My travels continue...

Hey everyone, I have not used the internet much recently because right now I'm in Belize and it's really expensive so I have been avoiding the computer, but I decided I needed to try and catch up a little since my last blog left me in limbo. (I started this blog awhile ago and just finished it so the timing is funny)

First off, I went to check out volunteering in Guatemala and all of the places required that you pay them to volunteer, which makes no sense to me to pay to work, so I put that on hold for now. Then the night Colin left I signed up for the all you can eat BBQ at my hostel and a lot of people were hanging out and we all ate together, so I was not feeling too lonely and deserted and I had a nice night, even though I was still kind of in shock from my new found situation, and I did not really know what was going to happen next for me (if I should stay put for awhile or keep traveling?). I was sitting by two german guys and a guy from Madrid named Lorenzo. They were all really nice and we were talking for a while about travel plans and what not. Lorenzo was telling me how he is in the middle of traveling the whole world and he has already been down through Africa, then he crossed the ocean in a boat to Brazil, and now he is traveling all the way up through the Americas. I thought that sounded fantastic and talking to him about all the wonderful places in the world reignited the travel bug inside me. I told him I was headed in the general direction of Coban to Tikal and then Belize, but I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing since it was my first day alone. Lorenzo told me he was going the same way and he had plans to leave in the morning, and he told me I could go with him if I wanted. I figured why not? ...so Monday morning I packed up my stuff and we headed out to the bus station, and it was really nice to have some company.

Getting to Coban was not as easy as you would think. The bus to Guatemala City let us off at a random place and then told us the terminal with the buses to Coban was only 4 blocks away, but they also told us we should take a cab because it is really dangerous to walk in the city. We walked up the main street anyway and we were asking around to find out where the buses were. Nobody seemed to know, and lots of people were just making things up. We followed one bus drivers advice and took a bus a few blocks and found out it was the wrong way. We asked more people and then took a bus back the other way, and then kept asking around and everyone was telling us different places to go, but we always seemed to be only 3-4 blocks away-- it didn't amke any sense. Everyone felt like they had to tell us somewhere to go even if they had no idea what they were talking about. It was madness in the city and we had all of our stuff with us, so I was not too comfortable, and not too sure if we would find the bus. Finally a really helpful man found us asking around in the market and led us directly to the bus because he also said it was really dangerous in the city- even just to walk one block the wrong way. So we eventually made it to the bus and headed off to Coban and I was thankful that nothing bad happened. But as a Side Note: the next day on the front page of the newspaper was an article about how right by that terminal there was an explosion and 18 people died (it was caused by someone's cigarette)... it was right after we left, so that was kind of spooky. I don't know what I would have done without Lorenzo because he helped us a lot and it was great being with a native Spanish speaker.

The bus ride was long and we got to Coban in the dark. It was too late to connect to Lanquin- which was where we wanted to go- so we had to spend the night there. This young guide Carlos came by and told us about a new cheap hostel called Chipi Chipi. We decided to go there and check it out and it was pretty nice so we decided to stay, and then Carlos was telling us about this soccer game going on at 10 that night. It was going to be for fun between a local team and a collection of foreigners. He wanted us to join in and I was just a little hesitant because all I had to wear were my huge hiking boots, but I said I would watch any way because Lorenzo was going to play. So Lorenzo and I went out for some beers and then we came back and shortly after met up with Carlos. He was supposed to have 2 other Italian guys but they didn't show and instead he found a big guy Steven from England. They wanted me on the team then because we needed 5 players, and with me we would have 4. I was like sure I'll play, this will be fun and casual. ...Carlos takes us to this kind of indoor soccer rink that was actually outside and there was a league game going on-- it was not at all what I was expecting. When that game finished Carlos was all like okay our turn... the 4 of us were a funny group with our street clothes on and bad shoes, and then all these Guatemalan guys show up all decked out and ready to play. I was thinking oh man what did we get in to? There were 3 teams in total, we got one more local guy, and when someone scored or if 10 minutes passed the other team switched out. The games were pretty intense and we were all running like crazy and sweating a lot- which was good because it was cold out. Our team was surprisingly good and we were scoring the most and playing a lot-- Lorenzo was our star player representing Real Madrid. It was really hard to run in my boots but I was doing alright. I was the only girl and anytime I did anything decent everyone cheered for the USA. It was really funny, and in the end I scored a goal and the cheering was intense- I enjoyed it a lot. We ended up playing 2 hours instead of 1 and we were all beat at the end. The foreigners won!!!!! It was a great time and then it got weird. Carlos was like okay now you each have to pay 25 quetzales which we thought was rediculous. Everyone was suppoed to pay a little, but some of the locals didn't want to pay so they were trying to make us pay more. Steven finally gave them a little and then I gave them a little and we thought that was sufficient so we started to leave. Then one guy called Lorenzo a dick in Mexican slang because we each didn't give them a lot of money. We thought that was absurd and we had to leave on bad terms because some of the local boys were getting nasty. Lorenzo and I went back hoping they wouldn't cause any trouble with us. We made it to bed around 1, so it ended up being a very long day.

