Leaving Guatemala was sad. Saying goodbye to new friends and my new family was really hard. My host mom cried and so did I. I had such a great experience. I am still in awe of the amazing and strong Guatemalan people. I am so grateful for everything I learned.
I organized most of my pics into groups. I still need to add the pics from the volcano (they're on Sean's camera), but I will do that today.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13525016@N03/
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Lava
For our last day in Guatemala, Sean and I went on a sunset hike up an active volacano about an hour and a half outside of Antingua.
When we got off the bus at the trail head, a group of kids came running up to sell hiking sticks. I had heard that you can use the stick to poke the lava flows and they'll catch on fire, so of course we had to get one for each of us - the best 5 quetzales I've ever spent!
We hiked up a steep trail for about 45 minutes (I would have preferred an hour, but the guide was practically running to get us there before it got dark) to a great lookout point over a field of volcanic rock with a view of bright red lava flowing down the side of the volcano.
We then went down to the field of black rock. Some of the rock had been lava as recently as 21 days ago and some was much older. It was a bit tricky walking on it because the rocks were really sharp and loose and some of the bigger rocks were hollow, and when you stepped on them they cracked and broke - not to mention the guide was still running.
The closer we got to the red lava flows, the hotter it got. Many of the rocks were steaming and in a couple of places you could look down below your feet into crevices with hot red patches. We of course stuck our hiking sticks in there, and yep they totally caught on fire!
We hiked right up to the lava flows and made it in time to watch the sunset. I still can't believe they let us get that close to the lava. It was crazy watching how quickly the lava flowed and changed paths.
Sean, of course, had to hike up a little higher to get closer to a big lava lake thingy (that's the technical term). I chose to stay where I was by the lava river since I had already burnt a small hole in my shoe and was terrified of the rapidly changing flows. Sean made it back just fine in time to catch the guide hiking back.
We weren't in such a rush hiking back down, but it was a bit tricky since the guide didn't have any flashlights with him and it was pitch black out. Fortunately I had thrown my headlamp in my backpack, but that was the only light for our group of 15 people. It helped me avoid the piles of horse crap along the trail, but the rest of the group wasn't so lucky - sorry guys.
Back at the trail head a young boy collected the sticks back to sell again tomorrow. He was really quite clever and also asked if I wanted to give him my headlamp so I wouldn't have to carry it in my suitcase. He said he could use it to get tips from guiding hikers down. He even tolerated my education is freedom speech and agreed to study really hard in school and follow his dreams, so clearly I had to give this cutie the headlamp. These kids are smart and know a sucker when they see one, so as we were waiting for the bus and got some fruit out of the backpack there was suddenly a large group of kiddos around us offering to study really hard if we would share. So, no fruit for us. When we got in the bus I remembered that we also had some bread in the backpack so we snacked on that, and not two seconds later a kid was at an open window asking if anyone had bread. Being the kind person I am, I slouched down in my seat and told Sean to hide the bread until the kid went away. I have my limits.
When we got off the bus at the trail head, a group of kids came running up to sell hiking sticks. I had heard that you can use the stick to poke the lava flows and they'll catch on fire, so of course we had to get one for each of us - the best 5 quetzales I've ever spent!
We hiked up a steep trail for about 45 minutes (I would have preferred an hour, but the guide was practically running to get us there before it got dark) to a great lookout point over a field of volcanic rock with a view of bright red lava flowing down the side of the volcano.
We then went down to the field of black rock. Some of the rock had been lava as recently as 21 days ago and some was much older. It was a bit tricky walking on it because the rocks were really sharp and loose and some of the bigger rocks were hollow, and when you stepped on them they cracked and broke - not to mention the guide was still running.
The closer we got to the red lava flows, the hotter it got. Many of the rocks were steaming and in a couple of places you could look down below your feet into crevices with hot red patches. We of course stuck our hiking sticks in there, and yep they totally caught on fire!
We hiked right up to the lava flows and made it in time to watch the sunset. I still can't believe they let us get that close to the lava. It was crazy watching how quickly the lava flowed and changed paths.
Sean, of course, had to hike up a little higher to get closer to a big lava lake thingy (that's the technical term). I chose to stay where I was by the lava river since I had already burnt a small hole in my shoe and was terrified of the rapidly changing flows. Sean made it back just fine in time to catch the guide hiking back.
