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DAY 1-3
Ola from Guatemala
Only day 3 in this amazing country and already I have seen some spectacular sites and experienced some crazy moments.
Left the city of Comitan, Mexico on Saturday and made our way to the border. Leaving Mexico was straight forward as was entering Guatemala. A stamp out at the Mexican Border and then a few kilometres down the road a stamp in at the Guatemalan border. The crazy part of it all though was the markets that were going on at the Guatemalen border. There was only one road to drive through and it was the same road that hundreds of market stalls were set up on. I could literally wind down my window and purchase goods from the car if I wanted as they were in reaching distance. It was even a two way street and fortunately when we did meet cars coming the other way it was a wider part to pass.
Was glad to get out of here and start driving towards our destination, Lake Atitlan. All was good until we came to road works. Lots of dirt being pushed around and on top of that torrential rain to make it nice and muddy. We got stuck here for at least 2 hours so it was lucky that 5 minutes earlier we were stopped on the road by a guy selling Domino's pizza. Yes you heard right, we didn't even have to leave the car to buy a nice slice of luke warm, soggy pizza which actually tasted pretty good at around $2 a slice.
Once we made it out of the road works (and there is major road works happening along the Panamerican Highway which is the main highway through Central America) we made our way to Lake Atitlan in the pouring rain. If it hadn't been raining our first view of the lake from the top of the mountain would of been absolutely breathtaking. Fortunately we were rewarded with clear blue skies the next day and had a perfect view of the whole lake on our way out.
Our initial plan was to stay 2 nights on the lake but the Posada that we were staying at was full on the second night so we packed our bags and headed to Chichi Markets further north. These markets are very popular with both locals and tourists and happen on both a Thursday and a Sunday so we were fortunate to have it land on one of the few days that we were spending in Guatemala.
The market was crazy but lots of fun and full of colour. Wondered around picking up a couple of small things (backpack is too full to go crazy) and sat down to a fab chicken and chips lunch at a place that was packed with lots of locals and NO gringo's. Was a bit dubvious about how I would go eating from such a place but all was good the next day.
Left the markets just after midday and headed for Antigua. Antigua was once the capital of Guatemala but was severely damaged by earthquakes a few hundred years back and the capital was moved to what is now Guatemala City.
Antigua is a pretty colonial town full of lots of gringos and is popular for studying Spanish. Spent the arvo wondering around and checking out the sights (not really anything much to mention) and then set our alarms for an early start to catch a tour to hike up the volcano, Pacaya. Wow what a treat this was. The hike up nearly killed me in the first 20 metres but if levelled out after that and I adapted to the altitude. It took about 1.5 hours to get to and at our own risk we went all the way to flowing lava which was literally just metres away. It was absolutely spectacular, mesmerizing, breathtaking and a real highlight of anything that I have done. It was pretty hot and I was sure that my runners would melt beneath me.
So that has been my trip in Guatemala so far. Tomorrow we head to Tikal. Another ruin 10 hours to the north and then on to Hondouras. Not sure if I will get access to internet in Tikal so thought I would post a blog from Guatemala today and the add Tikal to this same blog when I am online next.
Must head off now and collect my laundry. Haven't washed for awhile so there is quite a load, probaly at least $10 worth. Should of been ready 2 hours ago but becuase of my fantastic Spanish there was a bit of confusion and they only dried half, wrather than drying all but one pair of pants that cannot be put in the dryer.
So until next time - ADIOS AMIGOS
PS- where are all of my messages!!!!!!!
DAY 4 - 6
Left Antigua (after eating the most amazing Chicken Soup I have ever had in my life the night before) and headed for the ancient Mayan city of Tikal. Tikal is in the north and the drive was about 8hours.
Once in Tikal we grabbed a bite to eat before heading into the park to see the sunset. Our tickets were good for both that day and then the next so we were able to see both the sunset and the sunrise (however the park opened at 6am and the sun came up at 5am so we had to pay a guard the same amount again to let us in early).
Wow what an amazing place this is. Firts thing we saw was Spider monkeys. The park is abundent with wildlife including jaguars. We dind´t see too much on this afternoon but the next morning we were treated well to wildlife (many types of birds and monkeys).
The place is amazing and words and pictures will not do it justice. The sunset was beautiful overthe Mayan temples and we looked forward to the sunrise. Spent the night in Tikal ready for our early rise as we had to be at the gate at 4:30am. It was quite haunting as we made our way to the gate as all you could hear were the howler monkeys. My god it was such a scary sound that you thought you were in a horror movie. Made our way to temple 4 with the aide of a guard who had a nice big shotgun should we see any jaguars. Made it safely to the temple and got our positions for the sunrise. Unfortunately it was overcast so we didn't have any spectacular lighting but just listening to the wildlife activity was great. Spent 5 hours enoying the tranquility and majesticness (not sure if that is a word) of the place. Watched several monkeys playing'n'eating and the birdlife was amazing. The birds I recognised where Toucan's, woodpeckers and a really cool Eagle which you will see photos of in my Tikal album.
To sum up Tikal in one word would be AMAZING!!!!
Next we headed to Rio Dulce. A small town near the river that runs into a large lake and many marinas for foreigners to anchor off the Carribean. It was a very ordinary place, a dump really and the chicken soup was dissapointing after our experience in Antigua. Anyway it was just for an afternoon and evening before we headed off on an early start to Hondoras the next day.
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