!Hola!
So yesterday we arrived in Guatemala City, returning from Flores and our time in the jungle. From Guate we wanted to head to the highlands region around Lake Atitlan. So we grabbed a minibus from Guate to Panajachel, on the lake. It is sort of similar to Lake Tahoe, however this lake is surrounded by volcanos. We arrived around one and found a place to stay for 7 bucks a night. You can´t beat that. Anyway, we then proceeded to familiarize ourselves with the town by walking down the two main streets. Basically the city center is a pretty happening place with bars, discos and shops galor.
Here you can find women and children dressed in traditional grab, selling their wares, consisting of hand-made scarves, bracelets and other fine wares. We stopped to grab something to eat and then walked around the mercado de artisians, basically you can find all kinds of fun crafts here, but you have to bargain down your price.
As we were sitting at a cafe drinking some cafe con leche (coffee with milk), all these kids wearing masks went running by, it was curious, but we didn´t follow them. As we continued down the street, we happened upon a play, or something, two guys, also dressed in masks, and all the kids sitting on the side walk. We stayed and watched wondering what and why this was happening in the middle of the day. Well we continued on our way back to our hostal to grab a beer and change for the evening of partying (in honor of me potentially having a job)!
So we went out bar hopping, our first stop was Circus Bar, it was pretty dead there so we headed to the next stop, Pana Rock. This place was pretty cool, they had 2 for 1, so basically you could get drinks for two drinks for 3.50, it was great! We stayed there, listening to the live music and eating some cheap food. We stayed and then decided we should go back closer to our hostel and ended back at Circus Bar, where they also had live music, consisting of Flamanco music. It was great, well here the bartender was really leering at me and lots of locals where coming up and talking to me and really not to Beth (hence the blonde hair thing). Well we stayed here until we ended up taking shots of Sambuca and decided we needed to pass out. So off it was back to Villa Lupita´s, where we came upon locked gates. We were´kind of worried as to how the hell we were getting in, but Beth, who was not as drunk, found the door bell and Lupita let us in. That was a close one! So we made it back to stumble into bed and pass out.
sábado, 24 de mayo de 2008
viernes, 23 de mayo de 2008
Death by Ancient Stair Master!
Today we got up at the ass crack of dawn again, for the second day in a row, to catch a mini-bus to Tikal, the Mayan ruins about half and hour north of El Remate. At 5.30AM, we were already sweating in places we didn't know we could.
The storm from the previous made the ride a bit interesting, as there were many trees down on the road entering the park. Interesting animal crossing signs warned us as we were entering-monkeys, snakes, panthers, picotes-a raccoon like thing, a sign that appeared to look like a deer or something with antlers that we never saw. We got to the part at 6am before most of the tourists arrived and its wasn't too hot yet-don't get us wrong it was still damn hot!
We opted to go agaist the rope that indicated we shouldn't start our tour this way in the park, but we had our maps in our guidesbooks and the guy from Mass. with us, so we said whatever. Who can get lost in the jungle with a map? With 7 temples to see, time was wasting, so onto Temple 6 first. Here, we were greated by an unindefiable mammal, birds, and monkeys! I am pretty sure one peed on my guidebook. Nothing too special out Temple 6, so onto Temple 5. Temple 5 was CRAZY! With steep wooden stairs to climb, 58 meters high, for you not metric peeps, that about 150 feet maybe. Going up was the easy part and the view at the top was magnificent. Above the canopy, we could see Temples 1 and 2. If you know anything about Tikal, Temples 1 and 2 are the ones most often seen in photographs in books. So onto to Temples 1 and 2 and the Gran Plaza, where the human sacrifices happened, or so our books say. Another Temple to climb at Temple 2, but we couldn't climb Temple 1 because some dumb tourists fell off the damn thing a few years ago to their death.
So we opted to forgo the sun rise tour because some other travelers the day before said that the price for rising early and running 2 miles into the park to see the sunrise on Temple 4 wasn't worth it because it was so misty and hazing. Instead, we took our sweet time mastering the various Maya stair masters until we got the back of the park to Temple 4. Temple 4 was under "reconstruction", which really looked like they were rebuilding it with new stone blocks and mortar. So much for preservation. Temple 4 had a awesome view above the canopy and of Temples 1, 2, 3, and 5.
