report – Part 2
6/20/2006 11:46:47 AM
July - 2006
The Hungry Cyclist
7/3/2006 9:47:58 AM
World Cup Report – Part 3
7/10/2006 8:22:28 AM
Tikal Revisited
7/10/2006 7:10:35 PM
Great-tailed Grackle
7/13/2006 8:38:51 AM
Only the Essentials
7/28/2006 12:21:08 PM
August - 2006
Antigua Café – Not in Antigua
8/3/2006 8:13:50 AM
La Castalia
8/3/2006 9:12:05 AM
The Virgin Guadalupe and I
8/11/2006 9:13:38 AM
Dogs in Guatemala
8/28/2006 10:48:04 AM
Surfing El Paredon
8/30/2006 8:54:47 PM
September - 2006
Intervida
9/7/2006 4:56:30 AM
Bookish
9/14/2006 6:31:45 AM
Reflections on Guatemalan Independence
9/18/2006 7:29:46 PM
October - 2006
The Black Cat – Antigua
10/11/2006 10:30:01 PM
Shoe Shine – Dos Quetzales
10/12/2006 10:05:32 AM
La Democracia
10/14/2006 12:09:59 PM
The Sporting Scene
10/20/2006 6:52:33 AM
November - 2006
A Day in Comitancillo
11/8/2006 1:47:39 PM
Lake Atitlan
11/21/2006 7:27:02 AM
Road Work
11/22/2006 6:45:19 AM
The Chicken Lady
11/23/2006 6:06:32 AM
Moses at the Supermarq
11/28/2006 7:08:30 PM
December - 2006
Centro Recreativo Nuevo San Rafael
12/2/2006 10:24:46 AM
Climbing Tajumulco – Part 2
12/3/2006 9:56:17 AM
The Music Police
12/5/2006 7:01:57 AM
Ropa Americana
12/24/2006 8:37:54 AM
Climbing Tajumulco – Part 3
12/24/2006 8:39:21 AM
January - 2007
Semuc Champey
1/3/2007 3:09:16 PM
Leaving Guatemala
1/3/2007 3:09:51 PM
|
ABOUT THE PELICAN CAFE |
PRIVACY POLICY |
PASSWORD HELP |
LOG OUT
