Comments on: Livingston: The Other Side of Guatemala

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 10:27:53 +0000

In reply to Yumi. Livingston is a really unique and special place. We're glad our article brought back good memories and helped in sharing some stories from your earlier visit there.

By: Yumi

Yumi — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 15:43:18 +0000

This is a great writeup with history, respect for local culture, and real foodie experience. Thank you. Specifically, it helped me relay to someone about the music there. I visited Livingston in 2009 as well so I have forgotten a bit of the details.

By: Ric Reed

Ric Reed — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 22:40:24 +0000

In reply to Audrey Scott. Funny enough, I think I met Polo who told us all about how he knew Jerry Garcia back when I visited Livingston in 2016. I was just listening to a Grateful Dead song and thought of him. Pretty fun story, even it if it probably is apocryphal. Great blog, makes me want to visit this town again!

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 12:28:44 +0000

In reply to Leo Taylor. Leo, thanks for sharing your experiences in Livingston. Although I don't remember the name exactly, your description of Polo does sound right. Like you said, I'm not entirely sure that everything we were told was 100% true, but I imagine some parts were and it makes for a good story :)

By: Leo Taylor

Leo Taylor — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 21:45:36 +0000

The guy who told you the Jerry Garcia stories must have been Polo. Does that name sound familiar? He told me the same stories in 2009, when I passed through Livingston on a bicycle tour of Central America. He certainly was a likeable guy, and whether or not his stories were true, I enjoyed hearing them. One of the things he told me was that he was a musician himself and that Garcia had invited him to tour with him in California once. I asked him which towns he performed in, thinking this would trip him up if the story wasn’t true. He named a few smallish towns (Oxnard and Lompoc, to name a couple) that I didn’t think most local Guatemalans would have heard of, so that peaked my interest. I still have no idea if what he said was true, but it was an enjoyable moment in time for me anyway. That’s the great thing about traveling – moments like that live in my memory forever, whereas days, weeks and months all blur together at home.

By: Bill M

Bill M — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:00:54 +0000

FYI: the actual name of the town referred to as Rio Dulce is Fronteras.

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:43:28 +0000

@Amanda and Mega: Glad you enjoyed the article! We certainly enjoyed our time at Rasta Mesa with you and the other musicians. Good luck with all the great plans to expand your business and get more involved with the community!

By: Amanda and Mega

Amanda and Mega — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:28:24 +0000

Hey you guys,
Thanks for the nice article about livingston and Rasta Mesa. We hope you enjoyed your time, and it was fun to see the video. Take care, Amanda and Mega

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:04:55 +0000

The language is not a pidgin English it is a full language called Garifuna. It is an Arawak language which was spoken by the Carribean Indians who first lived in Cuba, St. Vincent, and the rest of the area. In fact the garifuna people are as much if not more an indigenous people as they are African.

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 22:45:18 +0000

@Mike: Thanks for clarifying. The language spoken amongst the Garifuna is their own language that is an Arawak language. The language spoken with tourists like us is a sort of pidgen English. We’ve made the clarification above.