MERRY CHRISTMAS XELA

Christmas in Guatemala is unlike Christmas anywhere else.
It is so loud, brazen, colourful. It is extreme. It is also closer to what the real meaning of Xmas should be.

In the markets there are countless stalls that sell just fireworks. Fireworks are everywhere and going off everywhere. Then there are these long strings of fireworks that, as I child they where called "bangers." Bangers just explode with a loud noise, no colour, no display, just a loud BANG!!


The banger fireworks that I saw in Xela and elsewhere in Guatemala, are sold by the metre. Some of these resemble long coiled ammunition belts that when rolled out, they are very long. I have seen some that where at least 50 metres (160 feet) in length. When lit they go off in a barrage of continuous explosions, lasting for several minutes. They sound like automatic weapon fire. These are often laid out along a street or through a market place. 


Then at midnight before Christmas day the skies are filled with fireworks of every description and size, lighting the sky in an array of colour (and noise) like none I have ever experienced anywhere. This is not an organized event as private parties, families and individuals everywhere celebrate Xmas with fireworks. This array of lights goes on for at least an hour and a half. 



In Parque Central there is a huge Xmas tree that is assembled, decorated and then lit up at night. One Christmas all the decorations disappeared one night up to a certain level on the tree. That certain level seemed to be what an average Guatemalan could reach with their hands stretched up high.


The tree is so special that now armed guards protect that tree all day and night long. There are some people (I am told) that would harvest the tree for the decorations that ordain it. 


I love a parade. I have seen so many I have lost count as to how many I have seen. There are some pretty amazing Santa Claus parades in Canada and the USA, but none if these can equal the Santa Claus parade in Xela, Guatemala. The Santa Claus parade in Xela is different as anyone can put together a parade float and march or dance on in it, no problemo. 

So what makes Xela's Santa Clause parade unique?  

Keeping with Guatemalan tradition and way of thinking, why have just one Santa? So in Xela there is not just one Santa, no there are many Santa's in the parade. Santa's of many shapes and sizes. And we must not forget the Santa's helpers...

who also come in several versions, and so very true to what Guatemala is. 

The parade is colourful, musical, you can dance to it and it is very long. The parade winds a weaving path through the whole city for a good two hours. This means that most people no matter where they live will have an opportunity to see the parade without going too far away from their homes.



Xmas is also family. I was invited to celebrate Xmas with a Maya family. This experience was so wonderful for me. There home consisted of two houses. Out back was a closed courtyard and then beyond where two cows, a goat, horse, chickens and several dogs and cats.

It was all good because....

I was here to experience Christmas with the family in their simple home sharing just food and conversation. 

No presents were exchanged between anyone. Partly I believe because they cannot afford that and partly because to them it is not necessary. 

The main house was a typical Guatemalan home one was one large room. Here everyone lived, ate and slept. 

Across the room a long table was set up and fashioned from several tables and it sat across most of the length of the room. It was decorated with a festive and colourful paper cloth. Seats, mostly plastic ones and the kind that stack, were placed so that everyone had a place to sit at the table. 

We had brought the turkey and without that turkey Xmas would have been celebrated with only spaghetti. I think that would have been just fine as well. Then because I was the guest, it was decided that I should carve up the turkey.

This was such a special experience for me and so different from what I had become accustomed to. In Canada, for so many years, I had become accustomed to that (so called) perfect Christmas. Perfect with its over sized and over garnished Christmas tree that had too many presents underneath that sometimes would spread across the floor. A Christmas where so many people would be giving and getting too much. The glutinous commercialism state that Christmas has become in its perfect state. 

Tired of this cornucopia of too much, I had long ago rebelled. I had in fact not celebrated Christmas for a long time. 

So there I was in this perfect and very simple way, sharing with a Maya family what Christmas should be. The sharing of communication and belief in a simpler way.  It felt good.

That is when I found out that Christmas is Xela is awesome....

Merry Christmas Xela.

