Since this was the second time around in Antigua, we took it easy on the Catholic ruins and instead focused on what Americans do best -- buy stuff.
But breakfast first -- we walked by a place and heard "Hey," and it was this couple from Kentucky we had met on the shuttle from Panajochel. We exchanged contact info then continued to the Rainbow for breakfast. With a name like Rainbow, you know it's either gonna be gay or hippie, or both. Either way, the breakfast was yummy and healthy -- based on the bicycle-powered blender and the granola on the menu, I'm guessing the leanings were toward "hippie."
We went to the flea market where Rhonda bought some awesome Harlequin pants and a white shirt and Cathleen bought a lovely scarf. We also bought some souveniers and got most of the items for half of the original asking price (see top tips to be posted soon). Rhonda really enjoys haggling -- you should see the sparkle in her eye as she drives a hard bargain.
We then walked to the local market, which was full of mostly locals and maybe 2 to 4 tourists. We got a chance to see what kind of deals we'd be getting on things from beans and rice to plasticware and "Diesel" jeans if we lived here. Yes, we're getting ideas.
We then had lunch at "Orale," a taco place. The food was good and cheap!
This is going to be continued also as we have to get to bed -- we are leaving at 4 a.m. for the Airport and our next destination -- Mexico City!
And, yes, we are enamored by Antigua. Anyone want to come back with us some time?
Friday, November 23, 2007
Antigua again!
So, from San Marcos...
9:20 a.m. -- the 9 a.m. water taxi arrives and it's the "local." We stopped at practically every dock on the lake from San Marcos to Panajochel.
10:20 a.m. -- We knew we would miss the 10:30 bus, so we bought a minibus ticket for noon, which left closer to 1 p.m. We took a different route back which was even scarier, but really pretty.
3 p.m. -- we arrived in Antigua and checked into the Don Quixote Inn, where Rhonda had stored her backpack while we went to San Marcos. It was okay, so we went to the bank to get more money to pay for our rooms and for the backpack storage.
We had a late lunch at Cafe No Se', which is owned by an American. We saw a flyer advertising Thanksgiving Dinner for about $15, including Cathleen's new favorite soup! We made reservations immediately and got strangely excited at the prospect of having Thanksgiving Dinner.
In the meantime, we returned to the hotel, which seems to be family run by very friendly people who speak a bit of English. Our room is small with a window opening onto a walkway, with a shared bath and two twin beds. But, hey, it's about $17 per night, so.....
We cleaned up and got ready for Thanksgiving Dinner! The food was amazing! The turkey had a vanilla-chipotle topping instead of gravy, and we had mashed potatoes, yams, veggies, and real pumpkin pie! Mmmmm... Oh, and wine and, cant' forget this... a shot of mescal each!
To be continued ....
9:20 a.m. -- the 9 a.m. water taxi arrives and it's the "local." We stopped at practically every dock on the lake from San Marcos to Panajochel.
10:20 a.m. -- We knew we would miss the 10:30 bus, so we bought a minibus ticket for noon, which left closer to 1 p.m. We took a different route back which was even scarier, but really pretty.
3 p.m. -- we arrived in Antigua and checked into the Don Quixote Inn, where Rhonda had stored her backpack while we went to San Marcos. It was okay, so we went to the bank to get more money to pay for our rooms and for the backpack storage.
We had a late lunch at Cafe No Se', which is owned by an American. We saw a flyer advertising Thanksgiving Dinner for about $15, including Cathleen's new favorite soup! We made reservations immediately and got strangely excited at the prospect of having Thanksgiving Dinner.
In the meantime, we returned to the hotel, which seems to be family run by very friendly people who speak a bit of English. Our room is small with a window opening onto a walkway, with a shared bath and two twin beds. But, hey, it's about $17 per night, so.....
We cleaned up and got ready for Thanksgiving Dinner! The food was amazing! The turkey had a vanilla-chipotle topping instead of gravy, and we had mashed potatoes, yams, veggies, and real pumpkin pie! Mmmmm... Oh, and wine and, cant' forget this... a shot of mescal each!
To be continued ....
Lake Atitlan and San Marcos El Lago
The shuttle arrived at our hostel around 8 a.m.-ish and we headed toward Panajochel at Lake Atitlan via a winding mountain road known as the Pan American Highway. We were going at a pretty good pace, but still the Chicken Busses zoomed past us, regardless of blind turns, single lanes and no guard rails. Eeek!
We came to some construction on the Highway so we had to wait about an hour and twenty minutes before we could continue on. The local Mayas capitalized on this and many of them were walking up the hill, past the cars, selling things -- necklaces, woven things such as tortilla warmers and table runners, fruits, wooden toys, etc. Yes, I bought some stuff. Who could resist?
We finally arrived in Panajochel a little after noon and we proceeded to catch a water taxi to San Marcos. The lake is huge and gorgeous -- there are many small towns cicling the lake and while there are steep, winding roads, the best way around is via water taxis. It took us about 40 minutes to get to San Marcos and we enjoyed the scenery on the way (we have pictures).
We were met at the dock by several young boys, all of them eager to help us find accomodations (they get paid commission and they ask for tips, too). There were no roads from the dock and we had to traipse through the jungle on dirt paths and the occaisional cobblestone way. Tiny wooden signs pointed directions for some places, but we were still lost.
