Blogs from Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 348

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From Palenque I took a crowded collectivo to Tenosique with a small girl asleep on my side, the mother seemed happy as long as I was. Frustated by the seemingly way out-of-date bits and pieces, and the general confusing nature of my guide-book, I managed to find a much cheaper, quicker and easy border crossing point than the one they mentioned. I came across it accidently by asking locals who were dumbfounded by why I would want to cross the way the guide suggested. Very much proving the point that it is only a rough guide (thought not actually a Rough Guide) not a bible. The border crossing was eventful, and funny looking back, but it pissed me off at the time. I rose at 5pm, caught a cheap bus to place called El Ciebo (not ... read more


Panama was cool: I saw the Panama Canal and got an opportunity to stock my backpack with what I like to call 'non-backpacker fashion' (ie. not cargo pants). Costa Rica was fun: I got to meet up with George, I got to go screaming through the canopy of the cloud forest on some zip lines (19 to be exact) and I got to see (and hear) lava falling down the side of a volcano. BUT, the real winner is Nicaragua. It seems the poorest country in my travels so far but I've found that the poorer the country, the bigger the smiles adorning the people. Everyone is just so, so lovely in Nicaragua. First stop in Nicaragua was the Isla de Ometepe, an island of two volcanoes in Lago de Nicaragua. I did a spot of ... read more
Sunset on Isla de Ometepe
Mural in Leon
Volcán Concepcíon


Hola Amigos, Feliz Navidad (ofwel fijne kerstdagen). Hoewel het inmiddels Christmas Eve is, heb ik absoluut geen kerst gevoel. Het is momenteel zonnig en warm en het is pas 10 uur... Gisteren hebben we (Richard, Enrico en ik) een actieve volkaan beklommen: een hele ervaring, helaas geen magma gezien, maar wel een hoop hete gassen e.d. en het was een mooie klim. Mijn derde week Spaans zit er alweer op en ik heb nog maar een week te gaan, en dan wordt het tijd om wat meer van midden Amerika te gaan zien. Ik ben benieuwd... Ik ga volgende week met Enrico verder reizen en we gaan vanmiddag de koppen bij elkaar steken om te bedenken wat we (ongeveer) willen zien en doen... Morgen kerstdiner, of nou ja soort van, om 14 uur s middags met ... read more


Wow, ¨James¨thought he´d be sleeping in jungles, riding high pollution buses with robbers, eating bats and rabbits on sticks, but it´s been first class all the way in what turns out to be a World Heritage city, Antigua. Last night, visited one of the top ten Bed and Breakfasts in the world, the place where President Clinton stayed during his term in office, La Angel....rooms there start at about $125 a night, and the Master Suite where Clinton stayed at about $225 for the night. Quite a place to party. The thing about partying is to remember your Source in the middle of it. All chemically induced partying is a substitute for Source. Some numb themselves out to what is within. They call this "happiness". These have taken the red pill but pretend they've taken the ... read more
Antigua Children
A Magic Act
The Gap


There is something beautiful about no religions, no politics, no priests, no gurus, no spiritual paths. Something in the moment that cannot be said. Being. Be. BE. James may have thought he was here in Guatemala to Work, to give his time, perhaps his blessing, but it is possible he is here to receive their blessing. Espècially of the children here. The contribution is small but it is mutual. 3 drawings today in Antigua. These will go with the drawing in Panahachal, at the shores of Lake Attialan, the drawings in Peru and in India. The drawings of the children here in Guatemala are perhaps the most colorful of all. A surprise! After the Mayan children drew all these drawing in my book, an older Mayan woman showed me a tapestry from the back of her ... read more
en antigua
en antigua


Antigua is a picturesque colonial town situated beneath three volcanoes. It has a sleepy feel with cobbled streets and lots of American tourists. We didn't do much in Antigua, just recharged our batteries. Lorna treated herself to a manicure as it would have been rude not to at the cheap prices. Mostly we spent our days reading, eating and drinking coffee.... read more
Arriving from Tikal
Volcanoes over Antigua
Antigua by night


Hola Amigos, Deze website werkt blijkbaar niet altijd; vandaar nu pas mijn verhaal van 8 december... Ik krijg het niet voor elkaar om foto s direct van de camera op de computer te zetten, dus die zien jullie als ik ze op een cd heb laten zetten. Anyway, ik heb het hier enorm naar mijn zin. De eerste twee dagen waren wat ongemakkelijk, omdat ik eigenlijk alleen Richard kende (Engelsman, 39 jaar, die bij dezelfde familie woont). Maar inmiddels is het echt geweldig. Ik heb aardig wat mensen leren kennen en het is echt gezellig. Antigua is een gemoedelijk plaatsje, waar ik gewoon wat rondloop en relax, in het park ga ziten of in een caffe een kop koffie of chocolademelk drink. Ik rust hier lekker uit en slaap enorm veel... De Spaanse lessen zijn leuk. ... read more
burning of the devil
la casa de mi familia


I´m not sure I can spell the word, lobatomy or what a lobatomy is. Last week in Guatemala was the day of Quema Del Diablo, or, the day to to burn the devil. Thousands and thousands of effigies of the devil burned in the streets. On the other hand, just yesterday was the day of Guadaloupe. A statue of the Virgin was paraded through the streets. Lots of firecrackers and celebration for both, and both are used to help bring in christmas. Perhaps we are sometimes devils, and sometimes angels...if so, no wonder there is no peace in the world Saw a picture of Bukowski today in Antigua, the one with the favorite slut...recall it from the Bowery Poerty Club in NYC...and Bukowski says, Those who don't go crazy have truly horrible lives...Meanwhile, Poet Sharon Olds ... read more
On the Boat Ride
Skipper Dude


James´s camera is lost, perdido, for now. We´ve finaly figured out how to use Diego´s camera for the blog. To answer a whole bunch of emails at once....YES Carolyn Myss does have issues...don´t we all,,,no, ¨James¨¨shall we say, was not team teaching with her...he was team boxing with her?...or more like, she with hiim..it´s difficult for Dr Myss to take a compliment...James tried several times...finally, at an airport in middle of india, he complimented her on the color purple she was wearing =one of Jame´s favorities, and she called him a goofball and yes he is a clown.James and Diego two of the biggest clowns, PAYASOS, in Guatamala...then he tried again, and said to her, JUST SAY THANK YOU...she said THANK YOU. End of conversation...with authorities, etc with dr upledger they seem to like to take ... read more
lake attitlan
on the boat


The journey to Flores was long but interesting. After a bus ride we caught a small boat down the river to cross the Mexican/Guatemalan border. Along the way we saw kids playing in the river and adults washing their clothes in it. Then we embarked on a small minibus for a long, bumpy journey along winding dirt tracks, but the scenery was beautiful, very green and unspoilt. Flores itself is a pretty town situated on an island. The first night we had dinner on a jetty over the lake with no-one else there which was really nice. The next day we got picked up at 4am to watch the sun rise over Tikal. Unfortunately it was too cloudy to appreciate the sunrise but Tikal was amazing! There were barely any tourists there so it felt as ... read more
Crossing the border
Exploring aint easy!
Exploring Tikal




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