The next morning we left early to go to Lanquin and to avoid any conflict. We had heard nothing but good things about this hostel called El Retiro, so that was where we were headed. But it is very much off the beaten path, so it took a long bumpy bus ride to get there and then we finally pulled up and from the road it looked like some tin box and we were like what is this place? Then we went through this gate to the side and were instantly impressed. It was unbelievably beautiful-- there was a giant river flowing past and plants everywhere and the dorms were little seperate huts scattered around the gardens. Each hut had hammoks to chill in, and there was a great restaurant by the river, and they had composting toilets, and it was very eco-friendly and just my style, so I was loving it. It was the perfect place to chill out and relax and forget about everything. There were some other backpackers there as well who were all very friendly and it created a nice atmosphere and other than that the town was small and there weren't any tourists around.

The day after we arrived Lorenzo and I signed up through El Retiro to take a tour of Semuc Champey (which is a natural wonder of Guatemala) and the caves nearby. It turned out to be one of my favorite days in Guatemala. Semuc Champey is even more off the beaten track than Lanquin and to get there we went in this truck that had an open bed in the back with some bars to hold on to. We were all standing up and holding on since it was very bumpy, and the wind was blowing in our hair, we were passing women and children waving to us on the side of the road, and chickens, pigs and dogs were running out of our way. Plus the weather was perfect and the scenery was beautiful, so I was loving it. When we got there, the first thing we all did was we took turns swinging out over the river and then jumping in. The water was kind of cold, but it was fun. They had told us it was a very adventurous tour, but I didn't know what to expect... Next we each got a long white candle to bring into the caves. As we entered, the guide lit our candle and we slid into the water and swam into the caves with one arm raised to keep the candle burning. It was quite the adventure inside. The caves were over 50 million years old and very spectacular. We were climbing on rocks, swimming through the water, going up and down ladders, squeezing through stalagmites, sliding down rocks, going through water falls-- it was amazing with everyone holding a burning candle inside the caves. The water was cold and I was shivering for awhile, but the adventure kept me going. It felt like we were in there forever and my candle burned down until there was just over an inch left and I was feeling like Tom Sawyer, but then we saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Once out of the caves we went to a tall bridge over the river and had the option of jumping off, I think it was 8-10 meters high, but it always looks higher from the top. Some people went and then the guide told us we should continue on, and I thought I couldn't miss out, so I jumped in at the end with another girl who went by Tess from Sweden. I was so scared at the top but Tess gave me some confidence and then a bee stung my toe and it really hurt and I jumped right off-- I screamed loud and it was really fun! Then we all hiked up to El Mirador (the overlook) and looked down on the pools of Semuc Champey, and had a picnic and it was beautiful. After that we hiked down, and explored and swam in the crystal clear pools. It was paradise and the sun was shining down and I could have stayed there forever. It was nice too that Lorenzo and I went together so I had a friend to share in the experience with. And Lorenzo had an under water camera so we got some great pictures. On the way back we passed a guy whose motorcycle wasn't working, so we lifted it up into our truck and one guy sat on the back and the rest of us crowded around the sides-- it just added to the adventure of it all. Then that night was all you can eat BBQ night at El Retiro and it was some of the best food I had eaten yet, and we all sat around and shared in the meal together and had some drinks. It turned out to be one of my favorite days of my trip so far, and I highly recommend it to anyone to go to Semuc Champey!

