lazy days and annoying people

a week and a half of roatan and i still haven't decided where i'm going next.  my days are spent at yoga, scuba diving, and hanging around.  i guess that's not too bad a way to kill time.  that's also why i haven't written much, every day is mostly like the last.

i've been feeling lately like i need a purpose, something to accomplish.  that probably comes from only talking to dive masters, tour guides and spanish teachers, everyone seems to know way more about everything than me and quite honestly i'm beginning to feel a bit dumb.  i'm going to spend the next few days deciding what i'd like to do when i grow up.

one thing that doesn't make me feel dumb is talking to americans.  why do they seem like the biggest idiots anywhere i go?  i met a woman at a bar last nite and instantly disliked her.  first she was insistent that we've been diving together the past 3 days (she was a bit annoyed that i didn't recognize her), but after investigating, she's only been on afternoon dives and i've only been on morning dives.  so impossible, but she was positive i've been on her boat and wouldn't let it drop.

her next method of pissing me off was interrupting an important conversation about strippers and pole dancing.  why am i not allowed to have a fun, non-pc chat with the boys without someone spouting off about women's rights and how important pole dancing will become as the next olympic sport?  you're not supposed to talk about serious things in a bar after 10pm.

imagine my surprise when she's on the morning dive with me today.  she did go on a bit about her level of scuba diving prowess so i was interested to see her underwater.  and she looked like she was riding an invisible unicycle, legs pumping, arms waving around, she kept grabbing the dive master when she got too out of control, or she'd pedal her way so far off that someone would have to go get her.  totally amusing.

normally i don't waste much time writing or thinking about people that annoy me but she's just too funny.  i've been keeping notes on my phone of conversation topics that'll provoke her into more strange rants tonite.

the big news for the weekend is that the new road in town is finally ready to open.  the road was a gift from the canadian government (i don't know why), and they pledged $40 million to put in sewers and pave.  instead of sending the money here they actually sent canadian workers and materials, and did the work themselves.  smart people, those canadians.  what would have happened with a giant check for 40 million is a 20 million dollar road and a couple really rich honduran guys.

the official opening ceremony is on saturday and the president of honduras is coming.  i'll be taking the morning off of diving to watch, as my cabana is situated at the exact crossroads of the main section of the new road.  my porch is raised up about 6 feet so i have a great view over the rock wall that separates me from the road.  in fact, i am the only resident anywhere near town center right now.  so while all the people are jammed in the street i'm going to sit in my usual comfy chair (where i'm at right now, perfect for people watching), have some drinks and watch the craziness.

and maybe by the end of the weekend i'll have a plan to leave here.

the view from my lanai

drinking and diving

the first question everyone asks here is 'how long are you staying?'

most of the people i've met came here for vacation and never left.  roatan is a beautiful island, clear blue water with spectacular reefs and tons of fish.  there's a dive shop every few feet, i heard there are so many that they passed a law to stop any new shops from opening.

i've been diving with coconut tree divers and they've taken me to some great places.  they're also great to hang out with, the front lanai of the shop is always filled with people drinking coffee, beer, eating lunch, talking about diving, passing the time.  anytime i want to find someone to talk to i only need to walk half a block from my cabana.

i've hung out mostly with john and tree.  they both work at the shop but i haven't been diving with either of them yet.  john spent 35 years working as a host for parties and niteclubs, and tree spent almost as many years working as a carnival barker, so they both make excellent companions for hanging out and talking story.

tree and i rented paddleboards on sunday and went down to west bay, about a mile and a half.  the water was calm and beautiful which is good because this was only the 4th time tree has been on a board.  we got to our destination, a bar to watch football.  after several banana rum drinks we had to head home, and the wind had picked up, against us of course.  so we stopped at another bar about half way back for more rum.  some exercise, booze and a tour guide, what more could i want?  made it all the way home in time to hit the bars with all the locals.  i don't think i've seen this many bars in one place since college.

