Turneffe Atoll (Lisa)

Hello all! Well, we have been absent from the blog for a while now. We've been on a semi-deserted island for several days, without electricity and running water - and it was awesome!

While we were in San Ignacio, I became re-acquainted with my friend Maria's uncle Elias, who owns a dive camp out on Turneffe Atoll. He offered us a sweet deal to go out to the camp for several days, basically paying only for his boat fuel. We couldn't pass that up!

We left the dock in Belize City, and two hours later we were on the island, in our little cabana on stilts. The camp is in fairly rough condition right now, post-hurricane (Felix). Normally they have a generator to provide power and pump running water, and a butane stove to cook with, but both were stolen after they evacuated for the storm. So, we cooked over a fire, and bathed with a bucket. We lit our room with candles. It was all good. There were only four of us out there - Anthony and me, Elias, and his helper Victor, who lives out there and guards the place (when there's no hurricane).

The food - well, it was beyond awesome. Victor whipped up a fresh batch of coconut rice daily (made with fresh coconut milk). We snorkeled for conch, which Elias turned into a magical stew. We ate fresh mutton snapper and fresh hog snapper, caught by Elias' fisherman pals (he ran us around in the boat to visit various rickety old fish camps and meet his friends - and scavenge a fish or two). We ate like kings.

Besides the snorkeling for conch, we also snorkeled at a reef called Coral Gardens, which is gorgeous. The reef there is very alive, it's amazing. Lots of fish - including one very inquisitive barracuda, which made both of us nervous when it made a beeline for us (I'm sure he was just curious, but damn, those fish look mean). Anthony helped Elias clean the bottom of the boat, and a good time was had by all.

We also stopped by the Blackbird Caye Resort (fancy resort, closed right now), and the staff who live out there fed us some lunch (rice and beans, slaw, and pig tails for those non-vegetarians among us). Elias is quite good at scrounging a free lunch, as well as fresh fish! (These folks out on the remote islands seem to help each other out and share whatever they have. It's nice.)

The first cold front of the season blew through while we were out at Turneffe - that was exciting. Our little cabana was shaking in the wind gusts - it was quite an adventure. (It wasn't really cold, just windy as heck.)

Anyway, this morning we came back in to civilization, and hopped a boat out to Caye Caulker (a pretty well developed island with all the tourist amenities). No cars, just golf carts and bikes. Nice..... We're at the Tropical Paradise Hotel , for just $20US a night. Beachfront, private balcony. We're happy! We'll be here for another few days, and we'll fly back to the good old USA on Halloween.

Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave (Lisa)

Hello from Belize!

We made it safely back into the land of English speakers! (Although you hear as much Spanish and Belizean Kriol here as you do English.) My friend Maria (from my 2000 and 2001 visits) has rolled out the red carpet, and we are staying for free at one of her hotels here. Incredibly sweet deal. That has allowed us to do some more expensive tours such as:

ATM Cave: I'm not sure I can describe this place and do it any justice at all, but it ROCKS! We drove about an hour into the bush, mostly on a very rocky, bumpy road. We hiked about 40 minutes through the jungle, feeding the mosquitos and wading across the Roaring River three different times on the trail. Then, the fun stuff. We put on our helmets with headlamps, and jumped into the (very deep) pool at the mouth of the cave. We swam through the entrance, and crawled out inside the cave. We then began a half-mile journey into the depths - not an excurison for the faint-hearted or out-of-shape! The river runs through the cave, so we alternately swam, waded through rushing water, climbed and clambered up boulders, wedged ourselves through crevices - all in complete darkness with just our headlamps for light. (There were only the three of us, Anthony, me, and our guide Juan Carlos.) The deeper we got, the more stalactites and stalacmites we encountered, glittering in our lamps like diamonds. Incredible.

