Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Fern Gully
The hike back to the bottom was extremely foggy, but it was beautiful and "mystical," as Linda said!
Monday, August 9
We woke up at 5:30 this morning to get ready for our big hike. We met at school at 6:30 and headed out. By the time we arrived in the little village, it was almost 7:30. We started out climbing super steep cobblestone streets through the little village. At some point it turned into an even steeper slope, and the rocks disappeared, so we were climbing clay/mud. We climbed for about 2 hours and then we came to a tiny little settlement. There were about 5 little huts...one was a little tienda, and the rest were places to camp. We stopped there for a bathroom break (it was pretty disgusting!) and then headed up for the final part of our climb.
We arrived at the top of the mountain around 10:30. The views of the lake were amazing. We took a few pictures, then began our descent down into Volcan Chikabal. The descent was 600 steep stairs down into the volcano. It was pretty intense!
When we arrived at the bottom, it was so beautiful! We took lots of pictures of Laguna Chikabal, made a few "music videos" with Kristian, and had a snack.
It took us a little less time to get back to the village...about 2 hours. We were thrilled when we finally saw Luis with the van!
What a great day!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Sunday, August 8
This morning we slept in (kind of!) until 8:30. We headed to our buffet-style breakfast at the restaurant. We had the most delicious freshly squeezed juice (mango, pineapple, watermelon, and orange were the choices).
After breakfast we headed to Xocomil (Show-coh-meal), which is an awesome waterpark! We headed into the wave pool first, but left because the waves stopped. Nikki and I followed Clay and Lucas to a giant 6-person tube water slide. It was super high, and a little scary walking up, but the ride itself was really fun. After that, they had the bright idea of going on the "half-pipe" waterslide. Basically, you carry a 2-person tube up to the top of a huge staircase, then you go down a short waterslide, which turns into an almost-straight-down drop, then you go up onto a half-pipe, then back down. It was fun, but it was SO scary! It felt like we were going to fly right off the edge of the half pipe. (See picture above).
Nikki and I headed back to the hotel at noon to check out, then went back to the waterpark to take a few pictures. We spent the rest of the day lounging by the beautiful pools at the hotel.
At 3:30, we headed back to Xela. What an awesome weekend at the Guatemalan Disney World! I will definitely be making another trip to this place someday!
Tomorrow Linda, David, Nikki, Paula, Christian and I are getting up super early to climb a volcano. If we make it to the top, we actually get to go down inside! Super excited!
Well, we saw a completely different side of Guatemala this weekend!
Saturday, August 7
This morning we left early for Takalik Aba'j. We were told by Christian that it would take an hour...it took 2. We've learned that Guatemalan time is a little different than US time! When we were 5 minutes outside of Xela, Jaime got a call on his cell phone. He then said something to Luis. Luis pulled the bus to the side of the road, and Jaime jumped out. The story we got from Luis was that he had forgotten to leave the keys to a Casa Xelaju apartment, and there were people moving into the apartment on Sunday. (We later found out that there was work to be done on the apartment and Jaime's dad had called him to help out!). So, Jaime ended up taking a chicken bus back to school, then taking a chicken bus to Irtra to meet us.
We arrived at Takalik around 10am. We were asked if we wanted a guided tour, and we accepted (may have been a mistake!). While the tour was interesting and beautiful (through the Mayan ruins/jungle), it was extremely long and a little boring. Not to mention it was about 100 degrees and humid. What a difference in climate! Xela is cool and Irtra (only 40 miles away) is hot and humid.
During the guided tour, we learned a lot about Mayan civilization and traditions. We also got to see a mini "zoo," complete with alligators, warthogs, monkeys, skunks, and deer. There was also a badger that tried to attack Terri, and then Nikki, through its cage!
After the hot tour, we boarded the bus and headed to our FIVE STAR hotel!!! It was beautiful! There were peacocks walking all around the grounds! The hotel had several gigantic pools with waterfalls, waterslides, tiki guys, etc. There were a few restaurants, a few discotecas, a giant chess game, tennis courts, badminton courts, and a train! It seriously felt like we were at Disney World.
We had a delicious lunch at a fancy hotel restaurant. We were all thrilled to be able to drink the water/ice, eat the fruit, and flush toilet paper down the toilet (the small things in life!).
