Buenas!
Folks round these parts will quite often use just that word when greeting each other on the street. Makes it easier than having to think about what time of day it is. Kinda nice, I reckon... so if you want to sound like a local, just say "buenas" to strangers. Somehow I don't think that'd work so well back in Canada, but if I ever walk past you on the street and just say "good" to ya, you'll know where I'm comin from. With that out of the way...
Another nifty point that I forgot to mention about Antigua. One evening, while sitting on the roof of my hostel drinking hot chocolate that a nice British girl made for me, I happened to look towards the North and see 'ol faithful (the Big Dipper). I looked around in the sky and my gaze ended up venturing South... where, lo and behold, the Southern Cross shined proudly. It's a pretty unmistakeable constellation for me ever since I spent 8 months in Australia. But I never imagined that you'd be able to see both of them at the same time. I couldn't help but just smile at the sky and shake my head... simple pleasures, y'know?
Anyhow, back to the story. Is this a story? Doesn't feel like it while you're living it, but I guess once it passes from personal experience into the realm of memories, and then is called forth either for yourself or for the amusement of others, a story it becomes. That's kinda cool. And a story teller is more interesting to listen to than a bank teller, especially during a recession. No? No takers?
On the 6 or so hour bus ride from Antigua to San Pedro, I had the pleasure of meeting a nice Irish fella and his french-canadian girlfriend. He owns a restaurant in San Pedro, and told me I oughtta stop by sometime since they (obviously) have the best food in town. As I would later find out, that wasn't an exaggeration. But anyhow, on the bus, the 3 of us were lovin the music cuz a gringo had his iPod plugged in and was playin Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Sublime... a really nice change from the usual shuttle music - 80's-Cyndi-Lauper-type stuff, or 90's-Mexican-anything-as-long-as-there's-an-accordian kinda stuff. So like I say, a nice change. But since not all good things can last, by the time we were descending into San Pedro, the music had regressed into more soulful-feel-good-India.Arie crap, and Paul (the Irish guy) was just dyin. I had my head out the window, so I wasn't bothered as much.
I had figured on stayin in San Pedro for a couple days, check it out, and then head out to Quetzaltenango (Xela, to the locals) to take some Spanish lessons. Well, like I said, San Pedro is full of people who accidentally stayed for 2 months. It just has a way of doing that to ya. Someone informed me that it's possible to take Spanish lessons in San Pedro, and it costs less then Xela. For a traveler, that's about all you need to hear! So I looked around, found a school, and signed up.
Had a great time taking classes there. The first day, I met my teacher, a nice Mayan lady named Magdelena. She actually speaks Tz'utujil primarily, then Spanish, then a bit of English. Which ended up workin out well, because she had a lot of knowledge about Mayan culture that she shared. Our first conversation we talked for about half an hour in Spanish, then she looked at me and asked "why are you here?" which I took as a complement! It seemed the Spanish that I learned in Costa Rica was coming back to me better than I thought it would! But I still had (still have) a long way to go, to be sure.
Our classes together were great. It was basically a 3-hour chat session, her telling me some cool stuff about Guatemala, the Mayans, and correcting all the little mistakes I made every time I got a little over-confident. But we were always laughing, smiling, and having a good time. Actually, she got me with a really good one on my second-last class there.
We had spent the morning talking about past relationships (she's divorced, a single mom) and I had just finished telling her all about Shauna. *For those who don't know the Shauna story, basically I met her 3 weeks before heading to Australia, we dated, I left, ended things, she came down 2 months later, it didn't work out, kinda ended a bit messy, and I haven't seen or heard from her since. That is an admittedly BRIEF overview, but it serves the purposes of the current story.* I was saying to Magda that I really had no hard feelings, and would actually like to get in touch with her sometime and just see what she's been up to, how she's doing, all that. Every few months I'll even search her on facebook, but I've never found her. So Magda asks "well, don't you have her e-mail still?" I realized I probably did, somewhere! I kinda laughed, and said I should look for it, and send her a message. Tell her about my travels, about Guatemala and all that. Well Magda's eyes light up and she goes "Yeah! Then you can send her a message, convince her to come to Guatemala... and then end things a week later when she does!" Haha yep, it was a shtinger, but I had to admire how quick she was on the gun with that one.
Around the time I started my lessons, I met a couple girls from New Zealand that were staying in my hostel. One day we decided to go cliff jumping at another small town on Lake Atitlan, San Marcos. The way to get around the lake is on these 20 footer lanchas (boats) that zip from town to town every half hour or so. This lancha hauled us across to the land of the hippies.
San Marcos isn't actually the land of the hippies, it just happens that there are a fair few of them there. It's a very spiritual, holistic type place; you can feel the different energy as soon as you step of the boat. It's muuuuy tranquilo, quiet, little pathways going between the houses/hotels/healing centers. We did some cliff jumping (about an 8 meter drop, not too high but enough to get the adrenaline flowin) and then checked out the town. Rachel, one of the girls, was really interested in a course on natural medicines. I went and found out a little bit about it, decided it sounded pretty cool, and signed on up. It ran from 2-4 in the afternoon. So for a week, I spent my mornings learning Spanish and my afternoons learning about herbs, making teas, and doin a little meditating. It was a great balance, and I went to bed with a smile every night. Didn't necessarily wake up with one tho...
I'd run into bed bugs once before, in a hostel in Cairns, Australia. That time, after only one night, my back was covered in some of the most itchy bites I've ever experienced. I always had my eye out for a brick wall to rub up against. So you'd think I'd have learned my lesson. But this time, they only got me a few bites per night... enough to be an annoyance, but not a real pain. Plus, I was only paying 4 dollars or so per night, and I'd already payed in advance for 5 nights. So I stayed. But on the 4th night, they got me real good... I woke up scratchin hard at 2:30am, grabbed a flashlight, and spun around fast. There was one of the little buggers sittin on my sheet. So I went to grab it, maybe yell at it, and probably kill it... but as soon as I grabbed it, it exploded with blood all over my fingers. Guess he'd already had his fill. I changed hostels the next morning, but I already looked like I had a skin disease. Maybe a leper... or a leopard... or a leopard with leprosy. Leopardsy?
