El Viaje Ultimo - Part 2

Continued...

-- Day 4 --

Because Lanquin was a good thing, it did have to come to an end. After a quick breakfast and a few last goodbyes to some new friends, we joined a group of 5 Israelis in a chartered truck to Rio Dulce. For the next 5 hours we curved around steep slopes, through sleepy little Maya villages, and up and down some of the most picturesque scenery I had seen in Central America. Mike and I had spent our last Quetzals (Q’s) on breakfast, so by the time we arrived at the gas station on the other side of the mountains, a feast of trail mix, yogurt, and soda thanks to my VISA was a God send. We eventually arrived in Rio Dulce, a busy transit center on the shores of Lago de Izabel, where we loaded up on cheap coffee, wine, and dehydrated soy meat that we could smuggle back into Belize. We ditched the Israeli’s, who had proven to be less than enjoyable travel companions (who brings two HUGE backpacks and a large roller suitcase, per person, when they are backpacking through Central America?) and made our way by boat to the Tortugal Hostel and Marina. A unique mix of budget travelers and long-term sailors, I absolutely loved this place and would encourage anyone to stop in if they are traveling through Guatemala. You can stay in a large thatch “dorm” for $10 US a night, or get a private bungalow for about $30 US. They have free internet, satellite TV, Kayaks, and a great kitchen and bar. We talked with people who had been sailing for months, and were even offered a ride back to Belize on one boat, if only we could wait for a couple of days. I was bummed about turning that offer down, but it was fun to imagine what life would be like living on a 40 foot sail boat.

-- Day 5 --

Vacations must end, so this one did. We left Rio Dulce and Tortugal and headed for Puerto Barrios via some crowded mini-buses, a bus and some walking. In Barrios I dragged Mike to the very small, but clean and A/C’ed mall to get a McFlurry, Chicken Panini sandwich and some new shoes. I love Guatemala! Then it was back on the boat, and back to PG and Blue Creek where life continues on for these last 80 days.

El Viaje Ultimo - Part 1

I realize that it may seem that I have been in a constant state of travel lately, as that is the only thing that I end up publishing for the world to see. But the truth is that I have been busy and satisfied with my work in the village and haven’t really had all that much crazy or interesting happening, so this installment follows yet another vacation, to Guatemala, again. It was my last real out of country vacation, since it is under 3 months until I leave and leaving the country is discouraged in a PCV’s last 90 days of service.

--Day 1--

Myself and another Toledo volunteer (Michael of Big Falls) headed over to Guate by boat from PG, where we then caught a bus headed to Guatemala City.  We enjoyed the Spanish dubbed version of American Gangster for a few hours before getting off at a dusty little junction called El Rancho. From El Rancho we were loaded into a mini-bus (a glorified van) with 24 other passengers and one small cat.  Three very crowded hours on some crazy winding, narrow, steep roads and we arrived in Coban, a decent sized city in the Mayan heartland of Guatemala. It was getting late, and we were tempted to stay there, but our final destination of Lanquin, a small highland village, was only about 1.5 hours away (or so we were told), so we pressed on. We arrived in Lanquin about 3 hours after that, only to find our 1st choice hostel full. Because it was now after 9pm, and we were tired and hungry, we settled on the closest cheap hotel we could find. For $4.00 US, we each had a semi-padded pallet, a toilet with no paper or seat, and an ice cold shower, but I actually slept pretty well and didn’t see a single insect.  Our goal for the following day would be to get a bed at El Retiro, eat some good food, and see a cave full of bats and their guano.

--Day 2--

The turkeys and roosters outside the window at our luxury Lanquin accommodations woke me early, so we packed up and headed back to the hostel that we were originally planning on stay at, El Retiro. Thankfully there were plenty of people moving on, as is usually the case with backpackers, so we got a private not too far from the showers and bathroom, both at which were clean and functioning. It was a Sunday, which at El Retiro means an all you can eat breakfast buffet of some of the tastiest food you can imagine. For over 2 hours Mike and I sat in the beautiful thatch dining area over looking the river while feasting on eggs cooked to order, fresh fruit, bread, tortillas, yogurt, nutella, granola, and coffee. I can’t remember the last time I was that full yet completely happy. Most of the rest of the day was spent digesting, losing a couple of games of Chess to Mike, and preparing for our evening hike to see the local cave and the furry flying creatures that live there. The cave itself was fine, but unfortunately damaged by excessive tourism and lit by electric lights. Seeing the impact that mass tourism can have on an archaeologically important cave made me realize how important my work has been in Blue Creek with working to protect our own amazingly pristine and valuable resource. Before the bats made their appearance, we jumped in the icy blue waters of the river that emerges from the cave, and then waited. Before long, hundreds, if not thousands, of small fruit bats were darting out of the cave while we sat in the mouth trying to believe that they would not run into us. We got a couple of pretty awesome pictures before returning to El Retiro for another amazing meal, some Red Label Whiskey, and some Guatemalan beer.

