No mas

Another week of Spanish school and I’m so relieved it’s my last!! I chose the school, Celas Maya, because it advertised great activities in the afternoon and I’m all about the activities. We visited a local weaving cooperative benefiting Mayan women, toured the local important historical buildings in and around Xela via a trolley, and visited the largest outdoor market in Central America not geared towards tourists. So I got to see how most Guatemalans shop for their goods: spices, dried stinky fish, clothes, purses, cloth, animals (pigs, cows, you name it and it was for sale), and even chicken claws! The ride to the market was by chicken bus, a very “fun” experience as you are always squished between people while the driver blares Guatemalan hip-hop music. I was even asked by an adorable girl for a dollar. My teacher was with me and told the girl sternly this was a bad thing to do, yikes. To further add to the uncomfortability level of the situation, there are always people coming on board while we’re stopped to sell food or ask for money. Out of everything I’ve seen and done here, riding the chicken buses are the most authentic Guatemalan experiences. I just want to see a chicken on one of them!

In general, Xela attracts a more humane crowd of people and this was apparent immediately. Students and locals here are more likely to volunteer and more into social justice as opposed to partying, although there’s still a fair share of that going on. There are ample opportunities to support organizations such as women dealing with domestic violence. My original plans were to teach Mayan children English but they require a longer stay than 1 week for this.

Unfortunately, Xela is not a pretty town and this combined with just an ok teacher and a bad homestay family has me leaving tomorrow to go back near Antigua. My favorite thing about Xela was my visit to Fuentes Georginas (hot springs) and hanging out with my friend Becky and 2 new friends, Amy and Marjolein, as well as others from the school. This whole experience of traveling has been a great way to meet people from different countries and see how differently people live. Last night, for instance, I attended my first soccer game (or futbol game to the rest of the world) with a whole group from the school. We really stuck out, a big group of western looking people who didn’t know the team’s cheers, etc. But we sure did learn them in a hurry! Well, really we just yelled Juego! when the other team kicked the ball, except when my friend yelled Jugo (juice) instead at one point!! It’s a good thing we can laugh at ourselves, there have been a number of times when I’m not quite saying the right thing and the local will look at me like I’m crazy while I think I’m saying it correctly. Anyway, Xela’s team was pretty horrible, they lost 3-0. What might have been the weirdest part of the experience was we couldn’t take in water bottles yet fireworks were allowed and were constantly going off during the game and there was even a fire from all the paper confetti at the end. Another cultural experience!

One of the more interesting things I’ve done on this trip was to visit a professor of Mayan culture and have my stars read according to the Mayan calendar!! This next paragraph is long and if you’re not into my psychology, please read no further. I went with Becky and Amy, and thank goodness I did, because Becky helped translate the parts of Spanish that I didn’t understand. Overall, it was on target and explained a few things. The color that most describes me and that will protect me is Lila, a purple/lilac color (the same color of my bridesmaid dresses, dining room wall in Guam, and current color of our second bedroom!). This color symbolizes happiness and sweetness, sweet, huh? I was very strong (the highest number, 13) in the nurturing area and family life, the downfall of this is that because I support others so much I do not always take care of myself. True of so many women, huh? So perhaps a family is in my future after all…. I am also a good judge of character, a visionary, I feel bad if I don’t have all the answers, it’s important for me to share with others, I worry a lot about others (part of the nurturing aspect, I think, and from my mother, love you, mom!), and I will have 4 earth-shattering changes in my life. The animal that most describes me is the crocodile, I’m going to have to do more research on this part as I didn’t understand this explanation. Also Mother Earth is very important to me, which I think also relates to my earth sign, Taurus. My negative energy, or character flaws are that I am very flexible to the point where I do not listen enough to myself. The trouble that I have is with my feet, a metaphor to explain that I’m having difficulty making decisions with my life right now, I’m stuck, can’t move forward or backward. Hmmm, perhaps the reason for this extended trip where I have the chance to figure things out for myself… I’m going to take this problem with my feet literally and go get a foot massage or reflexology!! In addition, money and jobs will not be hard to come by, yes! I also have frustration with losing things, whether it be friends, money or keys, not sure I buy this one. Interesting enough I need to live by water whether it be rivers or the ocean in order to recharge my energy (Seattle couldn’t be a more perfect place, especially living right by Green Lake!) and flowers and water are important for my home space. What a great excuse to buy myself flowers! Professions that suit me are social communicators, sociologists, lawyers or those working for just causes. Interesting enough, I had already come to the decision during this trip that I need to change the direction my career is going. I aim to find a job with a non-profit using my RD and CHES, if possible. So this reading was not a bad way to spend a few hours, some money and practice my Spanish….