Guatemala and Great Travel Tips

If anyone is heading south to Guatemala... here are some travel tips for you.

I am actually back in Canada right now (I seem to travel back and forth) but busy planning my next trip south to Guatemala. There always seems to be a next trip.

This time though instead of traveling through Mexico to my second home, Quetzaltenango, I am flying straight to Guatemala City.

http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemala_City

Flights from Vancouver are very reasonable in December... And if you are prepared to fly directly around Xmas time even on Christmas day, well super cheap deals can be had as well. New Years Eve is another great time to travel... 

No one really wants to travel on those days.

One trick I found that works a lot of the time, is you choose a particular day of the week that you want to fly on, then you only do your searching (a few weeks before) on that same exact particular day. For some reason only the airline know... it is cheaper doing that. So if you want to travel on a Tuesday, then you only do your searching on a Tuesday.

Here is one of my tricks I use to find my super great travel deals. First, I hardly ever go to a travel agent anywhere ever. With the power that the internet provides any land based travel agency, is basically a thing of the past today, unless of course you trip is more complicated. Complicated in what airline you may want or if you want to avoid certain countries. Then it is far better to use a travel agent as they can search out a bigger variety of flights for you.


There are many such online travel agencies out there.
Travelocity http://www.travelocity.com or Expedia  http://expedia.com are two such companies, but there are many others equally as good such as http://www.skyscanner.com. The latter one you can search out a whole month at a  time. Here if your travel plans are not rigid well sometimes searching out a month at a time is far more practical.

I use such online travel agencies to locate airlines that are offering cheap flights on then dates and times that I want to travel on. Then when I get the information I need, I go directly to the airlines themselves and I then amazingly I sometimes can get a better deal myself. Sure it takes a little searching, but that is part of the adventure.

A little something about Guatemala... There are many people out there that have this totally wrong conception about Guatemala and that it is a dangerous place to visit. 

It survived a 36 civil war that ended in 1996. That war is over and gone with...

The entanglement of the CIA and certain US government levels and their involvements is well documented with its inaccurate misunderstanding and the fear of spreading communism in Guatemala and other central American countries. The coup in Guatemala that was transpired and was fueled by this same connection helped to fuel a war that lasted some 36 years with 200,000 people mostly the indigenous Maya people either being killed or totally disappearing. Whole villages disappeared. The memories have not ended and are not forgotten in this cruel segment of history.


Is Guatemala safe to travel to or live in? 

Yes and equivocally without question.

But there are those that wish to spread their versions of misguided truths. I have heard it time and time again. Sure yes, and if you read and believe what is written in the Tabloids (anywhere in the world) believing the journalistic filth, these bottom line publications pump out, you would never go anywhere. Then there are people that from somewhere in their imagination or from hearsay, they conjure up similar untruths without ever leaving their arm chair.

Okay so you have decided to travel (from your destination) to Guatemala, great... so here we go.... 

There are many routes to Guatemala and I usually travel from Mexico and that information for that is covered in other segments of this blog. This route is from wherever you live to Guatemala City on your preferred airline.

So you arrive and so where do you stay? Well most flights into Guatemala city will have you arriving late. It will be dark already. It gets dark at around 6:30 pm anyway, so yes it will be dark when you arrive.

There are countless hotels and hostels to stay at when you arrive in Guatemala. Most of these will have a free shuttle service right to their location. How do I find the right place to stay? 

I use basically the same method as probably you do when you search. This is just like searching for an airline.  I search out through online booking agencies such as  Hostel-world http://www.hostelworld.com or another such as Hostel Bookings http://www.hostelbookings.com and then I take the information they give me and go directly to the hotel or hostel I want to stay at and I make a direct booking myself.

Como esta tu espanol... or how is your Spanish...

You may know some Spanish or you may know very little or (horrors) none at all. Well the following two places I would recommend are Hostel los Volcanos... they speak English...  http://www.hostel_los_volcanos.com

Here you will stay in a gated community and very close to the airport. The people at Hostel los Volcanos will pick you up at the airport for free and the next day arrange for a trusted taxi to take you to the bus station.