david has been my dive buddy here, he's from switzerland and planned a round the world dive trip for 3 months.  his itinerary has been set for a while and his next stop is a live aboard in galapagos.  this afternoon we're going to swim out to a boat moored in the middle of west end with a purposely slanted mast.  the boat used to be in service but someone owed someone money and used the boat as payment, and the new owner thought it would make a good playground for the local kids.  so he parked it out front of his restaurant, fixed the mast at a good angle and attached a rope swing.  anyone can swim out and play.

currently there are locals (probably just the expats) that think its an eyesore and want it removed but like most things here you can just pay the right people and do what you want.

david's impending departure makes me wonder where i'm headed next.  i have absolutely no plan in mind.  every day they ask me how long i'm staying, every day i tell them i don't know.  but after a week of diving and looking through all the pictures on the dive shops facebook page, i think i'm going to stay until i see a seahorse.  maybe tomorrow, maybe next month.

first day in honduras do over

ok today was a huge disappointment.

no wifi at all, unfriendly people at my hotel, we didn't even go to 'melissa's reef' on our dive.  what i took for a good omen turned out to be the last straw.  the 2 women divemasters were nice but the guys wouldn't talk to me and the group i dove with was super annoying.  i hate people that have to touch everything.  and bounce up and down and kick me.  and the super cool boat they advertised online wasn't even used.  we went in a crappy half broken down ponga.

after the dive i checked wifi again, no go, more unfriendliness from the front desk, so i started my search for a new home.

less than a block away i found a cabana with a/c, tv, dive shop with super nice people, refrigerator and microwave, and 24 hour wifi (unfortunately not in my room).  all for $10 more a night.  done.  i move in tomorrow morning.

even better, there's an attached restaurant with football.  not central american football (that too) but college football.

ok tomorrows a new day.

first day in honduras

the wifi is weird here.  and currently not working.  i know this because i was recruited to do tech support for a man sitting by the front office, he couldn't figure out how to connect.  he's french but he bought his computer in germany, so navigating through the network options took a bit of effort.  all the options had words that were several inches long with lots of h's and z's.  i finally grabbed my computer to check the connection and there was none.  i don't have enough spanish to explain to the honduran girl at the front desk that she should reboot the modem, but in a very roundabout way i got it understood.  turns out that the phones aren't working so no internet.  

they also cut off the wifi at 8pm, and don't turn it back on till 8am.  boo.

anyway, i finally got a look around this morning while out searching for coffee, roatan is very beautiful.  dirt roads, docks, clear blue water, hot hot hot.  considering trading in my cute little cabana for a hotel with air conditioning.  

the trip here was better than expected.  i did break down and pay a man $200 to set up my entire trip and it might have been the best money i've spent so far.  i left my hostel at 6am for the docks and took an hour boat ride to puerto barrios, and there was a man standing there waiting for me.  hopped in his van, just me, and off we sped through miles and miles of country.  the border crossing was very easy but if i were by myself it would have taken hours.  samuel knew everyone along the way, buddies with all the guys and flirting with all the girls.  at the guatemalan checkpoint they stamped my passport, then we found the money changers.  a 10 minute drive and we entered honduras, and instantly samuel was a bit different, seat belts on, behave yourself, etc.  there were 2 lines at immigration with about 40 people waiting but samuel took me to a 3rd window that was closed, shouted 'hey hermano', grabbed my passport and cash and it was done in 5 minutes.  the guy never even looked at me or asked me questions.  samuel probably saved me an hour of waiting in line.

after police searching the van (but not my bags) and getting sprayed down with antibacterial, we went through corintos, san pedro sula (with a wendy's and burger king every 50 feet), and lots of little towns all the way to la ceiba for the ferry.  outside of san pedro samuel pointed out the poorest town in honduras, miles of corrugated metal cobbled together into shacks.  throughout the ride there was a rambutan stand every mile or so, acres and acres of banana plantations, semi trucks sharing the 2 lane highway with horse drawn carts and bicycles.  