Let me tell ya, I'm havin a heck of a time trying to remember all the cool stuff that happened in San Pedro. Trying to do this on any sort of timeline is futile, so I'll fire off a list here as things come to me.
- St. Paddy's Day at Paul's restaurant, Paraiso. He taught the kitchen how to make a traditional Irish stew, it was unreal. Started the day with a couple Irish coffees that had clovers floating in them. He also had a live band doing Irish songs, I danced some 2-steppin with a cool girl who had a kind of modified mohawk, had a hell of time pretending to be Irish.
- Climbing Indian Nose. Since Lake Atitlan was formed in the center of a ring of volcanoes, it's sunk down and surrounded by high rock on all sides. One part looks like a giant's face pointing straight up at the sky (yes, family, exactly like the one across the inlet from Grandpa's camp). You can hike it, about 3 hours round trip, and it has a great view of the whole lake from the top.
- Watching the Canucks beat the Blues 3-0. I couldn't believe it when I walked past a bar, and they advertised NHL games, and that night was a Canucks game. And here I was thinking I wouldn't be able to see them play.
- Live music. It's all over the place there, you can pretty well find a band playing in a little bar every night of the week.
- Quieres pan? Pan de banano? Pan de Canelle? Anyone who's been there will undoubtedly know about the bread ladies. There are 4 or 5 of them that sit there all day offering bread to everyone who passes by. And they sure are persistent... if you walk by 8 times, you get yelled at 8 times. The locals call it "Pan de Veneno" - Bread of Venom. It's actually good - I'd buy one every afternoon to eat the next morning for breakfast. Cinnamon is the best, in my opinion.
- Movie nights. A couple of the bars have big screens that they play movies on most nights. I saw Slumdog Millionaire, Juno, The Big Lebowski (hilarious), and a Chris Rock HBO special (also hilarious). There's also a lady who goes to these bars every night with a big tupperware container, selling big slices of the best chocolate cake I've had in a long time. She does really well... San Pedro is a bit of a stoner town!
- The crapload of great people there. Paul, Crystal, Karoline, Rachel, Jo, David, Lindsay, Corinne, Nikki, Mikee, Patrick, Tyler... among many others!
- The awful stink of unprocessed coffee beans in the sun.
- The food at Paraiso. Seriously. I went back there every time I saw that he was doin the Irish stew again.
- Having to leave early every time you wanted to go somewhere, since you would inevitably run into a handful of people that you know, and stop and talk for a few minutes every time. It takes an hour to go 4 blocks.
Honestly, there's more. I know there is. But that's the highlights, the things I can remember at this moment. I'm sure more will jar loose over a couple beer around a campfire somewhere, so hopefully I'll see you there! Until then...
Thanks for reading!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
We are the Champey-ons, my friend
Alrighty, I'm back for another entry. It's been a little while, but as you will read (eventually) I've been fairly busy lately and haven't had much time to hit the internet cafe. Today was finally a day of nothin but laziness, so here I am. And here we go!
We camped overnight just outside Tikal. It was great because they had showers, and after 3 days in the jungle we needed them badly. They didn't even pretend to be warm, but we didn't care. It still felt great! Next morning we caught a bus back to Flores to pick up our other gear that we left at the Rainforest Alliance office. They were happy to see that we survived the trip. We knew we wanted to catch a bus that afternoon to head to Coban for our next adventure, but we needed to get some food in our bellies first. One of the girls workin at RA told us she knew where she could order us some steak! So we quickly agreed, and went wandering around town for a bit. The bus was leaving at 1, I should add.
We checked out Flores (beautiful city, right on the water, I'd recommend it fo sho) and headed back to RA. We were running a bit late, so we took a Tuk Tuk to get there (little red 3-wheeled taxis that are all over the place here!) We got there at 12:30, the steak got there at 12:45, and we got to the bus stop at 12:59 or so. Plenty of time to spare! On that bus ride, I ended up talking to the guy sitting behind me, in hopes of practicing my Spanish. That was all well and good, but he was in the process of learning Spanish too! That's when I learned an interesting thing about Guatemala - for many people here, Spanish is a second language. Many people, especially from small towns, speak one of the Mayan dialects. But between my broken Spanish and his, we got our points across.
We got to Coban, thinking that the hostels were closer than they actually are. People were offering us taxis, but our motto was more along the lines of "if we can walk, we walk." Using the compass, a little Lonely Planet map, and some wrong turns, we eventually got to a hostel. Planned our trip for the next mornin, a trip that started with a bus picking us up at 6am. But we didn't worry about that. Met a couple other folks staying in that hostel, and we all headed out for dinner.
We found a great little Italian restaurant that offered steaks, wine, and a promise that if you weren't satisfied, you wouldn't pay. It looked and smelled great. But there was something else calling me... a call that wouldn't be ignored. So me and a new French-Canadian buddy answered the call, with a short walk down the street to good 'ol Micky D's. Countries I have eaten a Big Mac in: 5. I still haven't done it in Mexico yet... hopefully I can get that done this trip too. Anyhow.
We got back to the hostel, grabbed a couple drinks, and then somebody found a guitar. So me and Danny took turns playin on it, everyone sitting around and singin, till the owner of the hostel finally turned out all the lights and told us to go to bed. That was sometime around 12:30 or 1, I believe. Next thing I know, there is a bus revving it's engine and honking outside. It seems we all slept through our alarms. So we packed as fast as we could, no time to brush teeth or even hit the bathroom. I think "sheepish" would best describe our expressions as we boarded the bus.
