Honduras

Hola mi amigos! I´m now in the sea side village of Omoa, Honduras. I side tracked here a couple of days ago on route to Roatan.
Crossing the border from Guatemala was painless. The border crossing consisted of some orange cones in the road and what amounted to a road side shack with windows. First I went to the exit Guat window and then to the enter Hondorus window, paid some fees...just a few dollars worth and we were on our way. I was a little bummed, as they didn´t stamp my passport with a Honduran stamp. There is an agreement between Guat, Honorus and Nicaragua where one stamp gets you admittance to all 3 countries. I have 90 days in total to visit all 3.
Before crossing the border, we had a 6 hour bus ride that departed Antigua, Guat at 4am. Ugg. I was still traveling with Kath from Beverly and we stayed the night in Copan, Honduras. The next day we went our separate ways. We plan to meet up again on Roatan.
I had another 6 hour journey to the coast after Copan, which consisted of 4 different busses. There were road side stops made, twice we were boarded by Honduran police and they checked bags for what I assumed to be weapon and drugs. Along with the villagers who sell food at different stops a very loud preacher got on and boomed on until the next stop about the Lord Jesus Christ. Good times.
Here in Omoa, I´ve met some new friends. A couple of girls from British Columbia, in Canada. They´re a blast. My first night I had dinner alone and the restaurant guy offered to take me the next day to a waterfall. Not wanting to go alone, I recruited the Canadians. They were all to happy to go. So, we went to the restaurant for breakfast. The guy (Francisco) closed up his restaurant for the day, had a buddy join us and off we went. The hike was pretty cool, about 2 hours up through the river to get there. I only fell once, on the way back. And I had wrapped my camera in my towel before putting in my bag. Phew! The waterfall was awesome. There was a swimming hole that we all cooled off in and enjoyed for a while.
One thing that is everywhere in Latin America is trash. The littering that goes on is more than appalling. People chuck stuff out of windows on busses, or if they´re just walking around they just drop it wherever. The beach here is littered with stuff that has washed up on shore. It was a little discouraging. So, the waterfall, not suprisingly had a bunch of litter too. Our neuvo amigos brought bags with them to clean up the area. Right on!
After our hike, we bought some fresh fruit and had a great late lunch. Last evening consisted of going back to the restaurant and kicking back.
It took me a while to find this internet cafe. My hostel has free bikes, so I have been riding around looking for the internet. I had flashbacks of camping in Bar Harbour and Jay will be glad to know in his honor I hummed the Wizard of Oz theme.
There are some other folks who arrived yesterday. I think tonight we´re all going to cook dinner together at the hostel's kitchen. Even though it's a hostel, I have my own room. It's 140 Lempira, roughly 8 US.
Today I´m off to find a good beach. There is a beach right here but I´m told if you walk 5 minutes in either direction there are nicer beaches to be had.
I´m thinking tomorrow of heading to Ceiba in order to catch a ferry to Roatan. I think a couple of the new people (that I´m having dinner with) are going that way too. It´s always nice to have company when negotiating the bus systems.
That´s it for now. I hope all is well at home with everyone. Love to you all!

Santa Cruz

Still here in Santa Cruz, had an awesome Thanksgiving feast. There was about 60 people here, guests and a bunch of US expats who live around the area. A good time was had by all. This is the place that I´m at: http://www.laiguanaperdida.com/ After sunset, and that´s before 6:00pm here, the only electricity is in the restaurant. I´m loving my flashlight, plus they give you candles, and that makes it really pretty.

I´m going to head out, probably tomorrow and make my way to Copan Hondorus and then onwards to the beach on Roatan. Sweet!

My home stay was really cool. I loved my family, they were awesome. It sounds like I scored a good one too. The mom..Tina, was a great cook. It was really nice to get 3 home cooked meals a day. And we only ate beans and rice once. Lots of eggs, vegis and chicken. The kids were a ball, I spent one afternoon taking pictures of them with my digital camera, they loved being able to see themselves. I got a hot shower, which was a treat. Most of my showers have been cold, but occasionally (like at my homestay) there is a retro-fitted water heater. It looks like a large shower head. The cold water runs through it and is heated before coming down. The key is to not consider the electricity and water that is loosely connected above you. And, for God sakes, don´t touch nothin´.