Aacoluxx, which had been recommended to us by Erin, was full, as was the Pyramids. We went to another place that had the hardest beds in the world, so we went to one final place -- Posada del Boscada Encantada. It was absolutely lovely! We got a very big private room with comfortable beds and it even had a loft to accomodate more guests, had we been travelling with anyone else. The courtyard there was gorgeous, with banana plants, flowers, and coffee growing in profusion. We met the proprietress, Terry, who is a marvelous lady. She invited us to her tree house, which is an amazing structure (see photos) that was built by her friend in this huge tree, for home-grown coffee. The coffee was the best we'd had on our trip by far so we were very grateful. She is also a musician and she played some beautiful songs for us that she had written.
We had met a local San Marcosian at Burning Man, Shanti, and had put out the word that we would love to see him to say hello. But, first things first -- we had to eat. We were pointed towards the Blind Lemon Cafe. We were starving -- we'd only had a minimal snack for breakfast and it was already pushing 3 p.m. We ordered and waited. And waited. Oh, and waited some more. Just as we were about to pass out from hunger -- about a quarter after 4 p.m., my dish arrived. Rhonda and I tore into it -- it was really, really good lemon chicken. The best I've ever had. Finally, Rhonda's burritto arrived, and that was great, too. So, the food was fantastic, but.... an hour and a half for food? C'mon! Apparently, though, that is the status quo at this place.
We finally did run into Shanti at the Hotel Quetzal (which had a bar) and we had a great conversation, as our vocal cords were lubricated by lots and lots of really great Argentinian wine. We agreed that it was really great to get to know someone better that we'd met at Burning Man since it's hard to really connect sometimes when it's so crazy there.
So, that was day one in San Marcos... a lake-side paradise at which we were getting some much-needed relaxation.
Day 2:
We went to breakfast at Moonfish, which had been recommended by Shanti as a good place in the morning. It had a gorgeous view of the lake and the food was very good. There were several people there, all artsy types. The vibe was chill.
Okay, so, we ate. And then we asked ourselves.... "Now what?" San Marcos isn't exactly a hotbed of activity. We wondered where the heck all of the people were -- with several of the hotels full, wouldn't there be people around? We guessed perhaps taking classes? Medicinal Herbology, Accupressure, Kineseology, Yoga.... maybe? Hmmmm..... the place seemed mostly deserted. We walked around in search of a place to get massages and most of the places were deserted, too. It was like the rapture had happened and no one told us. Rhonda FINALLY found a place to get a massage -- A 2 hour Shiatzu massage for $37 (now we're talking).
Meanwhile, I went back to the hotel to relax and Shanti came to visit so we chatted -- he had contacted a woman that ran a center for Mayan women there where they could weave and then sew things to sell for fair trade fairs and she had said we could visit! Yeah!
When Rhonda got back, we walked along the lake and up a hill to the center. The woman, Sara, was from Italy and she was the administrator of this non-profit program (see links). We were able to observe some women weaving and she showed us the sewing room, too. We then had an opportunity to select from some of the crafts they had readied for a fair trade market that weekend -- we had first dibs! She told us a bit about the program and how it helps women become more self-reliant and that it builds self esteem.
After, we walked back towards the "gringo" part of town and went to dinner -- Blind Lemon again. Yes, the food was amazing, and yes, the wait was about the same. Sigh.
So, that was pretty much it for San Marcos, we got up the next morning, bought some home-grown coffee from Terry, and headed back on a water taxi to Panajochel.
We came to some construction on the Highway so we had to wait about an hour and twenty minutes before we could continue on. The local Mayas capitalized on this and many of them were walking up the hill, past the cars, selling things -- necklaces, woven things such as tortilla warmers and table runners, fruits, wooden toys, etc. Yes, I bought some stuff. Who could resist?
We finally arrived in Panajochel a little after noon and we proceeded to catch a water taxi to San Marcos. The lake is huge and gorgeous -- there are many small towns cicling the lake and while there are steep, winding roads, the best way around is via water taxis. It took us about 40 minutes to get to San Marcos and we enjoyed the scenery on the way (we have pictures).
We were met at the dock by several young boys, all of them eager to help us find accomodations (they get paid commission and they ask for tips, too). There were no roads from the dock and we had to traipse through the jungle on dirt paths and the occaisional cobblestone way. Tiny wooden signs pointed directions for some places, but we were still lost.
Aacoluxx, which had been recommended to us by Erin, was full, as was the Pyramids. We went to another place that had the hardest beds in the world, so we went to one final place -- Posada del Boscada Encantada. It was absolutely lovely! We got a very big private room with comfortable beds and it even had a loft to accomodate more guests, had we been travelling with anyone else. The courtyard there was gorgeous, with banana plants, flowers, and coffee growing in profusion. We met the proprietress, Terry, who is a marvelous lady. She invited us to her tree house, which is an amazing structure (see photos) that was built by her friend in this huge tree, for home-grown coffee. The coffee was the best we'd had on our trip by far so we were very grateful. She is also a musician and she played some beautiful songs for us that she had written.
We had met a local San Marcosian at Burning Man, Shanti, and had put out the word that we would love to see him to say hello. But, first things first -- we had to eat. We were pointed towards the Blind Lemon Cafe. We were starving -- we'd only had a minimal snack for breakfast and it was already pushing 3 p.m. We ordered and waited. And waited. Oh, and waited some more. Just as we were about to pass out from hunger -- about a quarter after 4 p.m., my dish arrived. Rhonda and I tore into it -- it was really, really good lemon chicken. The best I've ever had. Finally, Rhonda's burritto arrived, and that was great, too. So, the food was fantastic, but.... an hour and a half for food? C'mon! Apparently, though, that is the status quo at this place.