So tomorrow morning I take the bus in to Antigua and will stay there until my plane leaves this coming Saturday!! I’m staying at a place outside of Antigua for 2 or 3 nights to just relax, study Spanish with a private tutor, hike near the volcanoes, and maybe do some yoga. Then I’m off to see the biggest touristy market in Chichicastenango and just hang out with friends in Antigua for my last 2 days!!!

Abrazos fuertes y besos

Y mas fotos....

These pictures are still from my time in Antigua. The first is from one of the many famous processions during Semana Santa (Holy Week), everyone involved in the procession was wearing these purple costumes and the incense literally filled the city, they also carried these heavy wooden altars while somber music played. The second is of a typical architectural style of lamp of Atingua overlooks Parque Central, where I loved to spend time and people watch. The third is of the Merced Church on Palm Sunday, I lived only a block from this church. And the last is a typical alfombra or rug, made of dyed sawdust and fruits, vegetables, and bread which are given as offerings. The typical alfombra takes as much as 8 hours to make and they are swept up or the procession stomps all over the rug so all that time spent making it of course, takes no time to destroy. But it is clearly a religious ritual.

More volcano pictures....

So these pictures are from my hike of Volcan Pacaya near Guatemala City. I went on a sunset hike and it was gorgeous!! The lava was very hot as you'd imagine and what a great view....

Finalmente....Fotos!

So finally, here are some pictures from Antigua. The first is the classic picture which everyone takes of the arch where the nuns used to cross so men could not see them with Volcan Agua in the background. The second is of Volcan Fuego, a very active volcano, which goes off almost every day and night. I have a really awesome video of it in action....

So my excuse for the delay in posting pictures is the length of time it takes to upload these pictures from my computer with the slow wifi connection and I have more than 1,000 of them so I'm having difficulty choosing which ones to post. These are from the beginning of my trip and I plan on posting more shortly. Enjoy!

Earthquake in Guatemala

So....just in case anyone has heard anything about it, there was a 6.1 earthquake last night on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala and I could feel the tremors here in Xela!! I did not know what it was, at first I thought someone was on the roof of my room, very scary. At least I did not scream!! Anyway, all is well here...... No power outages, etc.....

Adios for now!

Transportation

I thought I had seen it all in Guatemala until my trip from Rio Dulce to Coban, this the day I got off the catamaran. The bus from Rio Dulce was plush with air conditioning and even a bus attendant and snacks. Then it got sketchy as we were dropped off in El Rancho, a.k.a. El Rauncho, a tiny town where a hustler greeted us and grabbed Becky’s wheeled suitcase showing us where the “bus” transfer was to our next destination, Coban. I didn’t trust this guy so asked a woman where to go and sure enough it was the same place the slimy guy was taking us. (I just assume people are trying to take advantage of me, I feel like I am a walking quetzal, the local currency, most of the time.) The bus turned out to be a mini shuttle bus with a broken window and the employees were 2 shirtless guys, one the driver and the other the money-taker/guy who lets the driver know there’s someone on the side of the road. I had not felt more vulnerable than at that time when Becky and I had to figure out if it was safe to take this transport. We decided to because there were other women on the van. I was so glad to be traveling with someone else at this point. We literally stopped for anyone on the side of the road. At one point, there were 25 people on this tiny van. The best part was getting left on the side of the road once we reached Coban. The locals were super helpful, though, as the employees didn’t even tell us where we were but we found a taxi almost right away and made it safely to our hostel. I guess I shouldn’t have expected more as we only paid 25 quetzales, about $3.

So we quickly figure out that Coban is not a heavily touristed area and transportation to this area is infrequent and chaotic so decide to immediately figure out how we’re getting out of there. We had planned to travel to Semuc Champey the following day and stay there for a few nights then head to Xela but we did not want a repeat of our fun trip to Coban so wanted to take a direct shuttle. Our only option was to leave Coban a full day earlier than we’d planned as the next shuttle wasn’t until the following Tuesday. So we ended up doing a 1 day trip to the Semuc Champey area. Our tour included transport (a fun, bumpy, unpaved road), entrance fee to the park, a guide (who was mostly useless and this is a generous statement), lunch, etc. We met some great people: 2 French girls, 1 with an infected tooth who had to be dropped off at the hospital, and an Australian couple with a disgusting worm story. There was a hike up to a great lookout of the limestone pools and we also swam in the pools. A gorgeous place. What got lost in translation was a trip to a cave, as we had no idea this was part of the tour. It was sort of cool at first but then the guide started hunting for spiders so half of us went back early. The cave had super slippery rocks and was really creepy and dirty. I could’ve done without this part but am continually reminded of how fluid this place is. Things are never fully explained even when asked directly and you don’t know for sure what you’re going to get. Hmmm, sort of like life…..