I left a bunch of advil and other meds for them. Medications are expensive down here. I wish I had brought more to leave her with, she was so happy. I also traded some of my clothes and my boots with a local indian for a blanket. My bag was WAY too heavy. I left the blanket for my host family. It´s pretty freakin´cold here at this elevation at night.

My instructor was okay. Just okay. My Scottish housemate also had him, in the afternoons. I had a morning class with him. She has taught English before and she said he was a crappy teacher. I was glad that it wasn´t only me who thought that. He was pretty disinterested and didn´t have a lot of patience. He was more interested in working on his English than my Spanish. And, being the slacker I am, I was more than happy to chat.

There isn´t gameboy or nintendo for the kids to play with down here. It´s very refreshing. They play outside with each other, usually kicking a ball around, and are really happy. Yesterday I saw some kids fishing off a dock. Their equipment was not a rod and reel, but a handfull of fishing line with only a hook. And they were thrilled with it.

Adios for now! Thanks for your notes the other day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving todos! What´s everyone doing for the day?

I´ve been invited over to another pueblo, Santa Cruz which is across Lake Atitlan. The new friend I made, back in the first week (Kath..from Beverly) is there. Her lodge is hosting a big holiday dinner, so after my Spanish class, I´m catching a boat over. My housemate, from Scotland, is also coming joining us.

It´s funny there is a definite travel circut...the gringo trail. You see the same people you´ve already met. It´s nice to see a familiar face.

Before I go, I´d like to send a big shout out to JuJu. Take care of yourself and rest up!! Miss you, sorry I can´t be there to help out. For those of you who have just joined us, JuJu (my sister Jen) is recovering from surgery. :(

San Pedro on Lake Atitlan

I arrived here in San Pedro yesterday morning, after taking a 2 hour tourismo van ride from Antigua. The bus drops you off in the town of Panajachel, where I walked about a 1/4 a mile to the dock. From there I took a 1/2 boat ride to the town of San Pedro. Lake Atitlan is huge and stunning, and is surrounded by volcanos.

The town itself is one steep hill. It puts my days in San Francisco to shame. There are a few cobble stone roads, and a great deal of dirt foot paths. Trying to find my spanish school, at first I thought I was lost in some dirty alley, but alas...that maze of paths is their road. Every corner I turned found a new hotel or funky restaurant with hammocks.

I started my Spanish class today. I did some research on line and it got good reviews. http://www.cooperativeschoolsanpedro.com/ The view from school is breathtaking. I'm going four hours a day, one on one instruction. My muestro is named Chino, and I think we'll do well together. I've also started my home stay this afternoon. It's a family with 3 really cute and funny little kids. It was suggested to bring the kids presents, I bought wooden tops from home for that. Their parents are my age and don't speak English, but are friendly nonetheless. I have my own room and will have all my meals with them. Lunch today was tasty spagetti with chicken and vegetables. Their house is cinderblock with a dirt courtyard. All the rooms are next to each other, picture a strip motel if you will. Meals are cooked on an open fire. Their sink is outside in the center of the courtyard. There is another student who started today with them too. She's from Scotland. She's very friendly and pretty cool.

San Pedro is by far the cheapest town I've been to. Last night's hotel...very nice with tile floors and a great view of the lake was $5.00 US. My Spanish school, including 4 hours of daily instruction, a home stay which includes all meals is $120.00 US, total! WOW! I've been paying on average $10 -15 US a night for hotels. Meals are little more, but still very affordable.

San Pedro is a mix of Guatemalans, Mayans and some Gringos that are still living the sixties. I used to the sixtes were super cool, but now....not so much. Seriously. These dudes bring 'burn out' to a WHOLE new level. One of them tried to talk to me yesterday. I felt like I was having a conversation with Bob Dylan.

Every village has and idiot, San Pedro's is now afraid of me. This is a good thing. He haunted me for over an hour yesterday. It began at the dock, upon arrival. Now, I know these guys will probably get a couple of bucks if they steer me to a friend's business. I get that, and appreciate that. But this guy was RELENTLESS. He had hotels for me, horses for me, kayaks for me, canoes for me, drugs for me. He asked over and over and over again. He didn't get the meaning of, "no gracias". I finally snapped and shouted at him. He now hides from me when he sees me. I felt bad, and God forgive me, I think he's kinda slow, but I had enough. I have never been hasled like that before.