without samuel and his van i don't think this trip would have been possible in a day.  besides the time saved at immigration, i didn't have to walk the mile between leaving guatemala and entering honduras, and no sitting at bus stations wondering if i'm at the right place.  and samuel knew where the good food was along the way.

at the ferry station i had a couple hours to kill and found a cafe nearby.  i asked for a menu and they only served one dish for lunch and one for dinner so that's what you get.  it was fried chicken, spaghetti, avocado, rice, beans and fried plantain.  

back at the station i encountered the first security i've seen in my travels, they actually scanned my bags and walked me through a metal detector.  and took my knife.  i was a little upset at first, and honduran spanish being different than either mexican or guatemalan i had to ask a couple times, but turns out that i can claim it at the other end.  i've really become fond of my switchblade.

the ferry was great, one of those gigantic boats with a/c, tvs and comfy seats.  it could probably hold a few hundred people but it was pretty empty.  the ride took about an hour and a half to roatan.

the cab ride to my hotel cost almost as much as the ferry and it was dark so i couldn't see anything.  i found dinner at a bar filled with american expats, watched a garifune group doing a tribal dance in the street,  and called it a night.

during my wandering this morning i found yoga, paddle boards, dive shops everywhere, spanish classes, enough to keep me busy for a week or 2.  as i was walking past the dive shop at my hotel they were writing the days trips on the board and the 11am dive is at 'melissa's reef', so i took that as a sign that i should dive today.  gotta go get ready.

turtle shells for sale in livingston.  ugh.

roatan

13 hours of van, bus, car, boat and ferry and I made it to roatan.

it's hotter than hell and I have no beer.

I think the island would appreciate it if I took a shower before I went in search.

maybe honduras?

my shower this morning was 5 weak trickles of icy cold water.  i'm hoping that's not a sign for how my travels will go.

made my arrangements, packed dried fruit, ritz crackers and a pepsi, and here i go.  off to the first boat.

cross fingers for me that everything goes smoothly.  this is the first time i actually care.

livingston, guatemala and so much more

well here i am in livingston, guatemala, the only place that i said i wouldn't go.  and how did i end up here?  why am i not out of guatemala yet?  let's journey back a few days in time and i'll catch you up.

september 14, 2012.  i was trying to get out of antigua to beat the guatemalan independence day craziness.  i'd been in antigua for far too long and really had no desire to stay for some kids in parades and fireworks and all that.  seen it before so let's get to semuc champey for some relaxation.

also want to get away from the people flocking in to see the erupting volcano.  nice but not scary.

the trip in a van was supposed to be 5 hours but due to the parades already starting the day before the traffic was insane.  half of the 2 lane freeway was taken up by groups of children jogging through the mountains with torches.  or more likely, coffee cans roped to sticks with something on fire in them.  that set us back about an hour.

starting the basic chitchat when i'm stuck in a van with new people i discover that my seat mate is a fellow ohio state grad.  i didn't mention that i was about 10 years ahead of him (generous figure), but he was a nice guy so we reminisced about ohio.  he still lives there.  we made plans to make one of those o-h-i-o pictures that people send in to get in ohio state's picture album.

after being so far behind schedule so early our driver was determined to make up time any way he could.  speeding, passing multiple cars on blind curves, wrong side of the road, whatever.  we had to stop when a construction truck was backing off the highway and since there was no way around he just laid on the horn and yelled curses out the window.  its not like we're a pizza that has to be there in 30 minutes or less so i don't know what his problem was.  and when he can finally sneak around into the other lane to pass he's still yelling at the truck driver and hits the guy coming the other way.  the first thing i noticed was the 'for sale' sign on the other guys car and figured that we'd be here haggling forever over damages but our guy just yells at him and drives away.

now we're back on the road again doing twice the speed limit and we get pulled over by armed guards for a random stop.  our driver who is in so much of a hurry doesn't have the proper paperwork, so we all pile out of the van to wait.  can't we just pay them to let us be on our way?  but no, many phone calls must be made.  to kill time a few of us run across the highway to pee in the bushes with a chicken bus full of young boys half out the windows trying to get a peek.  

