Since working on Mexican rights at Amnesty Chile I´ve had a longing to explore Mexico. A questionnable dream given that I had done nothing but campaign on corruption, oppression and femicide. Despite that trauma those months in Chile grew an attraction and loyalty in me that the intervening years haven´t shaken. So with my time in Central America running out I took advantage of the last break we had (Semana Santa/ Holy Week) to race up and see what I could see. We managed to get a bargain flight to Guatemala City (about 90 quid return!) and put together a merry band of travellers before heading off for one last hurrah!
The first couple of days have been a blur of sights and buses, and the sickening sight of buses. As soon as we arrived in Guatemala we hopped on a mammoth 8 hour bus to Flores, a lake-side island town in the north of the country. Having spent an entire day (4.30am-11-45pm) travelling we rested up before regrouping the team the next morning (people had arrived on different flights and buses.) We spent our first real day of the holiday wandering round the sunny heat of the little island town, traversing its higgledy piggledy maze of winding streets and brightly coloured houses.
Later in the afternoon we hopped onto a tiny boat and paid the boat man 50p each to take up across the lake to another little island. There a 20 minute walk (in 36oC heat) turned into a 1.5 hr hike in search of the beach. Finally reaching our watery destination (with all my faded years of orientation melting behind me), we soon cooled off in the cold, blue waters of the lake. With shade a rarity I took advantage of the picnic table palm leaf umbrellas and stretched myself out on the table top for a quick cat-nap.
That evening chilled out and tired we hung out, drank Guatemalan beer and ate 20p tostadas (big, round corn chips laden with guacamole and other goodies), from a near-by street seller.
The next day we were up at 5.30am to go exploring the near-by Mayan ruins of Tikal, (supposedly the best in Guatemala, and perhaps anywhere!) As we drove along, with the sun rising, a thick mist settled over the road giving the whole thing a real adventurous feel. Through the fog the road was flanked by yellow signs warning of pumas, snakes, anteaters.... and turkies. Warning: turkies crossing. Bizarre.
Our Del-boy style taxi driver hooked us up with Constantino, a little, sun-weathered man with 25 years experience guiding people around the ruins. Fortunately for us Constantino seemed to have seen his fair share of penniless students and so assured us he could get us in the park for 2/3 the actual price. What he failed to mention, but slowly became apparent, was that this involved skipping the ticket booth and sneaking in through the rolling jungle around the ruins. As if the constant threat of turkies wasn´t enough to make me feel like a brave adventurer now this!
Despite breaking and entering us into priceless, historical ruins Constantino turned out to be a great guide. Our first breath-taking moment was coming across one of the huge, stepped, pyramids- a Mayan temple. Looming out of the lush jungle this towering structure was an incredible sight. Things got even more spectacular when, having summed up all my courage, I, with trembling legs, scaled the rickety, ladder-like steps up the side of the 50m tall temple. Edging my way onto the narrow stone ledge at the precipice of the man-made beast my breath was taken- with fear, altitude (ok more fear) but mainly the stunning view of a sea of green tree-tops broken sporadically by the soaring tops of other temples. I lasted about 10 minutes before the majesty of the sight before me was overcome by the terror of the drop below me and I shakily climbed down, truly exhilarated.
We spent the rest of the day exploring the ruins. Tikal means "city of voices" and the temples were built in such a way that acoustics meant preists could preach from the top of them and the people down below would hear every word. This wonderous feat of architecture is an added bonus for the modern day eaves dropper. It does however mean dozens of people may have been treated to some rather vulgar, terror-inspired language from yours truly.
We explored Mundo Perdido (Lost World), the last sight to be found, full of residential stone palaces, and climbed another 2 huge temples. My fear of heights having subsided, by then my legs were just shaking with pure fatigue!
We learnt about the Mayan ball game in which the winners, the winners mind, had the honour of having their heads cut off (men) or beating heart ripped out (women)! The girls we are travelling with are on their way to play in a football tournament in Hondauras, and this, frankly, was not the pepp talk they needed.
Visiting the Mayan temples of Tikal was a really magical experience. The Mayan´s knowledge of astrology is spookily accurate and the grandness and druability of their temples an awe-inspiring accomplishment, (and one I got to see before the Mayan-predicted end of the world in 2012!) The next few days would bring plenty more sights and advenures but the magic of Tikal will stay with me for a while!
Lessons learnt:
Forget step aerobics, temple climbing is the best workout around!
A tiny budget meant all I ate for several meals was cheese sandwiches. Cheese butties don´t quite live up to the spendour of a lost civilization, but they do make you feel like you´re on a school trip.
I am truly proud to be bad bad bad at ball games!
martes, 19 de abril de 2011
domingo, 3 de abril de 2011
In which I enjoy monkey worship, hop to an island and fall in lava with Nica
Back in January I had decided six days wasn´t enough time to get to Nicaragua and back. Funny how things change over time. With two days off school added to the weekend we decided that last weekend was the perfect time to pop up to the neighbours upstairs.
