Have yet to visit this country so I really enjoyed reading about your time there and the photos were great; but that photo with the volcano erupting was fantastic!
A walking down Memory Lane It sounds like your trip was partly a trip down Memory Lane. It sure was for for me too. I was in Guatemala three years ago and went to many of the places you went to. I knew Guatemala City wasn't safe but from what you write it was worse than I thought. To me it felt safe enough and I thought my precautions ("not venture outside the safe zone", "making sure the bus didn't drop me outside the city centre") were silly and unnecessary. But I guess I was right in being careful. Tikal, such a wonderful place! Chichicastenango and the colorful cemetery. Antigua and its ruins. I also remember the volcano - the only time I have been able to take good photos of a volcano having an outbreak. You were lucky to get your shot of the volcano when it exploded. Looking forward to your next blog entry. /Ake
Thanks Ake! Guatemala was very special and I enjoyed my time there. The volcano eruption was sure interesting, made my hike up the other one nerve wracking for sure!!!
Guatemala! Yay! Lovely to read about beautiful Guatemala, takes me back to my own time there a couple of years ago. Looks like you fitted a lot in. And even a real love volcanic eruption! How incredible!
Gorgeous Guatemala My two most favourite places were Antigua and Tikal, and it was so lovely to be transported back there with your words and photos. Honduras has recently popped up as a contender for the next trip to those parts, so I'm eagerly awaiting your blog :)
A blue eyed Grianga speaking Spanglish Hey Gringa, I enjoyed this blog thoroughly...perhaps I have Guatemala in my bucket list all along, but more so about how you presented the episode. Hats off, you two girls in your yesteryears covered all these places on your own. More kudos that you are heading out to Hondurus....I have that in my bucket list too, but I heard many stories from their not that stimulating. Looking forward reading your experiences over there.
I’m going to sound like the Guatemalan governor of tourism but please go to Guatemala!!! It is a wonderful country with wonderful people and with so many things to see and do. Yes, the city can be dangerous, but use your travel wits and you’ll be fine!!!
No picture?? No picture of "the most beautiful man with brown eyes?" Don't leave me in suspense!
I had just about concluded that a pair of brown eyes belonged to a puppy, until I went back and read your blog again.
My Pair of Brown Eyes prefers anonymity for now. Luckily, that wasn’t the end of him. He rejoins my journey in El Salvador. He might show himself there.
Brown Eyes hosting you in Guatemala A marvelous story teller you are and we await your book. Glad you've chicken bus'd through this luscious land of humidity. Terrific that you didn't kill any old ladies on the bus and as for Tikal we still can't wait to see it and the acid is not a bad idea with Pink Floyd music in the background. All love your wild adventurous stories with locals.
Thank you Binkleys! This was an enjoyable “memorable” journey revisiting all my old haunts. You must go to Tikal!!!! It’s mind blowing with or without the LSD. Maybe a little diving in Belize first? I’ll meet you there.
View with a Blue Hue Great photo of the view with the blue hue! And I didn't realise you had one last Travel Blog entry left of your trip. It made me remember how much I enjoyed your previous entries, and how light-hearted you're able to make the joys and the woes of the traveller's world! Hope you're nice and settled back home again now, and l look forward to reading about your next adventures, wherever they may be ?
Not so brave ... I didn't have much idea of where I was going at the time. I just wanted to travel. The big difference these days is that everywhere is so overrun by tourists. As I am a tourist too, I can't really complain. So I have adapted -- no travel during the summer and holiday periods, and seeing some popular sites only from the outside. I won't stand in line to see anything and I have never waited for my turn to take a selfie at a popular attraction for instagram. I also spend most of the holiday on a mini road trip outside of the main cities. I don't think Morocco has changed too much from the photos that I have seen. Sure they have resorts now but the rest looks the same. Would love to go back one day.
We also like Amsterdam We also like Amsterdam. But next time we go to Netherlands we will probably try to explore bits and pieces of the rest of the country because we are sure there is lots of interesting places out there. We made a short road trip in neighbouring Belgium a few years ago and we loved it. /Ake
What a great idea. Instead of considering Amsterdam just a layover, I think it’s worth a further explore. Maybe I’ll combine Belgium with the Netherlands next time. Maybe follow the coast to Bruges. There’s just so many places, so little time!