this is where bobby and i wanted to do our ohio state script (sorta like spelling the letters in ymca), with me and bobby being the o's and 2 guards being the h and the i, but using his rifle as the i.  neither of us had the courage to ask.

back on the road again.  all seems to be going well.  until we're run off the road by a bus.  

and finally getting to our hostel, 2 hours late and way too many dirt roads later, i head straight to the bar and get hammered.  kimberley from the bar had to navigate my way back to my bed.

september 15, 2012.  woke up with a pretty vicious hangover, and i'm proud to say that i haven't had a hangover but once since i've been gone.  should stick to the tequila.  i had made arrangements to do a full day tour of semuc champey, leaving at 9am.  at 9:15 we started walking through town because its independence day and our van can't get through.  the parades have already started and we are threading our way between throngs of children in traditional dress, bands, schools, basically everyone in this tiny town.  its close to 10 before we make our way to the van and the road.  head really hurts.

the trip to semuc champey is about half an hour of rocky dirt roads, and again, being behind schedule, our driver is making better time than my aching head wanted him to.  the group was 3 israeli couples and me.  super nice people.  tomorrow is israeli new year and everyone is on holiday.

our first stop is the cave las marias k'an-ba.  its a wet cave and most of it requires some degree of swimming.  with candles over our heads.  the first bit of cold water over my head pretty much wiped out my hangover so that was a plus.  we were climbing rocks, swimming, climbing rickety ladders, going over waterfalls, it was a super fun cave.  our guide singled me out to do the 'advanced' tour, when everyone else got to climb a ladder, i got to climb up by rope.  when everyone else jumped off a rock i got to climb 8 feet higher and jump from there.  i'm not sure why he felt i needed the extra adventure.

no one died so our next task was tubing the river.  nice and easy.  

at the end of that there was a rope swing to play on, and a bridge to jump off.  scary but fun.  again, you really can do anything here that would be illegal in the states.

next stop is lunch.  we had all brought sandwiches from the hostel but i wanted to try the local cooking and got a plate.  not fantastic.  so i tried my sandwich.  not fantastic.  i was going to throw everything away and a local girl walks up and asks if she can have my leftovers.  poor girl.  i give her my plate and all the fruit i had in my backpack.

in antigua i learned that the children start getting coffee in their bottles at 8 months.  they call it baby coffee.  after that kids mostly drink pepsi (huge monopoly here).  and even if the kids are on the street selling fruit they aren't allowed to eat it, they mainly get corn tortillas.  eating tortillas and drinking coffee and over half the children here have malnutrition.  and are really short.

there were a group of girls selling stuff so some people got together and bought them each a lunch plate and i've never seen happier children in my life.

after lunch its on to the mirador above the pools to get a view of everything.  it was a half hour walk up the mountain, mostly steps carved into the sides.  the top was amazing (see facebook pics).  the river is quite strong at the start of the valley and in the middle it goes mostly underground, leaving these clear blue pools to swim and relax in.  its a thin valley covered with jungle and mountains rising up on both sides.  quite breathtaking.

when i first approached the mirador i heard something strange, and who is it but bobby trying to organize an o-h-i-o with the amazing view.  he wasn't at my hostel so it was pretty coincidental to run into him on the top of the mountain.  we took our pictures and headed to the pools.

clear cold blue water with islands of tropical plants and waterfalls.  just what was needed after a day of caving and climbing.  we floated for a while then got loaded into a pickup truck for the bumpy ride home.

september 16, 2012.  i avoided a hangover this morning by going to bed at 9pm after the pools.  the shuttle for rio dulce left at 8.  i picked rio dulce because that was the only shuttle going in the general direction of roatan, and i'm seriously craving ocean by now.  i've been in guatemala way too long.  

the group this time is 2 different israeli couples, not nearly as pleasant as the ones yesterday (and yay, they're checking into my hostel as i write this).  we pile into the van and get started down the bumpy rock roads.  

