After the craziness of Semana Santa now behind, and Antigua finally returning to normal I headed off for Tikal, located in the northern Peten Province of Guatemala, near to the boarders of Mexico and Belize. Making my way into the capital, Guatemala City, I boarded a bus for what would be a near 12 hour ride to the city of Flores. Thinking that booking a ticket for a coach bus would make the trip a bit more comfortable and less of a hassle, I was fine with spending a few more dollars. This however did not turn out to be the case. This was more or less just a chicken bus with some comfortable seats. Stopping everywhere to pick up and drop people off, this made for a long and incredibly crowded trip. This was not quite what I was expecting to be in for on this particular bus. It did end up getting interesting. When we stopped for a quick rest break and a chance to get some food, I ended up meeting some Honduran men that seemed rather friendly. Through some more conversation I found out that they were headed to the States, and yes probably in the way you may have guessed. These guys were illegals! This ended up turning out to be an incredible experience for me as I sat with Jose, a 19 year old Honduran making the trek for the boarder, learning about what they would have to go through in the following month or so, how the crossing works, why they are doing what they are doing and much more, but I am going to save that for another post because its a bit of a long story.
After arriving in Flores quite late, I bid farewell and good luck to the guys I had met on the bus and then made my way off to find a hostel for the night. The next morning I was quickly off to find a shuttle for the 1.5 hour trip further north to the tourist Mecca of Guatemala, Tikal. Packed with far more people than the mini bus was designed for we moved off into the jungle. Seeing signs warning of panther crossing and large snakes, I got quite excited about where I was going. Though it was destined to be a bit of an expensive trip I was looking forward to seeing the ruins that I have heard so much about.
Full of clean, old, rich, white tourists I just fit right in...only a bit dirtier, a lot younger, and with a lot less money.
I arrived at Tikal around noon, but waited until 3:30 to enter the park, because if I waited till then I would be able to use my ticket again the next day. with a ticket costing around $20 to get in I thought this would be wise. As a side note, the Guatemalan people get to enter for about $3, and I thought about trying to convince the guard I was a local but I'm not sure I would get through...maybe the lacking Spanish or possible the incredibly pasty white skin might give me away. So I bit the bullet and bought my white ticket.Walking though the "proper jungle with Tarzan vines and all," in the words of a English guy Will(who I met and lived with in Antigua for Semana Santa) I stumbled across the grandeur of Temple I. Sitting there in all its beauty, I stood dumbfounded, not really knowing what to do. In a bit of shock as to what was before me all I could really do was take pictures in hopes of capturing the this Mayan architectural masterpiece that has been tucked away in the Guatemalan jungle for hundreds of years. Wandering around the Grand Plaza, I tried to take in the beauty of it all. The place is so interesting and I found myself drifting off and thinking about what it would have been like years ago with all its original inhabitants, and also later to be the one to make the discovery of this place. Climbing Temple IV, I got an incredible panoramic view, and thoughts of "is this happening for real?" came into my head. It was so nice to walk around the grounds more or less alone, since most of the tourists has already gone back, allowing for some time alone on top of some of the temples. The one big downer to the Tikal is that there is so much backhanded dealing going on. If you want to climb some o the temples that are not allowed to be climbed, you will find a friendly guard there that is more than willing to let you go up for a few bucks. All I wanted to do was get some nice pictures and watch the sun set, and they were fine with that as long as they got some cash for it.
The next morning I return to the park early, so that I can have it to myself with out being smothered by tourists that would arrive later in the day. Walking around, I saw some of the other temples that I had skipped the previous day like Temple V. This one was huge, and to get to the top you had to climb a super sketch ladder to the top, and once there you felt as though you were going to fall all the way back down. But the view from there over the Grand Plaza was beautiful.
Tikal turned out to be a great experience and lived up to its name. It was another one of the things that I had planned on doing this time around and was glad to have accomplished it.
Later that afternoon, I made my way back to Flores and then down to Rio Dulce for the night before I would head on to Copan Ruinas, Honduras. Rio Dulce was a nice little town, but the hostel gave me new meaning to "don't let the bed bugs bite!" Yes, the next morning I was quite itchy.
From there I made my way on a series of buses to the Honduran boarder, and onto Copan Ruinas. A fairly painless experience, this is now where I find myself. This is the 6th country of the trip.
Thanks for reading, and I hope that you have enjoyed the blog and catching up on what is going on. I would also encourage you to check out the link on the side, which shows all the places that I have been on the trip so far.
Bye for now
Mike
Showing posts with label Guatemala. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guatemala. Show all posts
Friday, April 9, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Semana Santa
Slowly moving from side to side, their sombre sway moves the massive, ornate float down the road.