Having survived the bus ride to Panama the six hours to Nica passed stress free (excpet for the waking up at 4.30am to catch the thing). We crossed the border without issues and soon got to Rivas, our destination town. But it seems like the lure of the bus (and the quality films on board- Scorpion King and a film about a monkey that is also a spy. Yes, you heard me.) was just too much and we decided to stay on until the Granada. I´m so glad we did (Granadas always serve me well, first Spain now this). Granada is a beautiful colonial city perched on the northern shore of Lake Nicaragua. All coloured facades and tall church spires it has something of a tidier Havana feel. We arrived into the scorching heat of mid-afternoon (it was about 36-37oC, much hotter than CR and boy did we feel it.) After a meal for 3 which cost $7 in total we found a hostel and headed out to explore.
A quick stop bought us some Nicaraguan cigars then it was on to climb a church tower, trying our hardest to resist the temptation to ring the giant bells. Our will-power was rewarded with a stunning view over the city, which helped give us our bearings for more exploration. The main square was a beautiful, tree and cafe filled cocktail of noise and people overlooked by the city´s big, yellow cathedral. We wandered the streets, got a lovely dinner in an Indian-hippy-style restaurant and then settled down in a hotel bar overlooking the square where we drank red wine, Ben smoked his cigar (with hilariously queasy results...Hannibal never went green when his plans came together) and we were serenaded by two guitar players. All in all, pretty luxurious!
The next morning we got up early to run to the bus station, only to find we had a 3 hour wait. Luckily the station was slap bang in the middle of the busy, market area so we hustled our way through the streets, found some breakfast and soaked up the atmosphere. Our bus down to Rivas was a chicken bus (these old, yellow US school buses they have down here). It was baking as we loaded on but sat by the open windows, being blasted by the breeze we found the 1.5hr journey pretty pleasing. At Rivas we jumped in a taxi then boat to get us out to the Lake´s main island Isla Ometepe.
The island is flanked by two volcanoes, one active, and is a quiet little haven of natural gems. After finding a hostel we jumped on a motorbike tuk tuk and headed out to the nearest beach. A little, black sand peninsula it was a little rough round the edges but was a lovely place to grab a beer, wade into the cool waters of the lake and watch the spectacular sunset over the water. Driving back under a sky of candy-floss pink clouds it was hard not to notice the yellow signs flanking the road announcing that this was the key evacuation route in case of an evacuation. Possibly the only thing able to spoil the calm of the glorious sunset is the mental maths needed to calculate if you think you could out run lava.
Our next day we went in search of the ancient petroglyphs that dotted the island. It turns out the old inhabitants of Ometepe really like monkeys and weren´t shy in displaying that love through engravings on volcanic stone. It also appears 5 year old children today have better artistic skills than back in the day. That or monkeys have really filled out.
After the strenous task of tracking down stones we headed to the Ojo de Agua, a concrete lined, natural pool, surrounded by lush forest. There we cooled off in the clear blue water, drank caipirinhas which were delivered to the pool side and generally felt like superstars. It was a lovely relaxing break before we headed back to town to catch the ferry back to the main land.
We literally sailed off into a glorious sunset. It was such a beautiful moment sat on the smooth boat, listening to the National and Little Hands of Asphalt as the sunset all across the lake. Back on the mainland we pushed on in a taxi to San Juan del Sur, a beach town on the Pacific coast.
San Juan had a great, fun vibe to it. We grabbed some pizza then headed down to a beachside bar where Isabelle and I drank White Russians in front of the dancing lights of the boats in the bay and the lighthouses. We had a little paddle in the dark, wide sea before heading back to meet Ben at the hostel.
The next, and last day we headed out early on bumpy dirt track to a hidden cove where Ben and I had a surf lesson. I am standing up easily now and starting to try to catch my own waves without help. Had a few big wipeouts misjudging some of the waves which were bigger than times before. Having swallowed my share of the sea and burnt my face and butt it was time to head back to catch the bus home. We had had a serious think about staying in San Juan an extra day but the responsibilities of organising European and Middle Eastern night dragged us back to the hectic world of party planning.
Things have been pretty damn stressful with planning this flipping cultural night and perhaps you wouldn´t have thought a 3.5 day race around Nicaragua would recharge the batteries but it really did. We had heard some horror stories about dangerous times in Nica but we had nothing but pleasantness and beautiful moments.
Lessons learnt:
If there is one person better at sleeping anywhere anytime than me it might be Isabelle. Boats, taxis, beaches, you name it, she Zzzz´d it.
Despite factor 50 suncream, 2 hours in the water under the blazing sun, lying on a boad with your butt in the air.... does not make for a comfortable bus ride home.
Monkeys make good spies, according to a documentary film I think I watched on a 6 hour bus ride. It may have been their skills on espionage which made them so reverred by ancient island inhabitants.
Double volcanoes all the way!