I'll stay here through Friday before heading out. Not sure If I'll see anymore of Guatemala, or if I'm ready to head to Hondorus. The Bay Islands are calling my name..... http://www.roatanonline.com/moreroatan/roatan_beaches.htm

Adios amigos. Oh and I think I was able to disable the sign in, so you can now post without having to register.

On the mend

Still here in Antigua, ready to move on, but there is a music festival on Saturday, that sounds great http://jamtigua.com/home3.htm. So, I´ll go to that with my new friend (a woman from Onset...man...small world). She´s kind of obnoxious to the locals, and a little to clingy with me, so I´ll be ready to split by Sunday, when I´ll catch a bus to Lake Atitilan: http://travelsinparadise.com/guatemala/atitlan/index.html where I´ll finally start Spanish school.

We went to the outdoor market yesterday. It´s so neat to see the Mayan woman with the babies wrapped in a shawl slung over their backs. It works really well for them.

On the way out we passed the dump. It was awful...there were people climbing the piles of crap looking for food. There doesn´t appear to be much middle class here. It´s the haves and the haves not. Everywhere I´ve been there is a visable police presence. They carry big ass sub machine guns and some of them look all of 15. Note to self, behave.

Saw some Nigerian men, they were in their traditional African dress. I imagine you don´t often see a Nigerian tribal dress in Guatemala. They were here for some kind of conference. One of them had scars on his face that as an infant his parents put there. It looked like whiskers.

There are tons of Americans and Canadians here. I was chatting with some older men yesterday who had sailed down to the coast from Prince Edward Island. It´s been a nice break to hear English. I forgot to mention the amount of Isrealis that I´ve come across. Not so much here in Antigua, but up north, I think I heard more Hebrew than Spanish.

The weather is beautiful, sunny and clear...cool in the mornings and evenings. Not a trace of humidity.

Oh and if you´re super cool, you have your teeth framed in gold with little stars on them. Sexxxy!

Ramon Noodles

Nirvana


That is all.

Oh what a night

Turns out my stomach bug was an intestinal infection, it landed me overnight in the hostpital. After being up all night long sicker than I think I´ve ever been, I waited for sunrise and headed to the hospital. Four IV bags of fluids and some new meds and I´m a free girl again. That sucked ass!
But, they took very good care of me. The doctor even brought his grand-daughter in to meet me. I´ve got a prescription for Cipro which I´ve already filled. Heading back to my hotel room for some more RnR. Bye for now.

Antigua, Guatemala

Ah, back in civilization. After a very long drive we arrived in this lovely colonial town. The streets are coblestone and there is much shopping to be had. Every town here centers around a park, Antigua´s is especially pretty.

I've got a bit of a bug, but went to the pharmacy this morning for some meds. Pharmacists here are far more involved with paitent care than back home. If I'm not feeling better in a couple of days, I'll make my way to a doctor. For now, I´m working on keeping fluids in and getting good rest.

Stayed last night at the Black Cat, but moved to a new place, today. Dunno the name of it. The Black Cat was a hostel, there were 4 bunks (8 beds) in my room. Uggh, not my scene. My new room is private, quiet and the best part, I have my very own bathroom.....with flushing toilet. Bliss!!

Heading back to bed, but wanted to touch base with everyone. All is well here.

I'm able to pick up e-mails, so if you don't want to register to post here, send along an e-mail.

El Remiro

Still at the El Remiro lodge, after only intending to stay 2 nights, tonight makes 5 nights. This place is kickin!! It´s set in the highlands with amazing mountain views, on a freakin´serious river. We were laughing yesterday that tubing on it, is like power tubing. What is probably a 2 mile float that at home it would take you an hour or so, takes all of 10 minutes here.

The staff is here is awesome. A couple of Canadians, and a guy from Holland. Very cool people. The girl I´m hanging with had seriously considered staying on and working here.

Some of the Americans I had been palling around with did move on, but I´m still with Kath, from Beverly. She and I are taking a 7 hour bus tomorrow to the town of Antigua. This will put us back in civilization.

The other night we went off site for a change of scenery for dinner. On the way home we passed a trail of ants with leaves on their back. I had only seen that on the discovery channel before. There is also some kind of plant here, they call it the moving plant. When you touch it´s leaves it closes up. It´s neat. A small scorpion was found in my room by the previous guests. They killed it, and I´m hoping it´s mama isn´t looking for it.

