putting our spanish to use...our first weeks of traveling in guatemala

“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.” – Paul Theroux

so now we're on the road. after two and a half weeks in xela, we were itchin to put on our travel shoes and hit up the gringo trail amongst other areas. with 2 weeks of spanish class under our belts, we were a little more prepared to face the camionetas (chicken buses), bargaining at markets, and actually ordering food (as opposed to just pointing at the menu and saying, "este, por favor" (this please)).

we left beautiful, mountainy xela for lake atitlan, a gorgeous lake surrounded by volcanoes. so far, it's been our favorite area we've visited and we're already wanting to go back :)

anyhoo...we've got about 2 + weeks of actual travel under our belts and here's some pictures to tell the story...




before we left xela, we had to grab a picture of our favorite beer from guatemala, moza. actually, it's basically the only beer we like :) the rest (gallo, brahva) are simple lagers...but they also do the trick when you need a nice cold one.

a funny thing about moza is that my professor AND our guide to chicabal both told us that moza is known as a good beer to drink while pregnant and after giving birth. they were both serious. apparently it has lots of vitamins. suuuuuure.



this was our view from our breakfast spot in san pedro la laguna. it was gorgeous. we've never seen a lake that compares. everywhere you look has spectacular views. we spent a day/night in san pedro. we enjoyed san pedro's atmosphere a lot (lots of restaurants, bars, kayaking, dreadlocked travelers), but we heard that san marcos la laguna was more low-key and a little less built-up. so...we took a lanchero (little speed boat) over to san marcos...



san marcos was such a unique place. it's a small town that is set in the jungle, among banana trees and other jungly foliage. this is a picture of what you see whilst walking on one of the paths around town. there is really only one main road through the center of town which we were only on in order to go to the grocery store. otherwise, there are just little paths among the jungle to get from place to place.



this is a typical guatemalan sauna that was at our hostel. unfortunately, we didn't "splurge" the $2/pp it cost to use it, but it looked pretty awesome.



san marcos is well known as a place for holistic therapies, yoga, massage, reiki, and most importantly, the meditation center called "las piramides." most of the people staying our hostel were doing a course at the center or elsewhere in the town. it was interesting hearing about some of their classes and also about why san marcos is such a center for these kind of activities. they actually heard from a teacher that there is a temple in the bottom of the lake, giving the lake area a strong spiritual energy. interesting for sure.



the view from the san marcos side of the lake was probably even more gorgeous. and even better, you could actually swim on this side. the dock area was disgusting (full of trash bobbing up and down in the water!) but "the rocks" area (from this view) was wonderful and a great little swimming spot.



we had many little lizard friends joining us at our sunny rock. this guy was the most colorful.



after a couple days in san marcos, we grabbed another lanchero over to panajachel. pana is the biggest town off the lake. for that reason, we decided to hit the road the next morning to antigua. it seems that we've decided that we like to avoid the built up areas and lean towards the smaller towns. in that respect you feel less like a tourist in a big city and more so just a person enjoying the small town guatemalan lifestyle.

but before we left pana, we did take some time to enjoy our awesome terrace view from our hostel. we also got to enjoy celtics/lakers game 5! we won't discuss game 6 or 7 though.



before leaving pana that morning, we had one more last good view of the lake.



a remnant from agatha. roads all over the southwest part of guatemala were so badly damaged by the storm. this is the main 4 lane highway from the lake to antigua. it seemed that every 5 minutes or so, two lanes of the road would be closed due to landslides on the highway.



after a slightly longer ride than usual due to the damage from the storm, we made it to antigua. after being in xela and the lake for a few weeks before antigua, it felt strange coming to such a well developed city where trash wasn't sprawled all over the street and dogs actually had owners. it was a beautiful city. the architecture is incredible and there is so much to see. this is the catedral de santiago on the side of the parque central that had some awesome ruins inside.



ruins inside the catedral. the church had fallen apart several times due to many earthquakes.



one of the many beautiful buildings in antigua.



a huge artisans market in the city. just one of the many times where we wish we didn't have to carry everything we bought with us in our packs :) for that reason, no purchases.



the market did have a great display of the traditional mayan attire for all the different departments of guatemala (along with prices if you were interested in buying a set :) these were from the department of chimaltenango.



some traditional mayan women near la merced.



just knockin' down some ruins at la merced. no big deal.