We weren't in such a rush hiking back down, but it was a bit tricky since the guide didn't have any flashlights with him and it was pitch black out. Fortunately I had thrown my headlamp in my backpack, but that was the only light for our group of 15 people. It helped me avoid the piles of horse crap along the trail, but the rest of the group wasn't so lucky - sorry guys.
Back at the trail head a young boy collected the sticks back to sell again tomorrow. He was really quite clever and also asked if I wanted to give him my headlamp so I wouldn't have to carry it in my suitcase. He said he could use it to get tips from guiding hikers down. He even tolerated my education is freedom speech and agreed to study really hard in school and follow his dreams, so clearly I had to give this cutie the headlamp. These kids are smart and know a sucker when they see one, so as we were waiting for the bus and got some fruit out of the backpack there was suddenly a large group of kiddos around us offering to study really hard if we would share. So, no fruit for us. When we got in the bus I remembered that we also had some bread in the backpack so we snacked on that, and not two seconds later a kid was at an open window asking if anyone had bread. Being the kind person I am, I slouched down in my seat and told Sean to hide the bread until the kid went away. I have my limits.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
El Salvador
After a day of chicken buses through Honduras, Sean and I spent another night in Honduras before heading to the boder town of El Poy. We were dropped off at the border town and started walking towards the road blocks and immigration offices with our backpacks excited about entering El Salvador.
We heard that the El Salavdorian border officials would be really strict, but it was quite the opposite. In reality, we had to ask around to get someone to look at our passports and even then they were Honduran exit officials and barely seemed to care. We kept on walking through what felt like no-man's land, and finally asked where the next bus stop was and where to find immigration. A really helpful guy, like all the Salvadorans we encountered, told us we were already in El Salvador and pointed to the nearby bus stop. We hopped a bus to the town of La Palma, and a short ride later we were there. I think I'm still waiting for somebody official looking to grab me and ask why I was in El Salvador without permission.
La Palma is an interesting little town. Many of the townspeople make their living producing art in the style of Fernando Llort. He taught his style to the artists in the town, and the bright colorful work is all over town and painted on every kind of souvenier item you can imagine. We looked around at the shops, hung out in the town square, and hiked along a almost totally dried up river. La Palma is a nice place with really friendly people, but honestly a bit boring.
We thought we would make the next day more exciting by taking what had been described as a terrifying chicken bus ride through the mountains to the border town of Metapan. If anyone ever tries to tell you to take the so called exhilarating ride from Citala to Metapan, suggest that you sit in church reading chemistry text books instead because it would be more exciting. The four hour ride along dirt roads with a few hills at 10 m.p.h. was pretty and a nice view of rural life in El Salvador, but nowhere close to exhilarating. Oh well, now we know.
We heard that the El Salavdorian border officials would be really strict, but it was quite the opposite. In reality, we had to ask around to get someone to look at our passports and even then they were Honduran exit officials and barely seemed to care. We kept on walking through what felt like no-man's land, and finally asked where the next bus stop was and where to find immigration. A really helpful guy, like all the Salvadorans we encountered, told us we were already in El Salvador and pointed to the nearby bus stop. We hopped a bus to the town of La Palma, and a short ride later we were there. I think I'm still waiting for somebody official looking to grab me and ask why I was in El Salvador without permission.
La Palma is an interesting little town. Many of the townspeople make their living producing art in the style of Fernando Llort. He taught his style to the artists in the town, and the bright colorful work is all over town and painted on every kind of souvenier item you can imagine. We looked around at the shops, hung out in the town square, and hiked along a almost totally dried up river. La Palma is a nice place with really friendly people, but honestly a bit boring.
We thought we would make the next day more exciting by taking what had been described as a terrifying chicken bus ride through the mountains to the border town of Metapan. If anyone ever tries to tell you to take the so called exhilarating ride from Citala to Metapan, suggest that you sit in church reading chemistry text books instead because it would be more exciting. The four hour ride along dirt roads with a few hills at 10 m.p.h. was pretty and a nice view of rural life in El Salvador, but nowhere close to exhilarating. Oh well, now we know.
Honduras
Honduras is cool.
