Guatemala

So I'm a little behind in my posts... what else is new? Well, Guatemala, another drastic change in culture from Mexico and Belize, but it took two days to begin to feel it. My first days in Guatemala were spent at Tikal and It wasn't until I started driving south out of the National park that I really got to see Guatemala.


April 3 The border crossing between Belize and Guatemala was no trouble at all, the only thing that made it a little difficult was the heat and humidity of the day. I had to get the Moto sprayed with insecticide again but Guatemala did not require liability insurance like Mexico and Belize. The drive to Tikal was relatively short and I arrived at the Park entry at about 3pm. If you wait 'til 3:30p to buy your entry to the park it's good for the next day so this worked out perfectly. While waiting around I met Luci & Phillip from Czech republic who were traveling around Central America and using the public buses. Driving into Tikal National Park was pretty because you were surrounded by dense jungle. I arrived at the Jaguar Inn and unpacked quickly and was able to walk around the ruins until sunset. along the way in I saw a family of spider monkeys in the canopy and some Parrots. 

Sun setting on Temple 1 (viewed from temple 2)

April 4th Tikal: I got up super early today to do a Sunrise tour, You enter the park with a guide and hike through the site to Temple 4, climb up to the top of the temple at first light and watch the jungle come to life! It was a really cool experience listening to the Howler Monkeys, Brown Jays, Parrots and Oropendulas. We saw another family of spider monkeys, and this time we were above them as they worked their way through the trees. The guide pointed out a pair of Toucans, too. The sunrise itself was a total bust... the sky was completely overcast from horizon to horizon but it was still an amazing experience. After the sunrise I went back to the Inn for breakfast then explored the site until about noon. I gave up due to the heat, high 90’s and high humidity and got a cold beer and some fresh fruit for lunch. on the way out of the park I saw Zack & Caitlin (Texas) again, they wad come on a day tour from San Ignacio, Belize. On the sunrise tour I met a retired couple Steven & Jane from Wisconsin and later we had dinner together. They were just really nice folks and enjoyed talking with them. 

Temples 1,2 & 3 seen from Temple 4 (try to imagine a brilliant sunrise in the grey space above the trees...)

Saw a little family of Coatimundi running about just after sunrise. Most of my attempts to photograph the wild life have been total failures; my little point and shoot Fuji just doesn't do it well. 

5^th Tikal to Coban. Now I’m really in Guatemala. I shot some video along the route today because I really felt like I was seeing something new. The route south took me through many rural and agricultural villages. Today is Saturday and the markets were full of people. In each town the vendors booths crowd the roads and the streets were full of the locals doing their shopping. I crossed a river on a small barge type ferry that was powered by a little Yamaha outboard motor, 5 Quetzales. Saw groves and groves of date palms in a long flat valley and then into the mountains to arrive in Coban. There was a little parade/procession through town that had some of the roads closed which made navigating a little difficult but I found Hotel Posada de Carlos V and it turned out to be very nice. The markets were packed in the streets of coban and I had a little bit of time to go walk around and buy some little bananas for a snack. The staff at the hotel was really nice and even though they had no English I still got a nice meal and pleasant service from them. It was also nice to have some cooler weather after the high heat and humidity of the Yucatan Peninsula, Belize and Tikal.

Ferry across a river near Sayaxche

Had a delicious lunch at a little roadside Comedor; Sopa de Pollo, Tamales y hencho a mano, las tortillas de maiz

The local markets of Coban

6^th and 7^th Antigua: Antigua is a Spanish colonial city and it reminded me of Ajijic and San Miguel de Allende in mexico. I arrived on an important day of celebration “Quinto Domingo de Cuaresma – Procession de Jesus de la Caida” 5^th Sunday of Lent – the procession of the fallen Jesus/ Jesus of the fall??? Need a little assistance from Joyce here… there were beautiful patterns made from flower petals laid on the processional route and the city was full of people. I managed to get into town and found a great room at Hostel Antigua. I think half of Guatemala city was in Antigua for the celebration. Lots of men in purple robes. The plazas were full of people and there was a park full of food vendors where I got some great local cuisine for cheap. I stayed a second day to rest and to see more of Antigua without the throngs and had a nice day just walking around. I also found a little moto shop and they let me use their space to change the oil on the KLR and I bought a new pair of gloves at the Honda shop because I wore through the thumbs of my gloves on the way into Antigua. I also had some great Guatemalan coffee & took some photos of the ruins of churches.

Volcano de Agua emerged from the clouds for just a moment