So, the next day’s trip to Quetzaltenango, or Xela, as the locals call it after a Mayan name, was by far even worse than the trip to Coban. It took more than 8 hours in a mini-bus with half of that time on unpaved and extremely curvy roads. Guatemala has to be one of the most difficult countries to travel around with its’ hills/mountains and crazy curvy roads. There was construction in many parts as they were paving a brand new road, wonderful for future travelers and locals alike. We tried to distract ourselves with games and thankfully, the couple we were traveling with was interesting and willing to play our famous person, word association and story games. They and the bus driver thought we were fun and appreciated the distractions!!

Xela greeted us with rain and very cool weather, which I find refreshing after 2 weeks of sweating. It’s also back to city life. Xela is Guatemala’s 2nd largest city and it feels so strange to be in one, really since Seattle. Actual traffic lights look so odd. I’m so glad to be in 1 place after traveling around for 3 weeks. So now I’m back to school for my last 2 weeks!!!!

Adios mis amigos!

Back on dry land

And it´s nice. A real toilet that flushes, no pumping necessary. And cold water to drink, how refreshing! I did learn that I have the ability to live a full week onboard a tiny boat with a misogynist as well as no toilets or showers. Did I already mention the showers are just fresh water bottles, sorry there is no question mark on this keyboard!! Anyway, it was quite an experience. It was a good relaxing group with many laughs and even tears. There truly was no privacy. But this has been my life in Guatemala.

So on the boat we sailed quite a bit and there were rough choppy moments. Overall, though, there was a great breeze. Probably the toughest part was finding shade. My poor back has a burn on top of a burn as well as sun blisters, which I´ve never had before. Crazy enough I was super vigilant about applying and reapplying sunscreen but you shouldn´t feel sorry for me.....

The snorkeling was pretty good. They definitely saved the best spot for last. I saw manta rays, there was a shark feeding on the fish corpses, a moray eel, and many colorful fish and plants. I was too scared to go in the water with the sharks and eel though, creepy. I have to say though, aside from the last stop in Belize, Guam had better snorkeling overall. But now I have a live aboard experience!!

So we ate on deck and slept underneath in little caverns. The food was great! Freshly caught seafood and dessert every night! Last night we had pasta with conch shell meat and it was the birthday of one of the passengers so they made chocolate cake!! We had great breakfasts of pancakes, sometimes beans, eggs, and plantains. I had a positive experience overall, this being said, the computer monitor is moving.....

I´m off to continue my travels with Becky to Semuc Champey, in the middle of Guatemala. It´s not an overly touristy place but is reported to have gorgeous natural beauty in the form of limestone pools and caves. I´m dreading the bus ride though, 3 hours then we change buses in El Rancho and from there I don´t know how much further it is. We might not make it all the way to Lanquin-Semuc Champey tonight.

Life on a Catamaran

Well, it´s certainly interesting. We were taken only 3 at a time in a tiny tippy looking wooden canoe with our luggage. I got soaked sitting in the front and was wearing a white tanktop, not the smartest thing I´ve ever done. There were some choppy times on the river, I´m glad I have my sea bands to help with the motion sickness, also ginger candy and dramamine. So there are 7 other passengers on board: an older guy from Poland, a young party guy from Connecticut, an Asian Doctor from London, a young couple from California, a young girl from Cali, and my friend Becky, also young and from Cali. So I´m feeling old at the age of 31. There are 3 crew members, all who speak Spanish so I will get to practice! However, all the initial directions were given in Spanish and I couldn´t understand all of them, I definitely need to hit the books while on board. Plus, there seems to be a lot of free time. The problem with the directions in Spanish was with the bathroom. There´s no shower on board, only a toilet and sink with water from the river so ok for hands but not brushing teeth. The toilet is the most interesting, it needs to be pumped 8 times then wait for a minute and check to see if it all went down. Yikes, I haven´t figured out how to lock the door, etc. Privacy as in all other times when traveling, in Guatemala at least, is hard to come by. Last night, we docked around dinner time and the sunset was fabulous. The food was good too. Sleeping was ok actually, I have a sort of bed/room thing with a fan and you just hop down into it throught this port-hole sort of thing. So my room shares a wall/curtain with the kitchen so I´m up early and trying not to think about bugs, etc. from the kitchen.....