Sean and I visited Copan, a city right on the border with Guatemala that has a large site with Mayan ruins. The ruins are smaller than Tikal, but really impressive because of the sculptural details. It was also cool seeing ruins that hadn't been totally restored and had large trees growing right through the pyramid steps. There were also Scarlet Macaws and giant forest rats all around!
We also spent two fantastic days at a coffee and cardamom plantation about 20 miles outside of Copan. The countryside there is so lush and beautiful. We stayed in the guest house and when we weren't out having fun we ate great homemade food and lounged in hamocks.
I think the best part was the horseback tour of the finca. We pretty much ate our way through - we stopped to taste fresh coffee beans and cardamom and to eat grapefruit, starfruit, and coconuts fresh from the trees!
At the stables when we were getting ready to ride, the guide asked who was nervous and Sean was the only one who raised his hand, so he got put on this sweet little pregnant pony. I didn't say anything and somehow managed to get the big old horse that doesn't like other horses and took off running every time someone tried to take over his spot as first in line. Later in the trip, Sean switched horses with the guide and his new horse kept trying to race my horse. It was really fun going fast, but also a bit terrifying since I had very little control and was pretty much just hanging on for dear life.
When the guide stopped to pick grapefruit for us to try, the guide's horse took off without him. He asked me to chase after it with my horse and bring it back. I thought he was kidding and laughed it off, but he was serious and said my horse would know what to do and I just needed to grab the rope from his horse when we got in front of it. So, I gave grumpy old Lucero a kick and we took off. He was right, all I had to do was hold on then grab the rope from his horse. I'm thinking about joining the rodeo if this teaching stuff doesn't work out :-)
Our last day in Honduras consisted of too many hours riding and waiting for chicken buses. The only bright part of the day was a little kid at one crossroads town who sat down next to us as we were eating peanut butter and crackers. When he found out we were from the U.S., he got all excited because we must know Andy, a guy who volunteered in his community and helped his dad. I tried to explain that we didn't know him, but the kid went on describing him insisting that we must have met him being from the same place and all. So if anybody knows Andy who is white and has brown hair and Volunteered near La Entrada, tell him that a little kid who really likes peanut butter says, "Hi."
Sean and I visited Copan, a city right on the border with Guatemala that has a large site with Mayan ruins. The ruins are smaller than Tikal, but really impressive because of the sculptural details. It was also cool seeing ruins that hadn't been totally restored and had large trees growing right through the pyramid steps. There were also Scarlet Macaws and giant forest rats all around!
We also spent two fantastic days at a coffee and cardamom plantation about 20 miles outside of Copan. The countryside there is so lush and beautiful. We stayed in the guest house and when we weren't out having fun we ate great homemade food and lounged in hamocks.
I think the best part was the horseback tour of the finca. We pretty much ate our way through - we stopped to taste fresh coffee beans and cardamom and to eat grapefruit, starfruit, and coconuts fresh from the trees!
At the stables when we were getting ready to ride, the guide asked who was nervous and Sean was the only one who raised his hand, so he got put on this sweet little pregnant pony. I didn't say anything and somehow managed to get the big old horse that doesn't like other horses and took off running every time someone tried to take over his spot as first in line. Later in the trip, Sean switched horses with the guide and his new horse kept trying to race my horse. It was really fun going fast, but also a bit terrifying since I had very little control and was pretty much just hanging on for dear life.
When the guide stopped to pick grapefruit for us to try, the guide's horse took off without him. He asked me to chase after it with my horse and bring it back. I thought he was kidding and laughed it off, but he was serious and said my horse would know what to do and I just needed to grab the rope from his horse when we got in front of it. So, I gave grumpy old Lucero a kick and we took off. He was right, all I had to do was hold on then grab the rope from his horse. I'm thinking about joining the rodeo if this teaching stuff doesn't work out :-)
Our last day in Honduras consisted of too many hours riding and waiting for chicken buses. The only bright part of the day was a little kid at one crossroads town who sat down next to us as we were eating peanut butter and crackers. When he found out we were from the U.S., he got all excited because we must know Andy, a guy who volunteered in his community and helped his dad. I tried to explain that we didn't know him, but the kid went on describing him insisting that we must have met him being from the same place and all. So if anybody knows Andy who is white and has brown hair and Volunteered near La Entrada, tell him that a little kid who really likes peanut butter says, "Hi."
