Tikal

Wow.
This place (Tikal) was recommended to us by everyone and it did not disappoint. We had to get up at 3:30 am in Antigua and catch a shuttle to Guatemala City airport (about an hour away) then take a one hour flight to Flores followed by another one hour shuttle ride to Tikal. There was one scary incident where I thought I had lost my passport in Guatemala City airport but after lots of talking with officials and running around (literally) it was found in an external rear pocket of my backpack that I have NEVER used before. Much relief.

Anyway, we have spent the last two days in the middle of the jungle right next to the ruins of a Mayan city. There are temples, homes, offices and all sorts of stone edifices here of which some date back over two thousand years. On the first day we climbed to the top of a temple and saw the sunset then the next morning at 4:00 we climbed up another temple and watched the sunrise. Because we were in the jungle before the animals woke up we got to hear all sorts of noises as the day began such as howler monkeys and different birds. We also saw pizotes and toucans but no star bellied sneetches. And in total we spent about 7 hours exploring the ruins.

After Tikal we shuttled back to Flores and spent about four hours just wandering around the island and drinking cheap mojitos. Really cheap... $1.50 each. And damn good ones too! The island of Flores is really tiny and you can stroll around it in about 15-20 minutes. It is situated in the middle of a lake and stacked with very pretty coloured buildings. Real postcard stuff.

At the moment we are sitting in the Flores airport waiting for our flight to Guatemala City and then it is back to Antigua. When we arrive we have to pack ready for the morning trek back to Guatemala City in order to fly out to Puerto Rico.

The morning before I left Australia I took some sunrise photos and now that I am leaving Guatemala I have some sunset photos. Fantastic!

So, this is my last blog from Guatemala.

¡Adiós y gracias por todo el pescado!



One of the temples.



Some ruins.



Sunset.



Sunrise.



Lunch in Flores.



Boats moored waiting to take people across the lake.

Location:Tikal, Peten, Guatemala

Important announcement!

Need to thank Caitie for sending over chocolate Easter eggs. The chocolate here is pretty average (tastes a lot like that compound muck) so proper chocolate was a real treat.
Thanks sweetie!

Location:Belly

Around Antigua.

Antigua sure is a lot more upmarket than Xela! A lot more touristy and expensive too. However, there are a lot of interesting things to see here. But let's start with the trip from Panajachel yesterday.

We were picked up from our hotel exactly on time as per our booking. The trip took about 2 hours and was uneventful, passing through a couple of towns that we hadn't been through going to Xela. The mountains in Guatemala are so steep and ubiquitous that going anywhere takes a long time.

When we arrived at our posada in Antigua we dumped our stuff and headed into the centre of town (only two blocks away) for a bit of a squiz. Being your typical Spanish setup there is a main park with a church and town hall facing it. The thing about the OLD buildings here is that they were nearly all destroyed in a big earthquake in the 1700s. So we had a bit of a look at some of the churches, markets and then went back to the posada to unpack and get settled in. Later in the evening we went out for dinner to a nice little restaurant around the corner (literally) where a local musician played some fantastic latin songs on his guitar.

Next day (today - Wednesday) we went on another ruins-walk, had lunch, did more walking then ate some chocolate.

Tomorrow we are flying to Tikal for two days to see the Mayan ruins. Our shuttle service leaves the posada at 4:00 am so it will have to be an early night methinks.



This is the old Capitanes Generales quarters facing the main square.



These ladies are washing clothes at an outdoor washery that faces a little park.



This lady was washing clothes in this basin while her baby was in the one to her left being washed in that.



Great singer/guitarist doing all Latin songs.



A very tasty mouthful from Argentina (the wine, not Chrissy). Just perfect for listening to Latin music.



This ruined church is right next door to our posada.



Another market. They really hassle you here. Very annoying!



Another earthquake-destroyed church.



These are the doorways into the cells of a convent. They are set in a semicircle and if you stand in the middle and talk normally your voice carries to the back of each cell. Quite amazing.



And finally, my lunch. I ordered a plate of nachos and this is what they brought me. I couldn't finish it.

Location:Antigua, Guatemala

Xela to Panajachel

Here we are in Panajachel. We arrived yesterday, which was Easter Saturday, and the place was insane. Thousands of people crushing around us filling every square centimetre of space and so much noise that it drove us batty. Every shop, bar, restaurant and hotel was competing for 'musical' dominance. Add to that the constant touting and hassling of the street vendors and the whole scene became a cacophony. Neither of us really liked that very much.

