Published: May 20th 2006May 20th 2006
well eddie and crew arrived and diana and crew departed for GC and tikal. we took the new folks out to eat, as they were famished after traveling all day. within 10 minutes of arriving at the rainbow reading room and cafe, eddie was offered a job- no doubt due to his high brow lispy spain spanish. we were also given free homemade banana cream pie to try, which was nice. the food here is excellent and cheap- we had steak and chicken platters for lunch for the equivalent of US $5 each or so. one student in our group has already fallen ill, visiting the bathroom last night a few times, and being very weak all this day. they are recovering, however, and getting used to those guatemalan microbes. the weatehr has been ferociously rainy, but, like the monsoon or rainy season anywhere, it just turns on like a faucet, pours for some minutes or hors, then turns off. nothing subtle about it, just drenching than dry. we introduced eddie, jenni and johnny to the market. besides more pickpockets- which we foiled yet again- we saw lots of neat things, like bootleg mission impossible:3 dvds, lufa sponges as long as a baseball bat, every sort of permutation of pepper, chile and vegetable- including some we couldnt identify- various chicken bits ( we especially like the feet, with claws attached), lots of vacant eyed fish, and cloth, leather goods, machetes, comedors (little food stalls- eddie ate lunch for the equivalent of 35 cents), tools, cds, music balring, spices, shoes, odds and ends- a real souk, mazelike in its dark passages, verdant in its smells and sights and sounds. read: really smelly in places. cedar tried to eat a piece of candy that fell on the ground in the market, into the floor soup of mud and garbage and who knows what else, and we about had a heart attack. we got lost - the second time in 2 visits- but not AS lost as the first time Id say. alot of folks dont have refrigerators, so they ahve to go shopping every day or two. it makes for some very fresh food experiences.
the feral dog count is well over 9 by now (cedar is keeping close watch on all animals we run into), witn a vastly pregnant muddy brown dog living on the street about a block from the shalom. its massive, it can barely walk, and just looks at you with baleful eyes. they are all shy and run off when you growl at them. we are leaving tommorow for the market at chichi, and hope to be able to pick up some nice weavings, etc there. this town is cheap for food and lodginig but not for souvenir stuff- there are lots of tourists, as its saturday and we have been hearing english and seeing more white faces on the streets.
sorry about the typos, this is a spanish language, old keybeord and Im just trying to figure it out as I go. hope to get some pics up soon. and thanks for the commnets- at least then I know someone is reading this thing. Best sign so far- when we arrived athe airport, our shuttle driver had a sign that read ¨waldëns cool, diana watts¨. Well thats all for now from antigua- looks like well be hitting some live music later tonight and getting ready for our day trip tomorrow.
I teach junior high and high school social studies, photography, photojournalism and wilderness studies. I help plan and lead expeditions for our school- www.waldenschool.us- and this blog is a record of our trips. Last year we spent some time in Oaxaca, Mexico working with street children; this year we will be in Guatemala. ... full info
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Guatemala
The Maya civilization flourished in Guatemala and surrounding regions during the first millennium A.D. After almost three centuries as a Spanish colony, Guatemala won its independence in 1821. During the second half of the 20th century, it experience...more info
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Date: 21st May 2006
Monkeys, tucans and lizard tails
Greetings from the crew that went to Tikal. The hostel in Guat City was perfectlots of large spaces for kids to congregate, play cards, eat greasy pizza, etc. I was awakened at 6:30 by Alex screaming at the top of his lungs (cold shower). Dixon took group after group of students out to a bakery for fresh bread and pastries while we waited for breakfast, then we were off to the airport again (surprising how easy it was with 25 people). It was cool and raining when we left Guat City, but the heat and humidity hit hard as we deplaned in Flores. The jungle is beautiful, much drier than it was 6 years ago when I was here, and fewer animals it seems. There were Jaguar, turkey and snake crossing signs on the road here, but no sign of any of these. We did enjoy howler monkeys swinging from tree to tree and the odd, criket-like call of the tucan, but the Kuadamundis were scarce. Kat stepped on a baby lizard and detached its tailthe kids carried with them for the next 10 minutes or so as it wriggled, independant of a brainyuk. We did watch a gazzillion leaf-cutter ants scurry up the vines spiraled around a tree trunk, then scurry back down carrying pieces of leaf about 10 times their size. They have a huge network of trails all across the jungleit's rather amazing. This morning some of us are going on a canopy tour (pricey, but it's not every day we would have the opportunity). They'll harness us in and send us off on a sort-of zip line across the top of the jungle. Our guide is waiting patiently, so I'll check out for not and report in when we're back. Diana
From Blog: turistas strikes the unwary
Monkeys, tucans and lizard tails
