So we are now down to one girl and a guy in Central America, travelling separately. I just happened to run into Mark at the hostel I´m at about 10 minutes ago. It´s unfortunate how this trip turned out, but at the same I think it was unavoidable. I hope that doesn´t sound crass.
I thought I´d update this blog one more time before I leave for Costa Rica. So here´s a quick description of what I´ve been doing with myself. And may I add that travelling as a single female creates a lot of unwanted attention from men! How can I politely say ¨I´d rather continue reading than talk to you¨?
Managua: The capital of Nicarauga. Everything is barred up, indoors and outdoors. Outside, on top of the bars you will see barbed wire. I was warned by the hotel owner and about 4 people on the street that I shouldn´t be walking alone at dark. I was back inside by 6:30 p.m. and ready to move on. Streets are unmarked as is the case in many Central American cities. That makes wandering around, searching for a destination infuriating at times. And it kinda causes some insecurities. Gave in and ate at freaking Burger King after getting lost, misguided by the Lonely Planet, and ripped off by a cab driver. Love the breakfast sausage.
Granada: I returned to Granada for a second time because I liked it and the hostel so much. Plus there isn´t much about Costa Rica that appeals to me or fits into my budget. Enjoying the comfort of being in a familiar place, free DVDs and a 10 minute phone call to Canada, as well as the pool. Granada is unbearably hot. Ate the best veggie burger of my life. Some attractive, maintained colonial buildings, and a lot of dilapidated structures. Took a day trip to Lake Pacoyo, which reportedly has the cleanest water in Nicarauga. Lazed around in an inner tube on the crystal clear water for most of the day.
Isla de Ometepe: Two islands were formed into one after an eruption of one of the (2) volcanoes created an isthmus between them. Having difficulties pronouncing isthmus. Travelled with a couple from London (UK), Nick and Jo, and two others from the UK, Julian and Keith, as well as another Julia and a teacher named Dave. Spent two nights in Merida. Hiked to San Ramon. Viewed spectacular waterfall cascading down a steep rock face. Falls provide drinking water for town, so no swimming allowed. Decided to ignore the ¨watch for falling rocks¨sign and stood under the falls for a minute. Was hit in head by a falling rock. Enjoyed the gluttony of having a breakfast and dinner buffet served at the hotel. Lake swimming was amazing, although thoughts of the fresh water sharks crossed my mind. Nearby island was made home to monkeys rescued from captivity. Monkeys are now dependant on the owners since the island doesn´t have food. Roaming cows, pigs, chickens and horses everywhere. One night on Santo Domingo beach. White sand, not at all busy. Splurged for a nice hotel. Wished I had much more time here. Truly is ¨an ecological jewel¨. Took small ferry back to mainland. Luckily did not puke.
San Juan del Sur: Still travelling with the group, minus Dave and other Julia. Formerly a town visited by rich Nicaraugans and few surfers. Now being developed by rich Nicaraugans, visited by many Gringos. Subway was put in town 8 months ago. A 20 story hotel was just approved for construction. Other than that, the beach was good, water cool (Pacific) and salty so floating was not an issue. Visited nearby Playa Majagual and Maderas. Gorgeous area. Wish I was a geologist so I could describe the cliffs and eroded rocks surrounding the shore. Accomodations were pricey, the budget place was booked, so it became a day trip. Splurged and bought shrimp and tried some lobster. Both were incredible. Not much to eat but seafood.
And here I am in Granada. The trip to San Jose is about 8 hours long, so I plan to leave early tomorrow morning for the big city. Start volunteering on the 23rd.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Friday, April 6, 2007
The best hostel in Honduras?
We haven´t talked about the hostel we´re staying at in Omoa yet - Roli´s Place. It definitely deserves a mention.
In the Lonely Planet guide is it touted as the best hostel in Honduras, or something along those lines. It seems that this praise has gone straight to Roli´s head.
After dropping our bags off in the room it was necessary to walk around the place to read the signs posted around, some with kinda contradictory rules. There are rules for everything.
My favorite sign is basically an introduction to Roli. He lists of all of the wonderful things he is doing to keep the hostel as the best in Honduras. His job is to keep the place ¨extra special¨, and while doing his work he does not have time to answer outlandish questions from his guests! Apparently every night as he puts out the mosquito coils for us he is bombarded with questions such as: ¨you must be Roli?¨, ¨where is the bus to bla, bla, blah?¨, ¨do you know where I can find a decent restaurant?¨ and so on.