our driver doesn't seem to realize that he's driving a shuttle so he keeps stopping for people on the side of the road to make a few extra bucks.  every time he stops one of the israeli's gets angry and yells at him.  we take a little detour and pull off next to what looks like a jail, the driver gets out and he unloads a couple crates of bananas at the gate.  while he's waiting there the big israeli (6'2" maybe 275) gets out to yell at him some more.  they are obviously on a tight schedule.  although how you could travel through guatemala and think that 'schedule' means anything, i don't know.  

from what i understand he's waiting for some food in return for the bananas and now 2 more israelis get out of the van to yell at him.  like that's gonna do anything.  15 minutes later, food delivered, we're driving again.

after another hour we get to a road block, there's construction and we aren't allowed to go through.  i take this time to find a place to pee on the side of the road, the israelis take this time to yell at the man with the orange vest.  

there's an old road and a new road.  the new road is half blocked but the old road looks clear.  i'm not understanding what the problem is.  but for no apparent reason we get cleared to take the old road after a half hour wait.  there's no construction on it, nothing blocking it, not sure what that was about.

and finally, 7 hours of no paved roads later, we get to rio dulce.  i'm very thankful to say goodbye to my van mates (although they are now sitting 20 feet from me arguing with the cleaning woman).

i make a reservation for the morning boat to livingston, where i think i can get a direct ride to the dock in honduras, then get a taxi to my hotel.  i booked this particular hotel because it has a marina and i was half hoping to find a private boat to take me to roatan for a few (many) extra dollars.  and they advertised a weight room which would be a nice change of pace from running.

none of the machines in the weight room work, and the marina is more of a dry dock.  total fail.

september 17, 2012.  so now we're mostly caught up to today.  i woke up and my body is in total agony.  almost 15 hours of driving on dirt roads in the past 3 days.  i got on the 9am boat to livingston because i saw an advertisement for a ride straight through to roatan with one company.  no thinking about boats and buses or going the wrong way or missing connections, one boat then a guy finds me, drives me to the dock in honduras, that's it.  

i get to livingston and go straight to the travel agency and they tell me that they aren't going to take me.  they need 6 people to make the trip pay and i'm the only one signed up.  but they do finally map me out a route of boats and buses and if i'm lucky i can make it.  2 boats and 3 buses.  there's no way i'm going to get there on my own in a day.  fail.

i ate lunch and had a couple beers and went to a couple other travel agencies and found one that does the same trip but only requires 4 people.  i think i'm going to go back and pay for all 4 tickets just so i can get out of this hell i feel like i'm in today.  less hassle than a cheap trip finding the right chicken bus, but cheaper than finding an airport.  whatever.

guatemela has been great, i really like it here, but its well past time to go.  ocean.  its calling me.  

angry israelis

blah blah blah

i have several days of notes to write up but am in no way motivated to do so.  today feels like a lie in bed and watch spanish tv kinda day.

here's a cow to enjoy until i'm back on track.

wandering thru the hostel

2for1 tuesdays at domino's

ok i'm officially bored here.  i like antigua, school is great, the markets are entertaining, there are endless bars and restaurants but i wish i left yesterday.

i did manage to get my package sent with the help of 'super julia', my spanish teacher.  turns out that carlos has never mailed a package before (guess that's his wife's job), and he also works 2 full time jobs so i couldn't ask him.  he works 6 nights a week as the night watchman at this hotel, then he works 6 days as the day guy at another hotel.  crazy.  he has a cot here in the office and just wakes up when someone rings the bell to be let in.

yesterday i was asking julia about the post office, whether there was any other place a bit more secure to use, where to buy a box and packing tape, and she decided that we'd take a mini field trip and mail my package but we had to do it all in spanish because it was during school hours.  fine by me.

we picked up my stuff, bought supplies, and walked to 3 different shipping places to get quotes.  we didn't even go to the post office.  2 hours and $150 later my gifts are in the mail.  i have to remember to get a good job when i get home because i really enjoy paying people to do things for me.