Well the road twisted and turned through the mountains, the sun rose slowly and the fog settled in the valleys as we headed toward Semuc Champey. Another product of A-ron's research, Semuc Champey is a series of Limestone pools that formed naturally in the middle of nowhere. We found a great hostel down beside the river, and the bus dropped us off there. This place was picturesque, and the accomodations we chose consisted of a bunch of mattresses thrown up in the attic on top of the dormitories! It was like living in a tree fort for a few days!
I spent 5 days at that hostel, perhaps more than I had originally intended. But it seems to go that way in Guatemala... some places just have a great vibe, and you don't want to leave it. The folks that ran the place were real friendly, they knew your name, even took the time to teach me some new tricks on the rope swing they had there. And the food was great. And the drinks were cheap. And... and I'm having trouble remembering why I left. haha
But the day we spent at Semuc Champey itself was unreal. Only a 5 minute walk from our hostel, you enter the park and walk along the river. Up ahead, you see a waterfall and the river below it. Walk up along the side, and suddenly you see the first limestone pool, with water trickling through it and over the edge. We started in the bottom pool and worked our way upsteam, each pool better than the next. We staked our claim in a pool halfway up, and spent the afternoon there. I taught eveyone how to "rock-run", where you grab a rock that weighs about 30 pounds or so and use it to hold you underwater. Then you run as far as you can on one breath of air. It's great to help increase your lung capacity, and the feeling of running along underwater is cool too. This inspired us to move a giant petrefied log, bit by bit, into a new position in the pool. We made a bridge! And darn if we weren't proud.
Later on we wandered up to the highest pools, and there we realized that the waterfall we'd seen earlier doesn't feed the river at the bottom. Well it does, but it's not the primary contributor. The river actually runs underneath the limestone pools, which are actually a bridge overtop! All those crazy-beautiful-blue pools are actually suspended over a raging river! It is quite a sight. There is also a mirador (lookout point) overtop of the whole kaboodle, so we hiked up there to watch the sun go down. Up there, looking out over the mountains, the river, semuc champey... it was one of those moments that causes your mind to be quiet and your soul to breathe. Everyone sorta just sat there taking it all in. And, even from way up there, you could see our bridge that we made with the giant log! What a day. That night saw us sitting by the river in front of our hostel, listening to the frogs, and basking in the light of a full moon. There may also have been a campfire, guitar, and drinks. In the state of constant happiness we were all in, anything that was there was good.
The next day was time for A-ron, Sheil, and Danny to bid us all farewell. As they hopped on the back of the pickup truck, Johnny (the hostel owner) passed me the guitar, and I sang them off. I gotta say, I definitely had a few moments of nervousness as I realized that from then on, I was on my own. All further decisions, plans, successes, and failures, were now on my shoulders. But, I quickly realized that it was all good, and that's what I was there for! Plus I still had Jenny and Sally who we'd been traveling with since Coban.
So like I said, I stayed there a few more days. Me and the girls spent a day doing nothing but relaxing by the river. We hauled a mattress down onto the dock, and commandeered it for the day. Did some napping, some listening to music, some swimming. Then Sally brought out some pencil crayons (very artistic, that one) and started drawing. A young man from the neighborhood decided that we had the life, and he wanted in. So he came over. He put on my shades and picked up the guitar and rocked out for a bit, then spent some time coloring with us and teaching us some Mayan words. It was cool to have a 10 year old teacher for a couple hours.
Next day (or some day close to then, they all kinda blend) we went on a tour of a cave system just up the road. This was a bit daunting, cuz I sometimes get a bit claustrophobic when I think about thousands of tons of rocks poised inches above my head. But it was so darn cool, how could I say no? A river ran through these caves, so we waded, walked, and sometimes swam, upstream and into the heart of the mountain with nothin but candles in our hands to light the way. It was awesome! The guide had a headlamp that he would use every once in a while, but for the most part it was just the flickering flames showing us the way. In one spot, we set our candles aside, climbed up the side of the cave, and jumped into a deep pool. It was nutty. But the craziest part was when we got to a big open area an hour inside the rock... We sat down, blew out the candles, and just listened. You couldn't see a thing, and when you stopped to think where you were, your heart started to beat a little faster. But it was a hell of an experience, and although I was originally nervous, I'm glad I caved. Ahhh yeah. Caved? Get it?
What else can I say about my time there? We walked to the water every single night to listen to the frogs... you can sit there for an hour, and not have one single second where at least one frog isn't ribbiting. It was riveting. Ay-yo! Other neat things about the area: there were cacao plantations all over, so kids would offer you homemade chocolate nonstop. It was round, like a cookie, and kinda dry and flaky... but it melted as soon as you put it in your mouth. Great stuff. The rope swing was a blast. The coffee was nice and strong. Like I say, just an all-around great place.
But, I figured that it wasn't likely to be the only great place in Guatemala, a fact I have since confirmed. So I bade my amigas farewell, and hopped on a bus to Antigua.
I should probably stop the blog here, and write about Antigua later; but I'm on a roll and don't know when I'll be on here next. So I think I'll continue. But if you want to think of this as a chapter break, maybe go to the bathroom, grab a snack, let the dog back in... now might be a good time.
Ready?
Got on in to Antigua after 7 or so hours in a little shuttle. These shuttles seem to be the most common way for us tourists to get around, 15-person buses that usually play 80's music or anything with an accordian in it. But you do tend to meet nice folks on them.