All questions are to be directed to Nellya - that's what she is paid for! He makes a comment about how people ignore her because she doesn't speak English, and because she looks young. Is that possibly a generalization?
And by the way, he hasn't been doing his job with the mosquito coils - I counted over 100 bites below my knees. I refuse to use the DEET spray I brought with me unless I'm in an area that's puts me at risk for malaria. Anyway...
So the highlight of this story is right here: this one traveller was staying at Roli's for a couple nights and then decided to camp out on the beach. He came by one night with a guest who stopped in to get something from the room. He was there for about 30 seconds before Roli came out, accused him of abusing his hospitality, hit him with a flashlight, grabbed his arm and pulled him off the property. I hung out with this guy - he was nowhere close to being a nuisance.
I should've just copied that sign out for you guys. Honestly, it cracks me up every time I look at it.
- Julia
In the Lonely Planet guide is it touted as the best hostel in Honduras, or something along those lines. It seems that this praise has gone straight to Roli´s head.
After dropping our bags off in the room it was necessary to walk around the place to read the signs posted around, some with kinda contradictory rules. There are rules for everything.
My favorite sign is basically an introduction to Roli. He lists of all of the wonderful things he is doing to keep the hostel as the best in Honduras. His job is to keep the place ¨extra special¨, and while doing his work he does not have time to answer outlandish questions from his guests! Apparently every night as he puts out the mosquito coils for us he is bombarded with questions such as: ¨you must be Roli?¨, ¨where is the bus to bla, bla, blah?¨, ¨do you know where I can find a decent restaurant?¨ and so on.
All questions are to be directed to Nellya - that's what she is paid for! He makes a comment about how people ignore her because she doesn't speak English, and because she looks young. Is that possibly a generalization?
And by the way, he hasn't been doing his job with the mosquito coils - I counted over 100 bites below my knees. I refuse to use the DEET spray I brought with me unless I'm in an area that's puts me at risk for malaria. Anyway...
So the highlight of this story is right here: this one traveller was staying at Roli's for a couple nights and then decided to camp out on the beach. He came by one night with a guest who stopped in to get something from the room. He was there for about 30 seconds before Roli came out, accused him of abusing his hospitality, hit him with a flashlight, grabbed his arm and pulled him off the property. I hung out with this guy - he was nowhere close to being a nuisance.
I should've just copied that sign out for you guys. Honestly, it cracks me up every time I look at it.
- Julia
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Jelly Fish
I was going to wait for Julia to do this blog, but it is hot outside and I am looking for reasons to stay in the blissful A/C. So here I am.
We have been in Omoa for...I dunno, 6 days maybe and I pretty much love it here. I have yet to determine if it is the place or the fact that I am once again on the Caribbean sea. I suspect that any town on the Caribbean coast I would be in love with, but that is neither here nor there. Today I am going to talk to you about the sea itself, not my love of it.
The first two days were pure bliss in the warm blue water of the sea. Julia and I would go to the beach simply to float in the water and let the sun beat down on us. The sea is particularly thrilling to Julia as the poor girl is cursed with the inability to float in fresh water. Seeing her newly bouyant body in the water is peculiar at times as she has yet to master the art of relaxation and I can often here her momentary panic and feel the usually calm water ripple with her jerky and uncoordinated movements as she struggles to remain afloat. Forgetting of course that she was just floating a brief moment ago and there is no need for the panic...but I digress.
We had just gotten used to our daily water routine of doing virtually nothing but play around in the salty bathwater when it was brought to our visual attention that we had some friends in the form of jelly fish. Not one or two, because of course jelly fish swim in schools, but a dozen of them or so in the immediate vicinity of us. I dont know how many there were in total as for the duration of their visit (about 2 days) we kept our frolicking to the warm shallow waters instead of the cool depths just slightly farther out. It was interesting the watch these globes of jelli (say it like its spelled. Its funnier that way. Jell-I) float about the water without a direction or purpose. However no matter where we went they seemed highly attracted to us and would change course to better follow our retreat. They didnt effect our stay in the sea too much however and for the couple days they were there we made a game of finding them and identifying the different colours. People standing on the peer and gazing into the water had a better view and could see just how many there were, but we felt that our swimming would stop entirely if we knew the truth and we continued to delude ourselves that there were only a bakers dozen or so. I should also mention that Julia had a momentary brush with death (as she likes to think of it) as a jelly fish collided with her clothed side and they made quick but definite contact with each other. Wow.