i was so happy getting my box mailed that i took a salsa lesson.  that's all i'm gonna say about that.

julia also looked up my mayan nawal (sort of like aumakua), its a hummingbird.  somewhat disappointing.  it also said that i'm impulsive (anyone surprised?).

today after class i went on a real field trip.  we got on a chicken bus and rode to old antigua, the site of the first capital of guatemala (the capital is in guatemala city now).  antigua became the capital in 1527, then in 1541 there was a massive volcanic eruption coupled with several days of torrential rains.  while the lava was destroying the city it blocked up any drainage and caused a flood as well.  one church remains from that time, the rest is a relatively new.  the chicken bus was the best part of the trip.

so tonite carlos and i got pizzas (2for1 on tuesdays) and we hung out in the lobby and spoke spanish.  i ate my entire pizza.  that was a little embarrassing but i couldn't help it.

i apologize sincerely for this lame blog post but cheap pizza and mail are really the most exciting things that have happened here.  ok, a little poof of black smoke from volcan fuego this morning was cool too.  i promise i won't be so boring in the future.

creepiest child's ride ever?

sunday markets

congratulations, mom and dad, its a girl.

hours later and i have completed my mission, shopped until my feet hurt, and now have so many gifts for my loved ones (and myself!) that i cannot avoid the post office any longer.  i'm pretty proud of myself right now.  i've done alot of cool things on my trip but perhaps this is the biggest accomplishment, given how much i abhor shopping.

sorry, guys, guatemala just isn't a place with anything you'd like.  you wouldn't wear the clothes and i don't wanna buy crappy tshirts.  maybe honduras is more of a man's place for shopping.  it sounds manlier.

i did find my knife, which is kind of a manly gift, but all i could find were switchblades and i don't think sending a box of them home would be smiled upon.  but i did buy one for myself.  pretty stainless steel blade with a faux wood handle.  talked that guy down to 30q (about $3.50).

i'd been eyeing a blanket in a shop since i got here, i really don't know why since i don't even own a bed, but it is so beautiful, made out of different patches from the different districts around guatemala.  today i finally went into the store to look at it more closely and come up with a price i could live with.  her opening offer was 600q (around $75), and it was worth every bit of that.  my first bid was 300q ($37ish) and finally settled almost directly in the middle.  i know that's alot of money here but for some reason i just had to have this blanket.  and it weighs so much it'll probably cost me $200 to mail home.

i got into a groove with my bargaining style (the half valium i took helped, love the pharmacies here).  i'd find what i liked, the woman would give me a price, i'd make a super low counter offer, we'd exchange prices till i found her best price, then i'd drop everything i wanted saying how expensive this stall was and i think i saw something similar down the street.  at that point her best price would get better as she ran after me, we'd haggle something even lower than her best best price, and i'd accept.  the only place this didn't work was the blanket store because she knew she had the best stuff and few others stores had anything like it.  and one more accomplishment of the day, i did everything in fantastic spanish.  no one even tried to speak english to me.  yippee!

haggling or not, i'm pretty sure i still blew a weeks budget today.  and i'll blow another weeks on shipping.  which brings up the problem of where to get boxes.  they don't have boxes at the post office and i haven't found a shipping store like they had in mexico.

i've struck up a friendship with carlos, the nite watchman at this hotel.  he helps me with my spanish and patiently answers my questions and puts up with me waking him up at all hours of the nite (need to ring the bell to get inside at any time of the day).  i'm thinking about asking him to be my shipping guy, he works 6 nites a week at the hotel and i can't imagine that he makes any money at all.  i bet he'd get boxes and tape and take my stuff to the post office for $10.  even $20, totally worth it to me.  he'll be here back here in a few hours so i'll run it past him.  and maybe its cheaper for a local to mail things to the us.  could be worth every penny if shipping is half price.

now shopping is done, lunch has been eaten (had a crazy good veggie burger on a toasted wheat bagel with guacamole, lettuce and tomato), and its about to rain.  thinkin its time for homework and some spanish tv.  wish i could get the browns game here.

