One of the things I was looking forward to doing on this trip, was swimming in natural hot springs. I have, three times so far, but the first was definitely more appealing than the others, and most importantly - natural!
In Copan, we got a group of people together and sat on a bus for one hour to reach the hot springs 24 km out of town. The roads were winding, and the views spectacular - I love the landscape of Honduras - incredibly lush, rolling mountains, stray cows and horses roaming everywhere.
So we arrived at the hot springs to discover that what was accessible for $1 were two small spring-fed concrete pools (picture a public pool filled with warm water), and a river with run-off from the natural spring, that wasn't deep enough to cover your legs if you sat in it. It was more than disappointing, but we weren't going to pay the $10 (seriously, that is a lot of money for this trip) to access the natural springs, even if it came with a free massage.
Instead we decided to sneak in. I saw a path on one side of the river, guarded by a local wielding a machete. He agreed that the trail was public, and would lead to the ¨grande¨ hot springs. We followed the trail, which led where we expected it to, except the springs were guarded by security. He asked for our tickets, which we conveniently left by the other pools. He bought it, and we were in. Way too easy...
We made it down to a spring-fed jacuzzi (yeah, still not the natural wonder we were expecting, but it was a step up) and sat for about 30 seconds. The guard came down and told us that he'd meet us on the other side of the path after we were done, to see our tickets. We agreed, because we didn't know what else to say. He then told us the ticket should be yellow, and should have cost 10 times what we paid. ¨What?¨
So, we left the jacuzzi and followed the man up to a deck, where he called another guard who was to meet us and escort us back. I apologized and explained that the local dude told us the trail was public, and that we didn't know we needed a special ticket....his response? ¨lo siento? (I'm sorry?) yeah, right, no lo siento, you guys are sneaky! well, enjoy the view¨. Luckily he found it pretty amusing, and just asked to be careful when exiting the trail, so that other vistors wouldn't try to get up there too.
We are now in Gracias, Honduras, and one of the highlights of the area are hot springs an hour walk out of town. The place is a popular local hang-out, and basically another set of spring-fed pools. They were more appealing, given that the pools were made of rock, and were surrounded by trees. Janelle might have more to say about our adventures with the locals that day. For now, I have to go.
Actually, I will add one more thing. Janelle and I have parted ways with Mark, at least for the time being. We are now enjoying our vacation, conflict-free.
- Julia
Monday, March 26, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
white hot
We arrived in Antigua after a bit of a nerve wracking drive through the mountains. I think it has been mentioned already that drivers love to pass the vehicle in front, no matter if it means driving into oncoming traffic, or in this case, on a narrow mountain road. I also loved the wide switchback turns. It was a gamble each time - would there be another car in the opposing lane of traffic? Luckily for us, there never was.
So we made it to Antigua, and again were instantly surrounded by locals who tried to direct us to a hostel they were associated with. We found a pretty decent hostel with free breakfast! Yes, that is a wonderful bonus - fresh fruit, pastries and coffee, all for free!
We spent some time wandering around town, looking at church ruins and markets, and ate a lot of meals at an obviously Western-owned bagel restaurant. The ruins were pretty beautiful, if you´re attracted to dilapitated buildings as I am. There was an earthquake years ago which devastated the town, and some time after that the captial moved to Guatemala City, and so did the funding to cover the maintenance/reconstruction of the churches. Fine with me.
For me, the highlight of the trip to Antigua was climbing Volcan Pacaya. Janelle may disagree, as she had a panic attack about a quarter way up, and had to ride a horse the rest of the way. And then she kind of got stranded near the top, alone, for over an hour. By the way, you aren´t supposed to climb without a guide because of the risks for robbery and rape. But she was alright, and I will continue my story..
I won´t lie, it was an arduous climb. When we got off of the bus local kids offered us walking sticks, and it turned out to be an excellent companion. Even with that, we climbed on very ashy terrain, which has the texture of sand, right? So it was tough. Plus, as Mark pointed out to me, my teeth turned a lovely shade of brown from breathing in so much of it.
The trek was well worth it. We made it to a clearing near the top in time for the sunset - beautiful, albeit a bit cloudy. Pacaya is an active volcano, so we could see and hear the flowing lava. We hiked across a lava field - each step was crucial! The lava rock was sharp, and the morbid side of me couldn´t help but think what would happen if the group fell down like dominoes. That´d be a bloody mess. But again, we all made it to the top and back. By the time we started to descend the volcano, it was dark. I brought my trusty head lamp, but with the group of us constantly kicking up ash in the air, visibility was low.
