shopping in Guatemala

i recently took an afternoon trip to Guatemala to shop for household goods. it's common practice for Belizeans living in the north and west of the country to head across the border to do their shopping. when i was living in Orange Walk, my host family went to Chetumal, Mexico for the day and brought me back Raisin Bran and Crest. this time around i was looking for dishes, linens and cheap tupperware to set up house. not to mention the famous Guatemalan woven hammocks that are a staple of every Belizean household. since Belize produces almost none of its own goods, they have to import everything from abroad. which makes pretty much everything three times as expensive here as in the neighboring manufacturing powerhouses of Guatemala and Mexico. so, people make a day of it and head across the border when they need clothes, or groceries, or beer other than the national brew Belikin (you can't buy any beer in Belize that isn't brewed in country, which limits the options considerably. though for some reason there is actually a Guinness brewery here...). when you're trying to set up house for two years on the equivalent of $850 US, pots and pans and dishtowels for a third of the price start to look mighty attractive. so, i headed to Melchor, less than ten miles from my home in San Ignacio, and made it home with, among other things, a hammock to spend my copious hours of infamous Peace Corps reading time.