Home safe and sound

Deep in thought about the Mayan ruins of Tikal "Hmmm....Mayans...."

Mom and I returned to the States late last night after a long day of traveling. We spent the last 4 days in Guatemala in the northern region at the Tikal National Park, which is the largest of the ancient Mayan ruins. The ruins are set in the middle of the jungle and were pretty impressive. We woke at 4:30 AM the first day to take a sunrise tour of the ruins, saw many different birds and monkeys and watched the sunrise from the top of one of the temples. It was extremely hot so we spent most of the day at the pool, then returned to the park for dusk. We stayed at one of the 3 hotels in the national park, so we were able to hear many of the animals at night and in the early morning, but it also meant only 4 hours of electricty and ltos of bugs. An adventure more for mom, as I was used to roughing it by then.

Overall, Guatemala was a great experiene. It has an amazing amount of geographic diversity for such a small country and an equally amazing history. Their civil war (which more or less equates to a US backed ruling of the Guatemalan army that engaged in repression, discrimination and genocide of the Mayan people) ended only 12 years ago and much of the country lives in poverty. About 60% are illiterate and live in extreme poverty, which when you see the living conditions and futures of the children is pretty depressing. An extremely

interesting country and adventure. As for my Spanish skills.....I am definitely a Beginner, but I speak enough to get around traveling and hold basic conversations with people. It may not always be pretty, but I function well enough I guess. Hope to keep the skills up!

Mom, looking like the savvy traveler she is. Check out the new backpack....

Me at the airport in Flores. it's about 95 degrees in the airport and a had a stomach bug. Good times....

Mas Guate fotos....

More pics of the great local things here. The chicken bus and the man on the top, whose job it is to put and retrieve bags from the top. Often while the bus is in motion....
Below, the tuk-tuks that zoom around the city. Mom loves those....


Typical Mayan dress for men. In most parts of the country, men don't wear the typcial dress anymore but women and girls still do.

Lake Atitlan

Mom and I spent the past 6 days at Lake Atitlan, which is Guatemala's top tourist attraction. The lake is surround by 3 volcanos and is absolutely beautiful. We went to a local market in the town of Solola to give Mom a taste of the market scene in Guat. THe men in Solola were the typcial Myan dress, which is not too common in Guat. anymore. We spent 5 days at a fantastic hote, Casa Del Mundo, just relaxing, swimming in the lake, eating delicious food, and took day trips to the surround villages. We celebrated Mother's Day with a day of pampering at a local eco hotel. Not too bad! Weare back in Antigua for 3 days, then will head to Tikal.

Above, Mom at the market in Solola with a back ground of live chickens...

The hotel at Lake Atitlan, Mom and I doing what we do best - chillin by the water, swimming, reading and playing Cribbage.

Traveling with the madre

Pics of the Spanish colonial architecture in Antigua

I met up with my mom early Monday morning in Guatemala City and we headed to the city of Antigua, about 45 minutes southwest of the capital. Gringos either love or hate Antigua because it is very European feeling with Spanish colonial atmosphere and architecture, is full of gringos and ex pats, clean, safe, and mysteriously lacks stray dogs or unsightly things. Plus it has great restuarants and coffee. It does not feel like Guatemala and after 2 months in this country, I loved Antigua! We took a historic walking tour of the city on Tuesday, then had lunch at a beautiful colonial hotel and museum with Alexandria, a girl I met at school in Xela and her mother, who is also visiting her here. On Wednesday, we took a tour to climb Volcan Pacaya, which is a constantly active volcano about 1 1/2 hours from Antigua. We hiked about 1 1/2 hours to the top of the lava fields where we got within about 10 feet of the lava. We were even able to roast marshmellows up there! We had a fantastic lunch of fresh veggie sandwhiches -the guide even made fresh guacemole up there! It was a great experience with beautiful views of the vocano. Mom handled it like a champ, even with a few bumps and bruises.

This morning, we took a shuttle to the town of Panajachel on Lake Atitlan, Guatemala largest tourist atraction. We walked to a nature reserve in the morning, then had lunch at a cafe overlooking the lake. Tomorrow we will visit a local market near the lake, then take a lancha to the small town of Jabalito and our hotel for the next few nights. So far, Bar and I are doing great together and she is practicing her new daily Spanish words with gusto.