It was definitely the most incredible experience on this trip so far. I didn´t get as close to the laval as others did, but it was still amazing. Areas of the field were white hot, and could be ignited if you tried to stir it up. The temperature went from cold to ridiculously hot in a matter of 25 feet. It was insane.
We are now in Honduras. We decided to bypass El Salvador, at least for now, because of the logistics of it all. Tomorrow we are heading to the Copan ruins. I´m sure someone else up update this soon, with a story about our hot springs adventure today. Hope you´re all having fun at home.
-Julia
So we made it to Antigua, and again were instantly surrounded by locals who tried to direct us to a hostel they were associated with. We found a pretty decent hostel with free breakfast! Yes, that is a wonderful bonus - fresh fruit, pastries and coffee, all for free!
We spent some time wandering around town, looking at church ruins and markets, and ate a lot of meals at an obviously Western-owned bagel restaurant. The ruins were pretty beautiful, if you´re attracted to dilapitated buildings as I am. There was an earthquake years ago which devastated the town, and some time after that the captial moved to Guatemala City, and so did the funding to cover the maintenance/reconstruction of the churches. Fine with me.
For me, the highlight of the trip to Antigua was climbing Volcan Pacaya. Janelle may disagree, as she had a panic attack about a quarter way up, and had to ride a horse the rest of the way. And then she kind of got stranded near the top, alone, for over an hour. By the way, you aren´t supposed to climb without a guide because of the risks for robbery and rape. But she was alright, and I will continue my story..
I won´t lie, it was an arduous climb. When we got off of the bus local kids offered us walking sticks, and it turned out to be an excellent companion. Even with that, we climbed on very ashy terrain, which has the texture of sand, right? So it was tough. Plus, as Mark pointed out to me, my teeth turned a lovely shade of brown from breathing in so much of it.
The trek was well worth it. We made it to a clearing near the top in time for the sunset - beautiful, albeit a bit cloudy. Pacaya is an active volcano, so we could see and hear the flowing lava. We hiked across a lava field - each step was crucial! The lava rock was sharp, and the morbid side of me couldn´t help but think what would happen if the group fell down like dominoes. That´d be a bloody mess. But again, we all made it to the top and back. By the time we started to descend the volcano, it was dark. I brought my trusty head lamp, but with the group of us constantly kicking up ash in the air, visibility was low.
It was definitely the most incredible experience on this trip so far. I didn´t get as close to the laval as others did, but it was still amazing. Areas of the field were white hot, and could be ignited if you tried to stir it up. The temperature went from cold to ridiculously hot in a matter of 25 feet. It was insane.
We are now in Honduras. We decided to bypass El Salvador, at least for now, because of the logistics of it all. Tomorrow we are heading to the Copan ruins. I´m sure someone else up update this soon, with a story about our hot springs adventure today. Hope you´re all having fun at home.
-Julia
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
San Pedro, Guatemala
Today I am going to tell you about San Pedro, Guatemala.
When we first got into the town all we could smell was the overpowering odour of olives, which we later found out to be coffee beans drying. We loved it on sight. The food there was great and it is the cheapest place to stay in all of Guatemala. We could get a Foccacia for 5Q (about $.75) and our room was 20Q ($2.50) per person/ night. Our hotel overlooked the lake and we had a dock which I used to tan. :) We found a few really delicious places to eat, and met some cool people.
Our first day there we were on a mission to find John, the friend of Michelle. We asked a random waiter at The Alegre pub, who knew immediatly of Michelle and John. He sent us over to Freedom where they informed us that John and Michelle had moved to Rick's place on San Marcos. It was like we had just missed her. :)
We met a lovely girl named Megan with whom we ended up spending lots of time with, talking about food and such. Poor girl must have thought we were ill because Julia and I were always in bed by 10:00 at the latest, and couldnt even manage to stay out and drink on St. Patty's Day.
The town was quite lovely, and Julia fell in love with a little blind street dog who cowered whenever she went near him. She spent quite a bit of time feeding this dog some leftover bread she had. My only complaint about this place was that to leave our road and go anywhere else in the town...like the bank, we had to go uphill. A tall hill that was at least on a 60 degree angle. Ugh!
Oh yeah, back to John. We took the boat to San Marcos and when we got there we ran into 2 girls who also lived at Rick's place who informed us that John would not be back until Saturday...we never did meet this John. He is like Polkaroo...