On behalf of the Dutch.. I thank you for all the praise you lavish on us, but unfortunately I feel it is quite undeserved. We are not as polite, or tolerant, or even as trendsetting as we make outsiders believe. This might have been true 20 years ago, but times have changed and, as in many places around the world, a rather nasty undercurrent has developed. If you would talk to a lot of our immigrant population about the Dutch you might not think the Dutch so tolerant. Thought, I daresay we aren't any worse than anywhere else. It's just that we aren't any better either. In many ways I would say Canada is ahead of Holland, but perhaps that is because, like you in regards to Holland, I only hear and see part of the story. When you don't live in a country you tend only to see the good, or perhaps you see what you want to see, who knows. Still, once again, I thank you for the kind words. It is a reciprocal feeling, I think most of the Dutch find Canada and Canadians equally amazing.
You make good points Ralf. I highly suspect if Canada had the same migrant crisis currently faced in the EU, we’d struggle as a nation to maintain our sunshiny reputation! Hell our neighbour to the south continues his quest for a wall and it seems Many Canadians secretly like this idea, so we don’t have to look like the bad guy. Ugly humanity is just under the surface any where you go. I know this and chose to see positivity if I can. Hey. This sounds like a good discussion to have over a bottle of Rioja....!!!
Life is an adventure..... and then there is Amsterdam Your airbnb host is a whacko.... I hope you warned people in the review. Sounds like the poor boy has spent too many years in the bottle. Amsterdam has something for everyone.... the good, the bad and the ugly. Love the canals, boats and museums. Danger, danger watch out for those bicycles as they do have the right of way and will mow you down. I was laughing when you said your fellow Canadian baled out early. I think he might have needed the two of you to keep him safe.
Welcome to Amsterdam! You summed it up in a nutshell, there are a lot of nice people, creepy people, crazy people, bizarre people, naughty people and bad people, both local and foreign. As a Dutch person I am not overly fond of Amsterdam, it has become a bit too much Disney on drugs, with too many tourist and too few locals, too many souvenir stalls and too little simple grocery stores. This is, by the way, a problem the municipality is working on, because it is starting to cause irritations. Saying all that, it remains a beautiful city, and its museums and other attractions are always worth visiting. But next time you visit The Netherlands, perhaps you should stay in Utrecht or Leiden, both have direct train connections with Schiphol, and are about 20 minutes away by train. They are cheaper to stay, are not filled with tourists, and have plenty to see and do, and equally good bars, cafe's and terraces but without the hassles you get in Amsterdam. Plus if you really miss Amsterdam, it's an easy 20 minute train ride away from both, every 10 minutes or so... You can even party in Amsterdam till the wee hours of the morning,if you so prefer, and get back to both places as trains run throughout the night.
Apparently Dr J gets nothing but 5 star reviews!!! Going back 10 years! So I’m hoping he only felt relaxed enough to unleash Dr. Hyde on us, and keeps him squirreled away in the attic for most of other his customers. Overall, it was a top notch rental, perfectly situated, and he was over the top hospitable and helpful. I guess Winnie and I bring out the worse in some people lol. This is why I travel.
Welcome to Amsterdam! I loved Amsterdam but truly, I can’t wait to go back and explore more of Holland. The people are so amazing, food, landscapes, history, way of life! Shall I continue. You are so lucky to belong to such a diverse, tolerant, polite, trendsetting culture. Canada can only try to be what Holland is. Yes, a bit of a downer that Amsterdam is more like Las Vegas of Holland but if it’s being contained, who’s it hurting. It makes for a fun introduction if nothing else.
This Canadian girl's passion for travel comes from my adventurous parents. My brother and I spent most of our youth traveling all over North America in the family’s camper van, airplane, and boat - going as far west as the Hawaiian islands, as far north as Tuktoyaktuk, and as far south as Mexico doing lots of adventurous stuff...canoeing, surfing, fishing, camping, hiking, skiing, exploring, jellyfish poking...it was the best childhood ever!
That same adventurous spirit fueled my travel passion for over 30 years. I’ve been all over the shop. Now that I'm newly retired, I split my lif... full info
starship VT
starship - VT
Have yet to visit this country so I really enjoyed reading about your time there and the photos were great; but that photo with the volcano erupting was fantastic!