The trip here from Xela was an interesting experience too. Because Guatemala pretty much shuts down for Easter (except for Panajachel) our shuttle was replaced by a driver with his own car. He also had two ladies from Canada that he had to drop off halfway to Panajachel and we had to fit all of our suitcases (5 of them) plus back packs into his car. So, all that luggage plus five people was a bit cosy. When I did this trip last time to work at the hospitalito it took two hours, but because it is Easter and Sololá (one of the towns we had to go through) had a market on, and there were so many people heading to Panajachel, it took a bit over four hours. We got there OK but our driver, Byron, was pretty stressed out and then had to drive back to Xela. Poor bugger.

In the evening we found a great little restaurant called 'Jose Pinguini' where there were four people playing marimba. It was like an oasis in the middle of a sea of noise. The music was great and the food was excellent. Unfortunately we did not have our camera with us so I can't post a photo.

Today (Sunday) we went to Santiago where we caught up with the family I stayed with while working at the hospitalito. We also caught up with Lyn who was my contact during the organisational phase. As it turns out, today was Jimmy's 13th birthday (he is the son of the family) and we had brought over Ozzie gifts for him and others in the family. There were heaps of people there and one hell of a spread so we had a great time. We felt very special to have been invited to the celebration.

At the moment we are back in Panajachel having a red in the lounge of our hotel planning what we will do tomorrow (apart from getting some washing done). And on Tuesday we travel to Antigua to continue the adventure.




This traffic jam took us an hour and a half to get through Sololá.



Having breakfast on the shore of Lake Atitlan with three volcanoes in the background.



Lunch at Henry's house for Jimmy's 13th birthday.



This is Henry. It is the only photo I have of him smiling!



On the lancha (ferry, boat, whatever) heading back to Panajachel from Santiago.

Location:Panajachel

Santiaguito eruption

Sorry guys,
The video on the previous blog was the wrong one. It gave you a bit of the panorama from the mirador but no eruption. This is the eruption footage.

Location:Volcan Santiaguito

Santiaguito

Hiho all,
Had a really big day yesterday with a 5:00 am start. Chris and I did a volcano hike to watch eruptions. Initially we had planned to hike to the the top of Santa Maria (about 5.5 hours each way almost straight up) but were warned off it because there had been a few robberies in the previous few days. So, we walked about 1.5 hours (each way) to a different vantage point but it was still ridiculously steep for most of the way. However, once there it was spectacular. We were only a few kilometres from the crater and during the hour we were there we saw five eruptions. You can actually hear the eruptions before you see them, sort of like a 747 taking off.

Later in the day we organised our next lot of Guatemalan travel plans including;
Shuttle to Panajachel
Shuttle to Antigua
Return flights to Tikal to see the ruins
Overnight accommodation in Tikal
Shuttle back to Antigua

And last night I had a haircut. Nothing particularly exciting in that except that when it was finished, instead of brushing off the bits of hair from around my neck and shoulders, they actually used a vacuum cleaner to suck them all up. Chris and I were hard pressed not to laugh.

Today is 'Good Thursday', the first of day of serious Semana Santa celebrations and processions and most of the city is closed except for some cafes and restaurants. We are really looking forward to the processions and streets carpeted in colours (called alfombras).



Volcanic ash falling on us while we were hiking to the mirador (lookout).



The crater.



One of the eruptions.



Another eruption with gringos.

If this video works on the blog, it is some footage of an eruption.


Goats and sheep on the volcano trail.



These kids were with the herders and they came up to us wanting their photo taken.



And finally, these guys walk way up into the hills to chop firewood with a machete and then carry it for kilometres back home. Hell of a tough life.

Location:Near Xela

The two of us

As stated previously, Chris is now here. On Sunday we strolled through the central market and just generally mooched around. We did however buy a handmade cloth directly from the lady who made it, Doña Maria. A really, really nice bit of craftsmanship.

On Monday we visited the spanish school I attended so she could meet the team and find out who it was who taught me such dodgy Spanish. It was a good reunion and we had a lot of fun. During the day we did a heap of meandering and generally had a look around. Including a monster market.

At 4:00 I had a meeting with Steve (director of Alterna) to discus my project and so now I can say it is all at an end.

Today we went to Fuentes Georginas, which is a volcanically heated spa and tomorrow we are doing a volcano hike for which we have to leave at 5:00am. Hmmm.

As for right now, we are in a cool little cafe/bar listening to some young gringos belting out 'going up the country', a song that would have been released about 10 years before they were born I reckon. The music is OK but you would think they could find their own icons!


This is the textile we bought and this is the lady who made it. It is beautiful.



They have a lot of fresh fruit here that they freeze and dip in chocolate. This is a choco banana and a choco mango. They cost Q5 each, about 75 cents.



A bit hard to see in this photo but this guy is carrying a serious gun to guard the Pepsi van. This is not a joke.



And finally another electricity photo. This is a lamp post in the main park and people have plugged into the power outlets.

Location:Xela