Change change change. It's gotten past the point where I can't plan a day ahead...I've hardly been able to keep a grip on the forthcoming hours. Michael did take off on his own after all - traveling alone is so much different than traveling with someone else and he needed some of his own time before heading back to the states. So he's at the beach right now and I couldn't be happier for him...I just hope his rib is staying in check.
I spent last night at a hostel called Ummagumma - I could feel every wood slat underneath my mattress, but for $5, having a place to sleep and free internet was fantastic. I might stay there again tonight.
I was going to meet up with a friend from Guatemala City, but due to his busy schedule and my anxiousness to move on, we're just going to try and hang out later while I attempt to leave for Tikal tomorrow! This will be the most expensive leg of the trip, but from everything I hear about Tikal, it will be worth every last penny. Beautiful jungle, lots of ancient ruins...I am keeping my fingers crossed on seeing a monkey!
Coming back to Antigua makes me realize how easy this place is...how the pace of life moves at a speed where you can still take deep breaths and look up and see yourself surrounding by beautiful volcanoes. The temptation to move is greatest when I'm in this city...but I just don't think my feet could take the cobblestone sidewalks for long.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
hot messes
And we're back in Antigua. It's nice to be in a city that we both know and where with only a small hunt, good food can be found.
Michael was able to get two different kinds of pain killers over the counter (oh, you want a big box of codeine? here you go!) and seems to be doing much better. Some pain here and there, obviously, but he's moving around well.
My traveler's illness did not go away on it's own like I hoped. In fact, yesterday I woke up with sulfur burps and an even worse stomach ache - as it had been four days of not eating a full meal, I finally decided to do something about it. With the help of the internet and a local pharmacy (where the pharmacists are like mini doctors), I got myself some medication for Giardia. Apparently, not being more careful with my water or food or whatever (as it appears to be the easiest thing in the world to get) caused a little parasite to live in my belly and lord knows I don't want to be a host to anything. The medication really seems to be doing the trick though and I should (knock on wood) be good as new in about three days.
The ride to Antigua yesterday was painful for us both - we took a tourist van, opting for comfort and speed, but the bumps in the road and the many pit stops the driver took to buy himself a coke were almost unbearable. As a treat, Michael got us a nice hotel here with a super comfortable bed and HOT SHOWER!! I wouldn't doubt if both of those things have helped the healing process significantly.
We only have a few days until Michael flies out, and while we're going to continue to base ourselves in Antigua, there's plans of day trips perhaps to a local hot water springs and maybe even a coffee plantation. However, even if we just hang around this cute town, I'll be happy.
Michael was able to get two different kinds of pain killers over the counter (oh, you want a big box of codeine? here you go!) and seems to be doing much better. Some pain here and there, obviously, but he's moving around well.
My traveler's illness did not go away on it's own like I hoped. In fact, yesterday I woke up with sulfur burps and an even worse stomach ache - as it had been four days of not eating a full meal, I finally decided to do something about it. With the help of the internet and a local pharmacy (where the pharmacists are like mini doctors), I got myself some medication for Giardia. Apparently, not being more careful with my water or food or whatever (as it appears to be the easiest thing in the world to get) caused a little parasite to live in my belly and lord knows I don't want to be a host to anything. The medication really seems to be doing the trick though and I should (knock on wood) be good as new in about three days.
The ride to Antigua yesterday was painful for us both - we took a tourist van, opting for comfort and speed, but the bumps in the road and the many pit stops the driver took to buy himself a coke were almost unbearable. As a treat, Michael got us a nice hotel here with a super comfortable bed and HOT SHOWER!! I wouldn't doubt if both of those things have helped the healing process significantly.
We only have a few days until Michael flies out, and while we're going to continue to base ourselves in Antigua, there's plans of day trips perhaps to a local hot water springs and maybe even a coffee plantation. However, even if we just hang around this cute town, I'll be happy.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
the best day and the worst night
I had decided that I didn't want to go to the beach again - there was still so much of the country to see and I'd already spent so many days at the ocean that I thought it wasn't productive to my trip. Michael and I had agreed to part ways on Friday, with him heading towards the beach and me going up north to the nature reserve of Tikal. Apparently, fate didn't think we should stop hanging out.