Antigua was nice. Perhaps that's all I really care to say about it, because I wasn't expecting a whole lot when I went there. It's very touristy, kinda expensive, and it sure doesn't have any rope swings over a river. But I digress. The streets were cobblestone, there were some beautiful old ruins, pristine little cafes with hidden inner courtyards covered in flowers... it's definitely worth checking out, it just wasn't really the place for me. But I did manage to catch some live jazz, in the courtyard of some old ruins; and have a cup of hot chocolate on the roof of my hostel with a nice British girl. She also knew of a small town just up the road, so we walked there one morning (Jocotenango, I believe) and went to a museum where we learned about Mayan history, and also how coffee is made! It was cool, because the part on Mayan instruments was entirely in Spanish, and I understood most of it! It would seem that just being in the country, hearing it every day, is enough to really make you learn!
I went to an internet cafe in Antigua, and I'm glad I did. I had planned on heading out the next day, back to a smaller town closer to nature. But a couple friends had written on my facebook about Guatemala, and in particular, Antigua. They said "have you been to Volcan Pacaya? It's insane." I hadn't been, and I figured maybe I hadn't given Antigua enough of a chance. So I elected to stay another day, and booked myself onto a tour up Pacaya.
Sure glad I did! We hiked up the volcano, learned about a bunch of different types of trees from the guide, and ended up standing in front of a river of molten lava. It was frrreakin hot! Just slowly pouring out of the side of the mountain, moving like an intense red river of gravy pounring down the side of charcoal mashed potatoes. -It's just about dinner time here, can you tell?- I even got lucky enough to borrow a marshmallow and a stick off some people, and I roasted a marshmallow over the lava. Just a typical Tuesday afternoon in Guatemala. Not bad, eh?
So I'm glad I stuck around for an extra day. We got back from the volcano kinda late, and the only thing open was Burger King. I figure flame-grilled was kinda fitting, after spending the previous hours on an active volcano.
But the smaller towns were calling, and my next stop was to be Lake Atitlan. It is a huge lake in Guatemala, formed by the growth of the several volcanoes that surround it. San Pedro had been recommended to me by several folks that I'd met so far, but the recommendation came with a warning - "most people go there for 2 days, and stay for 2 months. It sucks you in." And I suppose they may be right... San Pedro is where I am writing this entry, and where I have been for almost 2 weeks now. But that, certainly, is a story for another day.
Thanks for reading!
We camped overnight just outside Tikal. It was great because they had showers, and after 3 days in the jungle we needed them badly. They didn't even pretend to be warm, but we didn't care. It still felt great! Next morning we caught a bus back to Flores to pick up our other gear that we left at the Rainforest Alliance office. They were happy to see that we survived the trip. We knew we wanted to catch a bus that afternoon to head to Coban for our next adventure, but we needed to get some food in our bellies first. One of the girls workin at RA told us she knew where she could order us some steak! So we quickly agreed, and went wandering around town for a bit. The bus was leaving at 1, I should add.
We checked out Flores (beautiful city, right on the water, I'd recommend it fo sho) and headed back to RA. We were running a bit late, so we took a Tuk Tuk to get there (little red 3-wheeled taxis that are all over the place here!) We got there at 12:30, the steak got there at 12:45, and we got to the bus stop at 12:59 or so. Plenty of time to spare! On that bus ride, I ended up talking to the guy sitting behind me, in hopes of practicing my Spanish. That was all well and good, but he was in the process of learning Spanish too! That's when I learned an interesting thing about Guatemala - for many people here, Spanish is a second language. Many people, especially from small towns, speak one of the Mayan dialects. But between my broken Spanish and his, we got our points across.
We got to Coban, thinking that the hostels were closer than they actually are. People were offering us taxis, but our motto was more along the lines of "if we can walk, we walk." Using the compass, a little Lonely Planet map, and some wrong turns, we eventually got to a hostel. Planned our trip for the next mornin, a trip that started with a bus picking us up at 6am. But we didn't worry about that. Met a couple other folks staying in that hostel, and we all headed out for dinner.
We found a great little Italian restaurant that offered steaks, wine, and a promise that if you weren't satisfied, you wouldn't pay. It looked and smelled great. But there was something else calling me... a call that wouldn't be ignored. So me and a new French-Canadian buddy answered the call, with a short walk down the street to good 'ol Micky D's. Countries I have eaten a Big Mac in: 5. I still haven't done it in Mexico yet... hopefully I can get that done this trip too. Anyhow.
We got back to the hostel, grabbed a couple drinks, and then somebody found a guitar. So me and Danny took turns playin on it, everyone sitting around and singin, till the owner of the hostel finally turned out all the lights and told us to go to bed. That was sometime around 12:30 or 1, I believe. Next thing I know, there is a bus revving it's engine and honking outside. It seems we all slept through our alarms. So we packed as fast as we could, no time to brush teeth or even hit the bathroom. I think "sheepish" would best describe our expressions as we boarded the bus.
Well the road twisted and turned through the mountains, the sun rose slowly and the fog settled in the valleys as we headed toward Semuc Champey. Another product of A-ron's research, Semuc Champey is a series of Limestone pools that formed naturally in the middle of nowhere. We found a great hostel down beside the river, and the bus dropped us off there. This place was picturesque, and the accomodations we chose consisted of a bunch of mattresses thrown up in the attic on top of the dormitories! It was like living in a tree fort for a few days!
I spent 5 days at that hostel, perhaps more than I had originally intended. But it seems to go that way in Guatemala... some places just have a great vibe, and you don't want to leave it. The folks that ran the place were real friendly, they knew your name, even took the time to teach me some new tricks on the rope swing they had there. And the food was great. And the drinks were cheap. And... and I'm having trouble remembering why I left. haha
But the day we spent at Semuc Champey itself was unreal. Only a 5 minute walk from our hostel, you enter the park and walk along the river. Up ahead, you see a waterfall and the river below it. Walk up along the side, and suddenly you see the first limestone pool, with water trickling through it and over the edge. We started in the bottom pool and worked our way upsteam, each pool better than the next. We staked our claim in a pool halfway up, and spent the afternoon there. I taught eveyone how to "rock-run", where you grab a rock that weighs about 30 pounds or so and use it to hold you underwater. Then you run as far as you can on one breath of air. It's great to help increase your lung capacity, and the feeling of running along underwater is cool too. This inspired us to move a giant petrefied log, bit by bit, into a new position in the pool. We made a bridge! And darn if we weren't proud.