Or if you want to be in the "live zone" then Quetzalroo would be more to your liking.
http://www.quetzalroo.com 

Hostel Quetzalroo set in the centre of the city is close to restaurants, bars and things to do. Hostel Quetzalroo is near the action. They actually pick you up at the airport for free and transport you to your bus of choice also for free.

Transportation.
Cars. There are a variety of ways of getting about (on land) in Guatemala. Renting a car is one..... But renting a car and driving a car in Guatemala is not something I would recommend anyone doing to anyone that has not driven in a Central American country before. 

Driving anything in Guatemala is far removed from driving anything you will ever experience anywhere else in the developed world. Guatemalan drivers are very aggressive and follow their own form of communication. They blow their horns a lot. Toots for warning people, toots for passing, toots for saying hello, toots for hurrying up and toots just because. It is a language all of its own. 

The rules of the road are very different as well. They do not stop at stop signs. They will pass a vehicle crossing a double line and do that driving straight at you. The rule is get out of the way.


Buses.
There are several bus companies in Guatemala. ADN, Fuento del Norte, Linea Dorada, Galgos, and Almo.

Galgos and Alamo are more like the Pullman style buses that Greyhound buses use in North America (Canada and the USA) and these come complete with non working washrooms. The washroom doors will have a padlock on them.

The buses that ADN, Fuento del Norte and Linea Dorada all have working washrooms and are styled much like the buses in Europe. The prices for travel are also higher.

Chicken Buses (camioneta) or second class buses.

Chicken Buses a term used by tourists are actually old school buses from the USA. Apparently in the states, these school buses can only be used doer a few short years as school buses in the USA so a lot end up in Guatemala.

Branded in garish loud colours with lots of bright chrome, loud Latino music blaring from them. They veer and sway and loudly careen up and over twisted mountain roads, each driver thinking he is up an coming gran prix driver.

Actually since most drivers do not own the bus there is a reason that they cram as many people in them as possible and drive so fast. The driver has to pay the owner of the bus a certain amount of cash each day the bus is driven. Above and beyond that amount, less gas and other expenses, well that is kept by the driver and his helper.

The average costs of a chicken bus ride is about one third of the cost of luxury style bus.

As I am tall I only really take chicken buses for short trips of no more than two hours. The valued and best seat on a chicken bus for me is directly behind the driver as there will be a little extra leg room there. Oh and it is expected that three people will sit on each seat in a chicken bus.  You can though for added comfort buy that extra seat in the middle.

But in saying all of this, you have never truly experienced Guatemala until you have taken at least one Chicken Bus somewhere.

Spanish Schools....
In Xela alone there are about 30 Spanish language schools. Too many to list here. 

English schools.
English is slowly becoming more common. Now it is taught in private schools to both children and also to adults in Guatemala. 

Trade schools.
There are around thirty trade schools in Xela.

Universities
In Xela alone there are ten universities.
There is this joke that the drug lords will send their kids to school in Xela because it is safer than in Guatemala city. That actually may be true.

Xela is also know as the cradle of culture because tf the many different schools there.

Drug lords
Well as the saying goes, the guns go south and the drugs go north. We cannot hide from the fact that a route exists up from Columbia and through to Mexico and then to the USA.
I have never ever personally met a drug lord, not actually want to.

Updates and you

Well here I hope to put in this blog all those things people that contact me want to know about... tips and places to see etc...

Nothing yet but I am working on it... so under construction.

And I really do enjoy all your comments... keep writing me

If anyone has something to contribute, add to or wants to know about something I know about, just write me.

hand made Guatemalan Crafts

Woven garments created with love and patience and so much time.

A back-strap loom wrapped around her back the other end to a post or tree a Maya woman can spend several weeks making their prize crafts.