On day two of our visitation to the Jelli we discovered that there was a poor deceased soul floating in the water. The underneath part had been removed (I dont know how or why) and just the jelly bowl was floating along in the water. Julia picked it up and placed it on her head (what is the name for the Jewish hat thingy? It looked a lil like that). We spent a few minutes touching it and feeling the jelly. It is a rather thick membrane for those that dont know. And while it is soft, and in fact jelly-like the membrane is about an inch to an inch and a half thick making it difficult to penetrate without a sharp object on hand. Julia tired of the bowl quickly and left me to play with it. We had already filled it with water and worn it on our heads...there didnt seem to be much else to do with it, so I hurled it at Julia. It did not hit her, but she was vex nonetheless and picked it up to launch at me. This lasted for a few moments until we realized that we were essentially throwing a dead carcass at each other, and the playing stopped.
We searched but could not find one jelly fish. Our Jelli friends had left to go haunt another beach town Im sure and Julia and I have gone back to our daily frolicking. They will be missed.
Janelle
We have been in Omoa for...I dunno, 6 days maybe and I pretty much love it here. I have yet to determine if it is the place or the fact that I am once again on the Caribbean sea. I suspect that any town on the Caribbean coast I would be in love with, but that is neither here nor there. Today I am going to talk to you about the sea itself, not my love of it.
The first two days were pure bliss in the warm blue water of the sea. Julia and I would go to the beach simply to float in the water and let the sun beat down on us. The sea is particularly thrilling to Julia as the poor girl is cursed with the inability to float in fresh water. Seeing her newly bouyant body in the water is peculiar at times as she has yet to master the art of relaxation and I can often here her momentary panic and feel the usually calm water ripple with her jerky and uncoordinated movements as she struggles to remain afloat. Forgetting of course that she was just floating a brief moment ago and there is no need for the panic...but I digress.
We had just gotten used to our daily water routine of doing virtually nothing but play around in the salty bathwater when it was brought to our visual attention that we had some friends in the form of jelly fish. Not one or two, because of course jelly fish swim in schools, but a dozen of them or so in the immediate vicinity of us. I dont know how many there were in total as for the duration of their visit (about 2 days) we kept our frolicking to the warm shallow waters instead of the cool depths just slightly farther out. It was interesting the watch these globes of jelli (say it like its spelled. Its funnier that way. Jell-I) float about the water without a direction or purpose. However no matter where we went they seemed highly attracted to us and would change course to better follow our retreat. They didnt effect our stay in the sea too much however and for the couple days they were there we made a game of finding them and identifying the different colours. People standing on the peer and gazing into the water had a better view and could see just how many there were, but we felt that our swimming would stop entirely if we knew the truth and we continued to delude ourselves that there were only a bakers dozen or so. I should also mention that Julia had a momentary brush with death (as she likes to think of it) as a jelly fish collided with her clothed side and they made quick but definite contact with each other. Wow.
On day two of our visitation to the Jelli we discovered that there was a poor deceased soul floating in the water. The underneath part had been removed (I dont know how or why) and just the jelly bowl was floating along in the water. Julia picked it up and placed it on her head (what is the name for the Jewish hat thingy? It looked a lil like that). We spent a few minutes touching it and feeling the jelly. It is a rather thick membrane for those that dont know. And while it is soft, and in fact jelly-like the membrane is about an inch to an inch and a half thick making it difficult to penetrate without a sharp object on hand. Julia tired of the bowl quickly and left me to play with it. We had already filled it with water and worn it on our heads...there didnt seem to be much else to do with it, so I hurled it at Julia. It did not hit her, but she was vex nonetheless and picked it up to launch at me. This lasted for a few moments until we realized that we were essentially throwing a dead carcass at each other, and the playing stopped.
We searched but could not find one jelly fish. Our Jelli friends had left to go haunt another beach town Im sure and Julia and I have gone back to our daily frolicking. They will be missed.