We finally did run into Shanti at the Hotel Quetzal (which had a bar) and we had a great conversation, as our vocal cords were lubricated by lots and lots of really great Argentinian wine. We agreed that it was really great to get to know someone better that we'd met at Burning Man since it's hard to really connect sometimes when it's so crazy there.
So, that was day one in San Marcos... a lake-side paradise at which we were getting some much-needed relaxation.
Day 2:
We went to breakfast at Moonfish, which had been recommended by Shanti as a good place in the morning. It had a gorgeous view of the lake and the food was very good. There were several people there, all artsy types. The vibe was chill.
Okay, so, we ate. And then we asked ourselves.... "Now what?" San Marcos isn't exactly a hotbed of activity. We wondered where the heck all of the people were -- with several of the hotels full, wouldn't there be people around? We guessed perhaps taking classes? Medicinal Herbology, Accupressure, Kineseology, Yoga.... maybe? Hmmmm..... the place seemed mostly deserted. We walked around in search of a place to get massages and most of the places were deserted, too. It was like the rapture had happened and no one told us. Rhonda FINALLY found a place to get a massage -- A 2 hour Shiatzu massage for $37 (now we're talking).
Meanwhile, I went back to the hotel to relax and Shanti came to visit so we chatted -- he had contacted a woman that ran a center for Mayan women there where they could weave and then sew things to sell for fair trade fairs and she had said we could visit! Yeah!
When Rhonda got back, we walked along the lake and up a hill to the center. The woman, Sara, was from Italy and she was the administrator of this non-profit program (see links). We were able to observe some women weaving and she showed us the sewing room, too. We then had an opportunity to select from some of the crafts they had readied for a fair trade market that weekend -- we had first dibs! She told us a bit about the program and how it helps women become more self-reliant and that it builds self esteem.
After, we walked back towards the "gringo" part of town and went to dinner -- Blind Lemon again. Yes, the food was amazing, and yes, the wait was about the same. Sigh.
So, that was pretty much it for San Marcos, we got up the next morning, bought some home-grown coffee from Terry, and headed back on a water taxi to Panajochel.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Ruins and colonial city of Antigua
Upon our arrival in Antigua, Saira, our minibus driver, helped us to set up our trip the next day to Panajachel by reserving our seats on the bus and then also getting us our minibus tickets back to GC on Saturday at 4AM. The Yellow House hostel was great, we got a private room for $10, dropped off our bags and went to breakfast, needing food and coffee. Also went searching for a bank to cash our Traveller's Checks, which Cathleen says she will never bring again -- hotels don't take them, nor do restaurants or stores or hotels or even most banks.
This is Cathleen taking over for Rhonda -- we found a place to have breakfast and it was the worst food I've ever had in my life. We ate enough for basic sustenance, then trekked out again to try to get some money. We finally found a bank that would take our damn Traveller's Checks.
So, then we traipsed around Antigua -- it's an interesting city -- it's been destroyed by earthquakes many times, and eventually abandoned. Then it was re-populated and now the people live among all of these ruins of these huge Catholic churches, monastaries and cathederals. There is a massive ruin every couple of blocks. Some of them have been partially restored and they hold services in them. We walked and walked and walked the cobblestone streets of Antigua, exploring ruin after ruin and now Rhonda is thoroughly saturated with Catholicism. She says she's had her fill for a long time.
During our exploration, we found the "gringo" part of down - Avenida 1. There are many foreigners living here from all over the world and we found a little cafe Y Tu Pina Tambien that was run by a French guy, Benito, which had wonderful food -- carrot/coconut/ginger soup, Chicken Chutney sandwich, delicious coffee and a nutella and banana crepe... mmmm mmmmm mmmmm.
We continued to explore -- you'll have to see the pictures. And then we were soooooo exhausted. We went back to the hostel and had hot (yeah! hot!) showers then headed out to dinner at a wonderful little place that had Italian food and wine. We met an interesting local, Ignacio, who told us a bit of history about the city. Apparently, La Sirena, another restaurant, was opened by two gay guys from the U.S. and when they passed away, it was left to one of their Guatemalan lovers.
After dinner, we took a Tuc Tuc (awesome little scooter cabs) to Sky Bar, which is owned by someone from Holland and has an awesome view from the roof. He said that sometimes you can see Fuego, one of the volcanos, spewing smoke and flames, but that he's been quiet for a few weeks now.
We debated going out to another bar, but then decided we had best get some rest as we were to head off again in the morning -- destination: San Marcos.
This is Cathleen taking over for Rhonda -- we found a place to have breakfast and it was the worst food I've ever had in my life. We ate enough for basic sustenance, then trekked out again to try to get some money. We finally found a bank that would take our damn Traveller's Checks.
So, then we traipsed around Antigua -- it's an interesting city -- it's been destroyed by earthquakes many times, and eventually abandoned. Then it was re-populated and now the people live among all of these ruins of these huge Catholic churches, monastaries and cathederals. There is a massive ruin every couple of blocks. Some of them have been partially restored and they hold services in them. We walked and walked and walked the cobblestone streets of Antigua, exploring ruin after ruin and now Rhonda is thoroughly saturated with Catholicism. She says she's had her fill for a long time.
During our exploration, we found the "gringo" part of down - Avenida 1. There are many foreigners living here from all over the world and we found a little cafe Y Tu Pina Tambien that was run by a French guy, Benito, which had wonderful food -- carrot/coconut/ginger soup, Chicken Chutney sandwich, delicious coffee and a nutella and banana crepe... mmmm mmmmm mmmmm.
