Postcard from Guatemala City : DREAM, TRAVEL, REFLECT
"Traveling ~ it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller."         ~Ibn Battuta
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Postcard from Guatemala City

by Patricia Thayer on 08/23/20

"No es seguro aqui.  Le esperaré," states the Guatemalan taxi driver as he drops me off in the center of Guatemala City. "This is my last day in Guatemala and I want to spend the afternoon visiting the historic sights," I reply in Spanish.  "I will be safe.  You don't need to wait for me."  He insists on returning in two hours to our drop-off spot and he does.  I want to explore the old colonial center of Guatemala City:  the Cathedral, the Palace, the Eternal Flame, and the engraved names of the "Disappeared",  those lost during Guatemala's 30-year civil war.  I am sad to find the "Eternal" Flame in front of the Palace is extinguished and the plaque nearby honoring the "Heroes of Peace" is covered with feces.  But I find the stones surrounding the Cathedral with the names of thousands of the Disappeared engraved on clean, white marble.  Why do I travel?  To honor the memories of heroes and innocents..  (July 2004)   

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Postcards
"Why do you travel?" asked a friend as I was preparing for a summer trip to Guatemala.  At the 
time, I replied, "To see the world," or some such trite response.  It is a difficult question because 
I don't have just one answer.  But the question deserves a better response so I decided to write down my reasons in the form of "postcards".  These postcards are an ongoing attempt to answer the question posed by my friend those many years ago. I hope they will encourage you to enrich 
your life through more travel experiences and find your own answers to this question.  
Dream ~ Travel ~ Reflect