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Semuc Champey
Well, I got over my moral dilema and went to Semuc Champey with Judith. It was a trip of a lifetime and it was so fun having my Guatemalan mom along (even with having to scam her hubby).
I feel like I shouldn´t even try to describe the trip because it would just be cheesy and could no way come close to doing justice to how beautiful Semuc Champey is, but it was so cool that I have to talk about it!
The trip to Semuc Champey was a lot of time in a bus followed by a long bumpy ride standing in the back of a crowded pickup, but worth every second of travel. We stayed at a hotel called Las Marias that was really more like summer camp with cabins, a canteen, and a big rope swing over the river. They had a pet monkey there named Pancha who they took in after a forest fire left her stranded. They also had Marimba music and dancing in the evenings. It´s official: I am absolutely to worst salsa dancer in the world.
From the camp, we could walk to Semuc Champey. It is a national park consisting of a series of pools and waterfalls on top of a natural limestone bridge over a rushing river. It´s surrounded by lush rainforest. It was so fun swimming in the pools and climbing up and down the small waterfalls! On the walk back to camp, we took turns jumping off the bridge into the freezing river. I just can´t seem to avoid the peer pressure to jump off tall things in this country!
The next day we walked to the Kai-ban caves for a tour. It started out with a dip in the river from a huge swing (I totally belly flopped) and a hike up a large waterfall to the cave entrance. In the entrance we were each given a candle and followed the guide in wading through knee deep water that quickly became so deep we had to swim. We followed the guide up and down rope ladders, through a small opening filled with rushing water, up a rope ladder in the middle of a gushing waterfall, and into a large cavern. We, of course, also stopped to jump off some high rock outcroppings into a deep pool. All of this in the dark cave lit only by candles. After exiting the caves, we took an inner tube trip down the river back to camp.
The whole trip was so much fun. I was talking to Judith about how I felt like I was in ¨The Goonies¨ on the cave trip. She said she knew the movie and totally agreed. However when we were back home and I told Pepe about feeling like I was in The Goonies, Judith jumped in to explain to him that goonies are those cute fluffy animals that turn ugly and crazy mean when you feed them after midnight. I guess she had a very different experience in the caves than I did!
I feel like I shouldn´t even try to describe the trip because it would just be cheesy and could no way come close to doing justice to how beautiful Semuc Champey is, but it was so cool that I have to talk about it!
The trip to Semuc Champey was a lot of time in a bus followed by a long bumpy ride standing in the back of a crowded pickup, but worth every second of travel. We stayed at a hotel called Las Marias that was really more like summer camp with cabins, a canteen, and a big rope swing over the river. They had a pet monkey there named Pancha who they took in after a forest fire left her stranded. They also had Marimba music and dancing in the evenings. It´s official: I am absolutely to worst salsa dancer in the world.
From the camp, we could walk to Semuc Champey. It is a national park consisting of a series of pools and waterfalls on top of a natural limestone bridge over a rushing river. It´s surrounded by lush rainforest. It was so fun swimming in the pools and climbing up and down the small waterfalls! On the walk back to camp, we took turns jumping off the bridge into the freezing river. I just can´t seem to avoid the peer pressure to jump off tall things in this country!
The next day we walked to the Kai-ban caves for a tour. It started out with a dip in the river from a huge swing (I totally belly flopped) and a hike up a large waterfall to the cave entrance. In the entrance we were each given a candle and followed the guide in wading through knee deep water that quickly became so deep we had to swim. We followed the guide up and down rope ladders, through a small opening filled with rushing water, up a rope ladder in the middle of a gushing waterfall, and into a large cavern. We, of course, also stopped to jump off some high rock outcroppings into a deep pool. All of this in the dark cave lit only by candles. After exiting the caves, we took an inner tube trip down the river back to camp.
The whole trip was so much fun. I was talking to Judith about how I felt like I was in ¨The Goonies¨ on the cave trip. She said she knew the movie and totally agreed. However when we were back home and I told Pepe about feeling like I was in The Goonies, Judith jumped in to explain to him that goonies are those cute fluffy animals that turn ugly and crazy mean when you feed them after midnight. I guess she had a very different experience in the caves than I did!