Semana Santa has been an incredible experience. The colour, atmosphere, the number of people have all been something so different for anything that I have been a part of here in Antigua. Semana Santa here in Antigua is said to be the second largest Easter week celebration in the world, next only to the Vatican City. Thousands of people, Central Americans and tourists alike all decend on the city for the week long celebration consisting of many different processions though the cobble stone streets of the colonial city. The city has been famous for this for many years and this one was not going to be any different in that regard. The idea behind the processions is that the people pay handsomely (500Q or about $65) for a chance to carry one of the floats for one city block, in the hopes of cutting some time off their stay in Purgatory.
The floats they carry are incredible, both in size and beauty. Many of them require over a hundred people to slowly carry the solid oak float through the streets. Once they have finished their turn the next group stands in beside them and they systematically change out and continue on down the road.
The processions started on the previous Sunday and continue all through out the week, until they come to the climax on Friday. It is incredible to see how many people have fit into this relativly small city as people dressed in purple tunics occupy the streets. Friday, which is arguably the biggest day of the week, start the celebration on Thrusday night. At this point hundreds of people take to the streets to create these ¨alfombras¨ or carpets of sawdust, pine needles, produce, flowers, or a combination of them all. The ones of sawdust are arguably the most beautiful and the most intricate. The streets are packed all night with people walking around and taking in the celebration. The carpets are to signify how people placed palms before Christ as he entered the city and do the same for the representations carried on the floats. People will start them in the early evening and work through the night for the procession that starts a 5 the following morning, on carpets 10m or more in length. Working 8 to 10 hours, making some of the most beautiful and detailed pieces I have ever seen, you can see that it is an incredible source of pride for the artists as thousands of people file past their work and take pictures all enamoured by the work . The incredible thing is that folling the hours of work, they are all trambled and distroyed in a matter of minutes as the procession makes its way over them. After the procession passes there is nothing left that resembles the previous beauty, rather all that remains is a pile of colourful dust that is then hurridly swept up and taken of to the trash by the cleanup crews that follow.
There is a weird feels to it all though. Quite dark feeling and at times it lacks the spirituality that one may assume surronding an event like this. Many people seem to be doing this as their one good deed for the year, and hope to keep themselves in the good books. They chat on cell phones, and listen to music during this time that is to signify the great suffering and life of Christ.
Each of the different floats signify something different, with one carried by men and then followed by another carried by the women. There is even one for the children to carry as not to be left out of the event. They make their way on a marked path through the city streets and then eventually make their way back to whatever chruch they began at.
Also during this week I did a bit more Spanish school in order to get myself a place to stay and finish off the course that I had started before. I lived with the family that I did back in January and it was nice to see them and catch up on what has happened in between. This week I have had some pretty good people to live with, a girl from the States, a guy from England and then a fellow Canadian from Quebec. It has been good to get to know them over the week and take in the processions and celebrations that have happened.
It is strange though that during the week there are so many procession and a really festive attitude about the place, and then on Sunday there is nothing much to be said. It is different because many places around the work this is the day of greatest celebration and here it is almost a non-event.
The week here has been incredible to see all that goes on and the magnitude of the celebration and ceremony that the people take part in. Im sorry if there are some things that are a bit unclear, but there was so much to take in and getting that altogether to post here is a bit of a chore. However, if you have any questions about the celebration or about anything surrounding my trip please let me know.
As well as a side note...I have now changed my ticket and will be returning home on the 6th of May instead of the 13th of April. I felt as though I needed more time for me to complete what I wanted to here and not be rushed in the process. I suppose to you could also say that I have been bit by the travel bug and don´t want it to end. Take your pick.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have enjoyed it.
Bye for now
Mike
Semana Santa has been an incredible experience. The colour, atmosphere, the number of people have all been something so different for anything that I have been a part of here in Antigua. Semana Santa here in Antigua is said to be the second largest Easter week celebration in the world, next only to the Vatican City. Thousands of people, Central Americans and tourists alike all decend on the city for the week long celebration consisting of many different processions though the cobble stone streets of the colonial city. The city has been famous for this for many years and this one was not going to be any different in that regard. The idea behind the processions is that the people pay handsomely (500Q or about $65) for a chance to carry one of the floats for one city block, in the hopes of cutting some time off their stay in Purgatory.
The floats they carry are incredible, both in size and beauty. Many of them require over a hundred people to slowly carry the solid oak float through the streets. Once they have finished their turn the next group stands in beside them and they systematically change out and continue on down the road.