After lunch we went to the pool for a little while. It started pouring about half an hour after we got there, so we headed back to the rooms for naps and showers before dinner.
We had a late dinner at an awesome Asian restaurant. We all had delicious meals and fruity drinks! The place was fun, but it was a little creepy because the wait staff just hovered around our table the whole time. (We're not sure if it was because we were the only gringos at the whole resort, or if they just have really good service!).
After dinner, Terri, Linda, Nikki, Jaime, Paula and I took the train to the discoteca. The train was SO fun! We went through a tunnel and everyone started screaming and cheering. When we got to the discoteca, we ordered drinks and found a table next to a family....yes, a family! A mother, a father, and a BABY! There were several families who had their kids at the bar. One little kid looked like he had a shot glass in front of him!
While we were there, Jaime taught us how to dance meringue, which was fun, but hard! Paula, Nikki and I were asked to dance by 3 young men. We asked them how old they were, and they said 20. (They were not 20.) I then asked them what the drinking age was in Guatemala, because they were clearly not old enough to be drinking. Paula's quote of the night, "I kept thinking...I cannot dance with a 12-year old!" We went to a different bar later in the night and stayed there till close. Then we headed back to our rooms. What a fun night!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Friday, August 6
Today I had class alone with Rocio because Terri and Cindy decided to take a chicken bus to Huehuetenango to see some ruins. Rocio and I worked on grammar, went out for coffee, then came back and played Scrabble with the Nikkis and their teachers. It was really fun! At the end of class, I taught Rocio the beginning of the Thriller dance. She is taking an English class at the University and has to give a big presentation tomorrow. She is cooking something and is going to dress up as a witch...she wanted to learn the Thriller dance for when she comes in the room. She is so funny!
After lunch Nikki, Linda, Anita and I went to Zona 3. We looked around the mall for awhile, then went to the Mercado Democracia. We each bought 8 or 9 pirated DVDs for about $1.25 each!
For dinner tonight, Veronica made delicious chicken noodle soup (I asked if it was sopa de Pancho, but she said no). Her nephew Leonardo came over for dinner tonight. He was born in Washington, but has lived here with his family for the past 3 years. He looks just like Taylor Lautner! I tried explaining to Veronica who I thought she looked like, but I guess Twilight isn't as big here as it is back home!
Tomorrow we are headed to Takalik Abaj to see the ruins. After lunch we will go to Irtra, where the water park is. Apparently we are going to stay in a "5-star hotel," so that'll be nice! We'll return Sunday evening!
Thursday, August 5
We had class this morning, then went to un baile folklorico at el teatro municipal. It was really fun! There were groups from Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Mexico. All of the performers wore traditional clothes from their country and did traditional dances. After that, Nikki, Terri, and I went to lunch at Pollo Campero...delicious!
For our afternoon activity, we were scheduled to go to an elementary school at 2:45. However, there was a bad storm and we ended up stuck at school until almost 4. The thunder was louder than any of us have ever heard before. It was raining buckets (as they say in Guatemala), and the thunder and lighting were pretty intense.
At 4 we arrived at the elementary school, and I was surprised to see only boys inside. Apparently, the girls go to school in the morning and the boys go to school in the afternoon. The school itself was very run-down. In the US, a building like that wouldn't have been safe for a school. In the courtyard is the "playground," however, it's just an open basketball court. Surrounding the court are the classrooms. We spent about half an hour inside a primary classroom and it was NUTS! The teacher only had 6 students, but she couldn't control a single one of them! THey were running around the classroom, screaming, jumping off chairs. She had to yell constantly just to be heard over the noise of the students and the noise of the kids playing outside in the courtyard. After half an hour, we had had enough! We decided we would never again complain (or hopefully think twice about complaining!) about the working conditions or the the students in our schools back home.
After the school visit, Paula and I met up with Angela for yoga. It was really intense, but really fun! It lasted for almost 2 hours, and I was exhausted by the end, but it felt so good to work out! The only workouts we've had have been walking up hills and around town!