Later on we wandered up to the highest pools, and there we realized that the waterfall we'd seen earlier doesn't feed the river at the bottom. Well it does, but it's not the primary contributor. The river actually runs underneath the limestone pools, which are actually a bridge overtop! All those crazy-beautiful-blue pools are actually suspended over a raging river! It is quite a sight. There is also a mirador (lookout point) overtop of the whole kaboodle, so we hiked up there to watch the sun go down. Up there, looking out over the mountains, the river, semuc champey... it was one of those moments that causes your mind to be quiet and your soul to breathe. Everyone sorta just sat there taking it all in. And, even from way up there, you could see our bridge that we made with the giant log! What a day. That night saw us sitting by the river in front of our hostel, listening to the frogs, and basking in the light of a full moon. There may also have been a campfire, guitar, and drinks. In the state of constant happiness we were all in, anything that was there was good.
The next day was time for A-ron, Sheil, and Danny to bid us all farewell. As they hopped on the back of the pickup truck, Johnny (the hostel owner) passed me the guitar, and I sang them off. I gotta say, I definitely had a few moments of nervousness as I realized that from then on, I was on my own. All further decisions, plans, successes, and failures, were now on my shoulders. But, I quickly realized that it was all good, and that's what I was there for! Plus I still had Jenny and Sally who we'd been traveling with since Coban.
So like I said, I stayed there a few more days. Me and the girls spent a day doing nothing but relaxing by the river. We hauled a mattress down onto the dock, and commandeered it for the day. Did some napping, some listening to music, some swimming. Then Sally brought out some pencil crayons (very artistic, that one) and started drawing. A young man from the neighborhood decided that we had the life, and he wanted in. So he came over. He put on my shades and picked up the guitar and rocked out for a bit, then spent some time coloring with us and teaching us some Mayan words. It was cool to have a 10 year old teacher for a couple hours.
Next day (or some day close to then, they all kinda blend) we went on a tour of a cave system just up the road. This was a bit daunting, cuz I sometimes get a bit claustrophobic when I think about thousands of tons of rocks poised inches above my head. But it was so darn cool, how could I say no? A river ran through these caves, so we waded, walked, and sometimes swam, upstream and into the heart of the mountain with nothin but candles in our hands to light the way. It was awesome! The guide had a headlamp that he would use every once in a while, but for the most part it was just the flickering flames showing us the way. In one spot, we set our candles aside, climbed up the side of the cave, and jumped into a deep pool. It was nutty. But the craziest part was when we got to a big open area an hour inside the rock... We sat down, blew out the candles, and just listened. You couldn't see a thing, and when you stopped to think where you were, your heart started to beat a little faster. But it was a hell of an experience, and although I was originally nervous, I'm glad I caved. Ahhh yeah. Caved? Get it?
What else can I say about my time there? We walked to the water every single night to listen to the frogs... you can sit there for an hour, and not have one single second where at least one frog isn't ribbiting. It was riveting. Ay-yo! Other neat things about the area: there were cacao plantations all over, so kids would offer you homemade chocolate nonstop. It was round, like a cookie, and kinda dry and flaky... but it melted as soon as you put it in your mouth. Great stuff. The rope swing was a blast. The coffee was nice and strong. Like I say, just an all-around great place.
But, I figured that it wasn't likely to be the only great place in Guatemala, a fact I have since confirmed. So I bade my amigas farewell, and hopped on a bus to Antigua.
I should probably stop the blog here, and write about Antigua later; but I'm on a roll and don't know when I'll be on here next. So I think I'll continue. But if you want to think of this as a chapter break, maybe go to the bathroom, grab a snack, let the dog back in... now might be a good time.
Ready?
Got on in to Antigua after 7 or so hours in a little shuttle. These shuttles seem to be the most common way for us tourists to get around, 15-person buses that usually play 80's music or anything with an accordian in it. But you do tend to meet nice folks on them.
Antigua was nice. Perhaps that's all I really care to say about it, because I wasn't expecting a whole lot when I went there. It's very touristy, kinda expensive, and it sure doesn't have any rope swings over a river. But I digress. The streets were cobblestone, there were some beautiful old ruins, pristine little cafes with hidden inner courtyards covered in flowers... it's definitely worth checking out, it just wasn't really the place for me. But I did manage to catch some live jazz, in the courtyard of some old ruins; and have a cup of hot chocolate on the roof of my hostel with a nice British girl. She also knew of a small town just up the road, so we walked there one morning (Jocotenango, I believe) and went to a museum where we learned about Mayan history, and also how coffee is made! It was cool, because the part on Mayan instruments was entirely in Spanish, and I understood most of it! It would seem that just being in the country, hearing it every day, is enough to really make you learn!
I went to an internet cafe in Antigua, and I'm glad I did. I had planned on heading out the next day, back to a smaller town closer to nature. But a couple friends had written on my facebook about Guatemala, and in particular, Antigua. They said "have you been to Volcan Pacaya? It's insane." I hadn't been, and I figured maybe I hadn't given Antigua enough of a chance. So I elected to stay another day, and booked myself onto a tour up Pacaya.
Sure glad I did! We hiked up the volcano, learned about a bunch of different types of trees from the guide, and ended up standing in front of a river of molten lava. It was frrreakin hot! Just slowly pouring out of the side of the mountain, moving like an intense red river of gravy pounring down the side of charcoal mashed potatoes. -It's just about dinner time here, can you tell?- I even got lucky enough to borrow a marshmallow and a stick off some people, and I roasted a marshmallow over the lava. Just a typical Tuesday afternoon in Guatemala. Not bad, eh?