One thing I got a chuckle out of is that some people are pretty okay with stomping bugs or getting out a big can of raid. You´re not a sissy to bum out about bugs. Phew!

Got a bit of a stomach bug today, but I picked up a soda at the tienda a little bit ago. I´m hoping I´m on the mend.

There at two distinct groups of locals in Guatemala. They are the Guatemalans and Mayans. Apparently many of the Mayans don´t even speak spanish, they have their own local indian dialects. The Mayan woman are fascinating to watch. They all where these very pretty earth tone colored skirts and their tops look like croched (sp?) ponchos. Most carry their babies in a blanket over their backs. I think they are as curious about me as I am of them.

Okay, a storm is coming, I´m getting off line before we lose power. I plan on staying the first night tomorrow at the Black Cat in Antigua. Adios for now!

Semuc Champey - WOW

I´m in central Guatemala at the moment staying a lodge called El Remiro. I´m still traveling with my neuvo amigos, three Americans, a guy and girl from Beverly, and a flight attendant from San Francisco. Their spanish is far better than mine, so I´m sticking with these guys like white on rice!

We´ve been here two nights, having arrived after a 2 day journey to get here, which involved 4 buses and a river crossing on a boat. First, we arrived in Coban, where we had arranged in advance for the driver to continue on to the town of Lanquin where this place is. Upon arrival in Coban he changed his story and wanted to charge us more to continue the 2 hour drive. At that point it was dark and rainy and I was all too happy to tell him to pound sand. He put my driving to shame. So, we stayed the night and shared hostel room with 2 bunk beds.

The next morning we began our 2 hour drive to the lodge, El Remiro. The busses we´ve been taking are mostly extra long mini vans, that in the US might seat 10-12. However, here, I counted at one point 20 people. They just jam them in, with someone riding shotgun sitting out the window. At one point we picked up a Mayan woman with a live chicken stuffed in her basket.

This place is unbelievable. It´s on a river surrounded by very green mountains created out of limestone. There is cattle roaming the hills across the river. My private room is pretty cool, it´s a bit of a walk to the eco-friendly restrooms with cold showers. I´ll spare you the details of an eco friendly toilet.

We went tubing down the river the day we arrived. Man! It was a crazy ride....pretty strong river to say the least. Floating down the river and just soaking in the pristine view was very cool. Not a human is sight. I almost overshot the rope you need to grab to get out. This wasn´t the Saco, that´s for sure!!

Yesterday we went caving on the way to Semuc Champey. Words can´t describe it. After first walking along the river and jumping off a swing into the river, we hiked up the side of a waterfall. There we were all handed candles. The cave has a river running through it, so the entire 2 hours we were in the river, walking...or when too deep, swimming. It was absolutely magical with all the candle light. We climbed ladders and ropes (watch your head!) and made our way to an underground waterfall. Man oh man! Back home, without helmuts and life jackets this trip would be beyond illegal.

After the cave, we began a 1.2 kilometer hike...1.2 kilometers you say...peshaw...that´s nothing. NOT. It took us (well me, anyway) and hour and a half to make the vertical climb. I quickly ended up a the end of the line, which was fine with me. At the top, el mirador (the view) was indeed worth the hike. We looked down upon the aqua-green pools of Semuc Champey. Gorgeous. After hiking down to the pools, I was shown where the raging river runs underneath the limestone forming a natural bridge. Conversely, the pools are gentle waters where you can dive, float or just play.

Last night I was bone weary and counted up the bruises on my legs. ouch! I´m a little sore today, but it´s a good sore.

Staff here is very friendly, mostly European. There are always great tunes playing it´s kinda sureal to to in the jungle listening to cool music. It´s amazing to meet people on this trip. I feel very vanilla in my world experiences. Just listening to people talk about where they´ve been and what they´ve done makes me feel like a church mouse.

We´re staying here one more day to chill out. Yay! Tomorrow we will make the trek back to Guat city and then to Antigua.

Bye for now!

Finca Ixobel

Sunday 11/5 or 11/6? Dunno.

Arrived yesterday at Finca Ixobel, just south of the town of Potun. After getting off the bus, I jumped in the back of a tut tut (these funky 3 wheeled little vehicles) They look like what the Flinstone´s drove. I think they´re very common in Asia. Anyway, went down a winding bumpy road for a few minutes until I arrived. We cruised through some of the neighborhoods and I tell yah, the poverty is abysmal. Shacks put together with sheet metal on dirt floors. But you know what? Everyone is smiling, kids playing in yards seem very happy. It´s very family oriented here. Mums and dads have their kids around them all the time.

