El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-01-10
From Havana to Guatemala, Delight
Central American Scenery Is Superb

, tune continued because tie sea was
beautifully calm. with hardly ripple
90 mar its smooth surface
We arrived at Puerto Barrios on
Saturday morning. October Is Bar
rios is the main seaport on the easy
ern coast Of Guatemala--a tiny little
village with one hopeless hotel anu
very Door accommodatious. but u Is
beautifully situ1reo. ana u lllLle
-frre and money were spent on IT, u
could be made into very attractive
port town
travelling by Train
Naturally. with this bad beginning,
nv first impression or Central Amer
T lea was not very eucoura gtng. but the
ia adaEe. Bad beginnings usually
have good sndings." has, IN this IN
stance. worked out beautifully, be-
cause ] have never seen such Won
derfui country
After spending a dag and night n
Puerto Barrics. We boarded the early
morning train for Guatemala city.
which IS 1s6 miles from the coast
/ Travelling on the Central American
railroads is done IA practically the
same manner as in the states TIE
second class passengers ride IN the
poorly fitted chair cars. while the
Pullman or 'Especial- cars are FOR
the use Of the first class passengers
or anyone who desires 20 pay zee
Of 50 per cent increase on the origi-
nal fare These ears are very COM
Portable. being fitted with easy
wicker chairs and q few tables here
and there.
1t was raining when We lon Bar
rios. and so the trip. which otherwise
would have been hot and extremely
dusty. was delightfully."- cool and
, fresh. First. we passed through
dense tropical jungles, where cocoa
nut palms and banana trees grow in
great profusion; then we gradually
left this country for the sof1y roll
ing hills aad peaceful valleys, where i,sI
saw many strange and eXquiSi site
flowers and trees Of every variety
under the sun.
Beautiful scenery.
During the entire trip. we followed
the course Of g beautiful winding
river which narrowed down from q
broad and swiftly flowing current 10
nothing more than a shining silver
thread.
There was no diner on the train.
3 but a very delicious luncheon was
served 90 US at one OF the wayside
stations. soon we were on our way
again, climbing slowly up into the
high. beautiful mountains. and an
elevation OF 5000 feet T. appears that
the natives have evidently learned
TO utilize every available piece OF
land in raising their crops, because
even the sides Of the steep mount" ~
are covered. Naturally this little
scheme couldn't be tried on every
ones piano" because in this country
. the soil is wonderfully rich and FER
tile
At the stations.
During the course Of the DAY. we
PASSED through many little towns
and villages. stopping for two or three
minutes at each place Even before
the train came 20 a halt. the native
Indian girls and women. In crude.
though picturesque costumes. some
I conspicuously clean. others conspic-
uously dirty. would come thronging
around the passengers. selling cakes
and fruits and sweets from huge bas-
kets on the tops OF their heads Some
of the food is delicious, while the
o rest Is strictly native and does not
appeal 20 the eye COR palate either,
for that matter) OF the American
tourists.
I Just before reaching Guatemala we