We were pretty much with the park 2 hours before our bus was scheduled to leave, but we all were hot, tired, and hungry after 6 hours in the park. Beer sounded really damn good at this point, as did a shower and a nap. Lisa went for a swim in the lake near our grass hut while I took a nap. Dinner at the hotel and back to bed for another early rise to head to the airport to return to Guatemala City and onto the western highlands.
The storm from the previous made the ride a bit interesting, as there were many trees down on the road entering the park. Interesting animal crossing signs warned us as we were entering-monkeys, snakes, panthers, picotes-a raccoon like thing, a sign that appeared to look like a deer or something with antlers that we never saw. We got to the part at 6am before most of the tourists arrived and its wasn't too hot yet-don't get us wrong it was still damn hot!
We opted to go agaist the rope that indicated we shouldn't start our tour this way in the park, but we had our maps in our guidesbooks and the guy from Mass. with us, so we said whatever. Who can get lost in the jungle with a map? With 7 temples to see, time was wasting, so onto Temple 6 first. Here, we were greated by an unindefiable mammal, birds, and monkeys! I am pretty sure one peed on my guidebook. Nothing too special out Temple 6, so onto Temple 5. Temple 5 was CRAZY! With steep wooden stairs to climb, 58 meters high, for you not metric peeps, that about 150 feet maybe. Going up was the easy part and the view at the top was magnificent. Above the canopy, we could see Temples 1 and 2. If you know anything about Tikal, Temples 1 and 2 are the ones most often seen in photographs in books. So onto to Temples 1 and 2 and the Gran Plaza, where the human sacrifices happened, or so our books say. Another Temple to climb at Temple 2, but we couldn't climb Temple 1 because some dumb tourists fell off the damn thing a few years ago to their death.
So we opted to forgo the sun rise tour because some other travelers the day before said that the price for rising early and running 2 miles into the park to see the sunrise on Temple 4 wasn't worth it because it was so misty and hazing. Instead, we took our sweet time mastering the various Maya stair masters until we got the back of the park to Temple 4. Temple 4 was under "reconstruction", which really looked like they were rebuilding it with new stone blocks and mortar. So much for preservation. Temple 4 had a awesome view above the canopy and of Temples 1, 2, 3, and 5.
We were pretty much with the park 2 hours before our bus was scheduled to leave, but we all were hot, tired, and hungry after 6 hours in the park. Beer sounded really damn good at this point, as did a shower and a nap. Lisa went for a swim in the lake near our grass hut while I took a nap. Dinner at the hotel and back to bed for another early rise to head to the airport to return to Guatemala City and onto the western highlands.
Taca, Taca, Taca!
So, we're back in the airport after a quick stay in Guatemala City for a flight to the northern part of the country, Flores. We opted to stay in a sleepy village called El Remate about a half hour from the airport between there and Tikal, the Mayan ruins we planned to see. We are in the jungle, it's crazy hot and humid, and we're staying in a grass hut! With mosquito netting of course which really wasn't for the mosquitos, but more for the bigger ass bugs we encountered. The place is owned by a Frenchman named Santiago, who we later learned speaks English, but not with us.
There is absolutely no night life in this little town or really much to do for that matter, so we picked up our first random traveler, a 31 year old Kiwi (New Zealander)who was a bit lost but traveling on a much bigger budget than us. He was staying at a 5 star place, as opposed to our 1 star, that had a pool. So we bought him some beer at our place because it was much cheaper that and then used him for his pool at his hotel. His flirting techniques were aweful and totally unentertaining, so we left him at his hotel for the walk back to ours. We also got to do our first hitch hiking, as we got caught in one hell of a monsoon as we were walking back to our hotel. Some friendly and faceless locals pulled over and let us hop in the back on their truck. The storm knocked out power at our hotel for about 2 hours, but the fridge still kept the beer cold! So we drank and talked in the dark and met another random traveler from Massachussetts. A medical resident, he was far more entertaining than the Kiwi and didn't hit on us.
The storm cooled things off a bit and made for a nice night's sleep. We were in bed early for another early morning rise to catch a bus to Tikal, further into the jungle.