Intricate jewellery moulded into form and shape, connecting fine stone with metal work. A few examples of Guatemala artistry are shown here.

Just look at that detail

Beautiful hand crafted jewellery

Intricate

Other works of art are shown here http://www.educationandmore.org
Helping to support indigenous Maya people through fair trade practices.

Getting there.. througth Mexico.

While there are many entry points into Guatemala, I have mostly chosen one that allows a gentler passage. This route is loosely called the Gringo Trail. 

This route involves experiencing part of Mexico. This gentler approach to me involves more of a connection with the people and a way to see some of the differences between Mexico and Guatemala. 

The Gringo Trail is a loosely string of popular places through central and south America. It wanders and meanders in around the Yucatan of Mexico, Belize and parts of Guatemala heading south. 

When some people say they have gone to Mexico a lot of them mean that they have stayed at resorts. Yes that is still Mexico but in reality a resort is a protected part of Mexico, a gated version. Here people stay on the resort playa (beach). Some take those small very escorted trips in air-conditioned buses that travel in over secured experiences into some minimalist market. I personally try to experience the real Mexico, ground level and with the real people. That involves stepping off that well marked trail. That involves getting away from tourist areas and into places where you are the only foreigner around. 

Mexico is a thriving country with so many facets to enjoy and experience. My route through Mexico and into Guatemala involves some of that experience. I usually fly in through Mexico City and then on a domestic flight to an international airport called Angel Albino Corzo. 

Angel Albino Corzo International Airport is situated just outside of Tuxtla Gutierrez and here stepping out of the plane, it is the first time you will experience that heat that Mexico has. It is that heavy heat one does not readily experience in Canada. Airport gantries are not air-conditioned so as the airplane door is opened this is the first experience of Mexico you will get. It hits like a hot wall of warmth up front and in your face. Not that it is unbearable as the humidity level here is not high as it is in coastal areas of Mexico.

A word of caution here.... taking pictures of any part of the airport is strictly forbidden. They can and have that ability (power) to take your camera from you. 

Take it from me.... I was personally warned!!! 
My camera stayed with me as I feigned innocence...


US dollars not used here!!!

Mexico is Mexico and they reserve the right to use their own currency only. 

Now there are exceptions, but be prepared and take some pesos with you when you travel. Make certain that the pesos you purchase at the bank or money changers at home are in pristine condition. Any bills that are torn, cut, marked or damaged in any way at all will not be accepted.

So you arrive... (yeah we landed okay) and from the arrival level you go downstairs where you will find many shuttle buses. Prior to boarding that shuttle bus you will need to purchase a bolito or ticket. They are not sold on the shuttle buses. 

I remember my first experience (a few years ago) with that shuttle bus and purchasing that bolito. As my first trip was going to be a short trip through Mexico, I had decided that I would just carry a few US dollars as they would be accepted everywhere, right? 

Wrong!! 

I was travelling with just US dollars which to my amazement were not accepted as legal tender in Mexico. They are actually not accepted in many places in Mexico.

The ticket seller wanted pesos and Mexican Pesos and nothing else. The ATM bank machine did not work. I had not taken the preparatory measure to purchase Peso's before I left Canada and so I felt at a bit of a loss as what to do. Checking over my shoulder I could see that the driver of that shuttle was getting impatient to leave. 

Luckily for me at the end of that very long counter was a car rental agency. The care rental agency told me they would exchange the US dollars I had into Peso's. I remember that it took four people and two languages to make it all work. 
They wanted to give me a fair rate of exchange and all I wanted was to find a way to purchase that ticket for the shuttle bus. To make it all happen and yes fast, por favor. 

That shuttle bus was my first adventure with Mexican drivers. 

Solid double lines it seemed, meant nothing on winding mountain roads. Drivers raced towards each other, their vehicles gliding past missing by mere centimeters. Paved shoulders of roads widening making passing spots. It all seemed to somehow work, as if some unwritten language of sense and reason was controlling everything. 