Since Thursday was our last day in San Pedro, we decided to make the most of it. It was probably the most beautiful day I´d seen here, with the sun coming out early in the morning and shining off the lake. We decided to go out kayaking one more time, and spent another hour paddling in the warm water and discovering more bright green shoreline. It's times like these that I'm happy I'm a NorCal girl, because although every Guatemalan I've talked to has warned me about the freezing temperatures of the lake, I thought it was like being in a warm bath.
After we got back to the hotel and dried off, Michael insisted we go into town to try the cheap local liquor, called Venado. Not even an hour later, we found ourselves sitting alone in a small concrete room with two wooden tables and a Gallo refrigerator, taking turns swigging from this bottle of nail-polish-remover-rum. We were pleasantly buzzed after that, and spent a good while discovering the non-touristy side of town, going down small dirt trails and up large cobblestone hills. I cursed myself so many times for not having my camera, as there was one point where we emerged from this amazing grove of coffee trees only to be at this small cliff that gave us a view of the entire town and lake. We followed that trail down and then the sound of thumping Latin music took us to another small 'bar'. There we had more Gallo and even more Venado. We were both a little drunk, but incredibly happy and I at least felt like I was in this fantastic dream.
Since our breakfast had been far in the past, we decided it was in our best interest to get some food. For the first time that we've been in San Pedro, we actually found something that tasted -great-; chicken garlic pizza and a side of mashed potatoes. Seeing as I only had a bagel for breakfast, I found myself eating most of the mashed potatoes while we both split the pizza. We spent a great deal of time at Nuevo Sol, laughing, talking to the people at the other tables, and reminiscing about the great sites we´d seen that day. When it was time to pay the bill, we discovered that we'd gone out with hardly any money (and what we had was already spent on liquor), so I went back to the hotel while Michael stayed and had a couple more drinks with the bartender. By the time I got back to pay, it was obvious that Michael hadn't eaten enough/kept drinking too much and my stopping/all the mashed potatoes had kept my head clear, so I helped him walk back to the hotel.
The walk back was difficult, as Michael was having a tough time going straight. In retrospect, I should have been so much smarter about this and had us stop at a cafe for a Coke or something, but at the time I thought the best thing I could do was get him into bed at the hotel. We made it up the flight of stone stairs from the street to the hotel mostly okay (with a couple small stumbles here and there). The entrances for the hotel are all outdoor on the balconies, including the stairs, and when we got to the last two flights of outdoor stairs, Michael got ahead of me. He must have turned the corner on the tile stairs too quickly, because as he started up the last flight (only four steps until our floor!) he lost his balance and went sideways. There are no railings on these slick tile stairs, and he landed right on his head and back onto the first flight of steps.
It was completely surreal. I dropped everything and went running to him where he lay at the bottom of the landing, thinking he was dead. I don´t even think he blacked out though, as he was responding quickly and said he felt no pain. I was so relieved that he was all okay and angry that I thought he was dead, that I actually slapped him. I´m incredibly embarrassed about doing that, but I guess there's that bit of Leon in me. Of course, immediately afterwards was when I saw the pool of blood under his head. My screams brought out several other guests in the hotel (who I later found out thought I was being raped and were coming to my rescue), and those people helped me get him back to the room. After cleaning him up (there was surprisingly a small amount of blood for a head wound - the most had been what I discovered on the stairs) and getting advice from a couple other people (as I was hardly in a good decision making state), we took him to the local clinic where four stitches were put into his head.
The doctor was very nice, seemed to do good stitching, and very patient with us both (me asking a million questions in poor Spanish and Michael turning his head back on the wound), but I was less than impressed with the facilities. Tiny concrete rooms that contained hardly any equipment, and the nurse actually had to hold the plug of the lamp and the extension cord together so that it would work. The entire process was quick though, and thanks to the help of the others in the hotel, getting there and back was very easy. Within moments after arriving back to the room, Michael was fast asleep.
