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Guatemala 2000
A photo journal by David Booth
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Day 6 Part 1 - Driving to Nuevo Mexico, a village of returned refugees

Friday, March 3, 2000

On day 6 we drove out into the countryside to Nuevo Mexico, a village of returned refugees located about 2.5 hours West of Guatemala City, viewing more local sights along the way.

Field (1204.00 Kb) Some of the scenery along the way to Nuevo Mexico.

Bus belching black smoke (972.68 Kb) Black smoke belches from a bus in front of us.   The buses routinely have their pollution controls removed in order to save money on fuel. [Photo by Joanne.]

Security guard with shotgun (201.08 Kb) A security guard stands with his shotgun while guarding a gas station where we stopped on our way to Nuevo Mexico. This sight was common.

Don at a cafe (772.15 Kb) My dad has some refreshment at a cafe next to the gas station.

Cafe kitchen (1085.18 Kb) The kitchen at the cafe.

Street scene (1078.54 Kb) We stopped to arrange a police escort for the last portion of our drive to Nuevo Mexico, because armed robberies had been occurring along our route in the remote areas.  As a van full of tourists, we would have been prime targets.  The police/military barracks are visible in the center in the distance -- the fancy white building. [Photo by Joanne.]

Woman carrying goods on her head (1214.24 Kb) A local woman carrying goods on her head. [Photo by Joanne.]

Close-up (137.92 Kb) Close-up.   To help balance her basket, she has coiled a piece of rolled-up cloth into a donut shape and placed it on her head -- a common technique.   [Photo by Joanne.]

Police escort (1095.30 Kb) We head out of town behind our police escort.   The white lines on the left and right sides of the photo are cracks in the windshield of the van.   [Photo by Joanne.]

Police escort (178.34 Kb) As the road got rougher, our police escort changed to a 4-wheel drive truck, which was better able to navigate the washed out dirt roads.  This is the view out the back of our van.

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All text and photos by David Booth unless otherwise indicated.
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