Janelle
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Gracias, Honduras. Parque Celaque
Sooo Julia and I went to Parque Celaque to give the hiking thing another try for me. There is a beautiful cloud forest and this National park has the highest peak in Honduras. We probably should have started with something smaller, but whatever.
Thank God we talked to a couple the day before leaving who had just done and told us it was very steep. It was in fact a vertical incline to the camp we were going to try to get to. We decided based on their story to camp at the visitors center at the base of the trail.
Our driver picked us up at 7am to take us to the park. We felt all local and cool sitting in the back of a pickup cruising in the coutryside, and as soon I get around to posting more pics, you will see how gorgeous our surrounding were. ANYWAY. We dropped our pack off at the visitors center which was a 45 minute uphill walk from the gate (tiring) and started our trek the cloud forest. Now, while I did much better this time, and last much longer physically, at around the same altitude as volcan Pacaya I began to feel dizzy and light headed, and couldnt continue. I think I have a real problem with altitude. It also didnt help that my allergies decided to kick me in the face while we were up there.
Julia wants me to tell you that she did not make me walk down alone, she came with me even when I told her she could go on. Good pal.
Back at the bottom we went to Doña Alejandrinas for dinner. This woman has been living on the mountain since before it was a National park. She has been there for over 54 years and can cook better than any restaurant we have been in since starting this trip. She served up two types of tortillas, black beans, refried beans, potatoes, rice with vegetables and the best damned coffee. Mmmm!
She and her son live in a wood shack with no electricity or running water. They cook over a woodfire, and by all North American standards, are literally dirt poor. Being there and eating two meals courtesy of them we were transported to a time long since forgotten. Eating her simple and delicious dinner over candlelight we could hear Pumas meowing in the distance, fireflies dancing and the dogs waited patiently at our feet for scraps. Peace.
Doña Alejandrina was a wonderfully sweet old woman, with sparkling eyes and big smiles and she and her son lived simply and most importantly they are very happy. I have to say that I was envious and humbled by their simple existance and wished that I could speak better Spanish because I am sure that woman had so much to teach. I wished that I could go back and sit with her. I tried to go and take her picture before we left but she had left for the woods, and I was unable to. :(
Now the scary part...We spent the night in the camp that by my account was infested with spiders. Julia may disagree but she is not as observant to these things as I. There were these rather large brown ones that had sharp looking legs and glittery eyes. So whenever I scoured the room with my headlamp the light would reflect off of their eyes and I could see them all glittering back at me. I had visions of them crawling on me in my sleep and biting my sweet, tender flesh...I really wanted to vomit and did not sleep very well at all that night.
All in all, it was really unique and educational experience, and certainly one that I will not forget!
Thank God we talked to a couple the day before leaving who had just done and told us it was very steep. It was in fact a vertical incline to the camp we were going to try to get to. We decided based on their story to camp at the visitors center at the base of the trail.
Our driver picked us up at 7am to take us to the park. We felt all local and cool sitting in the back of a pickup cruising in the coutryside, and as soon I get around to posting more pics, you will see how gorgeous our surrounding were. ANYWAY. We dropped our pack off at the visitors center which was a 45 minute uphill walk from the gate (tiring) and started our trek the cloud forest. Now, while I did much better this time, and last much longer physically, at around the same altitude as volcan Pacaya I began to feel dizzy and light headed, and couldnt continue. I think I have a real problem with altitude. It also didnt help that my allergies decided to kick me in the face while we were up there.
Julia wants me to tell you that she did not make me walk down alone, she came with me even when I told her she could go on. Good pal.
Back at the bottom we went to Doña Alejandrinas for dinner. This woman has been living on the mountain since before it was a National park. She has been there for over 54 years and can cook better than any restaurant we have been in since starting this trip. She served up two types of tortillas, black beans, refried beans, potatoes, rice with vegetables and the best damned coffee. Mmmm!
She and her son live in a wood shack with no electricity or running water. They cook over a woodfire, and by all North American standards, are literally dirt poor. Being there and eating two meals courtesy of them we were transported to a time long since forgotten. Eating her simple and delicious dinner over candlelight we could hear Pumas meowing in the distance, fireflies dancing and the dogs waited patiently at our feet for scraps. Peace.