We continued to explore -- you'll have to see the pictures. And then we were soooooo exhausted. We went back to the hostel and had hot (yeah! hot!) showers then headed out to dinner at a wonderful little place that had Italian food and wine. We met an interesting local, Ignacio, who told us a bit of history about the city. Apparently, La Sirena, another restaurant, was opened by two gay guys from the U.S. and when they passed away, it was left to one of their Guatemalan lovers.
After dinner, we took a Tuc Tuc (awesome little scooter cabs) to Sky Bar, which is owned by someone from Holland and has an awesome view from the roof. He said that sometimes you can see Fuego, one of the volcanos, spewing smoke and flames, but that he's been quiet for a few weeks now.
We debated going out to another bar, but then decided we had best get some rest as we were to head off again in the morning -- destination: San Marcos.
Flores and bus to Guatemala City
After Tikal, we went back to Flores to hang til 9 :30 pm for our nite bus to Guatamala City. We found an awesome internet cafe and backed up our photos on a CD, $2. Cathleen gave away her 20 pound Harry Potter book to a great hostel called Anjelicas. We napped for 2 hours and got up to catch the bus at 9:30. There was a bus there we thought was ours and it was sweet, withthe seats way up high, very high class, but we were told that was NOT our bus, we had to wait for the other one. Ours rolls in and it was like the one with no air conditioning that we had taken from Belize City. Yuck. But we dealt and we had assigned seats, the ones in teh way back, by the toilets. Luckily no one used them and hey, these seats turned out to sit WAY back more, so we sletp about 4 hours of hte trip, nice.
We drove past Poptun and that's the last city I was awake for. I wish we couldve seen the country side as it looks amazing in the misty nite. Cathleen and I discussed renting with a couple other people and driving through the country next time, so we can stop where we want. I think we both feel now that we've been here and gotten somewhat familiar, it would be a great way to return and see more details.
Arriving in GC at 6 AM, the city opened up and we drove 20 minutes through the city to get
tot he bus station. The chicken buses were all over, these souped up, pimped out school buses. Chrome fenders!
The bus station's gate opend for our bus to enter, to keep people out who dont belong there. Our minibus driver Saira, met us at the station, it was great to be greeted by someone who knew our names and spoke English. Through the busy station and city, she led us out to Antigua. There were 3 other people in the minibus going to Antigua also. We passed by chrome fender shops for the buses and an hour later, we were in Antigua.
We drove past Poptun and that's the last city I was awake for. I wish we couldve seen the country side as it looks amazing in the misty nite. Cathleen and I discussed renting with a couple other people and driving through the country next time, so we can stop where we want. I think we both feel now that we've been here and gotten somewhat familiar, it would be a great way to return and see more details.
Arriving in GC at 6 AM, the city opened up and we drove 20 minutes through the city to get
tot he bus station. The chicken buses were all over, these souped up, pimped out school buses. Chrome fenders!
The bus station's gate opend for our bus to enter, to keep people out who dont belong there. Our minibus driver Saira, met us at the station, it was great to be greeted by someone who knew our names and spoke English. Through the busy station and city, she led us out to Antigua. There were 3 other people in the minibus going to Antigua also. We passed by chrome fender shops for the buses and an hour later, we were in Antigua.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Caye Caulker day 2 and now Flores
Caye Caulker Day 2.
We ran errands on day 2.., what a busy day here on the Caye, must refill water bottles ($1 each), get bus tickets to Flores, Guatamla for Saturday, pick up our laundry, get breakfast, and sign up for our day snorkeling trip today, with Raggamuffin tours, next to our hotel. There are several people there we met last nite too, including two Italian girls but they ended up on the second boat. Our sail boat had three stops and the first stop had a lot of waves. I haven't snorkeled much and I started feeling a little panicy and had to go back to the boat. I requested a life preserver on the two other drops and that helped a lot. The other spots were known as Shark Rey alley and Hol Chen Reserve. The day was sunny and warm and I couldn't believe how much I could see. We saw some amazing "Eagle Rays" about 5 times the size as a sting ray and there were several of them swimming under us at once. The guide did some dives down through a water cave and coaxed an eel out of his cave for a bit, for it to then hit the guide in his mask. There was even a huge turtle we saw. This area is protected and there was a patrol boat collecting feess and making sure they was no illegal fishing going on. On the way back to the island, one of the guides dove off in the unprotected area for some conch and then made conch civeche fresh on the boat with our rum punch they kept feeding us. At some point, I (Rhonda) ended up steering the boat. Back to the Caye around 6 as the sun in setting, we ran to take showers, a quick nap and then back out on the sand with our Italian friends, for some of Ruby's lobster tail grilled and marinated, caught that day. Wow. Cathleen was happy wtih her marinated shrimp and of course, we threw on some jerk spices and more garlic. $15 total.
Saturday 6 AM.
