Flight to Flores (tikal)

Our flight up to Flores was ... interesting and safe. The airport was fine except they took my leatherman at security and now we have nothing to cut up mango's for Alex. No matter how hard I begged and explained that the leatherman had been a gift from my dad they wouldn't give it back. I even fluttered my eyelashes and promised not to hurt anyone but had no success. Ugh! Guess I know what I will be getting again for Christmas, this is not the first leatherman I have lost this way. You would think I would learn!

A bus took us to our plan that seated about 80 people. I was shocked it was so big!

Boarding the plane from the tarmac.

View of central Guatemala from the plane window.

Up to Tikal

So when we woke up this morning it was, yes you guessed it, still raining. And just before we boarded the bus to head to Guate, the rain stopped and the sun came out! What luck! We did get to see some beautiful views of the lake from the bus windows and wow, it really could be the worlds most beautiful lake. I tried to take a few pictures from the bus but didn't get the best shots as I was sitting on the wrong side of the bus.

Shilrey and Sergio: anoche fuimos a Cirus Bar, que uds recomiendaran. La Pizza y la musica fue excellente! Muchas Gracias por la recommendcion.

Lake Atitlan in the morning right before we left.

View from the bus, please excuse the other tourist hand in the shot.

View of Lake Atitlan from the bus.

Picture of our fancy room. It was so great to have hot water until our last day there when due to rain the power was still out and the hotel was running on a generator and apparently that didn't create hot water.

Our ride to Guate via Antigua was uneventful but very beautiful! I couldn't take any pictures because the roads were so curvy and narrow that it was impossible to get a good shot. We are looking forward to the warmth of Tikal and are prepared for more rain, it is in a rain forest after all so I would assume it will likely rain.

It is still raining like crazy!!!

First of all, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to my dad and any other dad reading this. Hope is was a good one, dad, sorry I couldn't be there to celebrate it with you!

We are enjoying some super "chill" time (as Alex likes to put it) in Panajachel. It never stopped raining after it started yesterday afternoon. We slept in since I was not thrilled about spending an hour in a boat to get across the very rough lake to visit other towns to walk around in the extreme down pours. We did finally brave the rain around 10 and headed to the lake shore, after doing some very important shopping of course.

This town, just like all the rest in Guatemala, has a ton of stray dogs. The difference is that here the dogs are VERY well fed. They sit next to the "gringos" in the restaurants begging for food. I am usually really good about not feeding them but this one dog seems to find us no matter where we go. He had both lunch and dinner with us yesterday and found us again today for lunch. So I finally broke down and gave him some of my pizza crust. I know I shouldn't have but I just couldn't resist any longer.

Sweet puppy, I wish I could give him a bath and bring him home to play with the GDB puppies. But alas.

Alex and I took a self portrait while sitting in a lake side restaurant trying to warm up and dry off a bit with a cup of hot tea. The town lost power this morning due to the rain so they boiled our water over a fresh hot fire.

One of the lake front streets.

While we were enjoying our Tea we heard some singing and I looked out the restaurant window and saw a group of people being baptized in the lake. The lake is freezing cold, you would have to really believe to do a full body dunk in that ice cold water!

Entrance to our Hotel.

Tomorrow is a travel day. We are braving a long bus ride into Guatemala city and then catching a flight up to Flores to visit the ruins of Tikal for a few days. We are planning to stay in a remote town closer to the ruins and I don't know what the internet access will be like. Hopefully I will have some great pictures to post of Tikal soon! I am super excited to see them and hopefully some wildlife (monkeys, tucans, mecaws, and I am sure lots of gringo too).

Bye Bye Xela

We got off to a good start this morning and made it to Lake Atitlan by noon. The bus ride was easy and I didn't even get sick. It was hard to say goodbye to the Tuc's in Xela. They are a very kind family and we genuinely enjoyed living with them and can't thank them enough for their hospitality.

Panachal is a cute little town on the shore of lake Atitlan which is suppose to be the "world's most beautiful lake". It is in the top of a dormant volcano and is surrounded by three huge volcanoes. There are several other small towns around the lake that we plan to go visit tomorrow. We decided to splurge and stay at a "nice" hotel for the next two days ($50 a night). Its so nice to have real hot water and we even have a television, I feel like we are at a fancy resort.

View of Lake Atitlan from the bus on our way to Panachel (which is on the lake).

View of the lake from the shore of panachel right before a big rain storm. This lake is over 300m deep and is really the crater of the top of a volcano. Cool!

The courtyard of our Fancy hotel!

View of the pool! Yes, can you believe it, our hotel has a pool!!!!! And hot water!!

The main street in Panachel.

During lunch it started to rain so hard we couldn't even hear each other talk. So we decided to just keep working our way through the menu. Yumm!! It was the first full real meal I had eaten in over a week and man did it taste good! After two hours of waiting for it to stop raining we decided to take a Tuk-tuk back to the hotel, the tuk-tuks are just way to cute and fun to ride in!

During our lunch the afternoon downpours began and did not let up. It makes so much noise on the tin roofs that it is unbelievable! The streets start to become rivers when it rains this hard.