Deep in the cave, we came to the "dry chamber" where we continued walking in stocking feet (so as not to damage the limestone with the oils on our skin). We began to see pots everywhere, just lying around. The Maya used this cave for offerings and sacrifices, and the pots contained food offerings over a thousand years ago. There were bowls there which they had used to collect the blood from bloodletting ceremonies (piercing penises and nipples, according to Juan Carlos). Ouch. We were allowed to walk freely among the artifacts, which is incredible. (Tourists have already crushed a few pots in the 8 years or so the cave has been open.) Then, we were walking among some skulls. Again, walking freely around them! (That would NEVER happen in the US!) These were the bones of the sacrificial victims the Maya offered up to Chac, the rain god. The archaeologists can tell that one of them died with hands tied behind his back, facing the wall. Definitely an unwilling victim. We were standing at a 1200-year-old murder site.

The grand finale was at the end of the dry chamber. We had to climb a very high ladder up to a ledge, and there lay a complete skeleton, frozen in the limestone. They call her the "Crystal Maiden". The skeleton is a female, about 5 foot 2, according to the archaeologists. Another murder victim, frozen in time. (It almost feels like you can still hear her screams echoing through the chamber.) Creepy. According to Juan Carlos, these sacrifices were most likely performed during times of drought, and the victims were often prisoners captured from enemy tribes. (Although it was also considered an honor to be sacrificed, and they sometimes sacrificed one of their own.) Either way, the Maya were kind of a rough bunch, in my opinion!

Anyway, we spent about two hours underground with the bones and whatever spirits remain. Pretty incredible experience.

The Blue Girl Lives! (Lisa)

Hello all. I'll add my two cents to Anthony's post, concerning our day chilling out in the Flores area:

Back in 2001 I went to Spanish school in the villages across the lake from Flores, and I lived with a local family. They were wonderful people, and really treated me like part of the family. They didn't have much - the kitchen is outside, they cook over a wood fire out there, they use an outhouse, and a family of at least 11 people lived and slept in a house the size of many American families' living rooms. (They had reserved the only bedrooms for students such as myself.)

Anyway - I decided I wanted to go back and visit "my" family. We took a minibus around the lake to San Jose (it used to be more easily accessed by boat, but now the road is paved), and started up the hill in the hot sun(these are incredibly steep hills, too). I found my old school, and the road I thought the family lived on. Things looked very different, and I had to ask around to find them. (They had built a whole new street next to the house since I left!) Once I had my bearings back, I found the place, and my "parents", Berta and Carmen. They were as welcoming as I knew they would be, and sat us down for some homemade limeade while we caught each other up on the last six years (and I introduced my husband!). The baby I knew back then is now a sweet 8 year old boy, full of hugs and kisses for the gringa he doesn't even remember - it was all wonderful.

Berta also gave me an update on the little girl who used to live next door to them. Some of you may have read my "Blue Girl" essay, about this girl - she was sick (her heart), and had a blue tint to her skin. I had agonized over what I might be able to do to help her, as her family was incredibly poor (I had done nothing, and it had bothered me for years). Berta told me the happy news that the girl is doing well. She is still a bit sickly, but is going to school and is happy. This was welcome news.

We wrapped up our day in San Jose with lunch at my former Spanish teacher's new restaurant (he quit the teaching business, married a gringa, and opened a cafe and bar). All in all, the day was a success.

Tikal - Back in Guatemala (Anthony)

Greetings All,

The last posting had us teetering at the border. We are currently in San Ignacio, Belize at the moment but that's getting ahead of ourselves. I've got some Tikal photos downloaded so I'll stick to that for now.

The border crossing went fairly smooth, considering it involved a van, a boat, a truck driven by a twelve year old and a shuttle that was missing it's top gear. I think we were taken for $5 each at the border crossing but they were very friendly about it. Our bus driver (Eddie) was very nice but he turned out to be an agent for San Juan Travel in St. Elena. He drove us to the ATM, then gave us his sales pitch. We stopped at the agency, within sight of our destination (Flores, Guatemala) and he gave us the "everybody off" sign so we could buy tickets for his tours. No one did, and after 2-3 mins of uncomfortable silence, he got the message and drove us onto the island of Flores and tried to sell us on a hotel. After 6-7 hrs of heat, dust and potholes, we were not in the mood. Everyone split up from there and we found the place where Lisa had stayed in 2001. He was a nice guy though.

We relaxed in the Flores area for a day (I'll let Lisa fill you in this portion) and booked a sunrise tour of Tikal. It was 40% less then our good friend Eddie had quoted and, although it was booked through a 3rd party company, was actually run by (dramatic pause) San Juan Travel!