Doña Alejandrina was a wonderfully sweet old woman, with sparkling eyes and big smiles and she and her son lived simply and most importantly they are very happy. I have to say that I was envious and humbled by their simple existance and wished that I could speak better Spanish because I am sure that woman had so much to teach. I wished that I could go back and sit with her. I tried to go and take her picture before we left but she had left for the woods, and I was unable to. :(
Now the scary part...We spent the night in the camp that by my account was infested with spiders. Julia may disagree but she is not as observant to these things as I. There were these rather large brown ones that had sharp looking legs and glittery eyes. So whenever I scoured the room with my headlamp the light would reflect off of their eyes and I could see them all glittering back at me. I had visions of them crawling on me in my sleep and biting my sweet, tender flesh...I really wanted to vomit and did not sleep very well at all that night.
All in all, it was really unique and educational experience, and certainly one that I will not forget!
Gracias, Honduras. The hot springs
When we first arrived to Gracias, I was ready to start crying. From first appearance it is a shit town, with nothing to do, and no where to go, and the locals couldnt even be bothered to smile at us. Not at all what the guide book made us think when we would find. However, this firt impression did turn out to be inaccurate. Good.
We realized soon in that the reason for the locals not being willing to help us was not because they had a thing against Gringos, but because they spoke a dialect of Spanish that we were not familiar with and thus communication was even more hindered. Super.
The town had dirt roads and no vegetarian options to speak of for restaurant selection with the exception of one place which was situated on a hill, and managed by a dutch lady who truly did not want to help us and guarded by rabid dogs who tried to take a chunk out of my leg one afternoon on the way to lunch. The town was cute though... in a way.
One afernoon Julia and I made the 4km trek to nearby hotspings ina an attempt to do some swimming. The hot springs, while still man made, were 1 million times better than the ones at Copan. There were multiple pools of varying depths and temperatures. We first chose the last one as it was unoccupied and was big enough to paddle around in.
I would say a good 3 minutes after getting in the pool two local men came over and tried to sweet talk us. They wanted to take us dancing and they wanted our email addresses (shcoker, they never did email us). The cute and VERY young looking one was keen on Julia, while the older one and unfortunetly much less attractive one was so keen on me he tried to pull me out of the pool and take me with him.
Sadly, as my man did not even speak a single word of English, and my Spanish is poor at best I could not even tell him that our relationship would never work as I have a distinct policy against dating anyone who spends more time looking at my breasts than my face or any other part of my body for that matter. I do have to give him props though as he paid a meriachi (sp) band to come over and serenade us, he even sang to me.
Julias manboy was also out of luck as well as she has a distinct policy against dating anyone who may not even be legal enough to vote. It was still flattering though, and they will remain in our thoughts for days to come I am sure.
Janelle
We realized soon in that the reason for the locals not being willing to help us was not because they had a thing against Gringos, but because they spoke a dialect of Spanish that we were not familiar with and thus communication was even more hindered. Super.
The town had dirt roads and no vegetarian options to speak of for restaurant selection with the exception of one place which was situated on a hill, and managed by a dutch lady who truly did not want to help us and guarded by rabid dogs who tried to take a chunk out of my leg one afternoon on the way to lunch. The town was cute though... in a way.
One afernoon Julia and I made the 4km trek to nearby hotspings ina an attempt to do some swimming. The hot springs, while still man made, were 1 million times better than the ones at Copan. There were multiple pools of varying depths and temperatures. We first chose the last one as it was unoccupied and was big enough to paddle around in.
I would say a good 3 minutes after getting in the pool two local men came over and tried to sweet talk us. They wanted to take us dancing and they wanted our email addresses (shcoker, they never did email us). The cute and VERY young looking one was keen on Julia, while the older one and unfortunetly much less attractive one was so keen on me he tried to pull me out of the pool and take me with him.
Sadly, as my man did not even speak a single word of English, and my Spanish is poor at best I could not even tell him that our relationship would never work as I have a distinct policy against dating anyone who spends more time looking at my breasts than my face or any other part of my body for that matter. I do have to give him props though as he paid a meriachi (sp) band to come over and serenade us, he even sang to me.
Julias manboy was also out of luck as well as she has a distinct policy against dating anyone who may not even be legal enough to vote. It was still flattering though, and they will remain in our thoughts for days to come I am sure.
Janelle
Monday, March 26, 2007
sneaky Canadians
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
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
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
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