The processions started on the previous Sunday and continue all through out the week, until they come to the climax on Friday. It is incredible to see how many people have fit into this relativly small city as people dressed in purple tunics occupy the streets. Friday, which is arguably the biggest day of the week, start the celebration on Thrusday night. At this point hundreds of people take to the streets to create these ¨alfombras¨ or carpets of sawdust, pine needles, produce, flowers, or a combination of them all. The ones of sawdust are arguably the most beautiful and the most intricate. The streets are packed all night with people walking around and taking in the celebration. The carpets are to signify how people placed palms before Christ as he entered the city and do the same for the representations carried on the floats. People will start them in the early evening and work through the night for the procession that starts a 5 the following morning, on carpets 10m or more in length. Working 8 to 10 hours, making some of the most beautiful and detailed pieces I have ever seen, you can see that it is an incredible source of pride for the artists as thousands of people file past their work and take pictures all enamoured by the work . The incredible thing is that folling the hours of work, they are all trambled and distroyed in a matter of minutes as the procession makes its way over them. After the procession passes there is nothing left that resembles the previous beauty, rather all that remains is a pile of colourful dust that is then hurridly swept up and taken of to the trash by the cleanup crews that follow.
There is a weird feels to it all though. Quite dark feeling and at times it lacks the spirituality that one may assume surronding an event like this. Many people seem to be doing this as their one good deed for the year, and hope to keep themselves in the good books. They chat on cell phones, and listen to music during this time that is to signify the great suffering and life of Christ.
Each of the different floats signify something different, with one carried by men and then followed by another carried by the women. There is even one for the children to carry as not to be left out of the event. They make their way on a marked path through the city streets and then eventually make their way back to whatever chruch they began at.
Also during this week I did a bit more Spanish school in order to get myself a place to stay and finish off the course that I had started before. I lived with the family that I did back in January and it was nice to see them and catch up on what has happened in between. This week I have had some pretty good people to live with, a girl from the States, a guy from England and then a fellow Canadian from Quebec. It has been good to get to know them over the week and take in the processions and celebrations that have happened.
It is strange though that during the week there are so many procession and a really festive attitude about the place, and then on Sunday there is nothing much to be said. It is different because many places around the work this is the day of greatest celebration and here it is almost a non-event.
The week here has been incredible to see all that goes on and the magnitude of the celebration and ceremony that the people take part in. Im sorry if there are some things that are a bit unclear, but there was so much to take in and getting that altogether to post here is a bit of a chore. However, if you have any questions about the celebration or about anything surrounding my trip please let me know.
As well as a side note...I have now changed my ticket and will be returning home on the 6th of May instead of the 13th of April. I felt as though I needed more time for me to complete what I wanted to here and not be rushed in the process. I suppose to you could also say that I have been bit by the travel bug and don´t want it to end. Take your pick.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have enjoyed it.
Bye for now
Mike
Sunday, March 28, 2010
In the Land of Q'eqchi' - Lanquin and Semuc Champey
The road back to Guatemala was again uneventful, with the only real highlight being the overnight stop in San Salvador, El Salvador. I left the bus station for a bit to head out and grab dinner which consisted of papusas (sort of like a pizza pocket) with homemade hot chocolate, and then washed down with some Kolaschanpan (national pop of El Salvador). It was sweet sitting on the street corner with the locals as we all ate from the same stand, and sharing some minimal conversation.
Arriving in Guatemala, I had planned on going to Antigua for the day, in order to set up a shuttle to Coban in the Guatemalan highlands, but a last minute decision let me directly to Coban, saving some time and hassle. A beautiful little town away in the hills was to be my stop for the night until I continued onto Lanquin, about 2 hours away.
The next day I made my way to the bus to Lanquin and settled in for what was to be another tightly packed bus ride, through the highlands. However, this ride was a little more eventful than most. While waiting for the bus to depart, some Guatemalan youth came of the bus. Turns out they were medical students from the city heading to Lanquin for a bit of a vacation. They were great. Full of energy and wanting to have some fun. They really wanted to help me out with my Spanish, and one of them spoke incredible English. Another Guatemalan that I have met that has learned the language from TV and music. Incredible. So we played games and just joked around for the rest of the trip.
When we arrived in Lanquin, I was just planning on heading to the hostel and relaxing for the day, but they invited me to go to the Semuc Champey pools with them. Though hesitant about going because I was rather tired and wanted to rest in this picturesque Mayan town, I decided against it and headed off with them. A great decision and one I don't regret. Semuc Champey is a series of limestone pools with the most incredible water, and landscape. It is located in a river valley with hills towering overhead. We spent the afternoon, relaxing, and going from pool to pool, enjoying the refreshingly cool water. There was also a lookout located up the side of one of the hills, which offered an breath taking view of the area. Though arriving there hot and sweaty we were blow away by the beauty of the area. The day turned out to be so much fun and I am glad I didn't let myself sit it out. They were a lot of fun, friendly, and full of energy. It makes travel a lot more fun when you get to experience it with locals, who are discovering part of their country for the first time.