our room at the yellow house hostel in antigua. this is what our room typically looks like...clothes drying above our bed on our awesome clothesline.



a huge table of platanos (plantains) at the market in antigua. we've learned to cook two awesome platano dishes. our favorite...rellenos de platanos. mushed plantains formed into an empanada-like shape stuffed with refried beans. yes...it's good. especially with a little sugar and/or chocolate.



public pilas in antigua. pilas are stone sinks/washing areas, usually with 2 or 3 chambers (one for fresh water, one for washing). we love when hostels have them for use because they are great for washing clothes.



after antigua, we headed to chichicastenango for the famous sunday market, one of the largest markets in guatemala. we enjoyed it, but again, it would have been a little better if we would have actually let ourselves buy something :) (although lauren did buy a pair of jade earrings). the church steps right off the market were pretty awesome.



just some of the beautiful colors of chichi's market.



one of our favorite sounds...the clapping of mayan women making tortillas.



among the beautiful textiles, jewelry, and smells of comida tipica at the market, you find shoe/converse stalls. you'd be surprised at the number of kids wearing converse.



joe and i on the hostel terrace in chichi (complete with my new jade earrings:) our experience in chichi will be forever instilled in our minds because of our awful hostel. do not stay at hospedaje salvador in chichi! we got to the hostel after the market and heard some sort of "music" outside our window. we thought it was just market day stuff so we figured it would stop by dinner time. nope. it lasted until about 8 pm and then woke us up at around 5 am. come to discover the next morning, it was marimba being played in a tiny little room by an old man...from 5 am to 8 pm. in addition, there were M-80 like firecrackers being set off at all hours of the day/night, including at 430 am. anyhoo...we learned to always check to make sure marimba music is no where near a future hostel.



after chichi, we had a 3 bus ride day to get to our new destination, coban. this included the most crowded bus we had been on so far. normally, this bus would hold 15 semi-comfortably. i think at one point this bus had 23 people on it, with two on the top of the bus. pretty standard for camionetas/minibuses.



it was a beautiful ride from chichi to coban, but due to the tight quarters (we could barely move our arms), this is about the best picture we got of the drive.



on the other hand, on this bus from coban to lanquin (the town famed for semuc champey and the caves) we were riding right in front and got some great views and were able to move our arms enough for a few pictures.



we were so happy to arrive in lanquin at el retiro, a great lodge-like hotel with little bungalows spread about the hillside. el retiro was set right off the river so you could take a dip in fast moving river with cool water...which was necessary due to the jungle-like climate.



this was the view from el retiro. gorgeous hillside everywhere, complete with loud cows in the afternoons.



most people staying at el retiro, or in lanquin in general, do so because of the trip to semuc champey. we took a tour because we also wanted to do the kan-baa caves which were right next to semuc champey. this was the view along the way.



our first stop of the day was the kan-baa caves. it was awesome. it wasn't just a nice little path through the caves like we experienced with carlsbad...it was usually swimming in pitch black water just putting your faith into the guides that it was safe. we were so glad we did it. also...the main light source was a candle for everyone. since we had our headlamps, it was great because you could actually use both hands when climbing/swimming. the tour here involved jumping 6 feet into a pool/black hole, sliding down a hole where you couldn't see the exit, and climbing up a rope up a waterfall. this was our first effort using our waterproof camera too and it did quite well. although only a couple good pics because of the cave lighting. here's joe spelunking.



another good spelunking photo.



after the caves, we hiked to semuc champey and then did the grueling 20 minute climb to el mirador (viewpoint) to see the pools of semuc champey. the view was incredible. semuc champey is a series of pools that lie above the raging river. the pools are usually more turquoise/blue but because of all the rain, some of the lower pools are more brown due to the mud from the mountain.



we hiked down the slippery path and made it to the pools. so necessary after hiking in the jungle. this is in the first pool, where the river goes underneath the pools.



a double rainbow in the flowin river.



this is the view of poza una (pool one).



view of poza dos.



joe with his awesome jumping face going into poza dos.



the view of the 3rd pool looking over the hills. this one had the steepest drop into the next pool so everyone just stayed in the first 3 pools.



a lovely picture of joe and i in the 3rd pool



una mariposa posing for us



our way back from semuc champey to el retiro. this was our "tour bus" both ways, aka a pickup truck that we all crammed into the back, standing for the 30-40 minute, 4 mile drive. it was pretty awesome.




relaxing at el retiro lodge. wouldn't be complete with some hammock time.

well...that's about it for now. yesterday we left el retiro and landed in flores after an 8 hour shuttle bus ride. we'll be leaving shortly to go to the more remote town of el remate, which is about an hour away from the tikal ruins. we'll be heading there this afternoon and then tomorrow morning bright and early. after that, heading south to rio dulce.

hope everyone is doing great back at home! today is the anderson family reunion so we'll be thinking of all of you! miss you all!

tallyho,

lauren and joe

Xela - Learnin us some Spanish...