I wish I could say the same for myself. Of course I was amped up from the action and awake with worry, but my stomach was also making it impossible for me to drift off. Not long after we got back, I found myself in the bathroom nearly every half an hour with my body trying desperately to rid itself of the mashed potatoes that had probably saved me from my own drunken behavior. It's now Saturday afternoon, and I´m only now finding it possible to keep down food. It certainly has made it difficult to be a good nurse for Michael.
I am surprised with how well he is healing. Michael has told me that his head doesn't hurt at all and the stitches look like they're doing their job. He is suffering a bit from a bruised arm and what may be a bruised rib, but between the pain medication and spending a lot of time resting, I think he's actually been getting around better than I have. Yesterday we switched hotels to one with easier access and cable TV, both important factors in the healing process.
It's hard to say what the rest of the week is going to be like. I have no real desire to leave his side right now, and I doubt he wants to go surfing, but I don't think either of us really want to spend the rest of the week in San Pedro - after all, if you're not going to be doing much of anything, there should at least be good food. There's talk of going back to Antigua, but we'll make those sort of decisions later. Tikal will still be there next week.
***
On a brighter note, pictures! I finally found a good computer/took the time to complete the upload...enjoy!
Our view of Lake Atitlan from a restaurant in San Pedro.
Performers showing their stuff in the town center - they sucked at dancing.
The scariest ferris wheel I've ever been on.
How I felt at the top.
It sure is quite a lake.
***
Miss and love you all!
Since Thursday was our last day in San Pedro, we decided to make the most of it. It was probably the most beautiful day I´d seen here, with the sun coming out early in the morning and shining off the lake. We decided to go out kayaking one more time, and spent another hour paddling in the warm water and discovering more bright green shoreline. It's times like these that I'm happy I'm a NorCal girl, because although every Guatemalan I've talked to has warned me about the freezing temperatures of the lake, I thought it was like being in a warm bath.
After we got back to the hotel and dried off, Michael insisted we go into town to try the cheap local liquor, called Venado. Not even an hour later, we found ourselves sitting alone in a small concrete room with two wooden tables and a Gallo refrigerator, taking turns swigging from this bottle of nail-polish-remover-rum. We were pleasantly buzzed after that, and spent a good while discovering the non-touristy side of town, going down small dirt trails and up large cobblestone hills. I cursed myself so many times for not having my camera, as there was one point where we emerged from this amazing grove of coffee trees only to be at this small cliff that gave us a view of the entire town and lake. We followed that trail down and then the sound of thumping Latin music took us to another small 'bar'. There we had more Gallo and even more Venado. We were both a little drunk, but incredibly happy and I at least felt like I was in this fantastic dream.
Since our breakfast had been far in the past, we decided it was in our best interest to get some food. For the first time that we've been in San Pedro, we actually found something that tasted -great-; chicken garlic pizza and a side of mashed potatoes. Seeing as I only had a bagel for breakfast, I found myself eating most of the mashed potatoes while we both split the pizza. We spent a great deal of time at Nuevo Sol, laughing, talking to the people at the other tables, and reminiscing about the great sites we´d seen that day. When it was time to pay the bill, we discovered that we'd gone out with hardly any money (and what we had was already spent on liquor), so I went back to the hotel while Michael stayed and had a couple more drinks with the bartender. By the time I got back to pay, it was obvious that Michael hadn't eaten enough/kept drinking too much and my stopping/all the mashed potatoes had kept my head clear, so I helped him walk back to the hotel.
The walk back was difficult, as Michael was having a tough time going straight. In retrospect, I should have been so much smarter about this and had us stop at a cafe for a Coke or something, but at the time I thought the best thing I could do was get him into bed at the hotel. We made it up the flight of stone stairs from the street to the hotel mostly okay (with a couple small stumbles here and there). The entrances for the hotel are all outdoor on the balconies, including the stairs, and when we got to the last two flights of outdoor stairs, Michael got ahead of me. He must have turned the corner on the tile stairs too quickly, because as he started up the last flight (only four steps until our floor!) he lost his balance and went sideways. There are no railings on these slick tile stairs, and he landed right on his head and back onto the first flight of steps.