Greetings from the crew that went to Tikal. The hostel in Guat City was perfectlots of large spaces for kids to congregate, play cards, eat greasy pizza, etc. I was awakened at 6:30 by Alex screaming at the top of his lungs (cold shower). Dixon took group after group of students out to a bakery for fresh bread and pastries while we waited for breakfast, then we were off to the airport again (surprising how easy it was with 25 people). It was cool and raining when we left Guat City, but the heat and humidity hit hard as we deplaned in Flores. The jungle is beautiful, much drier than it was 6 years ago when I was here, and fewer animals it seems. There were Jaguar, turkey and snake crossing signs on the road here, but no sign of any of these. We did enjoy howler monkeys swinging from tree to tree and the odd, criket-like call of the tucan, but the Kuadamundis were scarce. Kat stepped on a baby lizard and detached its tailthe kids carried with them for the next 10 minutes or so as it wriggled, independant of a brainyuk. We did watch a gazzillion leaf-cutter ants scurry up the vines spiraled around a tree trunk, then scurry back down carrying pieces of leaf about 10 times their size. They have a huge network of trails all across the jungleit's rather amazing. This morning some of us are going on a canopy tour (pricey, but it's not every day we would have the opportunity). They'll harness us in and send us off on a sort-of zip line across the top of the jungle. Our guide is waiting patiently, so I'll check out for not and report in when we're back. Diana
From Blog: turistas strikes the unwary
Date: 21st May 2006
Monkeys, tucans and lizard tails
Greetings from the crew that went to Tikal. The hostel in Guat City was perfectlots of large spaces for kids to congregate, play cards, eat greasy pizza, etc. I was awakened at 6:30 by Alex screaming at the top of his lungs (cold shower). Dixon took group after group of students out to a bakery for fresh bread and pastries while we waited for breakfast, then we were off to the airport again (surprising how easy it was with 25 people). It was cool and raining when we left Guat City, but the heat and humidity hit hard as we deplaned in Flores. The jungle is beautiful, much drier than it was 6 years ago when I was here, and fewer animals it seems. There were Jaguar, turkey and snake crossing signs on the road here, but no sign of any of these. We did enjoy howler monkeys swinging from tree to tree and the odd, criket-like call of the tucan, but the Kuadamundis were scarce. Kat stepped on a baby lizard and detached its tailthe kids carried with them for the next 10 minutes or so as it wriggled, independant of a brainyuk. We did watch a gazzillion leaf-cutter ants scurry up the vines spiraled around a tree trunk, then scurry back down carrying pieces of leaf about 10 times their size. They have a huge network of trails all across the jungleit's rather amazing. This morning some of us are going on a canopy tour (pricey, but it's not every day we would have the opportunity). They'll harness us in and send us off on a sort-of zip line across the top of the jungle. Our guide is waiting patiently, so I'll check out for not and report in when we're back. Diana
From Blog: turistas strikes the unwary
Monkeys, tucans and lizard tails
Greetings from the crew that went to Tikal. The hostel in Guat City was perfectlots of large spaces for kids to congregate, play cards, eat greasy pizza, etc. I was awakened at 6:30 by Alex screaming at the top of his lungs (cold shower). Dixon took group after group of students out to a bakery for fresh bread and pastries while we waited for breakfast, then we were off to the airport again (surprising how easy it was with 25 people). It was cool and raining when we left Guat City, but the heat and humidity hit hard as we deplaned in Flores. The jungle is beautiful, much drier than it was 6 years ago when I was here, and fewer animals it seems. There were Jaguar, turkey and snake crossing signs on the road here, but no sign of any of these. We did enjoy howler monkeys swinging from tree to tree and the odd, criket-like call of the tucan, but the Kuadamundis were scarce. Kat stepped on a baby lizard and detached its tailthe kids carried with them for the next 10 minutes or so as it wriggled, independant of a brainyuk. We did watch a gazzillion leaf-cutter ants scurry up the vines spiraled around a tree trunk, then scurry back down carrying pieces of leaf about 10 times their size. They have a huge network of trails all across the jungleit's rather amazing. This morning some of us are going on a canopy tour (pricey, but it's not every day we would have the opportunity). They'll harness us in and send us off on a sort-of zip line across the top of the jungle. Our guide is waiting patiently, so I'll check out for not and report in when we're back. Diana
From Blog: turistas strikes the unwary
Date: 21st May 2006
Sounds like a grand adventure
Sounds like you're having fun. Maybe get some of the kids to chime in with their perspectives once in a while. I'd like to know what their culture shock sounds like...
From Blog: turistas strikes the unwary
Sounds like a grand adventure
Sounds like you're having fun. Maybe get some of the kids to chime in with their perspectives once in a while. I'd like to know what their culture shock sounds like...
From Blog: turistas strikes the unwary
Date: 22nd May 2006
Sounds like Mexico!
Glad to hear that everyone arrived safely! Please take note of all funny signs; I'd like to make a collection from all over the world. Is Cedar scared of the dogs? I hope not. Getting ready to leave for San Fran tomorrow. Wish us luck! Hope things are going well; tell Jenni and Kenzie hi for me.
From Blog: turistas strikes the unwary
Sounds like Mexico!
Glad to hear that everyone arrived safely! Please take note of all funny signs; I'd like to make a collection from all over the world. Is Cedar scared of the dogs? I hope not. Getting ready to leave for San Fran tomorrow. Wish us luck! Hope things are going well; tell Jenni and Kenzie hi for me.
From Blog: turistas strikes the unwary
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lara
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sigh
sounds excellent! i'm home alone with three babies for the weekend. . . . do tell more about the live music and what guatemalan food is like. also please let me know if any of my children are dead or dying. . . .
From Blog: turistas strikes the unwary