The last time I updated my blog was during week 3 of my stay in Guatemala, but I've obviously been lazy since it's now week 10 and only one more week remains.
Time has really flown by, thanks to the help of a lot of friends. I've definitely been keeping busy studying Spanish, going out, and traveling quite a bit. Once I finally got situated here, I was able to make some great friends who I could share my experiences with.
Since my last blog, I have visited the colonial Spanish town of Antigua, climbed a giant volcano, relaxed in Xela's natural hot spring baths, visited the ancient Mayan civilization at Tikal, swam in the world's eighth natural wonder -- Semuc Champey, and traveled to Costa Rica and back....whew, that's a lot in just nine weeks!
So here it goes:
Towards the end of July, a few friends and I took a three-hour journey on Guatemala's world-renowned "chicken buses" (old U.S. school buses that have been donated to Guatemala) to the historic town of Antigua. Guatemala's ex-capital, this town was settled and built by the colonial Spaniards; it therefore has a completely different feel than the rest of Guatemala. Although beautiful and very interesting, it's also extremely touristy and very expensive...so we only stayed for one night. Antigua was once destroyed by a massive earthquake, which is the reason that the location of the nation's capital was moved to Guatemala City. While in Antigua, we were lucky enough to meet an American man who had moved to Guatemala to start a fair-trade coffee co-op right outside of Antigua. He arranged for us a private tour of one of the nearby coffee farms. We were led around by the farm's owner (a humble Guatemalan man) who showed us the entire process of planting, farming, roasting, and processing coffee. That was an experience I wasn't expecting to receive!
The next weekend I found myself packed and ready to climb up Central America's tallest peak, a volcano called Tajumulco. It was a two-day trip, one day to arrive to the top, one night of camping, and the next day spent descending the volcano. Tajumulco is one of Central America's most beautiful sites...from the peak you can clearly see the Pacific Ocean, Mexico, Xela (the town I live in), and as far east over Guatemala as your eyes can reach. It was an incredible hike, extremely cold and slightly drizzly. We were so high up that a majority of our time hiking and camping was spent in the clouds, therefore it was always cold and moist. We stopped and camped about 30 minutes short from the very peak of the volcano. The plan was to wake up at 3 a.m. in order to hike the last half-hour to the top to catch the sunrise. So we did! And it was one of the most unbelievable sunrises you could possibly imagine, but also unbelievably cold. Not to mention, it was really difficult to breath since we were about 14,000 ft (4,200 m) above sea level.
The following weekend I was off to the eastern coast of Guatemala on a three-day trip. We drove about eight hours east to the province of Petén, which is home to most of Guatemala's tropical rain forests. We arrived at our destination at about 4 a.m., at which time we got out of our van and hopped onto the back of a pick-up truck. Underneath a night sky filled with millions of stars (we were in the middle-of-no-where...I've never seen so many stars in my life), we road on the back of this pick-up for about an hour and fifteen minutes down a mountainous dirt road until we arrived at a river in the middle of the rainforest. We were about to go spelunking (cave diving) in a natural cave formed by this river! Using candles as our light source, we entered into a large cave filled with water. Obviously, the further in we went the deeper the water got, so we had to swim...with our candles. The water was freezing cold and the cave was pitch black, but it was one of the greatest things I've ever done in my life. I actually climbed up a waterfall (inside the cave) and then jumped from a ledge into a cold, deep pool of water (still inside the cave)...almost landed on a giant rock and almost died, but fortunately didn't!
After spelunking, we made our way over to Semuc Champey, a natural wonder in the middle of the rain forest. Semuc Champey is a series of above-ground pools that have naturally formed on top of a land bridge that covers a river. So, in the picture below, you see a bunch of aqua-colored pools...underneath that land is a fast-flowing river, so the pools are merely resting on a natural bridge that covers the river. We later got to swim in these pools, relaxing and bathing in natural river water under the Guatemalan sun while admiring the rain forest's beauty.
The next morning we were on our way to the Caribbean. We traveled to the very eastern coast of Guatemala, to the mouth of a large river that feeds into the Caribbean Sea, a river called Rio Dulce. We took an early morning boat ride around the river and along the coast, visiting a Caribbean town on the coast called Livingston. Interestingly, Guatemala is not just made up of indigenous Mayans and mixed Latinos, but also has its share of Garifuna -- a Afro-Caribbean culture and language that exists only in this area. Their language stems from an African tribal language mixed with Spanish, French, and English. The Garifuna live along Guatemala's eastern coast and in most of Belize. I was shocked (and felt ignorant) to learn that this whole other side to Guatemala existed, a side that I had never known of or heard about.
We later arrived at a little spot on the Caribbean coast called "The Seven Altars." Similar to Semuc Champey, these are a series of seven little ponds in the rainforest. The seventh and furthest pond is the deepest and there's even a little cliff that you can jump from. So we hiked along the river until we reached the seventh pool. And then, of course, I jumped.
The next day I was on my way south, heading through El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua into the beautiful country of Costa Rica...although it may have taken four whole days and several hours of waiting at each countries border. Anyways, I arrived safely in San Jose where I spent the night in a hostel, because the next morning I would be taking a bus towards the Pacific Ocean, to a deserted beach along the western coast called Playa Caletas.