It was completely surreal. I dropped everything and went running to him where he lay at the bottom of the landing, thinking he was dead. I don´t even think he blacked out though, as he was responding quickly and said he felt no pain. I was so relieved that he was all okay and angry that I thought he was dead, that I actually slapped him. I´m incredibly embarrassed about doing that, but I guess there's that bit of Leon in me. Of course, immediately afterwards was when I saw the pool of blood under his head. My screams brought out several other guests in the hotel (who I later found out thought I was being raped and were coming to my rescue), and those people helped me get him back to the room. After cleaning him up (there was surprisingly a small amount of blood for a head wound - the most had been what I discovered on the stairs) and getting advice from a couple other people (as I was hardly in a good decision making state), we took him to the local clinic where four stitches were put into his head.
The doctor was very nice, seemed to do good stitching, and very patient with us both (me asking a million questions in poor Spanish and Michael turning his head back on the wound), but I was less than impressed with the facilities. Tiny concrete rooms that contained hardly any equipment, and the nurse actually had to hold the plug of the lamp and the extension cord together so that it would work. The entire process was quick though, and thanks to the help of the others in the hotel, getting there and back was very easy. Within moments after arriving back to the room, Michael was fast asleep.
I wish I could say the same for myself. Of course I was amped up from the action and awake with worry, but my stomach was also making it impossible for me to drift off. Not long after we got back, I found myself in the bathroom nearly every half an hour with my body trying desperately to rid itself of the mashed potatoes that had probably saved me from my own drunken behavior. It's now Saturday afternoon, and I´m only now finding it possible to keep down food. It certainly has made it difficult to be a good nurse for Michael.
I am surprised with how well he is healing. Michael has told me that his head doesn't hurt at all and the stitches look like they're doing their job. He is suffering a bit from a bruised arm and what may be a bruised rib, but between the pain medication and spending a lot of time resting, I think he's actually been getting around better than I have. Yesterday we switched hotels to one with easier access and cable TV, both important factors in the healing process.
It's hard to say what the rest of the week is going to be like. I have no real desire to leave his side right now, and I doubt he wants to go surfing, but I don't think either of us really want to spend the rest of the week in San Pedro - after all, if you're not going to be doing much of anything, there should at least be good food. There's talk of going back to Antigua, but we'll make those sort of decisions later. Tikal will still be there next week.
***
On a brighter note, pictures! I finally found a good computer/took the time to complete the upload...enjoy!
Our view of Lake Atitlan from a restaurant in San Pedro.
Performers showing their stuff in the town center - they sucked at dancing.
The scariest ferris wheel I've ever been on.
How I felt at the top.
It sure is quite a lake.
***
Miss and love you all!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
fotos...
Still have so many more to upload, but for as fast as the internet is for everything else, uploading pictures takes ages. I waited an hour to just get these two. Grrrr. New cafe tomorrow.
There´s not much to say about San Pedro - I´ve been feeling really tired and sluggish lately, so outside of eating some okay food, drinking cheap cuba libres, and reading in the hammock, I haven´t done a whole lot. Michael is wanting to go down to a surfer beach town maybe as soon as tomorrow, and I think I´m going to keep traveling with him.
The view from our rooftop in Pana.
The craziness of the market in Chichicastenago.
I promise, more to come!
There´s not much to say about San Pedro - I´ve been feeling really tired and sluggish lately, so outside of eating some okay food, drinking cheap cuba libres, and reading in the hammock, I haven´t done a whole lot. Michael is wanting to go down to a surfer beach town maybe as soon as tomorrow, and I think I´m going to keep traveling with him.
The view from our rooftop in Pana.
The craziness of the market in Chichicastenago.
I promise, more to come!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
¿fotos?
I found a USB port...only to have the power go out halfway through using the computer. I´ll try again tomorrow, but in the meantime, here is a pic from inside the market at Chichicastenago:
We spent hours in this bizarre maze of colors.
Today we went kayaking. I love this lake. I love this town. I love this country.
We spent hours in this bizarre maze of colors.
Today we went kayaking. I love this lake. I love this town. I love this country.