I think that is all I have to say about that. I have twisted Julia's arm into telling you about Antigua.
bye bye
Janelle
When we first got into the town all we could smell was the overpowering odour of olives, which we later found out to be coffee beans drying. We loved it on sight. The food there was great and it is the cheapest place to stay in all of Guatemala. We could get a Foccacia for 5Q (about $.75) and our room was 20Q ($2.50) per person/ night. Our hotel overlooked the lake and we had a dock which I used to tan. :) We found a few really delicious places to eat, and met some cool people.
Our first day there we were on a mission to find John, the friend of Michelle. We asked a random waiter at The Alegre pub, who knew immediatly of Michelle and John. He sent us over to Freedom where they informed us that John and Michelle had moved to Rick's place on San Marcos. It was like we had just missed her. :)
We met a lovely girl named Megan with whom we ended up spending lots of time with, talking about food and such. Poor girl must have thought we were ill because Julia and I were always in bed by 10:00 at the latest, and couldnt even manage to stay out and drink on St. Patty's Day.
The town was quite lovely, and Julia fell in love with a little blind street dog who cowered whenever she went near him. She spent quite a bit of time feeding this dog some leftover bread she had. My only complaint about this place was that to leave our road and go anywhere else in the town...like the bank, we had to go uphill. A tall hill that was at least on a 60 degree angle. Ugh!
Oh yeah, back to John. We took the boat to San Marcos and when we got there we ran into 2 girls who also lived at Rick's place who informed us that John would not be back until Saturday...we never did meet this John. He is like Polkaroo...
I think that is all I have to say about that. I have twisted Julia's arm into telling you about Antigua.
bye bye
Janelle
Yo
Hookay...
First of all yes we are homesick.
Secondly, my online album only allows like 100mb or something so I have created and used multiple accounts. Cheap I know, but I didnt have time to set up a pro account...get over it. Now I will be uploading to all of them as my limits permit. All the links will be posted so you will just have to check them all...I know, I know.
Janelle
First of all yes we are homesick.
Secondly, my online album only allows like 100mb or something so I have created and used multiple accounts. Cheap I know, but I didnt have time to set up a pro account...get over it. Now I will be uploading to all of them as my limits permit. All the links will be posted so you will just have to check them all...I know, I know.
Janelle
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Baby Fader
This is only trip related in that it is about what we are missing by not being back home.
The thing is, that while for us, life is on hold, for the rest of you, life goes on. WAIT FOR US, WE ARE COMING HOME IN JUNE I PROMISE!!! We will be missing birthdays, and anniversaries, and we have already missed one big giant event.
We don't have a lot of details yet, but my lovely Adrienne Fader had a beautiful baby girl on Monday (?) Both Julia and I are a little teary that we missed this event, and give both of them our love. We will update everyone (even if you dont know her) when we have more details.
Congratulations kiddo. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Janelle and Julia
The thing is, that while for us, life is on hold, for the rest of you, life goes on. WAIT FOR US, WE ARE COMING HOME IN JUNE I PROMISE!!! We will be missing birthdays, and anniversaries, and we have already missed one big giant event.
We don't have a lot of details yet, but my lovely Adrienne Fader had a beautiful baby girl on Monday (?) Both Julia and I are a little teary that we missed this event, and give both of them our love. We will update everyone (even if you dont know her) when we have more details.
Congratulations kiddo. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Janelle and Julia
Monday, March 12, 2007
Would you like to fly like a bird?
I have a quick story for you all. Yesterday we were looking for a place to eat, and I suggested this one Uruguayan restaurant which was recommended by the Lonely Planet guide. We were checking out the menu and just as we were finalizing our decision to eat there, a kid walked out of the restaurant and began puking on the street. So that place was out. We kind of stood there and watched the kid for a bit, and while that was going on a man approached us...
Him: Would you like to fly like a bird?
Us: What?
Him: Would you like to fly like a bird or a butterfly in the sky?
Us: What?
Him: Are you afraid of nature?
He then began to tell his story of how he came from Quebec to Guatemala to experience the wonders of nature. In the middle of his tale, we noticed that one of the many stray dogs started to lap up the fresh pile of regurgitated food. Good for it, for scoring a meal? Well, when Janelle noticed that happening she loudly stated that we had to get out of there before she was sick. The mother overheard and interpreted Janelle´s comment as disgust for her child´s illness, and looked as though she was going to come over and throttle her. So we left the scene, and never did find out exactly what the Quebecer was trying to sell us.