We got on the bus at 3:30 in the morning to get at Tikal before the sun came up. We got out of the van in the pitch black darkness with 30 other people and met our guide, Luis, who spoke perfect English. We grabbed our flashlights and headed on the trail towards Temple 4, a tower that peeks above the trees over the surrounding jungle. On the way there we could hear the Howler Monkeys in the trees above us but we could see very little else. We got on top of Temple 4 just in time to see daylight. Although the sunrise was obscured by clouds, the view was amazing. The other temples slowly came into focus as the darkness and the mist disappeared. The sounds of the monkeys and jungle birds added to the atmosphere perfectly.

The rest of the day was very cool as well. Tikal doesn't have as many wall carvings as the other major ruins but it makes up for it in pure grandeur. You really get the feeling that this was a place where 100,000 people lived. We saw an anteater, oscillated turkeys and a harpy eagle, which is just being reintroduced to the area by conservationists.

Bonampak & Yaxchilan (Lisa)

Our adventures continue.... We left Palenque and took a minibus/van three hours east/southeast to visit the ruins of Bonampak and Yaxchilan. They were amazing, and very different. There's no real way to describe how awesome they were, but I'll try to do a brief summary:

Bonampak is a small site, but is known for the painted murals which are preserved inside one of the temples. Most Maya paintings have been lost to time (it has been over a THOUSAND years), but these are incredible. There are three rooms with paintings on all four walls, each a different theme. (One of them supposedly depicts a pot-bellied dwarf, but we really couldn't find him.) Anyway, we just stood in awe looking at them....

After Bonampak we took a boat 45 minutes up the Usumacinta River (which forms the border between Mexico and Guatemala), to Yaxchilan. (Our boat captain was maybe 11 years old, and handled that thing like a Jaguar.) Yaxchilan is a remote site, only accessible by boat, and it is pretty darned mystical, in my opinion. It sits deep in the jungle, and everything is overgrown with moss and vines. There is a passageway through one of the temples (completely pitch black inside), and it is populated by a whole lot of bats and some big-ass spiders (at least 10 inches across). Extremely creepy, and extremely cool.

We stayed the night in the Lacondon jungle, in a Lacandon Maya village. It was a pretty weird place, but I'm glad we did it. We really didn't get to talk with any of the locals, which was a shame. They are an interesting bunch, many of the men still wear the traditional clothing, which is basically a white nightgown made out of a cotton sheet-like material. We saw men riding mountain bikes in their gowns, and one guy (boy do I wish I had gotten a photo) pushing a wheelbarrow in his "nightie" and rubber boots. We took a walk in the jungle with a French couple who were there with us, and met up with a shirtless Lacondon guy who turned us around, afraid that we'd get lost in the jungle because dark was approaching.

The next morning we were driven to a crossroads where we met up with another minibus. Our driver to the crossroads was a boy so young he could barely reach the pedals of the truck, and had to crane his little neck to see over the steering wheel! (He was actually a pretty good driver - and it was a stick shift!) The minibus took us to the river, and we took another 45 minute boat trip on the Usumacinta, this time in the opposite direction - across the river to Bethel, on the Guatemalan side. We cleared immigration and got stamped back into Guatemala, and were off to Flores in a bus.

Tomorrow we're off to Tikal - we'll keep you posted!

Palenque! (Lisa)

We made it to Palenque! This is an amazing Mayan ruin, much more impressive than I ever expected. It rained off and on all morning, but that didn't even take away from our experience - in fact, it may have added to it. The temples were shrouded in a swirling mist, howler monkeys' roars were echoing through the jungle......pretty cool ambiance. (I'm leaving out the tour bus full of Germans, which did NOT add to the ambiance, at least not in a good way. But once they had waddled off, peace was restored.)

The heyday of Palenque was in the 600 a.d. to 900 a.d time period. Those folks were pretty darned industrious, hauling all those stones around without the aid of a bulldozer...... There are some amazing carvings, both on site and removed and preserved in the museum. There are a bunch of tiny sculptures taken from the site and in the museum now, they are from 1 to 6 inches high, and so intricate. Amazing...