The next day I made my way back to Semuc Champey which is located 10 kms outside of Lanquin. A girl named Becca, who I had met on the bus to Guatemala, and I headed out to go caving near the pools. So we piled into a pickup truck and made for the hills. We did however make one quick stop. With that stop we picked up 20+ local Mayan men, women and children who were on their way in that direction as well. I don't know if Ive seen or even knew that many people could fit in a truck. We made out way out doing the Guatemalan bump and grind, picking up and dropping off along the way.
The cave tour we did was mind blowing. We were given candles and followed our guide Carlos deeper and deeper into the cave, with the tiny wax candle as our only source of light. Wading our way through the pools inside the cave, I like many other times n the trip did so with a stupid grin on my face, and the occasional burst of laughter as I thought about what I was doing. Climbing a series of ladders, holding our little candles, and then eventually swimming through some of the deeper pools we took a break. Carlos told us to put out our lights. At first a little hesitant and not sure if he was joking I followed along. It became a totally new feeling. Absolutely no light what so ever. It was the same with your eyes open and shut. As simple as it sounds this fascinated me. Eventually we relighted the candles and continued on until we reached the end with a small spot to jump off the wall into the pool about 3m's below. Making our way back to the entrance we had to narrowly fit through a crack in the rock and drop into a pool below. This trip was incredible, and well worth it.
After making my way back to Lanquin I had to leave for Coban again, because with the town being so small they don't have an ATM to withdraw money, and not knowing this before I only had enough to make it back to Coban. So with that I bid farewell to this dreamy little Mayan town, and the Q'eqchi' language and left for the slightly bigger Coban in hopes of catching a shuttle to Antigua in the morning.
The next day I caught a shuttle to Antigua for the Semana Santa festival which I will write more about in the next post. The place is crazy right now, with tonnes of people all over the place and a real festive atmosphere. I will be sure to let you know all about it in the next post.
Thanks for reading
Bye for now
Mike
Arriving in Guatemala, I had planned on going to Antigua for the day, in order to set up a shuttle to Coban in the Guatemalan highlands, but a last minute decision let me directly to Coban, saving some time and hassle. A beautiful little town away in the hills was to be my stop for the night until I continued onto Lanquin, about 2 hours away.
The next day I made my way to the bus to Lanquin and settled in for what was to be another tightly packed bus ride, through the highlands. However, this ride was a little more eventful than most. While waiting for the bus to depart, some Guatemalan youth came of the bus. Turns out they were medical students from the city heading to Lanquin for a bit of a vacation. They were great. Full of energy and wanting to have some fun. They really wanted to help me out with my Spanish, and one of them spoke incredible English. Another Guatemalan that I have met that has learned the language from TV and music. Incredible. So we played games and just joked around for the rest of the trip.
When we arrived in Lanquin, I was just planning on heading to the hostel and relaxing for the day, but they invited me to go to the Semuc Champey pools with them. Though hesitant about going because I was rather tired and wanted to rest in this picturesque Mayan town, I decided against it and headed off with them. A great decision and one I don't regret. Semuc Champey is a series of limestone pools with the most incredible water, and landscape. It is located in a river valley with hills towering overhead. We spent the afternoon, relaxing, and going from pool to pool, enjoying the refreshingly cool water. There was also a lookout located up the side of one of the hills, which offered an breath taking view of the area. Though arriving there hot and sweaty we were blow away by the beauty of the area. The day turned out to be so much fun and I am glad I didn't let myself sit it out. They were a lot of fun, friendly, and full of energy. It makes travel a lot more fun when you get to experience it with locals, who are discovering part of their country for the first time.
The next day I made my way back to Semuc Champey which is located 10 kms outside of Lanquin. A girl named Becca, who I had met on the bus to Guatemala, and I headed out to go caving near the pools. So we piled into a pickup truck and made for the hills. We did however make one quick stop. With that stop we picked up 20+ local Mayan men, women and children who were on their way in that direction as well. I don't know if Ive seen or even knew that many people could fit in a truck. We made out way out doing the Guatemalan bump and grind, picking up and dropping off along the way.
The cave tour we did was mind blowing. We were given candles and followed our guide Carlos deeper and deeper into the cave, with the tiny wax candle as our only source of light. Wading our way through the pools inside the cave, I like many other times n the trip did so with a stupid grin on my face, and the occasional burst of laughter as I thought about what I was doing. Climbing a series of ladders, holding our little candles, and then eventually swimming through some of the deeper pools we took a break. Carlos told us to put out our lights. At first a little hesitant and not sure if he was joking I followed along. It became a totally new feeling. Absolutely no light what so ever. It was the same with your eyes open and shut. As simple as it sounds this fascinated me. Eventually we relighted the candles and continued on until we reached the end with a small spot to jump off the wall into the pool about 3m's below. Making our way back to the entrance we had to narrowly fit through a crack in the rock and drop into a pool below. This trip was incredible, and well worth it.
