I’m on a bus leaving the city. It’s smelly and bumpy. It’s familiar stores fly past for the last time, at least for a long time. On to Antigua and elsewhere. The ride is long and uncomfortable. I’m sitting with two shopping bags and a book bag. I’m unable to move more than a couple inches. The window is wide open and the driver wants it that way.… Read the rest
Travel
12/17/2014 Coban Guatemala
Jill and I walked to Pais today. I went into Mega Paca and saw the same clothes I saw the other day. I need to go to the two little pacas across the street from it but I forget about them. Yesterday we went to the Finca Santa Margherita. That is a coffee plantation a few blocks from Fresh. We asked about a tour and they only have them in Spanish.… Read the rest
12/2/2014 Lanquin Guatemala
It started raining last night. We sat and chatted with two Czechs from Canada. It was their last night here. Lenka was trying to gently turn down an amorous Cuban’s emailed invitation to Paris. She has a hearty laugh and a quick smile. Peter has worked in the oil industry in Canada for 4 years. His Czech and Canadian accent has me hang on his every word with quiet amusement.… Read the rest
11/25/2014
Today is hot. Jill says yesterday was hot as well. I didn’t know, I spent a lot of the day in a cave or in the shade. I went to the attraction, the reason why most everyone comes here. It is called Semuc Champey. It is a place where the River Cahabon goes underground for a few hundred meters. on top of the subterranean river there are natural pools that are spring fed from the mountains.… Read the rest
11/22/2014, Lanquin, Guatemala
Greetings from Guatemala! Time is slowing down here. We are finding a routine. Jill is messing with Excel and cooking a little for us. I am bartending and attempting Spanish with the locals. A good topic with them is asking about Q’eqchi’, their Mayan language. They say phrases and repeat a spanish translation. It is a complicated way to communicate. Mah-Sah-Lock-Ch’ol means buenas dias or como estas, I’m not sure.… Read the rest
11/17/2014 Lanquin, Guatemala
We’ve been in Lanquin for 5 days. Today is Monday. I haven’t been posting because we have limited internet and there isn’t much to talk about. Today is gorgeous. I woke to blue skies and bright sun. The difference between the sunbeams and the shade is dramatic here. On days like this I prefer the shade. Most of the days last week were cloudy in the morning and the mist over the mountains was thick. … Read the rest
11/12/2014
This morning we went to the airport at 7 and had breakfast. It was the best meal I’ve had in Guatemala so far. Huevos, beans, hot sauce, and red sauce with fried banana. The airport in Flores, don’t miss it. Back at the hostel we finished packing and hopped in the van for Lanquin. We arrived in Lanquin 10 hours later.… Read the rest
11/11/2014
THis morning we went to the ruins of Tik’al. We caught our bus at 8 AM from the hostel. Tik’al is about an hour from Flores. There were a four brits on the bus, Jasmine and Paul, and another couple who were just taking the shuttle to the ruins. We stopped in Santa Elena and picked up a family from Long Beach who had come to Guatemala to visit their grandmother in Antigua.… Read the rest
11/10/2014
Today was all about cash. We walked to the airport to get to a bank that would allow us to withdraw some Quetzales. The ATMs we had tried didn’t work with our card. After that was taken care of we had a delicious plate of fruit with exquisite coffee at the airport lounge. We walked over a dirty pedestrian bridge to a big mall and browsed around.… Read the rest
11/9/2014
A lot of movement happened today. We awoke in San Ignacio, Belize. Jill did some yoga on the roof. I took a shower in a mortar and stone bathroom. The shower there had one knob, a step up from Caye Caulker where the shower had one lever. We ate some Avocado on tortillas for a first breakfast. I drank some of the nescafe in the kitchen.… Read the rest