So I'm glad I stuck around for an extra day. We got back from the volcano kinda late, and the only thing open was Burger King. I figure flame-grilled was kinda fitting, after spending the previous hours on an active volcano.
But the smaller towns were calling, and my next stop was to be Lake Atitlan. It is a huge lake in Guatemala, formed by the growth of the several volcanoes that surround it. San Pedro had been recommended to me by several folks that I'd met so far, but the recommendation came with a warning - "most people go there for 2 days, and stay for 2 months. It sucks you in." And I suppose they may be right... San Pedro is where I am writing this entry, and where I have been for almost 2 weeks now. But that, certainly, is a story for another day.
Thanks for reading!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Tikal me pink
Hola de nuevo!
If you've gotten this far, you either got tired of reading that obscenely long first post and decided to just move on, or you are actually a dedicated follower of the story. I applaud the efforts of the latter, but I don't blame you if you are a part of the first group. I'll try to keep these a little more brief.
Soooo after leaving El Zotz, we headed up the road a few minutes to a little station where they keep a couple buildings, and horses for anyone who wants a guide to Tikal. After assuring them, AGAIN, that we were alright without a guide, we had some lunch. You can't imagine how good a feast of Beef Jerky, refried beans, and canned peaches tastes after a day of solid hiking. Not to mention the knowledge that your pack just got a couple pounds lighter!
We met a nice couple there, that had decided a guide was the way to go. I suppose this takes a bit of the danger element out of the story, since we found out that they'd be a half hour behind us... worse came to worse, we could just stay put and wait for them to catch up. But we weren't about to let that happen. We made darn sure to keep our eyes on the trail, and our feet just a-movin, so our egoes didn't have to take any hits (however small). And boy howdy, if we didn't push right on through!
The day consisted of lots of footsteps, and frequent checks of the compass (thanks again, grandpa, if you're reading this!). The highlight of the day, BY FAR, was when we got to a large clearing around 5pm and stopped for food. A-Ron's dad, bless his soul, had given A-Ron 2 blocks of aged cheddar. I have never appreciated cheese more in my life, and I'm a guy who likes his cheese. A lot. I even like that aerosol cheese you can buy in the states. But I don't exaggerate when I say I was ecstatic.
We walked on another hour and a half or so, and set up camp. This time, we were in the absolute middle of nowhere, on a trail no more than a foot wide. Or two feet, if you want to get clever... hahaha. I do. But we were pushing fronds out of the way to set up the tents. When you looked around, all you saw was straight-up-mowgli-vs-tarzan-balls-deep jungle. Fo Reah!
Next mornin, we got up at 7 and were just about packed up when our friends from the day before came trotting by with their guide. Smiles all around, apparently we were on the right path after all. We passed them a few minutes later to ensure our manhood.
Caminamos, caminamos... the jungle was great, not too hot, we spent the day walkin along with the compass assuring us that as long as it's bearer wasn't an idiot (which is yet to be fully confirmed) we were going the right way. And, lo and behold, at around 1 in the afternoon, we stumbled out of the jungle and into the midst of Tikal. Boo-yah! It wasn't 2 minutes before we had beers in hand, saluting a job well done.
We sat on Temple IV for a bit and took it all in, planning on camping just outside the park that night and then checkin it out the following day. But then we found out that they were gonna make us pay twice, since by default we entered the park from the back way. Buggers. So we paid, stashed our bags at the campground, and spent a few hours till sunset walkin through the park, climbing temples, even playing frisbee overtop of some sacred mayan altars. But the park was near-empty by the time the sun was going down, and we had some great views.
If you stand in the middle of the main compound, it is set up in such a way that if you clap, it echoes back to you with a strangle sort of yelping sound. And a few feet over, it does the same thing but with a different high pitched squeal. Either the mayans were crazy architects, or they have a guy hidden in the top of each temple who really has to be on his game. Yelping architecture? Can you tell they didn't have much to do back then?
But jokes aside (for now), it is a breathtaking place. The temples are amazing, especially at sunset. Ahhh, but here's one for ya:
How do you know when Tikal has a headache?
- It's temples are sore.
Whoa. That's a good place to end 'er! Hahaha
Thanks for reading!
p.s. - yeah I made that joke up. As if you couldn't tell!
If you've gotten this far, you either got tired of reading that obscenely long first post and decided to just move on, or you are actually a dedicated follower of the story. I applaud the efforts of the latter, but I don't blame you if you are a part of the first group. I'll try to keep these a little more brief.
Soooo after leaving El Zotz, we headed up the road a few minutes to a little station where they keep a couple buildings, and horses for anyone who wants a guide to Tikal. After assuring them, AGAIN, that we were alright without a guide, we had some lunch. You can't imagine how good a feast of Beef Jerky, refried beans, and canned peaches tastes after a day of solid hiking. Not to mention the knowledge that your pack just got a couple pounds lighter!
We met a nice couple there, that had decided a guide was the way to go. I suppose this takes a bit of the danger element out of the story, since we found out that they'd be a half hour behind us... worse came to worse, we could just stay put and wait for them to catch up. But we weren't about to let that happen. We made darn sure to keep our eyes on the trail, and our feet just a-movin, so our egoes didn't have to take any hits (however small). And boy howdy, if we didn't push right on through!
The day consisted of lots of footsteps, and frequent checks of the compass (thanks again, grandpa, if you're reading this!). The highlight of the day, BY FAR, was when we got to a large clearing around 5pm and stopped for food. A-Ron's dad, bless his soul, had given A-Ron 2 blocks of aged cheddar. I have never appreciated cheese more in my life, and I'm a guy who likes his cheese. A lot. I even like that aerosol cheese you can buy in the states. But I don't exaggerate when I say I was ecstatic.