After making my way back to Lanquin I had to leave for Coban again, because with the town being so small they don't have an ATM to withdraw money, and not knowing this before I only had enough to make it back to Coban. So with that I bid farewell to this dreamy little Mayan town, and the Q'eqchi' language and left for the slightly bigger Coban in hopes of catching a shuttle to Antigua in the morning.
The next day I caught a shuttle to Antigua for the Semana Santa festival which I will write more about in the next post. The place is crazy right now, with tonnes of people all over the place and a real festive atmosphere. I will be sure to let you know all about it in the next post.
Thanks for reading
Bye for now
Mike
Friday, January 22, 2010
The End of Guatemala
So this time tomorrow I will be on a bus headed for San Salvador, el Salvador, and then on to Nicaragua. My how the time has flown by. It was been so much fun here. Last week was pretty good. I went into Chimaltenango to visit the Discover students which was really nice to reconnect with them and see then at the start of the trip. Also was able to see some of the Guatemalan students from last year which was pretty cool to reconnect with them. While I was there i also had the chance to have lunch with the president of GBS, which was really nice to chat with him again and see how things have been going with him.
After that i went down to visit my host family from my weekends in Chimal. It was so nice to see them again and chat with them too. It neat to see how the kids have grown up. Just before we left the mom was about to have a baby but we weren't able to see it cause we left. So this time round I had the chance to see the new little baby April. All in all it was a great time in Chimal.
A quick point before I move on, if anyone has seen or heard from Ben that would be nice if you could let Kale and I know...we haven't seen him in 3 days. He left all his clothes and stuff and just took his passport and credit cards. Not sure whats going on, he has met a few shady people, but anyways I shall continue
The day after that we had a pretty decent earthquake. The 5.3 was located just of the coast and closer to the Salvadorian boarder, but we still definitely felt it. As far as I know there was no damage but it was probably the biggest one that i have felt since being down here.
Today also concludes our home stay here, as well as the Spanish classes. Its been really great learning more and more each day and getting to know the family and share some sweet experiences and laughter with them. I feel like I am a little more confident, and a little more capable to communicate.
It has been sweet to live with some of the people I did Discover with last year, and to have the Spanish over lap with them for the week. It was pretty cool to see them again and chat.
One other point, that I forgot to mention in my last blog was Kale and Ben had their first "chicken bus" experience. These are old American school buses painted really brightly, and they rip around the streets at break neck speeds, with the drivers maneuvering like they have got a 2004 Chevy Aveo (which is for sale by the way, talk to me if your interested) Hitting all the bumps they can and making you pray the moment you step on. I think that Ben put it the best way, Its like a roller coaster...but i think that this one is more a thrill cause death is much more plausible.
So as I said before tomorrow we will head off to Granada in Nicaragua for the next step of the trip. There we hope to continue the chilling and possibly hook up with a group from Canada that is down there on building project.
Sorry that this update wasn't all the most exciting but that's going to happen every now and then.
Bye for now
Mike
After that i went down to visit my host family from my weekends in Chimal. It was so nice to see them again and chat with them too. It neat to see how the kids have grown up. Just before we left the mom was about to have a baby but we weren't able to see it cause we left. So this time round I had the chance to see the new little baby April. All in all it was a great time in Chimal.
A quick point before I move on, if anyone has seen or heard from Ben that would be nice if you could let Kale and I know...we haven't seen him in 3 days. He left all his clothes and stuff and just took his passport and credit cards. Not sure whats going on, he has met a few shady people, but anyways I shall continue
The day after that we had a pretty decent earthquake. The 5.3 was located just of the coast and closer to the Salvadorian boarder, but we still definitely felt it. As far as I know there was no damage but it was probably the biggest one that i have felt since being down here.
Today also concludes our home stay here, as well as the Spanish classes. Its been really great learning more and more each day and getting to know the family and share some sweet experiences and laughter with them. I feel like I am a little more confident, and a little more capable to communicate.
It has been sweet to live with some of the people I did Discover with last year, and to have the Spanish over lap with them for the week. It was pretty cool to see them again and chat.
One other point, that I forgot to mention in my last blog was Kale and Ben had their first "chicken bus" experience. These are old American school buses painted really brightly, and they rip around the streets at break neck speeds, with the drivers maneuvering like they have got a 2004 Chevy Aveo (which is for sale by the way, talk to me if your interested) Hitting all the bumps they can and making you pray the moment you step on. I think that Ben put it the best way, Its like a roller coaster...but i think that this one is more a thrill cause death is much more plausible.
So as I said before tomorrow we will head off to Granada in Nicaragua for the next step of the trip. There we hope to continue the chilling and possibly hook up with a group from Canada that is down there on building project.
Sorry that this update wasn't all the most exciting but that's going to happen every now and then.
