December 5,1999

Travel day from Belize to Guatemala (Dan)

  Another great bus ride. We arrived at the border, exchanged our money and paid the customs guy five bucks, and it was supposed to be free. Oh well. We were meet at the other side in Guatemala by the usual array of hustlers, shook them off and headed towards the bus station. We wait for an hour and boarded a tall newer bus with off road suspension. We read the roads were bad, I guess really bad. But they weren't, either the bus handled well or the roads were not that bad. Great view and excited as always to be in a different country. 

  We were headed to Flores, a city near by the Mayan ruins of Tikal. We arrived and a English speaking kid set us up with a hotel and trip to the ruins the next day a five in the morning. We road with two German girls to the hotel. They thought the first one was too expensive. We decided to ride along to see what they would find. Well, it was cheap, and that's about it. 

  Then we were off to explore the town. Ate dinner, walked around and found an internet cafe, got frustrated, then went back to the hotel.

December 6. (Dan)

Five in the morning came pretty darn fast. Somebody assured us that this was the best time to see the ruins because we would be able to see the sun rise on top of one of the temples or pyramids. Well, we were convinced until we  stopped to pick up as many employees of the park along the way to the ruins. I would say we had thirty people in a bus that should hold fifteen. So the sun rise wasn't as spectacular from a crowed bus as it would have been from top of a temple in a jungle. Oh well.

  Anyway, the site was beautiful. After coffee, we hiked around for awhile and waited for the park employees to get organized. We saw monkeys, other weird animals we couldn't identify. Then we found a guide. It's always less expensive to go with other people to cut the cost of the guide. We meet a couple from Minnesota. Our guide was a little tired and I think we got the nickel tour instead of the full ten dollar tour. Never the less it's always very impressive to see the amount of work and beauty that Mayan's did to build the temples and cities. Not to mention the amount of effort that went in to restoring the cities. One only sees about ten percent of the total city that was built by the Mayan's. Dan tried to take a nap on a round flat sacrificial but was scolded by a guard after a few minutes. This site is the biggest of all the Mayan sites through out Mexico and Central America. It took most of the day. During the tour we also saw a few toucan birds and lots of spider monkeys. The monkeys were high in the trees and would throw fruit sees at us as we walked under them. 

That evening we rode on the most crowed bus yet. We found our assigned seats and buckled in our seats. As we waited the ice cream guy got in fight with a kid trying to take his ice cream. Also a line was forming outside the bus. We finally figured out that this line was going to be all the people literally crammed in the isle of the bus. We had so many people on this bus that the bus driver had to stop and either put air into the tires or let air out. We were packed in tight imagine a regular old school bus with all the seats full, some with three to a seat and the isle packed so tight that people were leaning on to the people sitting next to the isle. Then the guy responsible for collecting money wouldn't collect until everybody was on the bus. It was pretty funny at first. But annoying by the time we got to Rio Dulce, about a five hour drive, stopping every mile to let people off and on. But we made it, I don't know how because the guy drove the bus like it was a Porsche, fast around every corner. Some of the bus rides can be more fun than anything else, and sometimes not.

December 7.