We walked on another hour and a half or so, and set up camp. This time, we were in the absolute middle of nowhere, on a trail no more than a foot wide. Or two feet, if you want to get clever... hahaha. I do. But we were pushing fronds out of the way to set up the tents. When you looked around, all you saw was straight-up-mowgli-vs-tarzan-balls-deep jungle. Fo Reah!
Next mornin, we got up at 7 and were just about packed up when our friends from the day before came trotting by with their guide. Smiles all around, apparently we were on the right path after all. We passed them a few minutes later to ensure our manhood.
Caminamos, caminamos... the jungle was great, not too hot, we spent the day walkin along with the compass assuring us that as long as it's bearer wasn't an idiot (which is yet to be fully confirmed) we were going the right way. And, lo and behold, at around 1 in the afternoon, we stumbled out of the jungle and into the midst of Tikal. Boo-yah! It wasn't 2 minutes before we had beers in hand, saluting a job well done.
We sat on Temple IV for a bit and took it all in, planning on camping just outside the park that night and then checkin it out the following day. But then we found out that they were gonna make us pay twice, since by default we entered the park from the back way. Buggers. So we paid, stashed our bags at the campground, and spent a few hours till sunset walkin through the park, climbing temples, even playing frisbee overtop of some sacred mayan altars. But the park was near-empty by the time the sun was going down, and we had some great views.
If you stand in the middle of the main compound, it is set up in such a way that if you clap, it echoes back to you with a strangle sort of yelping sound. And a few feet over, it does the same thing but with a different high pitched squeal. Either the mayans were crazy architects, or they have a guy hidden in the top of each temple who really has to be on his game. Yelping architecture? Can you tell they didn't have much to do back then?
But jokes aside (for now), it is a breathtaking place. The temples are amazing, especially at sunset. Ahhh, but here's one for ya:
How do you know when Tikal has a headache?
- It's temples are sore.
Whoa. That's a good place to end 'er! Hahaha
Thanks for reading!
p.s. - yeah I made that joke up. As if you couldn't tell!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Zotz not the half of it...
Well it's about that time of year again, where I have found myself chasing dreams and answers on the open road. This time I happen to be in Guatemala!
A beautiful country, it is. Full of Zest and Life, and several other North American brands of consumer products. But seriously, I've only been here 2 and a half weeks or so and I'm thinking it's a pretty nice place to be. And they have McDonalds...
For those who weren't in on my plans at the start (not my fault, talk to my agent), I basically wanted to head back to Central America this year to continue learning Spanish. Costa Rica gave me a good base, but I was sorely out of practice and didn't want to lose it completely. That, and the prospect of being out in the World again were enough to get me planning a trip. If you can call my haphazard style of last-minute-everything ''planning''.
Back in February I happened to be talking to my ex-roommate from CR, A-ron. I mentioned the Guat trip and said offhandedly "yeah man you should come down." Well A-ron is the type of guy who takes those comments seriously, and he started researching the crap out of Guat so as to get the most out of his week here. Reading week for those folks in Jersey falls in March, which worked out great. He talked his roomie into coming too, a walking encyclopedia named Sheil who happens to also have a great taste in music (I realize that some of you are now wary of Sheil's taste in music, since it agrees with mine... what can I say).
Well them boys sure do like their research, and they took to the internet immediately and found some cool stuff to do. Namely, a 3-day hike through the jungle that pops you out at Tikal, the famous Mayan ruins. Sounded good to me! They had their tickets booked before I did! But all worked out well, and at the last minute A-ron even talked an old buddy of his from Bolivia into coming along as well. And, with the addition of a brand-spankin new tent from none other than my own mother, we were set!
We landed in Guatemala city on Friday, March 6 at around 8:45 in the evenin. This will be on the test later, so please pay attention. Haha well we were on a bus to Flores by 10pm, spent a nice night chattin and annoying the people around us who were trying to sleep, and hit Flores Saturday mornin. A quick trip to the Rainforest Alliance office to drop off a bunch of stuff (A-ron had an in there, and we were able to leave extra clothes and such that we weren't going to need on the hike). A nice breakfast in a restaurant, a trip to the grocery store to buy our food for the next 3 days, and we were set. We negotiated a cab ride to a small town called Cruces de dos Aguadas (or something very similar... haha) and headed into the jungle. Actually, the first few hours of hiking were along a dirt road that passed by a bunch of farmer's fields, with the customary cow and little white duck combination that I'm so fond of seeing in Central America.
We were aiming to make it to El Zotz, a set of Mayan ruins in the jungle that haven't really been excavated yet, they just sort of sit there hidden. Pretty cool. We passed an entry point into the GTA (greater Tikal area, sorry Torontonians) and they said El Zotz was only 3 hours away. We were making great time, so we figured we'd be fine. We walked till the sun went down, put on headlamps, and kept trekking... passed the 3 hour point with no sign of the fabled ruins. It was dark, we were tired, but we didn't want to stop because we kept figuring it'd be just around the next corner. It wasn't, so finally we said that's that and set up camp. It was a hurried affair, with a can of refried beans for dinner, and then we were all out like lights. Until about 3am.
Howler monkeys are so called due to their incredible booming roars that can be heard miles away. Most often active around sundown, I believe... but apparently also in the middle of the night when they feel like they need to get some things off their chests. Well it doesn't take long before you're standing outside your tent in your underwear trying to take a video of the blackness around you in order to capture the sounds. It was an amazing experience, we were right in the middle of 2 different groups of monkeys having a turf war. It's a sound like nothing you've ever heard, but I strongly recommend you find a way to hear it at some point in your life.
Next morning, with fresh socks and a fresh appreciation for the jungle, we set off. And around the next bend was... you guessed it... El Zotz. We couldn't see it in the dark, but we were only 2 minutes up the road from our destination. The universe had a little laugh at our expense, and we chuckled with it. Well done, universe.