Bye for now
Mike
Sunday, January 17, 2010
A Guatemalan Experience Continues
This has been a great week in Antigua, but really I couldn't expect anything less from this place. I moved into another house this week with Ben and Kale because they had an opening there, and their meal times are a lot better cause of some sweet South Africans and also because there is a lot for forced Spanish conversation. I'm really glad that i made that move because i got to meet and get to know some of the coolest people around. These are three guys from S.A. who left stressful careers to travel the world and experience life to the fullest. One guy is a mechanical engineer for Boeing, another is a geologist in northern Ontario, and the third guy has a masters in micro biology, some very bright guys to say the least. they have been traveling by car all through Canada, and the States and are making their ways to Panama and ultimately Peru, rock climbing and kite boarding along the way. They taught me a lot and were really inspiring people, but it was great to get to know them while they were here.
A great experience from this week has been all the live music that we have been able to see. First we were able to see the Buena Vista Social Club at a small restaurant in town. They are a really famous jazz/salsa club from Cuba, and so one of the members came to Antigua and he was great! they also brought in a drum line style group that was also incredible to hear. That was a great night to relax and hear some of the best and liveliest music around.
Another night we saw a group that played Peruvian music. It was a little more chilled out than the salsa but it was still a great time and a fun experience.
This week has also been good for my Spanish. I'm starting to have things click, and I have some daily epiphanies when it comes to Spanish. It has been great not only because it is enabling me to speak a little better and understand a little more, but also because I have had the opportunity to learn a lot about the culture. One day I was talking with my Spanish teacher about the wars that have gone one in the region and it because a very emotional conversation that lasted about 45 minutes. I got some good insight into the history of the area and the scar that it has left on the people here. I'm pretty sure that she wants me to get married cause Ive been given a lot of marital advice, which has been entertaining though i have explained multiple times to her that I don't have a lady friend. But also just in general learning about the culture and various aspects of what is going on here has been rather insightful
We also had the chance to drop off the Gleaners soup (and yes Shelly I got some pics). Its was great to go back to the place and my how it has changed. It was good to see that the orphanage is coming along and that they are getting their feet under them. I'm glad I was able to provide a little bit of help courtesy of the gleaners to the kids there. It was a good day to relax and chill with the kids and see the end part of the gleaners soup process.
Finally, we finished off this week with a trip to Volcan de Pacaya, which is one of 3 active volcanoes in Guatemala. When we started out assent it was quite cloudy and I thought that we would be disappointed and not be able to see the great views. Thankfully the clouds cleared and gave us a great vista of what was around and we some some lava roll down the hill. It was beautiful, and this year I was able to go a lot higher than we did last year, pretty close to the cone. That was such a good experience that was a lot of fun and a great way to end the week.
Today I am going to Chimal to see the Discover student who arrived yesterday. This week is going to consist of some more Spanish and finalizing our next step of the trip to Nicaragua.
Hope you have enjoyed and sorry for the long update.
Bye for now
Mike (who is quite warm in Guatemala!)
A great experience from this week has been all the live music that we have been able to see. First we were able to see the Buena Vista Social Club at a small restaurant in town. They are a really famous jazz/salsa club from Cuba, and so one of the members came to Antigua and he was great! they also brought in a drum line style group that was also incredible to hear. That was a great night to relax and hear some of the best and liveliest music around.
Another night we saw a group that played Peruvian music. It was a little more chilled out than the salsa but it was still a great time and a fun experience.
This week has also been good for my Spanish. I'm starting to have things click, and I have some daily epiphanies when it comes to Spanish. It has been great not only because it is enabling me to speak a little better and understand a little more, but also because I have had the opportunity to learn a lot about the culture. One day I was talking with my Spanish teacher about the wars that have gone one in the region and it because a very emotional conversation that lasted about 45 minutes. I got some good insight into the history of the area and the scar that it has left on the people here. I'm pretty sure that she wants me to get married cause Ive been given a lot of marital advice, which has been entertaining though i have explained multiple times to her that I don't have a lady friend. But also just in general learning about the culture and various aspects of what is going on here has been rather insightful
We also had the chance to drop off the Gleaners soup (and yes Shelly I got some pics). Its was great to go back to the place and my how it has changed. It was good to see that the orphanage is coming along and that they are getting their feet under them. I'm glad I was able to provide a little bit of help courtesy of the gleaners to the kids there. It was a good day to relax and chill with the kids and see the end part of the gleaners soup process.
Finally, we finished off this week with a trip to Volcan de Pacaya, which is one of 3 active volcanoes in Guatemala. When we started out assent it was quite cloudy and I thought that we would be disappointed and not be able to see the great views. Thankfully the clouds cleared and gave us a great vista of what was around and we some some lava roll down the hill. It was beautiful, and this year I was able to go a lot higher than we did last year, pretty close to the cone. That was such a good experience that was a lot of fun and a great way to end the week.