As we made our way through the menu we just had to try the banana milkshake and OMG was it amazing!!!

off to travel

Alex and I are head out tomorrow morning to see what we can see of this great country. We plan first to go to Atitlan for a few days to chill and kayak around the lake. Then we are planning to go to Tikal hopefully via plane and will return to Guat City via Rio Dulce and to Copan. I will blog and post pictures as time and electricity allows. I am sure we will have a great time but we are both beginning to really miss the comforts of the states.

Feliz Dia del Papa

Yesterday was fathers day here in Guatemala. To celebrate we ate cake and Alex did a shot of what appeared to be something like Guatemalan moonshine with our host dad. The people of xela celebrated by lighting off very loud fire crackers throughout the day starting at around 4am.

Alex and Sergio celebrate Dia del papa with a shot. Alex said it was like drinking rubbing alcohol.

On another note, it is still raining daily in Xela. I finally got my one pair of jeans washed and as we were walking home last night a truck passed us and sprayed me from head to toe with dirty water. All I could think of was, I feel like I am in a gum or mentos commercial. I am now suppose to smile and show my pack of gum. but ugh, my poor finally clean jeans! Oh well, what ya gonna do when the side walk is only 8 inches wide. Gotta love it!

Tomorrow is our last day of classes before we head out on 10 days of wandering/traveling through Guatemala. Here's hoping my tummy keeps getting better so I can eat along the way. I doubt many restaurants serve jello like my host mom here.

Aliens in my tummy???

After three days of levaquin (a very strong antibiotic) I am still unable to eat or keep most things down. I have decided that I have been infected with an alien that is growing slowing in my tummy and taking over my gut. I even went as far today as to see the Guatemalan doctor at our school. He listened to my story, examined me and then basically said he had no idea what was wrong with me since I don't have diarrhea. So either I am crazy or I have been possessed by aliens. Alex likes to think that I am crazy but my vote is for the aliens (and no mom, I am not pregnant, that I no for sure!). I am just really glad, after my experience in the clinic here, that I got my medical training in the states.

Alex wanted a hearty lunch today and one where he knew what he was eating. So we went to an "expensive" ($6 a plate) french restaurant. We ate here once last week and Alex had some outstanding pork. Today he ordered the same dish but with what he thought was a different sauce. When he got is plate and I got my tea, he looked at me and sheepishly asked.... rinones isn't the Spanish word for a type of sauce is it? So what did he get you ask? Pork kidneys! Yummy!! He actually really liked it.

Alex refused to smile for yet another picture of him eating but I just had to capture him enjoying his pork kidneys. He said they were well prepared because they didn't smell like urine. Who knew he was such an expert in cooking kidneys?

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this "unloved dog of central America". As is the case in many of the third world countries I have visited, I am amazed by the breeds of dog that rome the streets. In Peru there were tons of "wild" chows but this is the first one I have seen here. I just wanted to take it home with me and give it a bath.

You can see the Chow in him more in the picture below. It really was a beautiful dog, despite its manginess and the pictures don't do it justice.

Day four - revenge of the rice!

I am starting to feel a bit better today. Yippeee!!! That means that I actually ate a bit of eggs and beans with a glass of tea and kept it all down. Alex wanted me to post the two pictures below so like a good wife I posted them for him.

Alex demonstrates that our bathroom is under a stairwell and that every time he uses the toilet, he hits his head.

Are these not the ugliest pants you have ever seen?!? Alex is super proud of his especially ugly pants. He plans to wear them at Tour de Fat this coming fall. And of course he has been wearing them to dinner with our host family.

The day of the plastic bag

When I woke up on Saturday morning I didn't feel great but figured I was just tired. We caught a bus to the nearby town of Quiche and wow was it crowded. I was smashed - literally against the front windshield with the gearshift in my butt and the edge of the open door in my face, and I was thinking to myself, why again am I doing this.... By the time we got off I was feeling sick to my stomach but figured it was do to how hot the overcrowded bus was. I new something was seriously wrong when 20 minutes into the ride (again in a very crowded minibus) I started to ....aaaaa...hmmmm...how do I put it nicely.....I started begging Alex for a plastic bag.

By the time we arrived in Nebaj I thought I was going to die! I had a fever and was totally in a daze. We tried to walk around this entirely Mayan town but I almost passed out. At that point we climbed back into a hot as hell very crowded minibus for another 3 hours of hairpin turns and crazy driving. At that point I knew I shouldn't have tried to eat eggs for lunch! The next day (Sunday) was market day but because I felt so bad, I was in no mood to buy anything at the huge market, so I may not be coming home with many gifts. Sorry guys! Alex bought some really ugly pants though.

Below are what few pictures I have of Nebaj:

The church in the middle of the town.

Who knew they really existed, I just thought they did commercials.

Be Serious - could it really have been Bacillus-cereus

So...Alex and I had great plans for this past weekend....however, the key word in that phrase is HAD. We traveled up to Chichicastenago on Friday. We had great weather and the ride was much shorter than expected. Alex wanted a steak, he said he was tired of beans, can you imagine that? So off we went to a "nice", by Guatemalan standards, to dinner in chichi. The story continues below:

View from the bus on the way to Chichi.