I spent the next three weeks living on beach far from anything else. It was such natural, hidden beauty all around and it's a place that I miss very much. With the constant sound of waves crashing upon the shore and the symphony of chirping birds to accompany the sunrise each morning, who would want to leave a place like that? I was sad to leave, but I had to come back to Guatemala.
Time has really flown by, thanks to the help of a lot of friends. I've definitely been keeping busy studying Spanish, going out, and traveling quite a bit. Once I finally got situated here, I was able to make some great friends who I could share my experiences with.
Since my last blog, I have visited the colonial Spanish town of Antigua, climbed a giant volcano, relaxed in Xela's natural hot spring baths, visited the ancient Mayan civilization at Tikal, swam in the world's eighth natural wonder -- Semuc Champey, and traveled to Costa Rica and back....whew, that's a lot in just nine weeks!
So here it goes:
Towards the end of July, a few friends and I took a three-hour journey on Guatemala's world-renowned "chicken buses" (old U.S. school buses that have been donated to Guatemala) to the historic town of Antigua. Guatemala's ex-capital, this town was settled and built by the colonial Spaniards; it therefore has a completely different feel than the rest of Guatemala. Although beautiful and very interesting, it's also extremely touristy and very expensive...so we only stayed for one night. Antigua was once destroyed by a massive earthquake, which is the reason that the location of the nation's capital was moved to Guatemala City. While in Antigua, we were lucky enough to meet an American man who had moved to Guatemala to start a fair-trade coffee co-op right outside of Antigua. He arranged for us a private tour of one of the nearby coffee farms. We were led around by the farm's owner (a humble Guatemalan man) who showed us the entire process of planting, farming, roasting, and processing coffee. That was an experience I wasn't expecting to receive!
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| The colonial town of Antigua |
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| One of Antigua's churches at night |
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| Antigua |
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| Antigua at dusk |
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| Climbing Central America's tallest peak -- Volcán Tajumulco |
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| View from the volcano's peak right after sunrise |
After spelunking, we made our way over to Semuc Champey, a natural wonder in the middle of the rain forest. Semuc Champey is a series of above-ground pools that have naturally formed on top of a land bridge that covers a river. So, in the picture below, you see a bunch of aqua-colored pools...underneath that land is a fast-flowing river, so the pools are merely resting on a natural bridge that covers the river. We later got to swim in these pools, relaxing and bathing in natural river water under the Guatemalan sun while admiring the rain forest's beauty.
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| Semuc Champey |
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| Semuc Champey |
The next day, we made our way over to Tikal, a national park that is Guatemala's pride and joy. Tikal is the ancient Mayan city on the eastern coast of Guatemala. It is unbelievably expansive (only about 20% has been excavated at this point) and once housed a part of the great Mayan civilization. Today, it is mostly covered in rain forest as dirt and plants have covered the remains in the past centuries.  |
| Panoramic view of Tikal and the surrounding rainforest |
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| Jumping monkey's in Tikal |
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| There they are -- the Mayan ruins of Tikal! |
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| View from our hotel while visiting Tikal |
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| Just an ordinary parrot |
We later arrived at a little spot on the Caribbean coast called "The Seven Altars." Similar to Semuc Champey, these are a series of seven little ponds in the rainforest. The seventh and furthest pond is the deepest and there's even a little cliff that you can jump from. So we hiked along the river until we reached the seventh pool. And then, of course, I jumped.
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| Jumping into the 7 Altars |
I spent the next three weeks living on beach far from anything else. It was such natural, hidden beauty all around and it's a place that I miss very much. With the constant sound of waves crashing upon the shore and the symphony of chirping birds to accompany the sunrise each morning, who would want to leave a place like that? I was sad to leave, but I had to come back to Guatemala.
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| Playa Caletas, Costa Rica |
So, here I am, back in Guatemala, still working on my Spanish. I got back last Saturday, with two weeks ahead of me before my departure for India. I spent three days this past week attending my last few Spanish classes here in Xela. And of course, as a kind re-welcoming present, Xela greeted me with a 19-hour spell of non-stop pouring rain...not very nice after spending three weeks on the warm beaches of Costa Rica. Also, tomorrow (September 11th) is Guatemala's election day, so things are getting hectic as the entire nation tries to decide on their new president, while 17 or so candidates do all that they possibly can to annoy everyone with as many "political-campaign-cars-with-loudspeakers-on-top" as possible...especially at 5 a.m. each morning...outside of my room.
Well, in two days, I'm off again, but this time I'm going back to a place I've already been...remember Lake Atitlán?? Yeah, well, I'm going back there for my last few days in Guatemala. I'll be alone though, relaxing, thinking, swimming, thinking, chilling, thinking, and enjoying life! :)
Well, in two days, I'm off again, but this time I'm going back to a place I've already been...remember Lake Atitlán?? Yeah, well, I'm going back there for my last few days in Guatemala. I'll be alone though, relaxing, thinking, swimming, thinking, chilling, thinking, and enjoying life! :)
Then it's off to India for three months!