El Zotz was really cool, the ruins were tough to make out even when standing right near them, since the jungle was so thick. But we got to climb all over them, and with the guidance of a friendly park ranger, even walk through one of them! There was a little tunnel that went underneath one, and he took us through it. Only saw 1 bat, but he assured us it was the kind that likes blood. Haha
It was a great start to the hike, and from the top of one of the temples we looked out over the vast ocean of jungle. And there, 36 or so kilometers away, one could juuuust make out a tiny gray square on the horizon: Temple 4 of Tikal. So I pulled out what was to become a source of much comfort over the next couple days - my grandpa's handy-dandy compass. Set our course, bid farewell to the first leg, and set off down the road. Everyone we ran into was trying to tell us we couldn't do it without a guide, but we knew better than to listen to negative thinking, no matter how rational it sounded. And I'm writing this now, so obviamente all went well, eh!
These blogs have a habit of going longer than you intended when you sat down to write them, so that's about all for now. Gotta go get something to eat, perhaps a steak of sorts?
Thanks for reading!
A beautiful country, it is. Full of Zest and Life, and several other North American brands of consumer products. But seriously, I've only been here 2 and a half weeks or so and I'm thinking it's a pretty nice place to be. And they have McDonalds...
For those who weren't in on my plans at the start (not my fault, talk to my agent), I basically wanted to head back to Central America this year to continue learning Spanish. Costa Rica gave me a good base, but I was sorely out of practice and didn't want to lose it completely. That, and the prospect of being out in the World again were enough to get me planning a trip. If you can call my haphazard style of last-minute-everything ''planning''.
Back in February I happened to be talking to my ex-roommate from CR, A-ron. I mentioned the Guat trip and said offhandedly "yeah man you should come down." Well A-ron is the type of guy who takes those comments seriously, and he started researching the crap out of Guat so as to get the most out of his week here. Reading week for those folks in Jersey falls in March, which worked out great. He talked his roomie into coming too, a walking encyclopedia named Sheil who happens to also have a great taste in music (I realize that some of you are now wary of Sheil's taste in music, since it agrees with mine... what can I say).
Well them boys sure do like their research, and they took to the internet immediately and found some cool stuff to do. Namely, a 3-day hike through the jungle that pops you out at Tikal, the famous Mayan ruins. Sounded good to me! They had their tickets booked before I did! But all worked out well, and at the last minute A-ron even talked an old buddy of his from Bolivia into coming along as well. And, with the addition of a brand-spankin new tent from none other than my own mother, we were set!
We landed in Guatemala city on Friday, March 6 at around 8:45 in the evenin. This will be on the test later, so please pay attention. Haha well we were on a bus to Flores by 10pm, spent a nice night chattin and annoying the people around us who were trying to sleep, and hit Flores Saturday mornin. A quick trip to the Rainforest Alliance office to drop off a bunch of stuff (A-ron had an in there, and we were able to leave extra clothes and such that we weren't going to need on the hike). A nice breakfast in a restaurant, a trip to the grocery store to buy our food for the next 3 days, and we were set. We negotiated a cab ride to a small town called Cruces de dos Aguadas (or something very similar... haha) and headed into the jungle. Actually, the first few hours of hiking were along a dirt road that passed by a bunch of farmer's fields, with the customary cow and little white duck combination that I'm so fond of seeing in Central America.
We were aiming to make it to El Zotz, a set of Mayan ruins in the jungle that haven't really been excavated yet, they just sort of sit there hidden. Pretty cool. We passed an entry point into the GTA (greater Tikal area, sorry Torontonians) and they said El Zotz was only 3 hours away. We were making great time, so we figured we'd be fine. We walked till the sun went down, put on headlamps, and kept trekking... passed the 3 hour point with no sign of the fabled ruins. It was dark, we were tired, but we didn't want to stop because we kept figuring it'd be just around the next corner. It wasn't, so finally we said that's that and set up camp. It was a hurried affair, with a can of refried beans for dinner, and then we were all out like lights. Until about 3am.
Howler monkeys are so called due to their incredible booming roars that can be heard miles away. Most often active around sundown, I believe... but apparently also in the middle of the night when they feel like they need to get some things off their chests. Well it doesn't take long before you're standing outside your tent in your underwear trying to take a video of the blackness around you in order to capture the sounds. It was an amazing experience, we were right in the middle of 2 different groups of monkeys having a turf war. It's a sound like nothing you've ever heard, but I strongly recommend you find a way to hear it at some point in your life.
Next morning, with fresh socks and a fresh appreciation for the jungle, we set off. And around the next bend was... you guessed it... El Zotz. We couldn't see it in the dark, but we were only 2 minutes up the road from our destination. The universe had a little laugh at our expense, and we chuckled with it. Well done, universe.
El Zotz was really cool, the ruins were tough to make out even when standing right near them, since the jungle was so thick. But we got to climb all over them, and with the guidance of a friendly park ranger, even walk through one of them! There was a little tunnel that went underneath one, and he took us through it. Only saw 1 bat, but he assured us it was the kind that likes blood. Haha
It was a great start to the hike, and from the top of one of the temples we looked out over the vast ocean of jungle. And there, 36 or so kilometers away, one could juuuust make out a tiny gray square on the horizon: Temple 4 of Tikal. So I pulled out what was to become a source of much comfort over the next couple days - my grandpa's handy-dandy compass. Set our course, bid farewell to the first leg, and set off down the road. Everyone we ran into was trying to tell us we couldn't do it without a guide, but we knew better than to listen to negative thinking, no matter how rational it sounded. And I'm writing this now, so obviamente all went well, eh!
These blogs have a habit of going longer than you intended when you sat down to write them, so that's about all for now. Gotta go get something to eat, perhaps a steak of sorts?
Thanks for reading!
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