Oh yeah, I can't forget the night before at El Retiro... in the evening I was sitting by the river writing in my journal and enjoying myself while Lorenzo was down at the bar. He made friends with these 3 Guatemalans, Alexander, Dennis, and Fernando, who were selling Guatemalan rum and liquor to the bar. Later I went down to see what was going on and they had all already had a few drinks. I met them all and then they practically insisted that I try their rum-- I couldn't resist, and it was good. We all got a little drunk and hung out through the night. We were joking around and playing giant Jenga and it was hilarious. They all loved that Lorenzo was from Spain and they said he was the only one who spoke correct Spanish. They loved his accent and kept asking how to correctly pronounce everything in Spanish. I ended up getting a good spanish lesson myself. They also loved that I was from America, and they kept teasing me, but it was all in good fun. It was great to make friends with some locals. Also Alexander was very interesting to talk to because he was one of the few local people I have met who has been through the University. He kept telling me how it is hard in Guatemala because there are so many indigenous people and they don't want advancements and they don't want their children in school because they want them in the fields and what not maintaining their culture. He thought it was a big problem facing Guatemala's development. He also was saying how you can travel and see all these new places and everything, but what really matters are the people you meet, and that is very true. I definitely met some buena gente in Lanquin.

After Lanquin, Lorenzo and I took off for the ruins at Tikal. And that turned out to be another crazy ride. Wow, I am writing a lot, but there is so much that has happened to me recently and I have had one adventure after another, so I'll see what I can remember... the bus going back to Coban came by in the morning and it was so full inside that the people were all smooshed up into the windows and sitting on eachother and you couldn't even open the door or everyone would come spilling out. So Lorenzo and I had to start off the ride sitting up on the roof with the luggage, which was something new for me. After a little while a lot of people got off and we went inside the van. Then the driver was saying he was having troubles with something, and Alex (the guy working the van) got off and was looking underneath the van. We were sitting there for a few minutes and then Alex came out with some parts in his hands and he threw them up top. Lorenzo and I just looked at each other like that can't be good to be taking parts off. But we kept going a few meters and then we came to a hill and realized that for sure something was wrong. The van went part way up the hill and then rolled back down. That was when we were finally like okay we are going to have some problems with this ride. We went up and down a few times and Alex was putting rocks under the wheels and trying all these different techniques. Finally some people got off and walked up the hill and we tried again and made it. This happened at every hill. Then we got to a really steep hill and we rolled up and down that one over 5 times. I was beginning to wonder if we would make it back to Coban, but the scenery was nice and I was still enjoying myself, and the whole situation was actually pretty entertaining. For that hill pretty much the whole van had to get off and hike up on foot. Then the van came chugging up to the top and we all got back in. Miraculoulsy after that we didn't have any more problems and we made it all the way to Coban. The journey kept getting prolonged with more crazyness, but to make a long story a little shorter, it took us 5 buses, a taxi, and a boat to get to the town by Tikal. When we were on the boat crossing the river the sun was setting and it was beautiful, and I was trying to enjoy myself even though I was in transit for an entire day.

Tikal was also a great spot, I'm afraid I'm running out of energy to write too much about it, but Lorenzo and I spent the entire day there and had a wonderfull time. The pyramids and ruins were kind of similar to other ones that I had already seen, so probably what impressed me the most was the nature and surroundings of the ruins. There were monkeys swinging from the trees, butterflies, lots of birds, tons of ants, and wonderful plants, and the ruins were towering above everything. Once again I was happy to have someone else to share the experience with... I think it is amazing how you can become great friends with someone in just a few days when you go through so much together. But after Tikal Lorenzo headed off to Mexico and I went over to Belize and for the first time really I was heading off on my own.

To be continued in Belize....

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