When we left the yoga place, we went to El Cuartito for drinks, because it was Angela and Richard's last night in Xela. They are leaving for a 3-day hike to Antigua, then heading to Belize before returning to England. At Cuartito I had amazing hummus with carrots and bread. Of course, we had to order a crepe. For some reason, this one took almost an hour to make! The owner kept coming out and saying "Lo siento, lo siento. Estamos cocinando." I was getting a little anxious for my crepe, but when it arrived, we realized it was WELL worth the wait! It had fresh strawberries, bananas, carmel, chocolate, and whipped cream inside. So good! We stayed out until after 10, which was a first for us here!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Last night Veronica's son Alfonso and his family came over for dinner. They were really nice and we had great conversation! Once again, we had platanos y frijoles for dinner...getting a little sick of that! After dinner, Terri and I went to the internet cafe (we're becoming regulars there!), where I blogged and played cribbage online with Mark. It was fun!
This morning we had...abena! Surprise! For class today we went to the cemetery. It was very interesting. Guatemalans bury their dead in mausoleums instead of in the ground. Rocio taught us a lot about the customs and traditions here. The cemetery was beautiful, with all of the bright colors and flowers. We saw a tomb that was shaped like an Egyptian pyramid. There was a sphinx guarding the entrance, and etchings of hieroglyphics. The most interesting tomb was a "Juliet" tomb.
The story goes like this: Vanushka was a 17-year old indigenous woman, living in Guatemala. She fell in love with a non-indigenous man in the early 1900s. During that time, it was unheard of to associate with someone outside of your social class, so the two could not be together. They would meet secretly and he'd bring her a red rose every single day. They decided to run away together. However, the Gypsies caught them and killed Vanushka. To this day, there is a new red rose placed on Vanushka's tomb every single day. No one can figure out where it comes from or who is behind it. Today, many people visit her tomb to ask for luck in love. They write a note on her tomb, asking for love to find them, to find their soulmate, etc. Then they sign their name. We all read the notes, then signed it. It reminded me of the movie "Letters to Juliet."
After lunch today, we had Salsa classes again. We had several more guys today, so it was a little easier. We learned a few new moves and had a lot of fun!
Now we are sitting at a Baviera Cafe having AMAZING strawberry-nutella-almond crepes! I'm so excited that we found a few restaurants that sanitize their fruit before serving it. I haven't had strawberries in almost 2 weeks! So great to have them again!
Will write more later if time! :)
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Tuesday, August 3
Today we woke up to the gallo again. However, at breakfast, Veronica informed us that she had "mato a Pancho" (she killed Pancho). Terri and I started clapping! She said she had to kill him because he was fighting with other animals and biting her...so she got another one! So, the cockadoodledooing continutes. :(
After class today we had a traditional Mayan ceremony at Casa Xelaju. It was very interesting. We had to put several different pine ingredients into a circle of azucar (sugar). Then we laid different colored candles on top. Each color represented a different thing (love, money, health, children, adults, etc.). Then we lit it on fire and watched it burn. It was fun! I'll post pictures tomorrow.
When the ceremony was finished, Nikki, Paula, Linda, and I were going to meet Angela for yoga class at the gym. However, when we arrived at the gym, all of these machista men had no clue where the yoga class was being held. So we headed to El Cuartito for nachos and crepes (Guatemala has the BEST crepes!). By the time we were ready to leave the cafe, it was POURING rain. The streets had rivers running down them. Nikki and I got splashed by several cars driving by. By the time we got home, we were soaked!
Monday, August 2
Today we had class in the morning...pretty boring but we're learning a lot! After lunch, we returned to school for a viaje a aguas calientes (hot springs) in Zunil. However, when we got there it was raining and chilly. The pools were filthy and the water wasn't very warm. We decided to head back to school. Kind of a waste of a drive, but it was a pretty drive! After we got back to school, several of us headed to Spa Gallileo. Nikki and I had pedicures for $11, Anita had a facial, and several others had full body massages for $15!
For dinner, Nikki and I met Terri at Pollo Campero (think KFC, only better!). It was so delicious! And it was so good to have familiar food! When we left Pollo, we were walking through El Centro when we heard people yelling our name. We looked up and Paula and Linda were having drinks on the balcony at Balcon de Enriquez. We went up and had (yes Mary, again!) chocolate caliente. It is just too good here! While we were there, I called the girls because I knew they'd be together watching the Bachelorette. It was so good to talk to them!