Its pouring on the tin roof, and I realize how much as sea we are on an island about 500 yards wide. We have to get to the dock to catch the 7: 30 back to Belize. I wonder if the boat will run in rain like this! We get out the dock in a dry spell and about 7:45 am the boat arrives as we wait under a palapa with Cathleens new friend, a local dog. As we walk to the boat, I notice the tarp on it moving, its about 20 people underneath, and this is how we ride 45 minutes to Belize City, under a blue tarp. We get there, and its sunny now, and we have some breakfast at a chinese restarurant nearby including seom great coffee made in an Japanese old style percoalatore we are told. We go over the boat/bus station and make sure we have the right bus tickets with a lady at the booth and 15 mintues later are on the bus to Flores. Border crossin with unexpected money required (US $22) had us both a little leary and on our toes, but we quickly relaxed and continued on the bus way. The roads in Guatemala were much less smooth than in Belize. And we are in the jungle, now at a cute town called Flores, its an island on a lake. We bought our ticketse to Tikal for tomorrow at 3 AM so we can see the sunrise there and see the jungle animals. I guess its teh best way do it. A minibus picked up all of us on the bus here and took us to an ATM off the island (I know)... and then told us we wouldnt be able to get tour/bus/plane tickets tonite or tomorrow (Sunday), so we felt kind of pressured to buy the tickets now. Turns out we could have got a better deal at a local hostel for hte tour to Tikal and maybe even waited to buy our bus tickets til tomorrow. Oh well, we have our exit out, and overspent by about $10/each on the Tikal tickets. (350 Quetzel about $40 whent he hostel has it for 280 Quetzel).
Our hotel lucikly is only $10/nite and its on the lake with a great view. We walked up the hill in the town to the top where a local beginning of Chrismas gaterhing with a band, was going on. The streets are cobblesone probaby from the 16th century. Now were going to sleep soon to wake up at 2:30.
We ran errands on day 2.., what a busy day here on the Caye, must refill water bottles ($1 each), get bus tickets to Flores, Guatamla for Saturday, pick up our laundry, get breakfast, and sign up for our day snorkeling trip today, with Raggamuffin tours, next to our hotel. There are several people there we met last nite too, including two Italian girls but they ended up on the second boat. Our sail boat had three stops and the first stop had a lot of waves. I haven't snorkeled much and I started feeling a little panicy and had to go back to the boat. I requested a life preserver on the two other drops and that helped a lot. The other spots were known as Shark Rey alley and Hol Chen Reserve. The day was sunny and warm and I couldn't believe how much I could see. We saw some amazing "Eagle Rays" about 5 times the size as a sting ray and there were several of them swimming under us at once. The guide did some dives down through a water cave and coaxed an eel out of his cave for a bit, for it to then hit the guide in his mask. There was even a huge turtle we saw. This area is protected and there was a patrol boat collecting feess and making sure they was no illegal fishing going on. On the way back to the island, one of the guides dove off in the unprotected area for some conch and then made conch civeche fresh on the boat with our rum punch they kept feeding us. At some point, I (Rhonda) ended up steering the boat. Back to the Caye around 6 as the sun in setting, we ran to take showers, a quick nap and then back out on the sand with our Italian friends, for some of Ruby's lobster tail grilled and marinated, caught that day. Wow. Cathleen was happy wtih her marinated shrimp and of course, we threw on some jerk spices and more garlic. $15 total.
Saturday 6 AM.
Its pouring on the tin roof, and I realize how much as sea we are on an island about 500 yards wide. We have to get to the dock to catch the 7: 30 back to Belize. I wonder if the boat will run in rain like this! We get out the dock in a dry spell and about 7:45 am the boat arrives as we wait under a palapa with Cathleens new friend, a local dog. As we walk to the boat, I notice the tarp on it moving, its about 20 people underneath, and this is how we ride 45 minutes to Belize City, under a blue tarp. We get there, and its sunny now, and we have some breakfast at a chinese restarurant nearby including seom great coffee made in an Japanese old style percoalatore we are told. We go over the boat/bus station and make sure we have the right bus tickets with a lady at the booth and 15 mintues later are on the bus to Flores. Border crossin with unexpected money required (US $22) had us both a little leary and on our toes, but we quickly relaxed and continued on the bus way. The roads in Guatemala were much less smooth than in Belize. And we are in the jungle, now at a cute town called Flores, its an island on a lake. We bought our ticketse to Tikal for tomorrow at 3 AM so we can see the sunrise there and see the jungle animals. I guess its teh best way do it. A minibus picked up all of us on the bus here and took us to an ATM off the island (I know)... and then told us we wouldnt be able to get tour/bus/plane tickets tonite or tomorrow (Sunday), so we felt kind of pressured to buy the tickets now. Turns out we could have got a better deal at a local hostel for hte tour to Tikal and maybe even waited to buy our bus tickets til tomorrow. Oh well, we have our exit out, and overspent by about $10/each on the Tikal tickets. (350 Quetzel about $40 whent he hostel has it for 280 Quetzel).
Our hotel lucikly is only $10/nite and its on the lake with a great view. We walked up the hill in the town to the top where a local beginning of Chrismas gaterhing with a band, was going on. The streets are cobblesone probaby from the 16th century. Now were going to sleep soon to wake up at 2:30.
Caye Caulker island, day 1
After two glorious days on the island paradise known as Caye Caulker
in Belize (sssshhhh... let's keep this place a secret... We'll tell
you why in a bit...) we hopped on a water taxi in the pouring rain --
covered with only a tarp to keep us dry -- and went back to Belize
City, where we jumped on a bus to Flores, Guatemala.
There is so much to say about Caye Caulker -- Cathleen is going to
cover day one and Rhonda is going to cover the snorkeling trip we took
on day two.
Arriving at the island was like nothing I had ever done before. The
small water taxi jetted across the open sea from Belize City and
dropped us off at a rickety dock, where we had to carefully step our
way over the old wooden planks, with big backpacks on, to the shore.