Up into the mountains we headed.

More pretty countryside on the way to Chichi. You would not believe how sharp the hairpin turns are here, and one right after another. And they take them going 50 mph in an old school bus. At time it is downright scary!!!

So you may be wondering what this is a picture of. Well, when I say we take chicken buses, I mean it. This lady had a live chicken on her lap and what I presume is a dead turkey under her seat. What you are seeing here are the feathers of the turkey next to Alex's large gringo foot. I was trying to sneak a picture without being really obvious.

Lots of town around here have these cute little Tuk-tuks that function like taxis. I think they are so incredibly cute!

Our FANTASTIC steak dinner. Oh how I wish we wouldn't have!!! There is a type of bacteria call bacillus-cereus that lives in reheated rice. And Alex traded me his rice for my avocados. Well, apparently the rice was teaming with B-Cereus because I have been vomiting ever since!

I won't go into any great details but lets just say the symptoms didn't start until we were in route (3 hour) trip to Nebaj which UGH was a true adventure trying not to puke all over our excessively crowded minibus full of people.

Remember if you don't want to get sick, boil you water before you drink it.

Chichi has the largest Sunday market in all of Central America and indeed it was huge!! I loved the part where they sell their produce. Chicken or turkey or cat anyone?

I don't know what to say about this one...these are real live chicks and yes they are actually florescent colors. How strange!

Women selling goods at the market.

Hmm which type of beans should I eat today?

Little old lady carries very large bag on her head through very crowded narrow market streets. How does she do it?

The fruit looks sooooo good but the problem is that it is covered in bees and flies.

Mayan altar with sacrifices burning and a drunk guy passed out behind it.

I finally got a picture of a little girl.

Not a chicken bus but rather a chicken minibus. I hope it doesn't get too cold for them up there.

Plans

There are several new posts today so keep scrolling down for more Guatemalan excitement. Alex and I are heading out straight after class tomorrow to go explore the small indigenous villages in the mountains north of here. We are also going to the largest market in all of central America on Sunday! I can't wait!!! I hope Alex can keep me under control. They are suppose to have tons of great hand made crafts and stuff there. The point to this is that there will likely not be any new posts till Monday or Tuesday as my computer is staying behind. Talk to y'all when we get back in Xela next week.

stange things at the market

I needed a little "alone time" today so I wandered through the market while Alex studied. Instead of just smiling and looking I acted like a stupid gringo and asked everyone questions about their produce. I found that most people found my stupid questions funny and thought I was crazy for wanting to take pictures of their produce. People thinking I am crazy has never bothered me much, thank goodness, and once I got them laughing many people were more than glad to let me take their picture as long as I showed it to them. I often gave them a Qeutzal or two after I took there picture just for karma.

Warning: a few of the following pictures are kind of gross.

A cool veggie, whose name I can't remember. It is used for traditional medical remedies.

After explaining some strange veggie to me, she let me take her picture. I am amazed by how easily they carry stuff on their heads. She has a bag full of vegetables and stuff on her head and walked away down the street after the picture without it even wobbling.

This little girl asked me to take her picture but then was too shy to pose for it or look at it.

I just thought these onions looked really clean and white. Pristine white is not something you see very often here so the contrast was quite remarkable.

These ladies explained to me how to use the leaves they were selling to make tomallies. The lady on the left literally squealed with joy when she say her picture on the camera screen afterwards. I gave them a few Quetzals for being so nice to me and letting me take a picture.

Homemade sausage. Dad - look down in the right hand corner, that is homemade pork rinds!!! I hear it does wonders for your cholesterol. ; )

Pig feet and spine.....yumm!

Cow liver and brains - hmmm .... I don't think they will get me to eat this any time soon.

Believe it or not this is the "panza" of a cow, it is basically the skin and "stuff" that covers the abdomen. They said it was really yummy fried.

Dried sardines anyone?

This lady asked me to take pictures of her older sons (not pictured) and I said ok, but only if I could take a picture of her. The litte old ladies are so sweet here I just want to hug them and take them home with me.

I chatted with this nice lady for quit a while before she asked me if I was a doctor in the states. I asked her how she could tell that I was and she said it was just how I spoke my Spanish. Strange!

I took this picture of cabbage because they were twice the size of my head. Good gracious one head would make a lot of coleslaw!

This is one of my favorite pictures. They were all giggling over who was going to have their picture taken first.

This group of ladies were all in a tizzy about something and they were chatting so intently that they didn't notice me at all. I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and snap a picture.

What size would you like your carrots and green beans. There were four different sizes. I will pretend that I didn't seem them cutting them up with their very dirty hands.

The street I took out of the market. Lined with people from the countryside selling whatever they recently have grown.

This is one of my favorite dogs in the city. I pass her daily on my way to the market. She seems to be very old and rarely moves except to look up at me and try and give me a friendly look. Dogs have a hard life down here.

After wandering the market I was hungry so I treated myself (cost a whopping $5) to fried plantains and a lime juice lemonade while I did my homework and blogged.