“a journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step” – Lao Tzu

well, the first couple of weeks in Guatemala have certainly been interesting. a couple bouts of sickness, tropical storm Agatha (which has done an immense of amount of damage to Guatemala – about 170 deaths and over 150,000 people evacuated…extremely difficult to deal with in a country with such little money), a giant sinkhole swallowing up an intersection in downtown Guatemala City, and a volcano eruption… we experienced it all!

the weekend of the storm, we had reserved a day trip to a natural hot springs close by, Fuentes Georginas. we decided to postpone it, because of the rain. saturday night, the heavy rains caused a mudslide and Fuentes Georginas was basically destroyed. if we had gone on Saturday, we would have been stranded there for a night, or two. apparently, it will cost over $30,000 to restore the springs (meaning it won’t be restored this time).

welp...to give you a little taste of the first leg of our guatemalan adventures, below are some pictures documenting our past couple weeks.



our room at our homestay. we arrived in Xela at 7:30pm after about a day and a half of travel – including an 8 hour layover at LAX and a 8 hour “layover” in the bus station in Guatemala city until. anyhoo, after arriving in Xela we headed to our school and met the owner, Sary. she immediately brought us to our homestay. we would be spending the next week with Doña Antoinetta, an “interesting” older woman who doesn’t speak a lick of English. our accommodations were nice and just about all we needed – a hot shower with good water pressure and a good sized room.



courtyard at our homestay.
a few things about Antoinetta:
-she feeds you waaay to much food, and we were unable to get her to reduce our portions.
- she talks to herself, and her pets, quite a bit. we would often be confused if she was trying to talk to us. after a few days, we realized she was not talking to us.
- she occasionally has a friend over to eat with us, but never introduces them. our best guess was that one of them was her daughter – no clue about the other one.



during the first weekend in Xela before starting our classes, we climbed a big hill just south of the city. there were a few spots where we got a great view of the city – we could also see the courtyard of the house we were staying at.



every Sunday, and sometimes at random times during the week, you would hear music – the sound of a “middle school” band playing songs that they’ve played hundreds of times before. when you follow the music to its source, you would find a parade/processional. not sure what to call it, but its definitely religious in nature (some kind of mix between mayan and catholic), and it definitely has a sad tone to it. here’s the typical scene, in front of a big church in the Parque Centroamericano.



the indoor/outdoor bar/restaurant area in the center of the city, pasaje enriquez. pretty beautiful building. might be headed there tonight for a “last night in Xela” cerveza or two :)



north of the central part of the city is the mercado democracia - a large outdoor market selling everything from mangos to couches, and a pretty church - iglesia san nicolas.



also near the mercado democracia is parque benito juarez. this picture was from the day after la tormenta (the storm, Agatha). this is not really a good representation of the damage to guatemala. however, it does document the extreme disparity in the amount of damage. we were able to have a nice sunday afternoon in the sunny park. however, at the same time, thousands of guatemaltecos were trying to figure out how to survive after their homes were destroyed.



again, in the park.



one of the other attractions in Xela besides the parque centroamericano is the teatro municipal. we hung out here a few times among the cute stray dogs.



most houses are pretty much the same. cinder block houses with a stucco-like material on the outside. this one was one of my favorites...i think just because of the many varied colored paint jobs :)



after a confusing week with Doña Antoinetta, we decided to leave the homestay and move to the hostel at the school. although it was good to get a feel for true guatemalan living, at our hostel we liked the flexibility of our schedule a little more, and didn’t feel like stuffing our faces at every meal anymore. another plus = constant WIFI :) ...yes...we’ve realized that we’re a little addicted to the internet.
here's the courtyard in our hostel...very good studying/reading spot.