When we hit the shore, we were immediately approached by people who
wanted to help us. We said we were fine, but James ("I just want to
be nice, I don't want to be mean") wasn't to be shaken and we finally
let him recommend some places to us. Apparently, you don't have to
tip these greeters -- but they do get a commission for every person
they bring in.
There are three streets on Caye Caulker -- Front, Middle and Back.
Most of the tourists stay at places on Front Street, which is the main
road. The middle street is where most of the locals live and where
the bank and the shops are. Back street is the "industrial" area,
mostly. The island is absolutely charming. Most tourists who come to
Belize either arrive by cruise ship and tour Belize City for a day,
or, if they are heading to the Cayes, they usually want to go to San
Pedro on Ambergris Caye because there are resorts and it is more
developed.
Caye Caulker is different. Sure, there are tourists -- but they are
mostly back-packers who want a low-key, cheaper place to stay. The
locals are wonderful, as are the visitors. We walked the entire
island in less than an hour -- beaches with palm trees, golf carts and
bicycles instead of cars, little brightly painted buildings on stilts
-- a true unspoiled island paradise. In the evenings, people bring
bar-b-ques onto the beach and grill up dinner for the tourists. Rum
is the drink of choice and seafood is served everywhere -- lobster,
shrimp, conch, etc.
Dogs run wild all over the island, but they are not feral. They are
very friendly and they seem to be well taken care of. I think the
locals and the tourists feed them and play with them. There is one
place that was like a cat sanctuary -- all of these wild cats in one
area, but again, none of them feral. They let us pet them and while
we were having dinner, one sat next to our table and politely begged
for food.
We had met this girl who is an ex-pat who used to live on Caye Caulker
but now lives in Livingston, Guatemala (her work is based out of El
Segundo), and she said she and her friends would be heading to the
reggae bar, I&I. We went there after dinner -- the seating in the
entire bar was swings -- even the tables were swings. There was a
roof-top access and we went up there and met some really cool people
from Italy and some locals -- we even met the owner, I&I. Don't ask
me... he said that's his name.
We didn't stay out too late because we had to get up early for our
full-day snorkeling excursion... and.. heeeerrrrreeesss RHONDA!
in Belize (sssshhhh... let's keep this place a secret... We'll tell
you why in a bit...) we hopped on a water taxi in the pouring rain --
covered with only a tarp to keep us dry -- and went back to Belize
City, where we jumped on a bus to Flores, Guatemala.
There is so much to say about Caye Caulker -- Cathleen is going to
cover day one and Rhonda is going to cover the snorkeling trip we took
on day two.
Arriving at the island was like nothing I had ever done before. The
small water taxi jetted across the open sea from Belize City and
dropped us off at a rickety dock, where we had to carefully step our
way over the old wooden planks, with big backpacks on, to the shore.
When we hit the shore, we were immediately approached by people who
wanted to help us. We said we were fine, but James ("I just want to
be nice, I don't want to be mean") wasn't to be shaken and we finally
let him recommend some places to us. Apparently, you don't have to
tip these greeters -- but they do get a commission for every person
they bring in.
There are three streets on Caye Caulker -- Front, Middle and Back.
Most of the tourists stay at places on Front Street, which is the main
road. The middle street is where most of the locals live and where
the bank and the shops are. Back street is the "industrial" area,
mostly. The island is absolutely charming. Most tourists who come to
Belize either arrive by cruise ship and tour Belize City for a day,
or, if they are heading to the Cayes, they usually want to go to San
Pedro on Ambergris Caye because there are resorts and it is more
developed.
Caye Caulker is different. Sure, there are tourists -- but they are
mostly back-packers who want a low-key, cheaper place to stay. The
locals are wonderful, as are the visitors. We walked the entire
island in less than an hour -- beaches with palm trees, golf carts and
bicycles instead of cars, little brightly painted buildings on stilts
-- a true unspoiled island paradise. In the evenings, people bring
bar-b-ques onto the beach and grill up dinner for the tourists. Rum
is the drink of choice and seafood is served everywhere -- lobster,
shrimp, conch, etc.
Dogs run wild all over the island, but they are not feral. They are
very friendly and they seem to be well taken care of. I think the
locals and the tourists feed them and play with them. There is one
place that was like a cat sanctuary -- all of these wild cats in one
area, but again, none of them feral. They let us pet them and while
we were having dinner, one sat next to our table and politely begged
for food.
We had met this girl who is an ex-pat who used to live on Caye Caulker
but now lives in Livingston, Guatemala (her work is based out of El
Segundo), and she said she and her friends would be heading to the
reggae bar, I&I. We went there after dinner -- the seating in the
entire bar was swings -- even the tables were swings. There was a
roof-top access and we went up there and met some really cool people
from Italy and some locals -- we even met the owner, I&I. Don't ask
me... he said that's his name.
We didn't stay out too late because we had to get up early for our
full-day snorkeling excursion... and.. heeeerrrrreeesss RHONDA!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Busses and how we are lucky
Tulum, the Maya city on the beach. We got picked up at the hotel at 7 am and were at Tulum around 10:30 am after picking up people for an 1.5 hours in Cancun. Next tim, we rent a car. But this worked out for us because we needed to take more busses....