Today I am going to Chimal to see the Discover student who arrived yesterday. This week is going to consist of some more Spanish and finalizing our next step of the trip to Nicaragua.
Hope you have enjoyed and sorry for the long update.
Bye for now
Mike (who is quite warm in Guatemala!)
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Beginning of Something Great
Hey all
Man o man, life is good. I am loving it down here for the second time around. It has been great to see the place again and wander around in the beauty of the colonial city. It has been great to have Ben and Kale down here and so see them enjoy the place as much as I did and it helps me to value this experience this so much more.
We made it hear safely after a day of travel, and then were picked up at the airport by our Spanish teacher. It was so sweet to talk to him and get the chance to translate for Ben and Kale...it was surprising how much that I could remember, and exciting to be able to help others out.
The classes have been good. I'm learning and relearning a lot. I think that for Ben and Kale then are having a good time with the Spanish, though finding it a bit of a challenge, which most people do at the beginning.
It has been great living with our Spanish families. Ben and kale live with the school director and I'm next door with a different family. It has been great to speak and learn about the families and some more of the culture while we are down here.
Its a lot different experience than Discover because all the trip is dependent on our planning, but I think that make it a lot of fun.
Ben and Kale had their first time at the market and bought some ponchos. It was pretty interesting to watch them go through that for the first time with the haggling and the ridiculous prices that people start with and where you can get them down too....for example they started at Q225 and ended at Q50...a bit of a difference
It has been so great to meet people from all over the world with the same mind set and goals as you. So far we have met people from England, South Africa, China, Japan, the States, Korea, just to name a few...
There are some great people here.
I want travel to be an integral part of my life and I am enjoying what I am doing so much, this place is great, the people are great, this experience is great.
Well that is all for now, I hope that you enjoyed it
Talk to you later and I hope to hear from some of you.
Bye for now.
Mike
Man o man, life is good. I am loving it down here for the second time around. It has been great to see the place again and wander around in the beauty of the colonial city. It has been great to have Ben and Kale down here and so see them enjoy the place as much as I did and it helps me to value this experience this so much more.
We made it hear safely after a day of travel, and then were picked up at the airport by our Spanish teacher. It was so sweet to talk to him and get the chance to translate for Ben and Kale...it was surprising how much that I could remember, and exciting to be able to help others out.
The classes have been good. I'm learning and relearning a lot. I think that for Ben and Kale then are having a good time with the Spanish, though finding it a bit of a challenge, which most people do at the beginning.
It has been great living with our Spanish families. Ben and kale live with the school director and I'm next door with a different family. It has been great to speak and learn about the families and some more of the culture while we are down here.
Its a lot different experience than Discover because all the trip is dependent on our planning, but I think that make it a lot of fun.
Ben and Kale had their first time at the market and bought some ponchos. It was pretty interesting to watch them go through that for the first time with the haggling and the ridiculous prices that people start with and where you can get them down too....for example they started at Q225 and ended at Q50...a bit of a difference
It has been so great to meet people from all over the world with the same mind set and goals as you. So far we have met people from England, South Africa, China, Japan, the States, Korea, just to name a few...
There are some great people here.
I want travel to be an integral part of my life and I am enjoying what I am doing so much, this place is great, the people are great, this experience is great.
Well that is all for now, I hope that you enjoyed it
Talk to you later and I hope to hear from some of you.
Bye for now.
Mike
Monday, January 4, 2010
Here We Go
So here is the promised Blog. A few months ago my friend Ben approached me about traveling, and I'm not one to say no to that. So we decided to head to Central America. About a month ago Kale was undecided about what he wanted to do, so we offered him a spot to come with us. He took it. As so here we are. Leaving for Central America on Wednesday, January 6th! So, 7 weeks with friends, and 7 weeks alone, and a whole lot of fun.
I will give you all a bit of an outline as to what I will be doing and where I will be going. I'm going to be traveling to Central America for 3 1/2 months with my friends Ben and Kale. We will be backpacking on this adventure, seeing and experiencing one of the greatest places on earth. After last year, I loved Central America so much that I thought it would be awesome to return and see more of the area. The planning for this trip has been a lot of fun and welcomed challenge. I am so glad to have the opportunity to go back. To begin our journey we are going to be flying into Guatemala City, and then leaving for the tourist town of Antigua. There we will be taking some Spanish school so that I can get a little more comfortable with my Spanish and so that Kale and Ben can learn a little bit of the language. During this time we will be living with families, which is such a good time and great experience.
When I was in Guatemala last time, I wanted to go to Tikal. Tikal is a beautiful site with some awesome Mayan Ruins, but that didn't materialize for me on the last trip. So this time I hope to get there, and don't worry, I will make sure to take pictures. Other than that Guatemala is going to be a good place for us to acclimatize Central American culture and experience some of what the place has to offer.