I´m now in Livingston, our last stop in Guatemala. The crew is going through immigration for us so we have a chance to run errands, use real toilets, and buy any last minute things. I´m buying ibuprofen and praying my ankle is strong enough to go snorkeling probably tomorrow when we´re in Belize. I hope I develop sea legs soon!!

Adios and wish me luck....

Tikal!!

Waking up at 3 in the morning is never fun, however, I am so glad I did it! We were supposed to see sunrise in Tikal National Park but the clouds were not participating. What I did see was a few howler monkeys and heard many scary jungle sounds. I would've been scared to death had we not been in a huge tour group with 2 security guards. The sound from the howler monkey was like that of a ferocious dog gobbling up its prey. I can not even describe to the extent of how scary this was!! But I'm safe aside from the incident of the monkey chasing me and causing me to fall. I now have a sprained ankle but unfortunately, it was not from a monkey chasing me. Just my own unsure footing walking down steep steps of the pyramids we climbed. What a fantastic experience though! I imagine it would have been even more spiritual with less people. The other great thing about the timing was we avoided the brunt of the heat. This is weather like the rainforest, very hot and humid, which the parts of Guatemala I've traveled to thus far have not been as they've been pretty high up in elevation. There were some super tall pyramids I climbed via a staircase and so tall I was afraid to look down but I didn't let my fear of heights nor my ankle hold me back..... The pictures turned out well, I can't wait to share.....

So....I'm taking the plunge and am about to spend 7 days 6 nights on a catamaran to the Belizean cayes! We leave in an hour and will spend this afternoon on Rio Dulce and Lago de Izabal. If you're interested in checking out my trip, the website is www.sailing-diving-guatemala.com
I feel sort of guilty as this is a trip I'd love to take with Ryan. I am definitely living this one up. I'm making up for it though in the hotels and hostels I've been staying at. Definitely going for the cheapest but safest options. Let me just say, I'm glad I never saw the movie Hostel!!

What is cool about this trip is I keep running into former housemates and other travelers I've met along the way. I'm loving communicating in another language even in my limited vocabulary I'm able to get my point across and then some. I love to hear about others' stories and there's a definite theme in that everyone hates their job and most are traveling for far longer than I am. I have come to a number of realizations on this trip which I'll get into at a later time but suffice it to say traveling is a wonderful way to get to know yourself better. I appreciate what I have so much more and I can not wait to eventually not worry about what I'm eating or be able to brush my teeth without bottled purified water!!

Well, I'm off... Muchos abrazos

Guatemalan Jungle

I survived 2 nights in the jungle, can you believe it. For this bug-phobic girl, this is a true accomplishment. The sounds at night are scary even with my saving grace: earplugs. Our adventure started with a 6 hour bus ride from Antigua to Rio Dulce, a cool, Caribbean town. From there, we took an hour boat ride to this quaint little place called El Hotelito Perdito, lost hotel, and they weren´t kidding. It is absolutely out in the middle of nowhere. We stayed in a romantic little bungalow with a private bathroom, a complete luxury in these parts. I was so happy to have mosquito netting and I am still really bit up!! The worst were the bugs, a cockroach was in our bathroom the last night and all kinds of exotic bugs around especially at night. The worst though might have been the beetle that fell from the ceiling and landed on my friend Becky. She was in the hammock and flew from it so quickly. Not a problem, though, as the dog (clean and well taken care of, a rarity) ate it with a resounding crunch. This is why we left that little place and are now in Livingston, a Caribbean town with Garifuna culture and different types of food. Coconut bread and tapado stew, yum!!

Even with this bug issue, this has been my favorite area of Guatemala so far. It has truly stunning natural beauty. We kayaked through a manatee reserve and did not see any manatees, though the birds and flora were so nice and tranquil to be around. I only screamed a few times when Becky almost tipped the kayak! I am most certainly not the most comfortable person around water! It was so relaxing and much needed after the hustle and bustle of life in Antigua.

Not sure what our plans are for the near future. We are definitely headed the ruins of Tikal. But a trip on a catamaran through the Belizean cayes might be in the foreseeable future. If this is the case, I won´t have internet for a week or so!

Mucho cariño