Monday, July 7, 2008
ferris wheel
Yet another computer without working USB ports - I know these blog posts have got to be boring without pictures, but I'll try to get some up as soon as I can.
Today has been a lovely day. Michael and I decided to leave Pana and travel across the lake to San Pedro. Though a little crowded, the boat ride was nice as I got to see up close just how perfectly blue the water is and how massive the lakeside volcanoes are. Our first endeavor after landing was to find a hotel (after, of course, drinking a cuba libre and finding a place to put our stuff down). It was nice to explore the town a bit and I even ran into someone I met climbing the volcano, but we went far out of our way to only return to a hotel near the docks. By that time I was hot and sweaty, and we took our turns in the shower - for the first time I didn't mind that the water never got hot.
After a bit of relaxing in the room, we found some lunch, and began to explore the rest of the city. There are a few main paved streets in San Pedro, but the easiest way to get around are on the small dirt paths in the woods and fields. We found ourselves snaking around the lake, admist the lush greenery, tossing pumas stones into the water and watching them float back to shore. When we pulled ourselves away from the lake and to the real town center, we found a fair! Today was the last day that a fair visiting San Pedro was going to be set up, and what a sight it was. A few cheesy carnival games, a couple rides, and two horribly scary looking ferris wheels. Michael insisted that we go on one, so before I knew it we were getting the best possible view of the town from a poorly secured seat for two. The craziest part to me was that the whole contraption was run by the motor of an old tractor that a guy sat on, increasing and decreasing acceleration. Totally frightening and exhilarating.
Our walk back towards the hotel proved fruitful in that I found many of the restaurants and bars recommended by Lonely Planet. I'm not sure what tonight will bring, whether it's checking out a new bar or watching a free movie at one of the tourist places, but I love the pace of this city - it´s a prettier and more relaxed Pana with an even better view of the lake.
Today has been a lovely day. Michael and I decided to leave Pana and travel across the lake to San Pedro. Though a little crowded, the boat ride was nice as I got to see up close just how perfectly blue the water is and how massive the lakeside volcanoes are. Our first endeavor after landing was to find a hotel (after, of course, drinking a cuba libre and finding a place to put our stuff down). It was nice to explore the town a bit and I even ran into someone I met climbing the volcano, but we went far out of our way to only return to a hotel near the docks. By that time I was hot and sweaty, and we took our turns in the shower - for the first time I didn't mind that the water never got hot.
After a bit of relaxing in the room, we found some lunch, and began to explore the rest of the city. There are a few main paved streets in San Pedro, but the easiest way to get around are on the small dirt paths in the woods and fields. We found ourselves snaking around the lake, admist the lush greenery, tossing pumas stones into the water and watching them float back to shore. When we pulled ourselves away from the lake and to the real town center, we found a fair! Today was the last day that a fair visiting San Pedro was going to be set up, and what a sight it was. A few cheesy carnival games, a couple rides, and two horribly scary looking ferris wheels. Michael insisted that we go on one, so before I knew it we were getting the best possible view of the town from a poorly secured seat for two. The craziest part to me was that the whole contraption was run by the motor of an old tractor that a guy sat on, increasing and decreasing acceleration. Totally frightening and exhilarating.
Our walk back towards the hotel proved fruitful in that I found many of the restaurants and bars recommended by Lonely Planet. I'm not sure what tonight will bring, whether it's checking out a new bar or watching a free movie at one of the tourist places, but I love the pace of this city - it´s a prettier and more relaxed Pana with an even better view of the lake.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
the market
The rest of my yesterday was wonderful. Michael introduced me to a street snack of roasted corn that tasted exactly like popcorn. I already had a few cuba libres (rum and cokes) in me, so this find made me super excited. It was fun wandering the street at night, eating popcorn corn, seeing little mayan kids watch a religious movie in their native tongue, and walking by the lake in the rain. After a dinner of decent pizza, we spent the rest of our night at the Circus Bar again. This time the live music was more impressive (three guys playing wicked guitar and one guy on bongos). We met two dentists sitting next to us, one American and one Guatemalan, who kept us entertained with conversation for our visit, and Michael even ran into someone that he knew from 14 years ago, back when he lived in Pana. I had one too many cuba libres (as that's what my head and stomach told me this morning), but it was a great hangout.