Anyway, we are staying at El Panchan, an area near the ruins, in the jungle. Pretty rustic, but we have a huge room (with a kitchenette) for less than $17 a night. Even has hot water..... (Which is less of a draw now, as it is HOT and humid!) Getting here from San Cristobal was interesting, though...... We took a minibus instead of a chicken bus, which was a great idea. (We got to stop at a couple of cool waterfalls along the way.) The route is 6 hours or so of driving time, down out of the mountains on a very winding, twisty, speed-bump-laden road. The driver (Alfredo) was a bit of a maniac, and the tires were literally squealing as he rounded the bends at a high rate of speed. (The word "plummet" kept popping into my mind, for some reason....) Alfredo also likes head-banger music and thought it would be nice to share that with all of us. Marilyn Manson, Metallica (with an inexplicable dash of "Who Let the Dogs Out"), it all just added to the fun. We will buy stock in whatever company makes Dramamine when we get back - yes, once again, just say YES to drugs! Anyway, we made it here safe and sound.

Tomorrow we are off to Bonampak and Yaxchilan, two other Mayan sites, more remote and deeper in the jungle. Then Saturday we cross the Usumacinta River and we'll be back in Guatemala!

More from Guatemala........

The San Cristobal Update (Lisa)

Well, hello! We're still here! Here's a small update on what we've been doing:

Anthony did a boat tour of Sumidero Canyon, which is outside San Cristobal. I had planned to go too, but instead I stayed behind and dealt with a second round of the dreaded beasties. (They are really gone now, and I promise I´m fine, Mom.) Anyway, he says it was pretty gorgeous.

Yesterday we went through the Maya Medicine Museum, which was pretty interesting. The indigenous people in these mountains still do a lot of plant healing, and still do some wacky healing techniques and ceremonies. For instance: they have a curandero (healer) do a ceremony and chant while they burn certain quantities of candles, and certain colors. They incorporate Coke into the ceremony, either by sprinkling it on themselves, or drinking it and burping (the burping expels bad spirits). They have certain healers who are "pulse readers", they feel your pulse and tell you what's wrong and how to heal it (how many candles and what color?). Sometimes they wave a chicken or egg over the patient a few times, which supposedly really helps. (Why haven't I tried that??)

We were lucky enough to watch two Maya women who came to the curandero at the museum, they did the candles and the soda (sipping, no sprinkling), and then the pulse reading. They pay a small fee to the curandero for this service. (As Anthony so keenly observed, "Heck, I can get a pulse reading at Wal-Mart for FREE!") Anyway, it was interesting to watch. They have a video on childbirth rituals, and displays with mannekins which are creepy, but interesting. (The guy in the photo is making this stuff of ground wild tobacco and limestone, which the Maya swirl around in their mouth and swallow slowly - for good luck and good health.) The museum also has a "pharmacy" on the grounds, where you can find a plant-based potion for whatever ails ya.....

The walk back from the museum took us through the market, which was, of course, interesting and totally chaotic. We did stop briefly and admire the CDs and DVDs for sale - all bootleg homemade copies. Turns out you can get a copy of "Big Wet Brazilian Asses" for a mere 10 pesos (about a buck). We passed. (Sorry to disappoint those of you who might have been hoping for a souvenir.)

Today we spent some time just soaking up some more of the city. It's really pretty, and there is a lot to see just wandering around. I'm rather sad to have missed some time here because of being sick! Here´s a shot of the area around the park, showing all the Maya ladies and children surrounding a poor tourist. (They are tough, you have to say no about ten times before they give in and leave you in peace. What's sad is all the children selling - at all hours of the night and day.)

We spent some time in the park this morning, there's a cafe right in the middle where we could get out of the cool drizzle and have coffee upstairs and watch the goings-on in the park. (Of course the Maya children/salesgirls found us up there. Anthony bought a bracelet and they were happy.) It´s nice and cool here (unlike Wilmington right now, from what I see!), it's in the low 70's in the day, and low to mid 60's at night. The first rain we've had in San Cristobal was today, so we're not complaining.

We visited a cool museum called Na Balom this afternoon, with all kinds of photos and artifacts from the Lacandon Indians, collected by a European couple in the 50's. Pretty impressive stuff. (I tried to find a Flickr photo, but no luck.)