On the left, Bar enjoying the mallows roasted by her loving daughter. And the beautiful duo trying not to fall in the lava....

Finca Tatin

I spent the past 3 days at hotel Finca Tatin, which is set in the jungle along the Rio Dulce river. The hotel has a fantastic location, great river for swimming, a Mayan sauna, kayaking, a few walking trails, good traveler company, great food and tons of hammocks. However, because it is in the jungle, there were tons of giant spiders, flying cockroaches, scorpians ands other bugs that scare me. We slept under mosquito netting on the beds, but I was still paranoid all night. As soon as we arrived, I heard stories of people who were stung by scorpians and found giant spiders in their beds. I got a bit more comfortable showering with the spiders, although I did a full bed and bathroom check every morning and night.

We arrived on Wednesday after taking a lancha boat 20 min. up the river to Finca Tatin, then spent the afternoon swimming in the river and lounging in the hammocks. We had a fantastic group dinner at 7pm, the food is probably the best I had in Guatemala and there was a delicious parsley-oil mix for the tortillas that I loved. After dinner, we took an evening jungle walk to the caves nearby, which basically meant we walked and looked for spiders and bugs in the dark. Not my thing, but it was a bit of ´exposure therapy´ for the creepy bugs.
On Thursday, we kayaked with 3 other people to a Biotopo about 2 hours away. The scenery is beautiful along the river with great birdwatching and people watching. At the Biotopo, we stopped at a small Mayan village and restaurant for lunch and to rest our sore arms. The woman and her children in the restuarnat were very nice and hospitable, the kids are in the pic below and are adorable! As we set out for the trip back to Finca Tatin, the wind had changed and we were fighting strong wind and the current home for 3 hours of paddling. It was exhausting, and we stopped at some hot springs along the way to re energize and rest our arms. The rest of the day was spent swimming, using the Mayan sauna, eating a fantastic dinner and playing cards with others. I spent Friday morning relaxing and reading in the hammock by the river for 4 hours - that may be a record for me! My arms were exhausted and there was great people watching, as the locals canoe and fish near the Finca. The place was wonderful, but after 3 nights of paranoa about the bugs, I was ready to move on. I am spending tonight in the town of Rio Dulce, then off to Guatemala City tomorrow to meet my mom for my last 2 weeks of travel. The time here has flown by, as all travels do....

On the left, doing what I do best - sleeping and hammocking! Below, Lisa and I before the exhausting trip back. Frankie, in the background, is the picture perfect sight of relaxation.....

How cute are these kids?!?! Me, not so cute at 7 am in my bed. No bugs though!!!

Pics

Finally got around to adding a few pics, but decided I need to take more. There are so many interesting people and sights in Livingston but it is not too cool to run around taking photos of everyone....
Below is our hotel, Casa Rosada which is right on the mouth of the Rio Dulce river. We are in little wooden bungalows, very cozy. Me drinking my AM coffee in the palapa, looking a little rough and sleepy. And covered in bug bites....




Above is a pic of Semuc Champey, the natural limestone pools that form a bridge over a river near Coban. And Lisa and I in the lancha boat on the way to Livingston after 11 hours of bus riding for me. Good times!

Livingston

After a marathon travel day on Sunday, I met up with my friend Lisa in Guatemala City, took a bus to Puerto Barrios and a lancha boat to Livingston. Livingston is on the eastern side of Guatemala and is populated by the black Garifuna population and some Mayans. It is very tropical and Caribbean, a very different feeling than the rest of Guatemala. And it is hot and humid! We are staying in a very nice hotel right on the Rio Dulce river, which offers a great breeze and an escape from the heat. The hotel has a dock with a palapa at the end, complete with a hammock- my favorite! Yesterday we walked to Siete Alteres, a series of waterfalls and natural pools good for swimming in the rainy season. Since it is not yet the rainy season, they were less than impressive but great for cooling off.It was a 1 1/2 hour walk each way along the beach, which was great for the breeze but it was still very hot. The beach is not really swimable, as it is pretty dirty with trash and mostly used for commercial fishing. The walk was a great way to see the local people and culture though. Tomorrow we head for Finca Tatin, which is a hotel in the jungle along the Rio Dulce river. It is pretty much isolated from everywhere else, and like Livingston, only accesible by boat. I have picture,s but off course this computer is not cooperating, so maybe when I get back to civilization next week.......