 Rio Dulce to Livingston. (Ryan) We Stayed in some flee bag hotel the previous night and walk to find we were directly across the street from the marina. We walked over to find out what time the next boat to Livingston left. We talked with a girl from Guatemala that lived and grew up in Los Angeles. She was eager to talk of the states and told us that she missed all her friends back in the U.S. We think she ran an information business in English and she told us the next boat would leave as soon as it was full. Standing on the dock and looking onto the lagoon we were pleasantly surprised by the lush green jungle and river. A quick run to the bank, a cup of coffee then onto the boat. It was a two hour trip down the Rio Dolce to the Caribbean Sea and the town of Livingston. Right off I was amazed! We saw many sailing yachts with for sale signs and I dreamed of having my own boat and sailing out of this lagoon. This had to be one of the places Walt Disney came to research for the jungle ride. It was so beautiful. The boat, filled with tourists, slowed at some highlights for people not yet relived of their cameras took some snap shots. There were housed built on stilts easing the banks of the river. Small children paddled dugout canoes. Old men were fishing for their dinner with just a line and a hook. The boat slowed to circle a small island with some rare birds and iguana climbing for egg breakfasts. The boat slowed again for a natural hot-spring that percolated into the river. The driver said that we could get out and swim but there were no takers. The air was a little ripe with sulfur. We proceeded through 200 foot shear cliff walls winding our way to the sea and finally arriving in Livingston at about noon. By far one of the highlights of the trip. Livingston, however, was less than we had expected. Like many Caribbean town, many people spoke English and we were berated by the crack heads hoping for a few cents to take you to a hotel. I wasn't having any of it and stormed by content to find my own way. We decided to eat before making any decisions and went to a recommended hotel/ restaurant. Lunch was just o.k. but the rooms were a little too expensive compared to others in town. We decided to go cheap and checked into a $5.00 room not expecting to be spending much time there. Off to check the internet cafes and find out if there is an open line to do an update. We get the Kibosh on the first try but the next looks promising. It's a single computer operation, my favorite kind, and ask about plugging in. I explain that I want to use my own computer to do some updating to the web page. Some kid earshot away perks up and wants to know if I have my own computer and were is it. The operator then informs us that it's going to cost four times as much as normal which appeared to come from the top of his head. The whole thing wasn't feeling right so we got out quick. Went back to the first place content on just doing a mail check. After that we took the nickel tour of our town which took about five minutes. Now what? Crowds threaten to shower and we surcame to an afternoon of beer. We couldn't leave until morning although we would of if we could. Later we ran into a couple of guys traveling from New Zealand and Australia. They joined us for dinner to share stories from the road and our respective homes. Our friend with the keen interest in my computer showed up and asked if I had it with me. No, it's locked up in the safe at the hotel I lied as I slowly kicked my daypack with computer under the table. He changed gears and asked if we "needed" anything. It took more than a couple No's! before he finally gave up. A few more beers and back to our $5.00 beds.

December 8-10. 

Livingston to Antigua (Ryan) I woke eager to get moving. For some reason I was in very high spirits, probable because it was really beginning to feel like traveling. Dan was not looking forward to another long day on the bus but surely didn't want to stay another minute in Livingston. It was a 40 minute boat ride to Puerto Barrio where we would catch a bus, or a long series of busses, to Antigua, two hours from Guatemala City. My spirits stayed high as I gave into the delicacies of bus food. Every little while most any bus will stop at one of the busier hubs and will immediately be engulfed by vendors selling food and drink. I have been wanting to do some sampling and this was my day. First stop I got a bag of some local vegetable with chilly powder and lime juice. Not my favorite but different. Next were some delicious tamales and at the next stop we had some chili relleno's. I couldn't believe that this was some of the best food I had had the whole trip. We finally arrived in Antigua and were greeted by a tourist guide who showed us to a hotel, then it was right out to explore and to the nightly hunt for an internet cafe. (I hope you like this sight because it's a lot of work riddled with tons of frustration) Antigua is tourist mayhem. There must be ten internet cafes none of which but one would let me use an open line and that one wanted 8 times the normal price. Forget it I'll wait. The town had far more gringos than natives and most of the gringos were not that friendly. ( a topic that will get it's own section.) We ate some grub and found a club with live Bolivian music. The band was great and the bar was owned by a Harley guy from Germany, something only possible this far from home. Well... what to do? Communication frustrations have reached peak highs so we began to think of taking a Spanish class and Antigua has gobs of them. Do we stay here and take a Spanish class or take the recommendation of a couple we met to move onto a small Pueblo named San Pedro for class. Neither of us in the mood for decision making but we knew we needed money so it was off for our least favorite choir of finding a bank that would give us a cash advance. Banks are the only thing there are more of than internet cafes and we thought our quest would be simple. No...No...NO...NO... lucky number six. You can't imagine what a bummer it is to spend most of a day at a number of banks. Well there is a $133 maximum withdraw per day so were stuck her until tomorrow so that we will have enough for the Spanish school and food...dinner, more e-mail then off to bed. 