Anyway, we're off tomorrow, headed for the lowlands and the Mayan ruins of Palenque. And the heat and mosquitos, I´m sure. The fun part is that we get to stop at two waterfall areas and spend some time along the way - that should be pretty nice!

More later, from the lowlands.....

Say YES to Drugs!

Howdy, all! I´ll bet you´ve been wondering where we´ve been. Well, we´ve been busy doing touristy things like an all-day tour, a border crossing into Mexico, and spending a couple of days being sick as dogs.

I´ll start with the non-fun stuff: Right after we crossed from Guatemala to Mexico (7 hours in a van full of Israelis chatting nonstop in Hebrew), it became apparent that we had brought some Guatemalan beasties over the border with us (and Customs didn´t even notice!). It hit Anthony first, and I was right behind. I eventually wrote a note in Spanish describing our symptoms (it´s remarkable how similar the English and Spanish words are for diarrhea, fever, and nausea), and sent Anthony to the pharmacy (he was in a little better shape than I was at that time). Ya gotta love Mexico, after reading my note they set him up with some antibiotics, over the counter, and they cost less than four bucks. Yay Mexico. Anyway, we are starting to feel human again, ready to venture out and see San Cristobal de las Casas.

Now the fun stuff: So, before we left Guatemala, we spent a few days in Panajachel, then headed to Quetzaltenango for a couple of nights. It´s pretty darned chilly in Quetzaltenango. (You all know how much I like chilly.) We did a great tour one day, and saw some pretty cool stuff. We visited a factory where they make hand-blown glass stuff (glasses, goblets, decorative things), they just let us walk around amongst the guys with glowing hot gobs of glass on the end of tubes, sticking them in and out of fiery ovens. (We didn´t even have to sign a waiver.) We visited a whole bunch of villages and saw the oldest Christian church in Central America (1500´s).

We visited two more Maximon statues (see photos below). We watched ladies preparing cotton yarn to be dyed. We visited some guy´s house where on the third floor there are two looms, and we watched the fabric being woven (the weaver makes about $6 a day). The same guy with the looms makes this home-brewed wine called Caldo de Frutas (fruit soup), it´s a wine they only make in this village. Of course we bought some. (It´s gone already.) Oh, and we also visited some hot springs that were pretty neat. They are way up in the mountains, everything is covered in swirling fog and steam from the springs. The water is HOT, as it drips out of the mountain, it´s actually too hot to touch. We soaked for quite a while there.......

We are currently in San Cristobal de las Casas (Mexico), which appears to be an amazing city. Very cosmopolitan, it feels like Europe (but with cheap food). We plan on staying a few days, and taking a tour or two. We started out in a kind of iffy hostel, with very loud music right outside our door for hours (ranging from rap to Smashing Pumpkins to salsa). After staying in bed for 24 hours there, sick, we decided to move. We´ve now got some awesome digs at the Casa Margarita. (See photo here.) It´s so lovely I think even my parents would enjoy staying here! (I can´t say that about most of the places we´ve been...) It´s a splurge at $27, but we felt like we deserved something nice.

Well, that´s all for now. We´ll post again soon!

RANDOM PHOTOS (Anthony)

Hola amigos,
We are currently in Panjachel for a couple of days, resting our calves and our minds. I am going to try to post some trip photos. If the gods of mass media are awake and smiling (just who IS the patron saint of the internet. Someone get the Pope on the phone! STAT! ) we will be able to give you a little show. OK. Are you sitting down? Here we go.

CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE

Photo 1. Mario´s Rooms, Panajachel (It´s like we have our own little patio!)











Photo 2. San Pedro (Local dude, local duds)











Photo 3. JESUS ES EL SEÑOR (I asked who Da´Man is in the next town - Apparently it´s David Hasselhoff.)













Photo 4. Beware of overhanging, melon-sized avocados.













Photo 5. Catholic priests call him Saint Simon, the local Maya call him Maximon, king of the underworld. He likes offerings of cigars and rum. I´m going to call it a toss-up.














Photo 6. I SWEAR that sign wasn´t there when we first arrived in San Pedro.











I´ll try to get some more scenic photos up next time.