DoctorFeelgood
January 9th, 2005, 09:29 PM
... Oh... and in followup to my "Ship of Fools" thread...
The absolute worst thing that I encountered was the behavior of a youngish (late 30's?) couple from what sounded like NJ (perhaps Long Island) who were on our tour of the Mayan ruins in Quirigua, Guatemala. Quirigua is a UNESCO World Heritage Site occupied between 200 and 1000 AD.
The couple became suspicious to me because they were carrying a black bag that looked more and more cumbersome as the walking tour went on. I became curious so I followed them as they lagged behind the group and lurked near ruins. I then observed them picking up stones that made up the ancient ruins and sneaking them into their bag. These weren't pebbles, either... they were parts of the ruins that were bigger than my fist.
Of course, I notified the tour guide, who was so flabbergasted he almost didn't believe me until I rewound my video camera to show him the footage of the couple placing a rock in their bag.
The husband then came around the corner with another rock in his hand and the tour guide asked him what he was doing with it. The wife said "I'm going to take it home". The tour guide then asked them very politely to put the rock back, and the husband threw the rock against the ruins. (Of course he kept the remaining rocks hidden in his bag.)
Fortunately, the tour guide notified the park rangers who then searched and confiscated the remaining rocks as the couple was about to board the bus.
Even though I had nothing to do with this couple's sacriledge, I was incredibly embarrassed to be even remotely associated with them (same tour, same ship, same nationality). Who could possibly be so disrespectful?
The absolute worst thing that I encountered was the behavior of a youngish (late 30's?) couple from what sounded like NJ (perhaps Long Island) who were on our tour of the Mayan ruins in Quirigua, Guatemala. Quirigua is a UNESCO World Heritage Site occupied between 200 and 1000 AD.
The couple became suspicious to me because they were carrying a black bag that looked more and more cumbersome as the walking tour went on. I became curious so I followed them as they lagged behind the group and lurked near ruins. I then observed them picking up stones that made up the ancient ruins and sneaking them into their bag. These weren't pebbles, either... they were parts of the ruins that were bigger than my fist.
Of course, I notified the tour guide, who was so flabbergasted he almost didn't believe me until I rewound my video camera to show him the footage of the couple placing a rock in their bag.
The husband then came around the corner with another rock in his hand and the tour guide asked him what he was doing with it. The wife said "I'm going to take it home". The tour guide then asked them very politely to put the rock back, and the husband threw the rock against the ruins. (Of course he kept the remaining rocks hidden in his bag.)
Fortunately, the tour guide notified the park rangers who then searched and confiscated the remaining rocks as the couple was about to board the bus.
Even though I had nothing to do with this couple's sacriledge, I was incredibly embarrassed to be even remotely associated with them (same tour, same ship, same nationality). Who could possibly be so disrespectful?