Blogs from Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 11

THE BOOTS OF PASTORES By Dennis Cunningham Antigua - Pastores, Guatemala Fabian, the vaquero I am shaking hands with in the flatlands of Guatemala, is a leathery, lean man. A perfect coil of rope hangs from his burnished wood-horned saddle, the leather of which, by the way, is the same color as his skin. They both have a kind of coppery, buttery polish. White brahmas amble along behind him in the dry field. They are white and long-eared, their horns curving up stylishly. He has just finished lassoing one of them and injecting her with a mammoth dose of pink liquid from a syringe with a barrel the size of a soda can. He can make his horse dance like Fred Astaire, skipping sideways, and then back, then forward, taking little high steps as if he’s ... read more

Geo: 13.9154, -90.7993Guatemala was the heart of the Mayan world. They built their huge temples in the north and collected jade from the south where the Pacific and Caribbean tectonic plates meet resulting in frequent earthquakes which throw up the jade from lower in the earths crust. There are also 33 volcanoes in the country several of them still active. The Spanish came along and colonised the country in 1527 so the language is mostly Spanish but some Mayan still exists. Originally it was the largest country in Central America but politics caused the country to be changed in the 30s in order to make what is now Belize and Honduras. Antigua was the first capital of Guatemala and is a very Spanish colonial town built up in the hills where it is much cooler than ... read more

Cartagena, Columbia and Florida, USA Up early again, as we were told that sailing into Cartagena (founded in 1533) was quite spectacular, looking at the forts. It was ok – not worth getting up at 6.30am for – but we did have a very clear view of the giant skyscrapers. (Not a fort to be seen!!) Off the ship by 9.00am and shared a taxi with some other people ($5 each) into the Old Town! (lots of traffic as 4 cruise ships today!) Very pleasant and colourful place to wander around with its large squares, old churches and sanctuaries, colonial houses, balconied flowered windows, ladies dressed in colourful outfits selling stuff. Didn’t manage to find St Teresa’s Square which is where a free walking tour started at 10.00am, but did find the Old City Walls that ... read more

Puerto Quezetal, Guatemala The average age of people living in Guatemala is 20 years old! I was shocked……….- hard to believe. Where have all the old people gone?? We were also told that there was nothing around the Port but Antigua, 50 miles away, was the place to go, so we booked a cruise coach trip to get us there and back. Antigua is surrounded by three volcanoes – two of them active, Fuego (last eruption 2012) and Acatenango with two named peaks. ( last eruption 1972) There are 37 volcanoes altogether in Guatemala – not sure how many are active – but at least two!! We duly waited for our trip to be called (about 10.15am) – Do it Yourself Antigua – basically we had just booked the coach there and back, oh and the ... read more

Schweren Herzens verabschiede ich mich von San Pedro la Laguna und mache mich auf den Weg zurück nach Antigua, um den Vulkan Acatenango (3976m) zu besteigen. In den vergangenen drei Wochen, welche ich in Guatemala verbracht habe, habe ich eine Vielzahl von Horrorgeschichten über diese Wanderung gehört. Auf TripAdvisor hat ein User seinen Eintrag mit „an Experience…“ betitelt. Die meisten User sowie Reisende waren sich einig, es sei das härteste gewesen, was sie jemals in ihrem Leben gemacht haben und viele davon würden es nicht wiederholen, obwohl es die Aussicht allemal wert war. Hört sich für mich so an, als hätte dieser Ausflug Potential, eines meiner absoluten Highlights dieser Reise zu werden, im positiven sowie im negativen Sinne – also nichts wie los!!! Ausgerüstet mit Haube, Handschuhe und Winterjacke besteige ich den Shuttlebus, in welchem bereits ... read more