San Cristobal de la cases was originally the capital of Chiapas a state in Mexico. San Cristobal is alive with movement in many forms. Tourism is rampant. People travel to San Cristobal to learn espanol yes, but also to just be there. It is vibrant and carries its own spell. It has a funky, arty side to it. Interesting pokey little shops, bars, restaurants, hotels and hostels, tattoo parlours. There was such a relaxed feeling to the place. 

The one hostel I enjoy staying at, is owned by a Canadian Mexican couple. 

I found Le Gite del Sol http://www.legitedelsol.com like many of us do these days, online. I have returned to this hostel on several trips through Mexico and my way to Guatemala. 

San Cristobal de la Cases is a charming town and I like to stay at this hostel in San Cristobal because partly I know the route and that makes it easy for me and partly because I am treated so well there. Check it out for yourself... Le Gite del Sol. 

One of the things I like to do anywhere I visit is to check out the architecture around me and see what stands out a little or a lot. I look for interesting details.

Just walking by I found a stage theatre. Since I have had a background in theatre, I thought why not ask ask and see if I could take a look inside. I was pleasantly surprised at their hospitality and off I went to explore it.

Street dogs are everywhere south of the USA... 

They are usually well fed and love to enjoy their life just lazing about...

Ummm an interesting building for a fast food outlet

Getting there, wherever you're going to, can be fun, and an adventuresome time and yes and so very interesting.

Get off the bus and walk the streets, rub your face into the culture and experience the real Mexico.

Proyecto: Casa Para Con Personas

Homes for People

Hello my name is Gavin
Hola, mi nombre es Gavino (in Guatemala).


Back in 2010 I journeyed to Guatemala to study and to learn a language, namely Spanish. My plan was then to travel south to Nicaragua volunteering working with children. I had it all arranged. I even had a school in place where I would be volunteering and working with children.

Plans changed as I fell in love with a people and its country and yes I stayed.

Guatemala is a forgotten land, lost in distant history with people yes all over the world not knowing where it is and still believing it is embroiled in some horrible and never ending civil war. 

Guatemala's a very long and protracted horrendous civil war back in 1996. 

So where is Guatemala?
Guatemala is situated just south of Mexico and Belize and north of both El Salvador and Honduras.  

It has two coastlines the Pacific and the smaller Atlantic coast. In Guatemala you can experience the very hot black sand beaches (volcanic) on the Pacific side. You can watch strong surf waves with equally strong rip tides. So if you venture into the Pacific, swimmer beware, the rip tides are very strong and only really recommended for very strong swimmers. Even strong swimmers though need to heed the warnings and no one can swim against a rip tide.

On the Caribbean side of Guatemala are steamy jungles and the Garinagu people who are mixed descendants of Carib, Arawak and West African people. Places there, such as the town of Livingston offer a lazy easy going sun drenched lifestyle. 

There are many Maya ruins in Guatemala. Well known incredible Maya ruins like the ones in Tikal in the north offer splendours unbelievable. There are also less well known ruins like El Mirador in the northern part of Guatemala near the Mexican border. Here to visit El Mirador involves a swift but expensive helicopter ride or a hike or pack horse five day round trip. 

Then there are the western highlands holding valleys crested in waves of hills and high mountains where volcanoes, some very active that dominate the view.

Lago Atitlan rightly names the most beautiful place in the world

http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lago_de_Atitlan

by Aldous Huxley is a deep vast lake rimmed with small villages and towering volcanoes. 

Maya villages and small towns rim the lake from (gringo-ville) Panajachal ...    http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/_Panajachel

Santiago ...    http://www.santiagoatitlan.com/indexeng.html


San Marcos and the trendy .... San Pedro... 

Guatemala's cultural differences are played out in colourful costumes and beliefs dictated by region with the incredible Maya people. Crafts and art works carefully hand crafted present an array that dazzles the eye..

