thanks for tuning in for another post. Lisa is busy doing grad school stuff this internet session, so sadly you´ll have to bear with me for the entirety of this blog. Apologies in advance.
First of all, I´ll take advantage of the lightening-fast connection we´ve got here in Xela, and throw up some pictures of things I described in our last post in Flores.
Without further adeu,
Lisa at the glorious Agua Caliente waterfall: the river she´s in is cold, but the waterfall is around 105 farenhieght!
Me with a giant Ceiba, the Maya tree of life, on the trail into Tikal.
Temple III from Temple IV at the ghostly Tikal sunrise (if you ever make it to Tikal, try and barter a cheap sunset/sunrise tour like we did, it is definitely worth it, not only to beat the heat and the crowds, but also to see way more wildlife - notably, monkeys doing their monkey business).
Aforemention monkey business.
Lis and I on Temple V, second tallest in the Maya world.
Temple I from the heart of the Grand Plaza.
My cousin Jordan. How the ancient Maya knew what he would look like I haven´t a clue.
Ok, so that gets us caught up in pictures from last post. This past week has been a whirlwind: it´s included, among other things, heavenly swimming, our first run in with crime, our first big city, food poisoning, y Español.
Let´s get started.
The day after our last post was fairly uneventful: and 8+ hour day on the bus. The end destination was Semuc Champey, a place we have heard bittersweet reviews on from other travellers. It is supposed to be second to few places in the world in terms of natural beauty, but the tourism infrastructure that has developed so that Westerners like us can see it has apparently not benefited everyone in the area. We were ready for this, but in a country where everyone we´ve met has been happy to see us, the not-so-warm welcome was still a bit of a jolt. Understandably, most of the animosity from locals towards the tourism sector seems to stem from the shuttle drivers. These guys were unreasonably reckless, narrowly missing all manner of local people, canines, poultry, and hog on the nine death-defying kilometres between Lanquin and Semuc Champey. Fortunately, the staff at our hostel were good, and the place (El Portal) seemed decently recieved within the community.
The next day we set out into the park itself, which more than lives up to its reputation. These shots don´t do it justice, but here´s a view of the pools (that sit on top of a 300 metre natural limestone bridge, with the river running underneath) from the mountainside viewpoint.
To answer your question: yes, that water is as good as it looks. Better, infact. It was probably the most refreshing swim I´ve ever had. Our guide (mandatory) and group was an absolute riot. We made our way through the seven pools, which unfortunately connected by cliff-jumps, natural waterslides, and the such. Horsing around was not only accepted but actively encouraged, which I for one was thrilled about.
Said horsing around:
What was perhaps the most fun part of the entire day is not documented by camera, being that it took place deep inside the Semuc Champey Wet Cave.Wet cave is a hilarious understatement: for most of the several hundred metre expedition we swam in water well over our heads while our high-tech lighting devices (candles) dripped scalding hot wax onto our hands.
Lisa impressed me on this adventure-day. Teasing her about being a chicken has become a beloved part of my comedy routine at home, but today she blew me away, participating (and sometimes going first!) in every daredevil stunt out group came up with, including, but not limited to, a hands-free dive from several metres, a harnessless repel down a raging cave waterfall (the very antithesis of safety) a leap of faith into the caves black hole (a pitch black pit, with water some meters into it), and a jump from an 11 metre (yes, 11 metre) bridge on the river (disclaimer: the risk of severe wedgies on the latter stunt is extremely high).
We slept like babies that night, and the next day rode the short bus to Coban, where we spent the day laying low and forgetting to email our moms (sorry Mom). Our next destination was Antigua, which required a bus transfer in the dreaded Guatemala City. This went of without a hitch, with the only delay being a brief detour around a protest march of 10,000 teachers - a spectacle the locals hardly seemed to notice.
Our next surprise came in Antigua, a city we´ve heard so much about from old friends at home, and new ones on the road. We were bitterly dissapointed: we didn´t like Antigua at all. Yes, it´s beautiful - iconic volcanoes tower over terracotta tile rooves and cobblestone streets - but the city is run by tourists, for tourists. If you´d like to explore a place with more Guatemalan culture and less white people, I´d suggest Oak Bay Avenue on a mild Saturday afternoon.
The next day we set off for Xela (Quetzaltenango), our current location. En route, during a bus change in Chimaltenango, we had our first run in with crime, the inevitable Guatemalan robbery. In a really slick scam involving a way too friendly guy with good English and a cute kid (the distraction), a pickpocket got into Lisa´s handbag. We didn´t notice until we got on the bus that our wallet was gone. Fortunately all we lost was the equivalent of 12 bucks, and we gained invaluable awareness about just how good the thieves can be.
We are now settled down in Xela (a gorgeous city who´s three most prominent industries are education, beads and chocolate), living with seperate homestay families - so fully immeresed in Spanish - and taking Spanish lessons at the Miguel de Cervantes School (which we highly recommed). Lisa was a bit late getting going on the homestay and classes, as she´s just gotten through a wicked battle with food posioning: all your preconceptions about symptoms of Central American mystery sicknesses apply. Fortunately she is on the mend, and I really needed and extra day of studying!
We´ve got to run (home for dinner, weird, I know), but we´ll try for another post while we´re still here in Xela.
Thanks for reading,
Love, (and on Lisa´s behalf), Torrie
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