Hopefully I will be able to see some of the people I met and lived with last year. It would be great to see some old friends that meant a lot to me. Also, while I am down there the Discover group will be in the area. It will be nice to see them and catch up on things over a nice cup of coffee at Higher Grounds.
After our time in Guatemala we hope to move down to to Nicaragua. There we hope to meet up with a group from Canada who is building a school in a village down there. It will be nice to add some volunteer efforts to the trip as a value added piece of the trip. After our work with them we are open to explore more of Nicaragua. Following our time there we will head down to Costa Rica. Costa Rica should be a good time. I hope to take in a lot of the natural beauty that the country has to offer. Hopefully a chance to see the rain forest, and possibly give surfing a try, and enjoy the beautiful beaches the country has to offer. Again we are going to try and do some volunteer work with a youth centre outside of the capital, San Jose. After that is going to be Panama. At this point the only thing that I really want to see there is the Panama Canal. I'm sure that things will come up that we can do there, but that remains open ended for me. At this point I will probably end up alone, as Ben and Kale will be heading back to Guatemala City to return to Canada. From there I hope to get to Honduras, at which point i would like to see some more Mayan sites and such. However, this to is going to be an open area for me, and plan can easily change as I find things to do.After that I plan to return Antigua in Guatemala for the Semana Santa celebration. This is said to be the second largest Holy Week celebration out side if the Vatican City. So I thought this would be something sweet to see and experience. Following that I will return to Canada on the 13th of April. I'm sorry that this was such a long post but I wanted to give an outline as to what will be going on. I promise that the following posts will not be as long. I am going to try and update this blog giving you all some information on what is going on and the adventures that I'm going to have. I will try to do this at least once a week, but I cant make any promises due to the unknown access to the internet while I'm gone.
I hope that you will leave me comments or emails and read along as I go on the adventure of a lifetime.
Bye for now.
Mike
I will give you all a bit of an outline as to what I will be doing and where I will be going. I'm going to be traveling to Central America for 3 1/2 months with my friends Ben and Kale. We will be backpacking on this adventure, seeing and experiencing one of the greatest places on earth. After last year, I loved Central America so much that I thought it would be awesome to return and see more of the area. The planning for this trip has been a lot of fun and welcomed challenge. I am so glad to have the opportunity to go back. To begin our journey we are going to be flying into Guatemala City, and then leaving for the tourist town of Antigua. There we will be taking some Spanish school so that I can get a little more comfortable with my Spanish and so that Kale and Ben can learn a little bit of the language. During this time we will be living with families, which is such a good time and great experience.
When I was in Guatemala last time, I wanted to go to Tikal. Tikal is a beautiful site with some awesome Mayan Ruins, but that didn't materialize for me on the last trip. So this time I hope to get there, and don't worry, I will make sure to take pictures. Other than that Guatemala is going to be a good place for us to acclimatize Central American culture and experience some of what the place has to offer.
Hopefully I will be able to see some of the people I met and lived with last year. It would be great to see some old friends that meant a lot to me. Also, while I am down there the Discover group will be in the area. It will be nice to see them and catch up on things over a nice cup of coffee at Higher Grounds.
After our time in Guatemala we hope to move down to to Nicaragua. There we hope to meet up with a group from Canada who is building a school in a village down there. It will be nice to add some volunteer efforts to the trip as a value added piece of the trip. After our work with them we are open to explore more of Nicaragua. Following our time there we will head down to Costa Rica. Costa Rica should be a good time. I hope to take in a lot of the natural beauty that the country has to offer. Hopefully a chance to see the rain forest, and possibly give surfing a try, and enjoy the beautiful beaches the country has to offer. Again we are going to try and do some volunteer work with a youth centre outside of the capital, San Jose. After that is going to be Panama. At this point the only thing that I really want to see there is the Panama Canal. I'm sure that things will come up that we can do there, but that remains open ended for me. At this point I will probably end up alone, as Ben and Kale will be heading back to Guatemala City to return to Canada. From there I hope to get to Honduras, at which point i would like to see some more Mayan sites and such. However, this to is going to be an open area for me, and plan can easily change as I find things to do.After that I plan to return Antigua in Guatemala for the Semana Santa celebration. This is said to be the second largest Holy Week celebration out side if the Vatican City. So I thought this would be something sweet to see and experience. Following that I will return to Canada on the 13th of April. I'm sorry that this was such a long post but I wanted to give an outline as to what will be going on. I promise that the following posts will not be as long. I am going to try and update this blog giving you all some information on what is going on and the adventures that I'm going to have. I will try to do this at least once a week, but I cant make any promises due to the unknown access to the internet while I'm gone.
I hope that you will leave me comments or emails and read along as I go on the adventure of a lifetime.
Bye for now.
Mike
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