Today was another slow wake-up, but when we finally got up and going, we hopped on a bus to Chichicastenago. It took two buses and a small shuttle to get there, but Michael and I were dying to go see the famous market. I will have to upload pictures later, as this computer wont read my camera, but the market was amazing. The entire town had been turned into stands where people were selling produce, tapestries or fried chicken. We started by checking out the two big churches near the center of the market (which were much different from Spain - hardly any ornamentation at all, but one did have a fake tomb of Jesus to pray to), got a fish burger to share, and spent the rest of the time wandering through the maze of stands. I felt like I was in a bizzare dream. I saw men walk by with baskets of live turkeys on their backs, with their little turkeys heads poking out. I saw the most brightly and beautifully colored clothes and table cloths hanging all around me. I heard hundreds of lies to make me buy wares, including 'you can have a discount for speaking good spanish'. It was overwhelming and incredibly worth the ride up there. I can just barely imagine what it's like for a local family to go there on a Sunday and buy what they need to live. It's certainly a different world.
The ride back in the shuttle was entertaining, as they kept trying to fill it with as many people as possible. If everyone had a seat the shuttle would hold 14, but there were more like 25 people in there at a time - it's amazing how people will squeeze for a ride and how the driver and his partner will work for as many quetzals as possible. The camionetas were actually fairly empty on the ride back, and we were finally able to get a window seat which gave us a great view of the lake as we rode into Pana.
Tomorrow Michael and I are moving across the lake to either San Pedro or San Marcos - most people I talked to before coming here told me that both of those towns are worth visiting and many liked them even more than Pana. The next night we'll hop over to the other town and then head back to Pana for one more night before moving on from the lake.
It's absolutely beautiful here at the lake, and so far this trip is making me seriously consider moving to Guatemala. I would be starting at the same place here that I would in America as far as finding a job and a house goes, and the pace of life here is one I could get really used to. It would certainly make my life exciting. There's a lot to think about on that front though because really, could I live without fast internet and great showers?
Today was another slow wake-up, but when we finally got up and going, we hopped on a bus to Chichicastenago. It took two buses and a small shuttle to get there, but Michael and I were dying to go see the famous market. I will have to upload pictures later, as this computer wont read my camera, but the market was amazing. The entire town had been turned into stands where people were selling produce, tapestries or fried chicken. We started by checking out the two big churches near the center of the market (which were much different from Spain - hardly any ornamentation at all, but one did have a fake tomb of Jesus to pray to), got a fish burger to share, and spent the rest of the time wandering through the maze of stands. I felt like I was in a bizzare dream. I saw men walk by with baskets of live turkeys on their backs, with their little turkeys heads poking out. I saw the most brightly and beautifully colored clothes and table cloths hanging all around me. I heard hundreds of lies to make me buy wares, including 'you can have a discount for speaking good spanish'. It was overwhelming and incredibly worth the ride up there. I can just barely imagine what it's like for a local family to go there on a Sunday and buy what they need to live. It's certainly a different world.
The ride back in the shuttle was entertaining, as they kept trying to fill it with as many people as possible. If everyone had a seat the shuttle would hold 14, but there were more like 25 people in there at a time - it's amazing how people will squeeze for a ride and how the driver and his partner will work for as many quetzals as possible. The camionetas were actually fairly empty on the ride back, and we were finally able to get a window seat which gave us a great view of the lake as we rode into Pana.
Tomorrow Michael and I are moving across the lake to either San Pedro or San Marcos - most people I talked to before coming here told me that both of those towns are worth visiting and many liked them even more than Pana. The next night we'll hop over to the other town and then head back to Pana for one more night before moving on from the lake.
It's absolutely beautiful here at the lake, and so far this trip is making me seriously consider moving to Guatemala. I would be starting at the same place here that I would in America as far as finding a job and a house goes, and the pace of life here is one I could get really used to. It would certainly make my life exciting. There's a lot to think about on that front though because really, could I live without fast internet and great showers?
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