Antigua is very pretty, don't get me wrong, I think it's a great place but for some reason it seemed a little stale and I was ready to go when we got up the next morning. Back to the bank for another $133 and hunt for the right bus. Four bussed latter we were on the shore of Lago de Atitilan in a town called Panajachel and were herded onto the boat for San Pedro before we could get a sip or out boat beers.

December 10-15 

Spanish school in San Pedro on lake Atitilan (Ryan) Little of my beer made it into my mouth as the lake was very choppy and Dan and I sat at the front of the boat taking the hardest of the beating surf. Two girls who sat behind us, Wendy and Alyssa, could not stop laughing. Dan and I looked to them like a couple of guys riding bucking broncos with beer going all over the place. They had been staying in San Pedro and told us how much to pay for a room and about movie night at "Nicks' Place I" by the dock. Every night at 7:30 The restaurant/bar turns off the music and everyone watches a Movie in English. Tonight was "Up in Smoke" with Chetch and Chong. We found the Spanish school but they would not have room until the next day so our juvenile guides showed us to a hotel. The Hotel San Francisco was the nicest place in town and I actually haggled the price down from about $4.00 a night to $3. The hotel had a rooftop deck that you could observe the lake in front and Volcano behind. Seemed like a good place to spend a week to me. No taxis, and almost no car traffic. The only noise was from local kids lighting fire crackers. A little rest then off to catch the flick. I couldn't believe how many people were there to watch the movie, it was packed even though we got there early. Back to the hotel for and early night. We had to get up early to go to school.

It never seems to change with me, I hate school! Even when it's supposed to be fun. Walking to class that first morning we both felt that nostalgic feeling of the many times we had both walked to school in our youth. Boy I hope this is going to be fun, I thought. Well it wasn't. It was school just like it always was. At least my teacher was nice. We would go on walks by the lake and try to have conversations using the words I had learned in class. Poor Dan's teacher made him write and write and write mixed with looking up word after word in the little Spanish-English dictionary. He had three times the homework I had too. I'm sure both of our Spanish skills will improve because of our class but I can think of better ways to spend my time. One of the best things about San Pedro was "Nicks' Place III" run by a couple of guys from Sicily, Italy. By leaps and bounds the best food I have had in two months. We also were host to some great movies at "Nicks' Place I" like; The Big Labouski, Ground Hog Day and True Romance. There was also Alien II, (as our friend Brad always says "They all can't be gems")

A few other tidbits about San Pedro; Most of the people there are more Mayan that Spanish and still speak Mayan which is very interesting to listen to. 99% of the women and girls still wear traditional clothing of bright, rich colors, every day. The pueblo supports itself by coffee beans, corn, onions and tourists. It you ever go to Guatemala don't pass it up thinking it's too far out of the way.

Last day in San Pedro for our last class. Dan doesn't even want to go but gives in, not wanting to disappoint his mean teacher. My teacher and I break off early and hike a ways up the Volcano to get a good view of the lake and village. He tries to get my to use my vocabulary words in sentences but isn't proud of the lack of studding I have done. Then it was off to Panajachel to catch the bus to Guatemala city to meet our new camera, hopefully awaiting us at the DHL office. (Thank you so much dad!) 

We get off the bus at the last stop and immediately an old woman tells us to get off the street its not safe. Not a welcome sign. We hail a cab, check into a hotel, and set off for the nightly hunt for an internet cafe. Four blocks away on a dimly lit street we find one and wait at the door for the guy inside to unlock the door to let us in. Another bad sign. Tired of all the frustrations I have had with my e-mail account I give in and sign up for a hot-mail account. I had heard that I could check my normal e-mail through hot mail but wasn't sure... How did I ever get along without it. I recommend everyone get one. It's so easy! So many of our problems have just been relieved. Next will be how to update the web page without our laptop. I think I'm close on that one too so expect more frequent updates. Feeling much better than I did earlier that day we head back to the hotel to plan our next move.

