Barton Creek to El Remate, Guatemala

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Up with the sun & the birds. At least it didn't rain on us last night! Woo hoo! & the stars were incredible of course. Out here in the boonies.

We've decided to leave today no matter what the weather has in store. Time to get to Guatemala & I'm afraid of getting stuck here like our European friends. (not really, but I am starting to feel a bit old with all these early 20 somethings in abundance).

After a nice dip/bath in the river we had a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs & toast with the amazing Mennonite butter (I wish that traveled well so I could keep it with me at all times) & some Marie Sharps jelly. We arranged for our ride to SI so we could catch a bus to the border. We packed up again, with all of our damp things from this damp time in the jungle. The weird part is my skin is drier here than it has been since we left home, but everything is damp. Confusing.

Our ride arrived & we said goodbye to everyone. Our ride was even better than anticipated. Nish (the driver) showed up in a small Mazda like pickup & lifted up a bench seat, in the back of the pickup (from what I imagine is another truck since he clearly had seats in the front of his truck) wiped it off & said ok! We threw our bags in back & climbed into the back of our chariot. Thankfully the sun was shining. I can't imagine that ride being nearly as much fun in the rain. Just as we were about to leave, shirtless Simon said "look for Toucans." I was stoked! I want to see a Toucan!! (especially after our no-bird spotting 10 mile walk). Off we went facing backwards. A little ways down the road I spotted the most beautiful yellow Toucan. He was just sitting out in the open on a big branch & he was gorgeous. His beak was about the size of his body & he his chest was glowing, almost fluorescent, yellow. Yippeee!!! So happy. I spent the rest of the ride looking up into the trees (didn't see another Toucan but the search was fun). We drove by several Mennonites & their horse drawn carriages. Geoff could fit in with them with his beard at this point.. 😉

We arrived in good old Georgeville again & Nish offered to drive us to the border for another $10 Belize. Ok, we said. Which ended up being a great decision. However, driving in the back of a pickup on a lonely, bouncy, dirt road is entirely different than on a busy highway where cars like to pass closely & get right up on the back bumper. It was a bit nervewracking at times, but honestly a fun way to see the sights. We drove through SI & saw the busy Satuday market in full swing. The sun was really shining & we were getting warm & our things were drying out.

We arrived at the border & Nish was kind enough to give us the lowdown on what to expect when crossing the border & how to go about catching our bus. Thank you Nish! Border crossings are always different because you really don't know what to expect. So far each country is so vastly different & that becomes immediately evident right at border crossing time. Things are handled very differently by each culture. Once in Guatemala there are various men running around with huge stacks of money in their hands offering you different prices to change your $ to Quetzales. Nish said we should shop around & not take the first price offered & bargain. Which we did. The bus station is a few km away from the border so we knew we had to take a taxi there. We were offered so many outrageous prices for everything. Eventually we had 6 guys standing around us in a circle offering us money, taxis, lord knows what else. All in Spanish, so I'm translating everything to Geoff which can be even more confusing amidst the chaos, but we made it. We ended up exchaning our Belizean money for Quetzales & had a nice young guy offer us the best price on a taxi & away we went. Goodbye border! I will not miss you! Even before we got to the border we were having pep talks in the back of the truck. The unknown is always scary & being on the same page as a team is incredibly important, we've learned.

So, off to the bus station. We get dropped off & our taxi driver gives us 2 oranges as a regalo (gift). Thanks! The woman at the bus station tells us the next bus isn't until 530 pm & it's 1230pm. Ugh! So as we've also learned, it's important to ask a lot of questions during these times. After a short conversation I've learned that the mini-bus station is a few blocks away & they have buses leaving every 15 minutes for El Remate, where we're heading. So, I give the kind lady an orange (because she answers my questions with "yes, I'd love an orange") & we walk. Karma happens really fast to us we've noticed so when we get, we give.

