Blogs from Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 346

Hello again! Ok, the exclamation mark is trying to be enthusiastic but I have a stupid head cold and I am very cranky this is REALLY going to be short! Jan 10th 06 Antigua - really fun day. Explored the colonial buildings. Andrew and I got a deep pore cleansing facial which was really good although a bit painful when they did their tweezer work. No I didn´t bully Andrew at all for those of you who think he was coerced. Afternoon - went on a coffee tour. Sounds boring but it was sooo good and interesting. Learnt how to taste coffee properly and how they make it and so on. Jan 11th 06 Travel day from Antigua to Rio Dulce. Stayed at a place which is basically shacks above a swamp, and which was the ... read more

The journey to Rio Dulce was quite entertaining. The kamikazi driver had a 'no fear' approach to driving, overtaking on tight bends and racing along bumpy mountain roads. The pit stop halfway for a toilet break allowed Karen to see the locals in all their glory. Rather naively looking for the 'ladies', she walked into the communal bathrooms to find an aging cowboy, pants round ankles. With toilet doors apparently being a luxury, he maintained the friendly Guatemalan approach giving a warm 'Hola' and a cheeky smile! Upon getting off the bus in Rio Dulce we were besieged by touts offering river trips and places to stay. We decided on one that was a short boat ride into the mangrove swamps at the side of the river. In a stroke of genius we had already had ... read more

I gaar var jeg med skolen ved Cerro de la Cruz, bykorset. Bare en liten hoyde bak byen men tungt nok i steiksol (hahahaha!). Der oppe fikk vi Antiguas historie, paa spansk selvsagt. Ene laereren paa skolen er fantastisk flink til aa fortelle paa veldig tydelig spansk, og saa supplerer han med engelsk hvis vi er helt lost. Forstaar faktisk en god del! Fikk et lite kick i dag da jeg satt og ventet paa ledig internett og jeg plutselig forstod deler av en lokal popsang! Uansett, paa Cerro de la Cruz hadde vi god utsikt til de tre vulkanene som omringer Antigua samt alle kaffefarmene. Det er fantastisk kaffe her! Begynner aa bli vant til los vulcanes naa, det er som sagt tre av dem og alle er aktive. Den ene er veldig aktiv, kommer ... read more

I´m on day 5 of my holiday, and so far its been a really great experince. It started in Antgiua, an old colonial style town, with wonderful painted houses, and in the background stands a volcano. (I think it may still be active... trying to not think about that too much!) From Antigua we went on Panajachel, which is by Lake Atitlan. The lake is huge, and stunningly beautiful. That two is surronded by volcanos, making for really dramatic scenary. I´ve taken a million and one photos of the lake, none of which really do it justice. It is the most beautful place I think I´ve ever been too. I also took a morning trip up to Chichicastinango (or Chichi for short). This is a HUGE market, full of wonderful textiles and other handicrafts. I went ... read more

Hola (again!) No photos this time, but I´ll try to keep it short! Then again, you know me! 7th Jan 06 Travelled by four chicken buses (one of them really with chickens) to Panajachel (¨Panahashel¨), which is a town right on Lago Atitlan. I am so glad we went the hard way and not by private transport. It was really interesting and fun. Further from Antigua, both the men and women increasingly dress in traditional Mayan dress and not for the tourists either. The indigenous population is generally extremely beautiful and graceful. They also tend to be unbelievably short (often less than 5ft) and I kept mistaking adults for children and then double taking when I noticed wrinkles. The young mothers carry their offspring in makeshift sacks of vivid colours, sometimes while balancing heavy packages on ... read more