Something I will never tire of seeing is watching 3-4 family members all piled onto a scooter. The kids sit squished between the parents on the bike. It brings a new meaning to the word family vehicle. Grandmas will sit side saddle and young women in heals just cruise around. Helmuts? No such thing. Saw a guy cutting his grass...with a machetti.

So, back to Finca Ixobel. They had lots of lodging options. I chose my own private tree house. It´s awesome! My bed has a mosquito net and my little sitting area has a hammock. No electricity, they do provide a couple of candles. Bathrooms are just up the path. Gotta check under the seat for spiders. BIG ones! oof!

I was hoping to go inner tubing here, but they require a minimum of 5 ppl. I'm doing my best to rally the other guests, but it´s rained everyday and believe it or not, it´s a little cool. The rain isn´t a big deal. You just go about your business (reading on a hammock) and eventually it stops for a bit. November is the end of the rainy season. It makes for some lush greenery, that´s for sure.

This place is set up on the honor system. You eat and drink whatever you want and just write it down on your page in the book. I´ve met a young couple from Beverly, and one of the employees here is from NY state. Americans are definitely the minority visitors, though. Tons of Europeans.

I´ve heard about a super cool place to go next. Everyone I´ve talked to about it said it´s not to be missed. Caves and pools of aquamarine water that empty into one another. A woman I sat next to on the bus yesterday said it was the highlight of Guatemala for her. I´ll probably head there in a day or two. I don't have my guide book in front of me, but I think it´s called Sumac Champey.

A couple more Americans checked in today. They now live in Guatemala. One of them is a yoga instructor, I took a class this afternoon, she was a great instructor.

Tikal

Let's see.....oh, I forgot to mention the hummingbirds yesterday. When I ate my lunch I watched a family of them drinking from the feeder. It reminded me of my mum, she loved hummingbirds. There a lots of kids flying kites around here, it's very neat to see.

This morning, I got up to catch a 5:30am shuttle to Tikal. There was a guide on the bus and I joined his tour with two German girls. Very insightful. Tikal is quite large, and there are many structures still undiscovered. The maya built it approximately 1,800 years ago and it was only discovered in the mid 1800's. The jungle had litterally engulfed it when the Maya mysteriously vanished a few hundred years ago. Most of the temples look just large hills, but if you unearth them, viola.

Saw lot of monkeys and birds. Gotta watch where you step, and look up!

Oh, and when it rains it is slippery as all hell. It rained today. The area is built on lime stone (at least I think that's what he said) Climbing down was terrifying. I did baby steps. And opted out of climbing the last one. Mama didn't raise no fool.

The coolest thing though, here, horses and chickens just roam the street. The driver just slows and beeps. It's all good.

El Remate. La casa de Don David

Caught a shuttle to the village of El Remate, it was about a half an hour ride from Flores. The web site doesn't do the place justice, it's spectacular. I have my very own hammock outside my room. And of course, I've already napped on it. It's around 80 degrees and raining off and on, very tropical.

Heading out tomorrow morning around 5:00am to see the ruins at Tikal. Will stay here at Casa de Don David (davEED) probably tomorrow night, too. The ruins where Survivor Guatemala was taped is about an hour from here. They offer tours of it. I think I'll pass.

Met a German couple yesterday, the girl was covered in bug bites. uh oh.

The key boards are different. To get the @ sign, you need to hit ALT 64.

Gentle readers, that's all for now.

Day 2, Flores, Guatemala

Arrived safe and sound in Flores, Guatemala.

Guatemalans have been very friendly. On my flight from Miami to Guat City I sat next to a very nice man. He gave me his cell phone number should I have any questions or need suggestions.

I met a Belgium couple and a local on my flight to Flores, the local guy runs a car rental place and drove us all to the hotel. I ended up staying at the same place as the Belgiums and joined them for dinner. Got a good nights sleep, although after the flights my cold has kicked into overdrive.

Flores is a small, neat town in a lake. Cobblestone (or a variation there of) streets. Sidewalks with gaping holes in them. ohh no. Note to self, watch where you're going!

Will do some more exploring, may get a cheaper hotel room tonight now that I have my bearings. Bye for now!