Fear of Public Speaking
Every Thursday at the school there is a small celebration for the students finishing their classes and each exiting student is expected to give a short speech in Spanish. Since I am leaving Thursday to travel with Sean, I gave my speech last week. I wrote out a really good speech using the harder verb tenses and practiced it the night before and morning of class. However, when it came time for the speech, I totally panicked and spit out two really simple sentences chock full of errors. I sounded like I did when I first got here. I still passed my test and got my credits, but it would have been nice to look like I actually learned something in my ten weeks here. Oh well. Public speaking has never been my thing.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Lago Atitlan Part III
Well, I went to the lake again. A group of students from the school and two of the girls from the Tikal trip went. It was relaxing and fun to hang out with friends I´ve made that will be leaving soon. I finally got the guts to jump off the really tall rock in San Marcos. I thought the other one was scary, but this one was terrifying. I went three times to prove to myself I could do it, but it only got scarier each time. Definitely worth it, but never again :-)
Yesterday, I went on another field trip with my teacher. She has family in Huehuetenango (about a two hour bus ride from Xela). She brought her five kids who are really fun (ages 1 - 16), but the baby Marco had an upset tummy on the bus ride and projectile vomited all over his sister, me, and the young guy in our seat. You wouldn´t think a kid that size could hold fifty gallons of milk in him, but he did - for a little while at least. I felt the worst for the guy in our seat. He had baby puke on his leather jacket, hair, and face. I gave him tissues to clean up with, but he still had a patch on his cheek when he got off at his stop. The rest of the day was much more relaxing. We visited ruins and hung out with my teacher´s family. On the bus ride home, the nine year old used my camera to take all kinds of pictures. She was trying to work with reflections in the windows and all kinds of cool stuff. Her pictures turned out pretty well considering how much we were bouncing and flying around the curvy mountain roads.
Today I am dealing with a moral dilema. My host mom really wants to go along on the trip I´m taking to Semuc Champey this weekend, but she and her husband decided they shouldn´t spend the money. No problem, except that today when Pepe was gone she told me she has quite a bit of money that she keeps for emergencies because Pepe is careless with spending. She had talked to her daughter who suggested she tell Pepe that I was paying for her trip as a present and use her secret bank account. I didn´t have the guts to say no. So, during lunch she told Pepe how nice I am that I´m paying for her trip. I hated lying to him - especially since he was out volunteering with the Red Cross while we were home scheming. I was thinking about paying for her trip to make it not a lie, but that won´t erase the fact that we lied to Pepe´s face (not to mention the fact that I´m cheap). I´m going to leave it be and let it be their problem. Oh well - just put it on my bad karma tab.
Yesterday, I went on another field trip with my teacher. She has family in Huehuetenango (about a two hour bus ride from Xela). She brought her five kids who are really fun (ages 1 - 16), but the baby Marco had an upset tummy on the bus ride and projectile vomited all over his sister, me, and the young guy in our seat. You wouldn´t think a kid that size could hold fifty gallons of milk in him, but he did - for a little while at least. I felt the worst for the guy in our seat. He had baby puke on his leather jacket, hair, and face. I gave him tissues to clean up with, but he still had a patch on his cheek when he got off at his stop. The rest of the day was much more relaxing. We visited ruins and hung out with my teacher´s family. On the bus ride home, the nine year old used my camera to take all kinds of pictures. She was trying to work with reflections in the windows and all kinds of cool stuff. Her pictures turned out pretty well considering how much we were bouncing and flying around the curvy mountain roads.
Today I am dealing with a moral dilema. My host mom really wants to go along on the trip I´m taking to Semuc Champey this weekend, but she and her husband decided they shouldn´t spend the money. No problem, except that today when Pepe was gone she told me she has quite a bit of money that she keeps for emergencies because Pepe is careless with spending. She had talked to her daughter who suggested she tell Pepe that I was paying for her trip as a present and use her secret bank account. I didn´t have the guts to say no. So, during lunch she told Pepe how nice I am that I´m paying for her trip. I hated lying to him - especially since he was out volunteering with the Red Cross while we were home scheming. I was thinking about paying for her trip to make it not a lie, but that won´t erase the fact that we lied to Pepe´s face (not to mention the fact that I´m cheap). I´m going to leave it be and let it be their problem. Oh well - just put it on my bad karma tab.
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