There is absolutely no night life in this little town or really much to do for that matter, so we picked up our first random traveler, a 31 year old Kiwi (New Zealander)who was a bit lost but traveling on a much bigger budget than us. He was staying at a 5 star place, as opposed to our 1 star, that had a pool. So we bought him some beer at our place because it was much cheaper that and then used him for his pool at his hotel. His flirting techniques were aweful and totally unentertaining, so we left him at his hotel for the walk back to ours. We also got to do our first hitch hiking, as we got caught in one hell of a monsoon as we were walking back to our hotel. Some friendly and faceless locals pulled over and let us hop in the back on their truck. The storm knocked out power at our hotel for about 2 hours, but the fridge still kept the beer cold! So we drank and talked in the dark and met another random traveler from Massachussetts. A medical resident, he was far more entertaining than the Kiwi and didn't hit on us.
The storm cooled things off a bit and made for a nice night's sleep. We were in bed early for another early morning rise to catch a bus to Tikal, further into the jungle.
martes, 20 de mayo de 2008
Pee on the floor and boulder boogers
Lisa:
Well Beth can tell you about pee on the floor. But our adventure has started and we have been up for more than 24 hours. We left Sacramento at 9:30 last night and it is currently almost 8 PM here, so yep that would be 24 hours.
The flight from Sac to L.A. was non eventful, your typical Southwest flight. Then we hopped to the international terminal to check in for Mexicana and they couldn´t find my information. That just cause I am an idoiot and had my first name as my last name. So they found it and off we were to Mexico City, or so we thought. What they don´t tell you is that our flight had another stop at Zacatecas. Where we deboarded the plane and went through immigration and apparently we were in Mexico and have the stamp to prove we were there. Very interesting kind of reminicent of my days traveling back in S.A. Anyway, we get back on the plane and head to Mexico City, have a five hour lay over and finally are on our way to Guatemala, finally!!! So here we are, dead tired, but now clean and our ready to bed to be up tomorrow at 5:00 am to catch our flight to Flores. Adios for now, but don´t worry our adventure is only beginning and we are sure to have more stories.
Beth:
Yes, pee on the floor. Ah to be back in Latin America! Apparently butt gaskets are optional and I could have sworn that a man mistook the women's restroom in the Guatemala City airport for his own, as there was an immense puddle of pee on the floor and the seat was hosed down. This was an amazing feat by a woman! I was too tired to really care so I rolled up my pants and hovered to do my business. The little idiosyncracies of traveling. Anyway, Lisa and I found the mall and a newer area of the city tonight for dinner. While it's not a terrible city, there's really not much here to keep us so we are off to the Maya ruins tomorrow for the next adventure and more stories to come. Oh, and the air is aweful here so it make for soem really great boogers.
Well Beth can tell you about pee on the floor. But our adventure has started and we have been up for more than 24 hours. We left Sacramento at 9:30 last night and it is currently almost 8 PM here, so yep that would be 24 hours.
The flight from Sac to L.A. was non eventful, your typical Southwest flight. Then we hopped to the international terminal to check in for Mexicana and they couldn´t find my information. That just cause I am an idoiot and had my first name as my last name. So they found it and off we were to Mexico City, or so we thought. What they don´t tell you is that our flight had another stop at Zacatecas. Where we deboarded the plane and went through immigration and apparently we were in Mexico and have the stamp to prove we were there. Very interesting kind of reminicent of my days traveling back in S.A. Anyway, we get back on the plane and head to Mexico City, have a five hour lay over and finally are on our way to Guatemala, finally!!! So here we are, dead tired, but now clean and our ready to bed to be up tomorrow at 5:00 am to catch our flight to Flores. Adios for now, but don´t worry our adventure is only beginning and we are sure to have more stories.
Beth:
Yes, pee on the floor. Ah to be back in Latin America! Apparently butt gaskets are optional and I could have sworn that a man mistook the women's restroom in the Guatemala City airport for his own, as there was an immense puddle of pee on the floor and the seat was hosed down. This was an amazing feat by a woman! I was too tired to really care so I rolled up my pants and hovered to do my business. The little idiosyncracies of traveling. Anyway, Lisa and I found the mall and a newer area of the city tonight for dinner. While it's not a terrible city, there's really not much here to keep us so we are off to the Maya ruins tomorrow for the next adventure and more stories to come. Oh, and the air is aweful here so it make for soem really great boogers.
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