December 16 (Ryan)

The plan is to wake-up early, grab the camera at the DHL office and grab a bus headed toward the Honduran border. It starts off good with a cup of coffee and an Egg McMuffin. We get a cab to the DHL office and find out the camera is still in customs but will be at the office by 2 pm. that day. Now what? Let's find the bus station and find out what time the bus leaves. (In Honduras, as well as many other parts of Central America, there are no central bus terminals. Busses leave from all over the city to their respected destinations. There will be a bus parked on the side of a street and somehow everyone will know where it goes. When you change bussed in-rout you normally have to walk several blocks to catch the next one. We haven't seen many street signs which makes finding your way to the bus a little tricky.) We find a bus that's going to Honduras but passes through El Salvador, which is an expensive and risky rout. We decide to see some of the sights of Guatemala City while we wait. Something close was the Botanical Garden. It sounded like a nice place to waste some time. 

As we walked we came upon a church that didn't look like it belonged where it was and thought we'd have a look. I went in and Dan sat on the steps to watch street venders selling Christmas trees. (The Honduran Christmas tree: First a tree vender goes into the mountains to get a tree. After selecting and chopping down the tree he cuts all of the branches off of the tree so that he is left with a pole and a stack of branches. He brings all of this back to his sidewalk shop and recreates the tree using wire and yarn to reattach the branches to the tree. Don't ask me why.) When I came out, there were many police and people yelling. The large group of street vendors all had long sticks (trees with no branches) in their hands and were screaming at the police. Dan said that a truck had pulled up, while I was in the church, and some guys started throwing all of the recreated trees into the back of the truck. The police began to recede and the band of vendors started beating the trucks with their unbranched Christmas trees. Tiny old ladies through coke bottles and anything else that wasn't for sale. The police as well as the other truck sped off with pistols waiving. Just another day in Guatemala I guess.

We continued to look for the botanical garden but saw nothing but a 12 foot wall. We switched gears and decided to visit some museums but along the way we found the local Internet Service Provider who agreed to let us update our web page. We had some work left to do before we would be ready for the up-date so they set up another computer in an office so that one of us could check our mail as the other did a little writing. 

Finishing up at about half past two we boogied back to the DHL office. "Sorry it's still in customs but we can get it by tomorrow but we'll need your passport." What the hell? They said I could go myself and try to pick it up if I wanted it today and they wrote out directions for a cab driver. We get dropped in front a building and we go in to find about 20 windows, lines of people and total mayhem. A young man comes up to me and wants to look at my air bill. He's young, unofficial looking with a back pack. He points to the other end of the building and I start that way with him on my heels. A large woman stops me before I reach the windows and wants to see the air bill. Her and the unofficial young man speak in Spanish and usher me to the door. The young man motions me to follow him and we do. We walk around the building and back to the warehouse and my guide wants my paperwork. By now I have no idea what is going on but let him inspect the papers. He takes them and cuts off about five people waiting in line to hand to someone working in the warehouse my papers. He whips out an ID badge and clips it to his pocket. He starts talking a mile a minute in Spanish and I can't make out a word but he keeps trying despite my constant "No Comprendo's". Finally he is released into the warehouse and walks to a table about 50 feet away. He takes a knife and opens the box and shows the camera to another official. He leaves it there and comes back to me and motions me to follow him We go in and out of eight building getting copies and papers singed then back then into a bank where I have to pay a .30 cent tax. After all this running around we are back at the original warehouse and again he cuts in line to do some final paper work. Eventually the box reemerges re-taped up and handed to me. He says thanks and he hopes I have a nice time while I'm in Guatemala. My head is spinning from all the running around and I can't believe it. We have another camera! Now all we have to do is get the hell out of there before we get mugged. We grab a cab and make it to the street containing the bus to Honduras. It's ready to leave right when we get there so we hop on and head out of town. 

When we get to the border town of Esquipulas we check into a cheap hotel with an English guy named Mike, who was headed the same place we were. The Bay Islands in Honduras.