Tulum was honetsly not that great compared to Chichen Itza but a beutiful setting nonetheless. We took a cab with our luggage from there to Tulum City, about 4 km away $5 to catch a bus to Chetuma. We didn't know how long we'd have to wait, there are no phone numbers to call like Greyhound to find out schedules, no timetables like Europetrains. We got lucky, as a bus was leaving in 5 minues $15 each to Chetumal... 4 hrs. Very cold airconditioned hours . I sleptand Cathleen speed read through Harry Potter. Later, at Chetmual, we arrive and are told thet e counter there ar no more buses to Belize that nite, we knoew this could happen and we were planning on sleeping there but then out of the blue, I hearda voice, "you going to Belize?". It was a guy in a yellow/green soccer shirt and we exchanged words, yes, we are, do you have bus?? not sure to belive him or not! He took us to the bus and there were other tourists on it and we felt better and so we got on for $8 to Belize City. We had been told not to arrive a BC at nite, as it was dangerous but we really wanted to get out to the islands for snorkeling tomorrow, so we chanced it...
The road to Belize.
The border was no problem, we had to disembark with our luggage and walk through. The roads appeared to thave more infrastructure, like lights and dug ditches to hold water, than Mexico. The houses lit with low wattage incandenense and flouresent bulbs. Every 100 yds in towns, there was a church with a service going on.. on Wed nite. We arrived in BC and with hotle resrvation in hand, thanks to Cathleens cellphone working. We were greeted withteh many touts trying to get us on their cab / hotel. We took a taxi for $5 to our hotel...AC room, $45. Sleptweel. There was a cistern in the back to hold rain water... there are many more in Belize, as I have seen now in Caye Caulker as I write this. I am oddly interested in them, as if I am rainman of the cisterns. The hotel Mopan in BC was a comforable place to crash and we wake to the sounds of Creole language in the kitchen and amazing coffee, eggs, and frijacks (fried dough)... yum. And we put on our packs and head out at 10 am to the port to catch our boat to Caye Caulker... and more on this later...
Tulum was honetsly not that great compared to Chichen Itza but a beutiful setting nonetheless. We took a cab with our luggage from there to Tulum City, about 4 km away $5 to catch a bus to Chetuma. We didn't know how long we'd have to wait, there are no phone numbers to call like Greyhound to find out schedules, no timetables like Europetrains. We got lucky, as a bus was leaving in 5 minues $15 each to Chetumal... 4 hrs. Very cold airconditioned hours . I sleptand Cathleen speed read through Harry Potter. Later, at Chetmual, we arrive and are told thet e counter there ar no more buses to Belize that nite, we knoew this could happen and we were planning on sleeping there but then out of the blue, I hearda voice, "you going to Belize?". It was a guy in a yellow/green soccer shirt and we exchanged words, yes, we are, do you have bus?? not sure to belive him or not! He took us to the bus and there were other tourists on it and we felt better and so we got on for $8 to Belize City. We had been told not to arrive a BC at nite, as it was dangerous but we really wanted to get out to the islands for snorkeling tomorrow, so we chanced it...
The road to Belize.
The border was no problem, we had to disembark with our luggage and walk through. The roads appeared to thave more infrastructure, like lights and dug ditches to hold water, than Mexico. The houses lit with low wattage incandenense and flouresent bulbs. Every 100 yds in towns, there was a church with a service going on.. on Wed nite. We arrived in BC and with hotle resrvation in hand, thanks to Cathleens cellphone working. We were greeted withteh many touts trying to get us on their cab / hotel. We took a taxi for $5 to our hotel...AC room, $45. Sleptweel. There was a cistern in the back to hold rain water... there are many more in Belize, as I have seen now in Caye Caulker as I write this. I am oddly interested in them, as if I am rainman of the cisterns. The hotel Mopan in BC was a comforable place to crash and we wake to the sounds of Creole language in the kitchen and amazing coffee, eggs, and frijacks (fried dough)... yum. And we put on our packs and head out at 10 am to the port to catch our boat to Caye Caulker... and more on this later...
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
More on our trip to Chichen Itza and other things
Excellent! We have a much better internet connection today. Isla Mujeres was a lovely little town with a great carribean flavor... very colorful buildings, tiny little streets, cute little shops... you get the picture. But, the internet connection was painfully slow.
A little more about our trip to Chichen Itza:
The bus picked us up at our hotel at 7 a.m. Yes... you read that right. 7 A.M.... that´s in the morning, yes. Anyway, we had an opportunity to sleep on the bus so it wasn´t that horrible. The drive out there was approximately 2 1/2 hours. We passed through a lot of jungle, then we saw an agave plantation -- TEQUILA! -- then we passed through several small Mayan villages. We stopped at one where there was a co-op and we shopped around and Rhonda bought a hammock that everyone will fight over when we put it up.
We then continued on to Chichen Itza. We were very lucky to have an excellent guide -- his Spanish name was Antonio, and he had a Mayan name that I have, sadly, forgotten. He is an Archeologist that works for the Mexican Government and does tours for a few months out of the year to make some money because, apparently, archaeology doesn´t pay all that well. But, LUCKY US! He had actually done a lot of the excavation on parts of Chichen Itza and knew ALL about it. We learned so much about the Mayan way of life at this stunning city. We have more pictures and many stories to tell when we get back ... tales of astronomy, acoustics and human sacrifice! The Mayans were an amazing people ... they still are.
We got to see the pyramid, the ball court, a temple and some other places that were not excavated yet... then we saw the observatory and, on our way back out... the rain came down in buckets!!!!!!!