this was the table right outside our room in the hostel...also lauren's "desk" during our 8am to 1pm classes.
we were so glad we took 2 weeks of class. although we still need a lot of practice and have to continue studying, we actually feel confident enough to start our traveling via "chicken bus." i'm sure we'll have lots to report on that later :)
a basic knowledge of spanish in guatemala (and most other central/south american countries) is a must. and so is a dictionary. during my (lauren) last day of class, my maestra asked me what i need to bring for our hike the next day. i couldn't think of the exact word for good shoes in spanish...but i thought i had it. "necesito buen zappos." my teacher started cracking up. zapatos = shoes. zappos = frogs.



view of parque centroamericano...the happening spot in Xela... from the museo de natural historia.



museo de natural historia. we thought we knew what to expect. our guidebook and online sites called it "fascinating, funky, quirky, weird." yep...it was all of the above. the most interesting room was the room of stuffed animals and fetuses. yes...fetuses. pretty disturbing. and you could tell that these were the reject stuffed animals that couldn't quite make it into a legit museum. eyes looked like marbles and sometimes feet were missing. but hey...it was less than a dollar to check it all out :)



just joe...happy during a random city walk :)



so after two weeks of classes and a pretty miserable last weekend due to the storm, we finally made it out of the city for a trip. we decided to go with a guide for our first trip (although pretty expensive!) and to go with a "moderate" hike...instead of a "difficult, very difficult" hike. i think that they have different standards here. or maybe its just the altitude...but it was a tough one. we hiked up to the laguna de chicabal. chicabal is an extinct volcano that is now topped by a beautiful, sacred lake at an elevation of nearly 8,900 feet. local mayans use the site for their annual may ceremonies, to thank the gods for the sun and rain. although difficult, totally worth it. since it's sacred, no swimming is allowed. although it would have pretty nice to take a dip after the tough walk up!



same view, but inclusive of a sweaty joe and lauren :)



the other awesome view from the top was of the three local volcanos, one extremely active. starting from the left is santa maria, the tallest of the three. san tomas is in the middle and santiaguito is to the right, just poking through the clouds. santiaguito is extremely active, erupting several times per day. we caught the end of an eruption...a huge puff of grayish smoke.



after you reach the top, then you have to walk down about 600 steep steps to the lake. our legs were like jelly afterwards.



la laguna de chicabal.



there are several mayan altars around the lake. you would see a sign for every one.



ceremonies take place around the lake during the first week of may. this altar was used during the 3rd day of may - indicative of the 3 crosses.



this was the most relaxing part of the hike. and according to our guide, the area where the mayans who need healing would go and ask the lake to heal them. since i had told my guide that my knee was bothering me a bit after the 600 steps down, he told me to put some water on my knee and ask the lake for its healing power. so far...my knee has been great!



not a usual sighting...a quetzal. in total, we saw 2 female and 2 male quetzales, the national bird of guatemala. the males are extremely rare to see. our guide, carlos, said we were extremely lucky to see them. since you can't make out it's colors in our picture, we included a more colorful one so you can get a better idea of how beautiful they are. when they flew away they were a brilliant array of nearly every color.



me and my handy walking stick after the hike.



somehow, joe had enough energy afterwards for a go on the rope swing :)



view of the local village next to chicabal, san martin sacatepaquez.



same view, complete with our awesome guide, carlos!

a few other memories of our Xela experience...

last night, after the hike, we didn’t have any energy to go out and get food. in order to eat, we had to overcome a fearsome obstacle – we ordered a pepperoni pizza, for delivery, in Spanish – score! it was actually a decent pie too!

we will miss our doggie friend, known to us only as “the howler.” we’ve never seen him, but he comes to visit us each night – he sits somewhere right outside of our hostel and lets out these short little howls, which actually sound more like hoots. “hoo, hoo,” every 5 seconds. at first it was annoying, then it became funny, then a little perplexing. “what is his purpose?”, we would wonder. “is he looking for something or someone the he’s lost? is he retelling countless wild tales of his doggie past? is he simply crazy?” we will never know. as we leave Xela, we leave him (or her) behind and hope that he accomplishes whatever it is he’s trying to do.

goodbye Xela and "howler." tomorrow we are off to chicken bus it to san pedro la laguna, off the beautiful lake atitlan. we heard there was a lot of damage there due to the storm so we're not sure of the length of time we'll be there (5ish days?). anyhoo...take care everyone! time to put our spanish skills to the test during the next few weeks of guatemala traveling :)

tallyho!

-lauren and joe