Having survived the bus ride to Panama the six hours to Nica passed stress free (excpet for the waking up at 4.30am to catch the thing). We crossed the border without issues and soon got to Rivas, our destination town. But it seems like the lure of the bus (and the quality films on board- Scorpion King and a film about a monkey that is also a spy. Yes, you heard me.) was just too much and we decided to stay on until the Granada. I´m so glad we did (Granadas always serve me well, first Spain now this). Granada is a beautiful colonial city perched on the northern shore of Lake Nicaragua. All coloured facades and tall church spires it has something of a tidier Havana feel. We arrived into the scorching heat of mid-afternoon (it was about 36-37oC, much hotter than CR and boy did we feel it.) After a meal for 3 which cost $7 in total we found a hostel and headed out to explore.
A quick stop bought us some Nicaraguan cigars then it was on to climb a church tower, trying our hardest to resist the temptation to ring the giant bells. Our will-power was rewarded with a stunning view over the city, which helped give us our bearings for more exploration. The main square was a beautiful, tree and cafe filled cocktail of noise and people overlooked by the city´s big, yellow cathedral. We wandered the streets, got a lovely dinner in an Indian-hippy-style restaurant and then settled down in a hotel bar overlooking the square where we drank red wine, Ben smoked his cigar (with hilariously queasy results...Hannibal never went green when his plans came together) and we were serenaded by two guitar players. All in all, pretty luxurious!
The next morning we got up early to run to the bus station, only to find we had a 3 hour wait. Luckily the station was slap bang in the middle of the busy, market area so we hustled our way through the streets, found some breakfast and soaked up the atmosphere. Our bus down to Rivas was a chicken bus (these old, yellow US school buses they have down here). It was baking as we loaded on but sat by the open windows, being blasted by the breeze we found the 1.5hr journey pretty pleasing. At Rivas we jumped in a taxi then boat to get us out to the Lake´s main island Isla Ometepe.
The island is flanked by two volcanoes, one active, and is a quiet little haven of natural gems. After finding a hostel we jumped on a motorbike tuk tuk and headed out to the nearest beach. A little, black sand peninsula it was a little rough round the edges but was a lovely place to grab a beer, wade into the cool waters of the lake and watch the spectacular sunset over the water. Driving back under a sky of candy-floss pink clouds it was hard not to notice the yellow signs flanking the road announcing that this was the key evacuation route in case of an evacuation. Possibly the only thing able to spoil the calm of the glorious sunset is the mental maths needed to calculate if you think you could out run lava.
Our next day we went in search of the ancient petroglyphs that dotted the island. It turns out the old inhabitants of Ometepe really like monkeys and weren´t shy in displaying that love through engravings on volcanic stone. It also appears 5 year old children today have better artistic skills than back in the day. That or monkeys have really filled out.
After the strenous task of tracking down stones we headed to the Ojo de Agua, a concrete lined, natural pool, surrounded by lush forest. There we cooled off in the clear blue water, drank caipirinhas which were delivered to the pool side and generally felt like superstars. It was a lovely relaxing break before we headed back to town to catch the ferry back to the main land.
We literally sailed off into a glorious sunset. It was such a beautiful moment sat on the smooth boat, listening to the National and Little Hands of Asphalt as the sunset all across the lake. Back on the mainland we pushed on in a taxi to San Juan del Sur, a beach town on the Pacific coast.
San Juan had a great, fun vibe to it. We grabbed some pizza then headed down to a beachside bar where Isabelle and I drank White Russians in front of the dancing lights of the boats in the bay and the lighthouses. We had a little paddle in the dark, wide sea before heading back to meet Ben at the hostel.
The next, and last day we headed out early on bumpy dirt track to a hidden cove where Ben and I had a surf lesson. I am standing up easily now and starting to try to catch my own waves without help. Had a few big wipeouts misjudging some of the waves which were bigger than times before. Having swallowed my share of the sea and burnt my face and butt it was time to head back to catch the bus home. We had had a serious think about staying in San Juan an extra day but the responsibilities of organising European and Middle Eastern night dragged us back to the hectic world of party planning.
Things have been pretty damn stressful with planning this flipping cultural night and perhaps you wouldn´t have thought a 3.5 day race around Nicaragua would recharge the batteries but it really did. We had heard some horror stories about dangerous times in Nica but we had nothing but pleasantness and beautiful moments.
Lessons learnt:
If there is one person better at sleeping anywhere anytime than me it might be Isabelle. Boats, taxis, beaches, you name it, she Zzzz´d it.
Despite factor 50 suncream, 2 hours in the water under the blazing sun, lying on a boad with your butt in the air.... does not make for a comfortable bus ride home.
Monkeys make good spies, according to a documentary film I think I watched on a 6 hour bus ride. It may have been their skills on espionage which made them so reverred by ancient island inhabitants.
Double volcanoes all the way!
Suscribirse a:
Entradas (Atom)