-- Day 3 --

After a much needed good nights sleep, we woke up early to prepare for our full day tour to Semuch Champey, a nearby series of caves and natural pools and waterfalls. Riding in the back of a truck from the hostel, we reached the area in about 45 minutes. The scenery was beautiful, though not too dissimilar to the jungle covered hills that I am used to seeing everyday around Blue Creek. Once we reached the river, we headed into a cave with a tour guide with only candles to light our path. I have done caves before, but I have to say going through the cave with only the light from a candle flame was a unique experience, especially swimming with the candle in hand. After the cave we tubed down the river, where some of the more adventurous folks took a jump off a 35 foot bridge. We ate our packed lunch of bread and mangoes (yeah for mango season!) and then started the hike up to the pools and hilltop view (see all the cool pics). The view was definitely worth the hike, and then being able to go jump into the pools after the fairly challenging hike. We relaxed in the pools for a bit, and then our guide tossed a rope ladder down the face of a cliff, where we then climbed down into the unknown. It turned out to be the where the river emerges out from under the pools, and from there the only option was to jump into the river from a 15 foot rock face. I sucked it up and jumped into the raging river, emerging safely on the other side. That was about all the adrenaline I could handle for the day, which was good because we were heading back to the hostel for another amazing family style meal. That night we splurged on lots of good Guatemalan beer while playing some good old fashioned card games with some other travelers.

Blue Creek: CSI

I was burglarized a week or so back, in the middle of the day, in my sleepy village of 280 people. Worse, 3 fellow PCV's and good friends were visiting me for the weekend also found there cash and ipods missing. I guess it was just my time, having gone nearly 2 years living in a poor, Central American country and traveling to poorer Central American countries without incident. It seems that a trio of wayward youth from another, larger, village had wandered into Blue Creek in search of some easy money. Me being the naïve soul that I am left a window open a crack for ventilation while the 4 of us visited Jeff for a short while. After returning 40 mins later, one of the girls noticed her ipod and cash gone, prompting us to check our own belongings. Seems that our visitors weren’t amateurs and had replaced our wallets back in our bags and left everything as-is, taking only cash and 3 ipods (mine was somewhat hidden and remained).

A freak thunderstorm downed the satellite phone signal for a couple of hours, so by the time we got a hold of the Punta Gorda police department, they were gone for their dinner “refreshment” and would be out to Blue Creek for their report in an hour or so. I was less shocked by the fact that we would have to wait for the police due to a meal break than by the idea that they would be driving out to my village at all. I honestly expected a request to come to town at my earliest convenience, where I would then be treated with indifference and skepticism while I waiting for hours in a stuffy police station while half-drunk crazies yelled obscenities at me from the stinking holding cell. Instead, the police, a forensics expert, a photographer, and a couple of people whose titles or purposes I’m still not sure of arrived promptly at 9:30pm at my house in Blue Creek. We explained the situation and showed the police the “evidence” that our own investigation had turned up, namely a full set of toe prints in the dust on my chair near the guilty window and a set of boot prints high on my wall where one of the guys had tried to get into the neighboring rooms of my shared house. The forensics expert got out his dusting kit while the photographer walked around my house taking crime scene photos. The Alcaldes (village security/leaders) hung around outside enjoying the show as much as we were. The police probably thought that we were awfully jolly for 4 girls that had just had hundreds of dollars worth of cash and ipods stolen, but watching a full-fledged investigation taking place in 12’ x 18’ shack was just too unlikely.  Once they had lifted the prints off my chair and one of the ipod covers that was left behind, they packed up the show and headed back into town, leaving us to wonder what were the chances of matching a set of toe prints to a likely perpetrator, and what happens if they get a pedicure?

Update: Two ipods have been recovered and the third is being tracked down. The three youth have admitted to stealing the ipods, and will go before the courts to plead their case in the coming month. Case Closed.  

Spring Break

Well, there wasn't any foam parties and I certainly didn't do any body shots, but I did enjoy my few days of semi-spring break on the beaches of Mexico, just south of Cancun in Tulum. Though I can hardly call it Spring Break since I live in a climate of perpetual summer and don't really work hard enough to earn a break, but a couple of days at the beach was pleasant none the less. Plus, you know you need a break when upon entering Mexico your first thought is one of shock at how clean, organized, and well-developed everything is.

Tulum is one of the most beautiful spots in the world, made even better by having my friend from Seattle, Jana, there to greet me as I stumbled blindly up the wide expanse of powdered sugar beach in search of a place called Playa Paradise. We quickly caught up, comparing our respective lives in Mexico and Belize and then got down to the business of sun-tanning and relaxing. Tulum is an interesting destination in that it’s caught in the middle of it's backpacker roots and the encroaching ultra-lux resorts that are creeping down from Cancun. We went the backpacker route, riding rented jalopy bikes out to the Maya ruins (they sure picked a great spot) and then scanned the streets for the best local street foods (and ice cream!). I basked in the glow of a real grocery store and mexican beer while Jana enjoyed her new found freedom as a recently graduated student (2 MA's in 3 years, way to go!).

After Tulum, we headed to Belize so that I could show Jana what a real developing country looks like.  We spent a night in Belize City, hitting up the Princess Casino, where a few dollars spent at the nickel slots gets you endless free drinks and amusing pick-up lines for hours (i.e. - could you please show me how to work this slot machine, I’m from England and they don't work like this back home).

The following two days were spent in the laid back atmosphere of San Ignacio. Ever since I arrived in Belize I have been wanting to visit a much-lauded cave, the Actun Tunichil Muknal (Cave of the Sacred Sepulcher) where hundreds of pieces of pottery and at least 12 skeletons have been preserved in the rock by calcification. After swimming and wading up the underground river, you have to literally step over the pottery and skulls as you make your way to one of the most beautiful caverns I have ever seen. Look for pics on the right --->.