Guatemala is also second to Haiti as the poorest country in the region with countless people living without the basic human  rights of clean water and safe shelter. Safe housing in a land with too many fault lines, eight in total, making it a shaky place to live. I personally experienced countless tremours and earthquakes while living here... 


While there are many NGO's mostly operating out of Antigua a beautiful city the needs there are less. Comfort for volunteers seems more paramount in Antigua. While many do provide people with the basics of water and shelter, what I want to accomplish is much more than that. 

"Safe Housing" 

in a land that shakes a lot.  

Architecturally designed homes 

professionally engineered and constructed 

with local materials 

&

volunteer labour. 

I already have professional and skilled people for this project

 They are ready with your help to build

Homes to with-stand the tremours and conditions that are common.

Proyecto: Casa Para Con Personas

Project: Homes For the people.

In these uncertain times  

I still believe in miracles
Do You? 

With your help we can do this.

Charity sometimes gets stretched too far

so why not experience not charity but an exchange. 

 Take a Trip of a lifetime
Experience of a Lifetime

Learn Spanish

Learn about Guatemala 

plus

 Help Build a Home

Your time will give you the opportunity to help build an impossible dream and a home for a family. It also will give you an experience of a lifetime, to delve into a culture with ancient roots, the amazing past of the Maya people, a chance to salsa your legs off, to taste hidden depths...and so much more, so what are you waiting for .... join us.

A home-stay experience with a Spanish family and three meals a day and yes 3 hours of Spanish classes per day (can be arranged) Wow, this equals full immersion.

Join us, we really need you

Learn Spanish, an amazing language 

Experience Xela, Guatemala an amazing place

The very best place to learn Spanish

Xela does not cater to English speaking tourists 

so more immersion

This is not a charity project. People will work and purchase their homes. First we will train them to become self sufficient. We will school them so that they will become independent. Each home will be provided with a small tract of land for micro-farming. Skills for both men and women will be taught. 

Give a person a fish and they will eat for the day

Teach a person how to fish and they will eat for their lifetime.

For more information write me

Gavin Jones

gavjonessm@gmail.com

GUATEMALAN Affordable Accomodation

Accommodation!!

Where you stay and how you stay will depend entirely on your budget circumstances.

If you are only here for a few days then there are many different hotels and hostels that are available to suit anyone's budget and with a very wide range of options.. Hostel prices range from Q 35 to Q 75 a night (dorms) in Xela. Monthly rates can range from Q 600 to Q 1200. Hotels can run from Q 150 to Q 1000 a night.

If on the other hand, you are committed to a longer stay, say a few months or even longer, perhaps a year even, then your options can change considerable. Here you have the option or renting a room, an  apartment or even a house. All of these choices come with a bountiful of options and and yes different comforts. 

Renting a room will mean sharing both bathrooms and the kitchen. When you rent an apartment or house you will have everything just for yourself.

Someone once asked me what was the best way to find a place that would be considered long term accommodation that suited their limited budget ?

Here you have several choices. 

There are many rooms, apartments or even houses available at very affordable prices. Some are rented furnished and others completely empty. If you are staying for at least six months or more, then renting a small apartment or house is your best (financial) option. 

I prefer to rent an unfurnished space rather than one that is furnished. 

Most places when they advertise that the apartment of houses are furnished, well that can mean many things. Some are fully furnished yes, but others are somewhat limited in furnishing. That means that they have basic or very little furniture. There will be a bed (no bedding) and maybe somewhere to hang your clothes. Perhaps there will be a couple of (plastic) chairs, and a table. There will be a kitchen area, with a two burner hot plate, and a sink. Possible a fridge.

The difference in price is big. Rent a furnished place for one price and an unfurnished place for a lot less, sometimes half the price.

Furniture for me has a personal touch to it, so I prefer to rent an unfurnished place rather than one that someone else has furnished. For instance, I prefer a bed that no one else has slept in. 
There are always problems with beds other people have slept in. Problems like bed-bugs or fleas... and problems I just do not want.