After dinner we went home and tried to find ABC on the TV in Terri's room. It was the first time we'd used it all week! We found ABC, but the Bachelorette didn't come on until 9. We watched it until 10, and then I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Sunday, August (!) 1
Can´t believe it´s August already! And can´t believe we´ve already been here for a week! As much fun as I´m having, I´m looking forward to seeing everyone when I get back. And I´m really looking forward to a clean house, a comfy bed, and "normal" food! I´m loving the Guatemalan cuisine, but after awhile you get sick of it. I think we´re going to go to McDonald´s this week and take a break from tortillas, rice, beans, etc.
This morning Nikki and I watched Father of the Bride, showered and headed to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. We were pleasantly surprised to see that they were serving eggs, pancakes, toast, orange juice, and...drum roll...FRESH FRUIT! It has been over a week since I´ve had fresh fruit! The hotel had pineapple, canteloupe, watermelon, and papaya. The papaya was nasty, but everything else was amazing! I am going crazy without fruit! We´re only allowed to eat fruit with a shell, which limits us. I would kill for some berries right now!
After breakfast we walked all over town trying to find a working ATM. Then we headed out of Pana on our way to Chichicastenango (I know, some of these names are insane!). When we got to Chichi, we parked the bus and headed into the mass crowds. It was insanely packed...several of us felt claustrophobic! We had to be really careful with our purses and backpacks because our house moms told us there are lots of pickpockets there.
Once again, we did lots of shopping and got some great stuff for great prices! Luckily, no one was a victim of pickpocket theft. We skipped lunch today because we´ve heard lots of tourists get sick when eating in Chichi. Instead, we went into a mini mart and bought crackers, water, ice cream, etc. While we were in the mini mart, Nikki noticed that there were 2 teenage boys taking pictures of us with their cell phones. I told them in Spanish that they needed to pay me for the pictures (many Guatemalans ask you to give them money if they see you taking pictures, so I thought I´d try it out). He laughed and walked away. A few minutes later, we were out in the street waiting for Cindy to come out of the fried chicken shop...Nikki noticed that there was ANOTHER group of teenage boys taking pictures of us! Apparently they don´t see gringos too often? So, if you happen to see a picture of Nikki and me floating around on the internet, you´ll know where it came from.
We left Chichi around 3 and made it back to Xela around 6ish. The drive home was beautiful. We were so high that we were driving through the clouds at some points. The mountains here are so beautiful...green and lush and gigantic! I´ll try to post some more pictures tomorrow. My camera is dead right now!
¡Hasta mañana!
Can´t believe it´s August already! And can´t believe we´ve already been here for a week! As much fun as I´m having, I´m looking forward to seeing everyone when I get back. And I´m really looking forward to a clean house, a comfy bed, and "normal" food! I´m loving the Guatemalan cuisine, but after awhile you get sick of it. I think we´re going to go to McDonald´s this week and take a break from tortillas, rice, beans, etc.
This morning Nikki and I watched Father of the Bride, showered and headed to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. We were pleasantly surprised to see that they were serving eggs, pancakes, toast, orange juice, and...drum roll...FRESH FRUIT! It has been over a week since I´ve had fresh fruit! The hotel had pineapple, canteloupe, watermelon, and papaya. The papaya was nasty, but everything else was amazing! I am going crazy without fruit! We´re only allowed to eat fruit with a shell, which limits us. I would kill for some berries right now!
After breakfast we walked all over town trying to find a working ATM. Then we headed out of Pana on our way to Chichicastenango (I know, some of these names are insane!). When we got to Chichi, we parked the bus and headed into the mass crowds. It was insanely packed...several of us felt claustrophobic! We had to be really careful with our purses and backpacks because our house moms told us there are lots of pickpockets there.
Once again, we did lots of shopping and got some great stuff for great prices! Luckily, no one was a victim of pickpocket theft. We skipped lunch today because we´ve heard lots of tourists get sick when eating in Chichi. Instead, we went into a mini mart and bought crackers, water, ice cream, etc. While we were in the mini mart, Nikki noticed that there were 2 teenage boys taking pictures of us with their cell phones. I told them in Spanish that they needed to pay me for the pictures (many Guatemalans ask you to give them money if they see you taking pictures, so I thought I´d try it out). He laughed and walked away. A few minutes later, we were out in the street waiting for Cindy to come out of the fried chicken shop...Nikki noticed that there was ANOTHER group of teenage boys taking pictures of us! Apparently they don´t see gringos too often? So, if you happen to see a picture of Nikki and me floating around on the internet, you´ll know where it came from.
