Twenty-Nine Votes!

I sit here in Panajachel amazed by the diversity of the surroundings with indigenous peoples, hippies, voracious tourists, tourism leader extradonaires and beautiful wonders of the planet.


Banana tree

I remember seeing one of these in the Botanical Gardens in DC. The flowers are such a marvel you can't believe they are real. Even more amazing are the passion flower, which I just learned are where passion fruit, or grenadillas are grown on the same plant.


The Passion Flowers from the Washington DC Botanical Gardens

The first time I tried one was during the elections in Jutiapa. Fernando, the older man who invited me into his house with his family for breakfast bought some at one of the tables a few days after entering Guatemala for the first time. Everyone had mentioned, do not eat the fruit, etc. Well, I ate the fruit and it was amazing. You have to puncture the outside and suck out the mucusy seeds. It sounds not so nice but it tastes lovely and quite honestly it was better than feasting on crackers and cookies all day.

Seriously. Quezada was the most rural place I had ever been with regards to services. Their extent of restaurants was perhaps these side cafes that most of which were part of people's houses. Hotels were non-existent so we stayed in Jutiapa. All there was to eat were hamburguesas, which there means hamburger buns as well as hamburgers. As I am a vegetarian, I think I had a Kraft cheese slice sandwich on bread and many canned fruit drinks. There also wasn't a flushing toilet, not judging just stating as a fact. Now that we have established there were few places for anything service wise in Quezada, upon meeting Fernando and announcing myself to be an international observer, the good man invited me into his house for the best breakfast I had in Guatemala. I had strong coffee with Cardamom, scrambled eggs, black beans with cheese and sour cream and toast. So simple, but perfect as it was made with love from a family that invited me in despite just having met me. I remember them saying that if the party GANA, Oscar Berger's coalition force (who is the current and new President) lost, there would be nothing left for them.

It is amazing how an election can change one's world so entirely. I still remember Fernando's son saying that. As it turns out the local mayor, who was corrupt, robbing the city, so says the opposition, and of Partido Patriota, PP, one of the parties in the coalition of GANA, did indeed not have his protege elected.

On that, I stop to think of Fernando's son and the effect of 29 votes. Granted that the town was noticeably poor. What has happened to his border post position. He was in the Civil Guard on the El Salvadorian border. Apparently if Corazon, the party that did win, were to take control, there would be no more jobs, well at least for him.

I have yet to recount the amazing counting of the votes and how it came to be that 29 people could make such a difference in their community. For the time being I will just say that it is a story I will never forget. To Be Continued.