This border town is very busy & very noisy. There's a SUV, parked on the side of the road, with a megaphone on top yelling about pens & paper & a woman in the back seat actually selling the pens & paper. Low overhead on the storefront. We arrive to an even busier area & since we have backpacks on there's always people talking to us about what we need when a young man yells in our face about going to Flores (which is close to El Remate). Apparently his job is announcer of where his mini-bus is heading. We talk about price & head to his mini-van which just pulled up. Good timing. I'm having a hard time with the math so far: 7.5 to 8 Quetzal is equal to $1. Whew. I need extra fingers. Or a calculator! The mini-bus is actually a mini-van & we load our bags on top of the mini-bus, well mr. megaphone voiced kid does it for us. He stands in the street & yells that this bus is heading to Flores. Eventually we have, what we believe to be, a full mini-bus. Along with an Aussie couple we met diving in Caye Caulker (and saw again in Placencia) who pulled up in a cab right before we left. Small travel circuit. We pack in the non-AC'd bus & head out. Mr. Announcer kid keeps yelling out the window "Flores" in his pitch perfect announcer voice that was really made for radio. Along the way we pick up a few more people. This kid is amazing. He lugs huge bags of potato & peoples bags up the side ladder on the bus all by placing them on the back of neck while climbing up! After securing them up top, he gets back inside & cramps himself into a little ball & says "vamos" to the driver (who I'm guessing is his dad, no real way to know for sure). Just when we think the van has to be full we fit about 5 more people & a large palm plant in with us. At one point there were 3 people up front, 4 adults & 2 young kids in row 1, 5 adults & 2 small kids in row 2, 4 adults in our row 4, & 4 adults & 1 kid in the back & the plant. Yikes! Oh, and Mr. announcer squeezed his way in there somehow too, although at this point the door didn't shut all the way. On one stop (along the side of the road in the middle of nowhere) a woman gets out of the mini-bus with a baby attached to her boob, a toddler in one arm, a bucket in one hand & a bag that looked heavy in another! I was impressed. I know I'm not capable of that. My backpack is challenge enough. Along the way we passed a large herd of cows ambling along the highway & many many horses along the side of the road, eating.

We made it to El Remate which is a teeny tiny village set on Lake Peten Itza. The lake is huge & mostly undeveloped around it. We walked along the road until a little boy asked us if we needed help finding a place to stay. We named a couple hostels we knew about & he took us to one. I asked if he worked for them & he said, no but they give him a commission when he brings guests. We ended up at Hostal Sak Luk which is very artsy (there's murals on the stucco walls & sculptures built into the walls & beer bottles built into the stucco) & extremely basic. Our room overlooks the Lake (& the highway) & does not have a single window. We have our own bathroom but I don't plan to shower in it, it looks icky. The owner is a nice guy & there are mosquito nets for our bed, & it's $12 a night, so we're set. The view is incredible though.

After arriving in tiny El Remate we realized we may have made another error in transit because there is not a bank here & we have about $10 to our name. Oops. We also realized that neither of us remember the PIN to our bank cards, since we just changed banks right before we left & haven't used them yet. Oops. So, we venture out in the village, find a little internet place that also changes $$. Thankfully we still have some US dollars with us & we get those changed & email Kathie to see if she has our PIN in our files. Not the best plan of attack we've had so far. We get some money, a Fanta & a couple potato tacos, freshly made & strolled around the lake to check the place out.

We head back to our hostel for dinner where Erwin, the owner, told us they make a mean plate of Carbonara. Haven't had pasta in ages, so we were excited. He did not lie. The Carbonara was incredible & good thing we shared, there was enough for 3 people. We also got a huge salad. Yummm!!! We met Mircos from Germany who is also heading to Tikal tomorrow. He's funny. Germans have the driest sense of humor I've come to learn & I love it!

Off to bed since we are up at 5am for our trip to Tikal. But first we had to kill all the bugs that had made their way inside our mosquito net! Not the quietest night of sleep. Apparently, music, loud talking, driving really fast down the highway until late at night, are all pasttimes of the locals for a Saturday night. Another night I am grateful for my ear plugs.

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Photos

Our ride to the Border
Adios Barton Creek!

First Mini Bus ride
In Guatemala

View of Lake Peten Itza
From our room without windows

First dinner in Guatemala
And it's Pasta?

Sunset
From our room over the lake