We left Chichi around 3 and made it back to Xela around 6ish. The drive home was beautiful. We were so high that we were driving through the clouds at some points. The mountains here are so beautiful...green and lush and gigantic! I´ll try to post some more pictures tomorrow. My camera is dead right now!
¡Hasta mañana!
Saturday, July 31
At 8am this morning, we loaded our things into the autobus and headed out of Xela. The drive was beautiful, but a little scary. Beautiful mountains, beautiful views, and terrifying switchbacks through the mountains! We arrived in Panajachel around 11 and quickly checked into the hotel. Nikki and I walked into our room and were overcome with a horrible smell. We looked around the room...the wall were covered in mold! We borrowed some spray from LuAnn, and decided to just deal with it. However, Linda suggested that we ask for a different room, so she went into the office and asked. They were very accomodating and set us up in a new room. There was no mold and no smell, so we were happy! It wasn´t the greatest hotel (Mom, Dad, and Vujo´s - think Crap Hotel in Duluth, only a little worse), but we could deal for one night.
We went to lunch at a restaurant a few blocks away. The food was delicious, but as soon as we sat down, there were vendors SWARMING us. They wouldn´t leave us alone! We would tell them over and over again "No quiero," or "No necesito. Adios." and they just kept at it!
After an interesting lunch, we headed down to the Lago Atitlan. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen! The lake is surrounded by mountains and 3 volcanos. Christian led us to a little tourist boat and we were off! We had a 45 minute boat ride to San Santiago, which was amazing! When we arrived in Santiago, we did some shopping and walked and walked and walked (which is pretty much what we´ve been doing every day!).
For dinner that night we went to a little family-owned restaurant. The kids played the Marimba all night, which was really fun to watch! While we were waiting for our food, the dad taught us about the history of the Marimba and how you make one. It was really interesting, but unfortunately, my camera had died by then, so I don´t have pictures.
When we got back to the hotel after dinner, Nikki and I walked into our room...there waiting for us was the BIGGEST spider I have ever seen on the ceiling! We yelled for Clay and David (they are both 6´4"+). Clay came up and attemped to kill the spider. After several tries, the spider finally died. Then Nikki and I could sleep peacefully. However, neither of us slept very well. The beds and pillows were rock-hard and icky.
At 8am this morning, we loaded our things into the autobus and headed out of Xela. The drive was beautiful, but a little scary. Beautiful mountains, beautiful views, and terrifying switchbacks through the mountains! We arrived in Panajachel around 11 and quickly checked into the hotel. Nikki and I walked into our room and were overcome with a horrible smell. We looked around the room...the wall were covered in mold! We borrowed some spray from LuAnn, and decided to just deal with it. However, Linda suggested that we ask for a different room, so she went into the office and asked. They were very accomodating and set us up in a new room. There was no mold and no smell, so we were happy! It wasn´t the greatest hotel (Mom, Dad, and Vujo´s - think Crap Hotel in Duluth, only a little worse), but we could deal for one night.
We went to lunch at a restaurant a few blocks away. The food was delicious, but as soon as we sat down, there were vendors SWARMING us. They wouldn´t leave us alone! We would tell them over and over again "No quiero," or "No necesito. Adios." and they just kept at it!
After an interesting lunch, we headed down to the Lago Atitlan. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen! The lake is surrounded by mountains and 3 volcanos. Christian led us to a little tourist boat and we were off! We had a 45 minute boat ride to San Santiago, which was amazing! When we arrived in Santiago, we did some shopping and walked and walked and walked (which is pretty much what we´ve been doing every day!).
For dinner that night we went to a little family-owned restaurant. The kids played the Marimba all night, which was really fun to watch! While we were waiting for our food, the dad taught us about the history of the Marimba and how you make one. It was really interesting, but unfortunately, my camera had died by then, so I don´t have pictures.
When we got back to the hotel after dinner, Nikki and I walked into our room...there waiting for us was the BIGGEST spider I have ever seen on the ceiling! We yelled for Clay and David (they are both 6´4"+). Clay came up and attemped to kill the spider. After several tries, the spider finally died. Then Nikki and I could sleep peacefully. However, neither of us slept very well. The beds and pillows were rock-hard and icky.
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