We later asked Antonio, since he had left to go back to the bus to take care of ¨paperwork¨ if he knew it was going to rain... since he´s Mayan and all. He laughed and said, ¨Well, remember when I showed you the ant hill? (There was a HUGE ant hill near the trail) Did you see there were no ants? They knew and they were taking cover.¨ So, Antonio and the ants were the only ones who weren´t soaked through and through.
On the way back, we stopped at the Mayan co-op and had a late lunch. The food was really good and I´m going to learn how to make lemon soup when I return.
Today, we are exploring downtown Cancun and tomorrow we are off to Tulum and then to Chetumal, which is a city on the border of Belize. On Thursday morning, we plan to catch an early bus into Belize City, and from there it´s a boat to Caye Caulker where we will do some snorkeling.
Ciao for now! Hope everyone is doing great and remember -- our phones don´t really work down here so email us if you need to contact us... we will try to check email every 2 - 3 days.
Much love, Cathleen and Rhonda
A little more about our trip to Chichen Itza:
The bus picked us up at our hotel at 7 a.m. Yes... you read that right. 7 A.M.... that´s in the morning, yes. Anyway, we had an opportunity to sleep on the bus so it wasn´t that horrible. The drive out there was approximately 2 1/2 hours. We passed through a lot of jungle, then we saw an agave plantation -- TEQUILA! -- then we passed through several small Mayan villages. We stopped at one where there was a co-op and we shopped around and Rhonda bought a hammock that everyone will fight over when we put it up.
We then continued on to Chichen Itza. We were very lucky to have an excellent guide -- his Spanish name was Antonio, and he had a Mayan name that I have, sadly, forgotten. He is an Archeologist that works for the Mexican Government and does tours for a few months out of the year to make some money because, apparently, archaeology doesn´t pay all that well. But, LUCKY US! He had actually done a lot of the excavation on parts of Chichen Itza and knew ALL about it. We learned so much about the Mayan way of life at this stunning city. We have more pictures and many stories to tell when we get back ... tales of astronomy, acoustics and human sacrifice! The Mayans were an amazing people ... they still are.
We got to see the pyramid, the ball court, a temple and some other places that were not excavated yet... then we saw the observatory and, on our way back out... the rain came down in buckets!!!!!!!
We later asked Antonio, since he had left to go back to the bus to take care of ¨paperwork¨ if he knew it was going to rain... since he´s Mayan and all. He laughed and said, ¨Well, remember when I showed you the ant hill? (There was a HUGE ant hill near the trail) Did you see there were no ants? They knew and they were taking cover.¨ So, Antonio and the ants were the only ones who weren´t soaked through and through.
On the way back, we stopped at the Mayan co-op and had a late lunch. The food was really good and I´m going to learn how to make lemon soup when I return.
Today, we are exploring downtown Cancun and tomorrow we are off to Tulum and then to Chetumal, which is a city on the border of Belize. On Thursday morning, we plan to catch an early bus into Belize City, and from there it´s a boat to Caye Caulker where we will do some snorkeling.
Ciao for now! Hope everyone is doing great and remember -- our phones don´t really work down here so email us if you need to contact us... we will try to check email every 2 - 3 days.
Much love, Cathleen and Rhonda
Monday, November 12, 2007
Chichen Itza and Isla Mujeres
Chichen Itza was absolutely amazing -- the main pyramid is one of the new 7 wonders of the world and it is truly amazing in it´s size and every detail -- the acoustics in the square in front of the pyramid are perfect, and, apparently, every solstice there is a shadow effect that looks like a great snake coming down from the sky on the one side of the pyramid.
In addition to the pyramid, we saw a court where they played their traditional game (the winning captain had the honor of being beheadded and thereby gaining entry to heaven earlier), and a big temple and... well, there is just so much to say and so little time to type.
Today we are at Isla Mujeres -- it´s lovely and we hope to be able to load the pictures soon for you.
Much love -- Cathleen and Rhonda
In addition to the pyramid, we saw a court where they played their traditional game (the winning captain had the honor of being beheadded and thereby gaining entry to heaven earlier), and a big temple and... well, there is just so much to say and so little time to type.
Today we are at Isla Mujeres -- it´s lovely and we hope to be able to load the pictures soon for you.
Much love -- Cathleen and Rhonda
Saturday, November 10, 2007
We've arrived!
After nearly 12 hours to get here from when we left the house to arrival at the resort, we have arrived. The beach is beautiful, we snorkeled. There are a lot of winds and some rain. But there i go, talking about the weather first, like a true midwesterner. We have headed out to downtown Cancun to go to club... and it opens in an hour, so we're traipsing around Ave. Tulum, trying to beat the cars to the other side of the cobble stone road. =Rhonda
Hello from Cathleen, too! We are very excited to be going to Chichen Itza tomorrow, which is one of the 7 New Wonders of the World and one of the most significant Mayan ruins that is accessible to those of us who don't have the time or the courage to trek through the jungle to fight jaguars and snakes to see some half buried city.... but I digress... only because I didn't want to talk about the weather first since I'm not midwestern. But, we did get rained on... but it was a warm rain.
Wish you were here!
Hello from Cathleen, too! We are very excited to be going to Chichen Itza tomorrow, which is one of the 7 New Wonders of the World and one of the most significant Mayan ruins that is accessible to those of us who don't have the time or the courage to trek through the jungle to fight jaguars and snakes to see some half buried city.... but I digress... only because I didn't want to talk about the weather first since I'm not midwestern. But, we did get rained on... but it was a warm rain.
Wish you were here!
Thursday, November 8, 2007
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