Julia
Him: Would you like to fly like a bird?
Us: What?
Him: Would you like to fly like a bird or a butterfly in the sky?
Us: What?
Him: Are you afraid of nature?
He then began to tell his story of how he came from Quebec to Guatemala to experience the wonders of nature. In the middle of his tale, we noticed that one of the many stray dogs started to lap up the fresh pile of regurgitated food. Good for it, for scoring a meal? Well, when Janelle noticed that happening she loudly stated that we had to get out of there before she was sick. The mother overheard and interpreted Janelle´s comment as disgust for her child´s illness, and looked as though she was going to come over and throttle her. So we left the scene, and never did find out exactly what the Quebecer was trying to sell us.
Julia
I had some time...
Today we went to the nature reserve in panajachel. It was uphill the whole way there and there was a brief moment where I was pretty sure that I wasnt going to make, but I obviously did as I am sitting here writing you this blog entry. My legs better look fantastic when I get home and after my bites and bruises fade.
Wandering around this town which known for its extensive market you get used to saying no thanks when you are approached a bajillion times by vendors on the street, but when it is a child that is trying to sell you something it much harder for me to say no; and when those same children ask me for money or food my heart breaks a little more every time. I wish I could just buy them all a meal or give them all some money, but I cant and it just kills me to say no to them. I knew that this would be hard, but I never expected to feel this bad about it. I just want to hug them all and tell them it will be ok. I am hoping that I will get a little more immune to them as the days pass otherwise I will not make it. They make me want to cry. :(
Did I tell you guys about the spider I saw in Rio Dulce? It was in my bathroom stall and was easily the size of my palm. Big, brown, and hairy, and as I told Megan this morning it appears that the bigger they are the faster they run, and they will only get bigger from here. I did good though, yall would be proud. I did my business (quickly) and didnt pass out with fear once. My eyes may have welled up momentarily with tears but it was soon over. Also Rio Dulce had BIG rats, they are gross little buggers. Not the cute-ish ones you see at the pet store.
Also, it does indeed get cool at night. I sleep with my thermal shirt on (thanks Blake) and my hoodie, AND a wool blanket. I should have brought my warm pink hoodie, but I didnt think it would be that cold. Even though Matthew who clearly knows more about this than I do told me too. Meh, when do I ever listen?
We have turned somewhat into day people while we are here. We are in bed my 10pm at the latest and usually up at around 730pm when we dont have to set the alarm. No partying for us. Its nice though. There are some places where you really dont want to be wandering around at night, and we like to take full advantage of the day. My tan is coming along nicely.
I think that is all for now...I was bored. :)
ps - I hear Shakira ALL the bloody time. They love her here. Shakira overkill.
Janelle
Wandering around this town which known for its extensive market you get used to saying no thanks when you are approached a bajillion times by vendors on the street, but when it is a child that is trying to sell you something it much harder for me to say no; and when those same children ask me for money or food my heart breaks a little more every time. I wish I could just buy them all a meal or give them all some money, but I cant and it just kills me to say no to them. I knew that this would be hard, but I never expected to feel this bad about it. I just want to hug them all and tell them it will be ok. I am hoping that I will get a little more immune to them as the days pass otherwise I will not make it. They make me want to cry. :(
Did I tell you guys about the spider I saw in Rio Dulce? It was in my bathroom stall and was easily the size of my palm. Big, brown, and hairy, and as I told Megan this morning it appears that the bigger they are the faster they run, and they will only get bigger from here. I did good though, yall would be proud. I did my business (quickly) and didnt pass out with fear once. My eyes may have welled up momentarily with tears but it was soon over. Also Rio Dulce had BIG rats, they are gross little buggers. Not the cute-ish ones you see at the pet store.
Also, it does indeed get cool at night. I sleep with my thermal shirt on (thanks Blake) and my hoodie, AND a wool blanket. I should have brought my warm pink hoodie, but I didnt think it would be that cold. Even though Matthew who clearly knows more about this than I do told me too. Meh, when do I ever listen?
We have turned somewhat into day people while we are here. We are in bed my 10pm at the latest and usually up at around 730pm when we dont have to set the alarm. No partying for us. Its nice though. There are some places where you really dont want to be wandering around at night, and we like to take full advantage of the day. My tan is coming along nicely.
I think that is all for now...I was bored. :)
ps - I hear Shakira ALL the bloody time. They love her here. Shakira overkill.
Janelle
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