A new matrimonial (double size) bed can be purchased for as little as Q 800 in a market. You will have to haggle that price to where you want it. Haggling that price is part of life in Guatemala.
It can be fun and it is certainly educational as to what you can get 
from one shop to another.

Okay now you need a place to live in.

Here is the very best way to find that ideal place (for your tastes) and within your very own budget.

First of all ignore all those posters plastered everywhere on notice boards and ads in those free publications. 

Yes you can search out places endlessly online, but I would never suggest to anyone renting any place they could not physically see or better still walked through. So forget about the Internet.

Most of these places will be "gringo" (foreigner priced) anyway. So most will be well over priced for what they are offering you. You can and will be able to get a place at much lower pricing. Yes a place you can call home and on your terms.

The first step... 
Sure you have learned some Spanish, enough to have fun with and to use in everyday life... You maybe able to converse fairly well. But I want you to forget all of that and yes (your pride) and find a local person you trust that is totally fluent in their (Spanish) language and that can also speak English to you pretty well. 

Then you locate a neighbourhood you like and one that you feel comfortable  in. This where your local translator will be very useful to you.

Both of you will walk the area of town that you like and start knocking on doors. 

You will be amazed at what you will discover. None of the places you will find, will be advertised in the conventional way. Some landlords of these places may have other locations that you can also discover. Or they will know someone else that is renting a place.
Most are known through word of mouth only. These are the ones you need to find.

So now you have found that ideal place, but it is empty. It is bare. What do you do? 

The next step..
Furniture.
Cama doble (double bed) as I mentioned before can be purchased new for as low as Q 800. A brand new plastic kitchen table will run you around Q 500. 

But here is a little something I found out for myself, a pure gem of information. You can have a wooden table built to your own specifications for very little. I had one made (36 inches long by 24 inches wide) and that right height made for me for only Q 350. It was precision hand made for me. I met the carpenter and with the carpenter I chose the wood. I felt it my hands. I chose the exact boards and its thickness. It was an incredible experience. AS great way to speak in Spanish as well... They built it more on less on time and or Q 10 they even delivered it.

You could also have shelves made for very little as well. Plastic chairs range from Q 60 to Q 80 each and plastic stools for Q 30. A two electric burner hotplate brand new can be bought for Q 185. Buy all of this in a market. Market prices drop the further away you get from the down town core. Yes you have to factor in delivery, but that should be part of the price. Arrange for that when you barter for the price. Yes barter. It is a way of life here. They will respect you more buy of you barter. It can be a fun experience and yes the price can drop drastically.

Okay it is possible to live without a fridge. Our ancestors did it. But if you must have one, the least expensive new fridge I could find was Q 1200 brand new. It was a 8 cu ft model with the freezer inside the main compartment. These models are not the best as the freezer controls the temperature of the fridge itself. You are better off to get a refrigerator with a separate freezer compartment. These can run you more money and depending on the size will run from about Q 2000 and up. But remember with a proper (separate) freezer compartment  life becomes easier and you can buy food in bulk and freeze it. That translates to cheaper living. 

Buying a used fridge can be problematic  The saving in the purchase price could be doubled in repairs. Not worth it, so buy new.

 Lights are super cheap to buy and you can make hanging (swag) lights for as little as Q 15. The markets are a treasure trove of things to decorate your place with and to give it your personal touch. The markets are also great places to find kitchen tools, pots and pans and those handy kitchen gadgets. 

That said and done what are the costs?

I know of people that rent small one bedroom (row) houses for as little as Q 800 a month. For a little bit more say around Q 1300 you will get a two bedroom house. A 3 or four bedroom house will go for around Q 2000. 

1 dollar = 7.5 Q (approx) CAD... it fluctuates.

So there you have it. Affordable living at yes very reasonable prices.

Good luck in your searching, it is after all just another adventure and one that will give you great satisfaction, your new home and a chance to experience new neighbourhoods and special people.

Have fun.