Sunday, October 08, 2006
Maria the Mayan Drug Dealer
(Sorry about that amoeba post. I was still pretty sick when I wrote it and didn't censor some of the ickier bits. By the way, did I mention that the whole episode -- diagnosis, lab results and medicine -- cost me under $5? In the U.S., I imagine I would have paid over $200 out of pocket.)
But about Maria the Mayan Drug Dealer:
Maria is a Mayan woman who lives on the steep hill leading up from the docks of San Pedro. Walk up that hill and you'll see two women shouting ´´jugo de naranja!´´ at you. Between them are two double doors that will lead you to Maria. She looks no different from the other Maya women in town -- traditional woven Qu'iche skirt and shirt, children and dogs running about and, of course, a business to run.
Enter through the double doors, ask for Maria, and she'll greet you with a small sample of cocaine. Ask for the cocaine, and she'll introduce you to crack. Ask for pot, and she'll ask you what kind. A true businesswoman, this Maria. I found out about Maria from one of San Pedro's many chatty waitresses, who was shocked that Levi and I hadn't stumbled across her in our short week there. Another traveler who had been in San Pedro for three months said that crack is a growing problem among the Maya in San Pedro, especially since the main drug dealer -- that's Maria -- appears to have a deal with the police.
But about Maria the Mayan Drug Dealer:
Maria is a Mayan woman who lives on the steep hill leading up from the docks of San Pedro. Walk up that hill and you'll see two women shouting ´´jugo de naranja!´´ at you. Between them are two double doors that will lead you to Maria. She looks no different from the other Maya women in town -- traditional woven Qu'iche skirt and shirt, children and dogs running about and, of course, a business to run.
Enter through the double doors, ask for Maria, and she'll greet you with a small sample of cocaine. Ask for the cocaine, and she'll introduce you to crack. Ask for pot, and she'll ask you what kind. A true businesswoman, this Maria. I found out about Maria from one of San Pedro's many chatty waitresses, who was shocked that Levi and I hadn't stumbled across her in our short week there. Another traveler who had been in San Pedro for three months said that crack is a growing problem among the Maya in San Pedro, especially since the main drug dealer -- that's Maria -- appears to have a deal with the police.