so much stuff

volcan pacaya

its always gorgeous in the morning here, then turns to rain at about 3pm.  i was just sitting on the patio roof listening to the competing church music coming from several places.  not long ago it was all rock bands.  i can't seem to catch a sun rise, its way too early.  i'd have to see it from the other end but i'm too old to stay out until 5am.

i tried to get out earlier today and beat the street traffic so i left my room at 6:15 to run and the roads were still crowded.  everyone is trying to get the best spots for all the sunday street markets.  i have a long day of shopping ahead of me that i'm not looking forward to, its time to buy gifts for the family and figure out how to mail things.  i don't know why i hate shopping so much but whether i'm at a mall or arguing with a 4 foot tall woman it seems the same to me.

yesterday i climbed up to view volcan pacaya, which is kind of erupting right now.  it was a vastly different experience than the volcano in san pedro.  a van picked me up at 6am, then spent 20 minutes driving around picking up about 15 other people.  we had a truck load of germans, english, spaniards and a korean (who kept walking away when i tried to talk to him, he was kinda cute), for once i was the only american.  we drove about an hour and a half outside of antigua, through crazy highways and rundown small towns.

our driver was determined to get there in good time and since i was the first pickup he made me sit in the front with him, i got to witness every moment of his skillful yet scary driving.  nothing like tearing down a curvy mountain 2 lane highway at top speed trying to pass every motorcycle and chicken bus on the wrong side of the road.  i feel like i'm getting used to it, and maybe even picking up some tricks for when i get home.  probably not so legal there, though.

the final town we drove through was so poor it looked like corrugated metal pieced together for houses, people were out hanging laundry or returning from the woods with their days supply of firewood.  but again, they had million dollar views of the volcanoes and you could see all the way to the pacific ocean.

each house had a fire going and smoke pouring out, combined with the hour and a half of diesel fumes from the highway, it made my eyes burn.  its hard to understand why the air is still so clear here.

finally out of the van and we're instantly surrounded by children trying to rent walking sticks for 5q (about 70 cents), painfully thin dogs, and men on horses wanting to sell us a ride.  the crowd was so thick it was difficult to walk 5 feet.  our guide finds us and off we go, followed by the caravan of children and horses and dogs.

this volcano hike was much easier and shorter than in san pedro, it was a wide winding path of loose volcanic rock, never too steep.  we took breaks every 20 minutes or so for the slower people in the group.  the views were breathtaking as we got higher, we could see multiple volcanoes, mountains, and all of guatemala to the ocean.  the boys with the sticks turned around after about 10 minutes but the men on horses followed for a while, waiting for anyone to show fatigue and want to buy a ride.  it was pretty annoying, about 10 guys all yelling 'taxi!' every few seconds.  one guy rides up to me and tells me that his horse is bigger and he's pretty sure it can hold me.  thanks.

after a final plea for rides the guys turn around and we have some quiet in which to enjoy the panoramas.  amazingly about 30 minutes up the trail there are 2 women selling cold sodas and bags of chips (which is also why i'm gaining so much weight here, soda and chips and pastries are the only foods that the tiendas sell, you really have to seek out fruits and vegetables and no one even knew what organic meant when i asked, i was directed to a plant nursery a couple times).

the wide path eventually turned into a skinny volcanic trail across an old lava field, with smoking vents on all sides.  no flowing lava, though, very disappointing.  this is the volcano that has been flowing a bit but i haven't seen any yet.  i think i'm destined to never see actual lava.  the one time i went to the big island to see lava it had stopped a couple days before i arrived, then started again after i left.  some day, i guess.

we went into a cool cave with water dripping everywhere, then over more crazy rock formations to the base of pacaya.  no one is allowed to climb to its summit but it was a great view from where we were.  the peak is split and bits of smoke coming out, and more smoke from countless places all the way down.  our final stop was at a giant vent that smelled like a sauna, and we stood there and roasted marshmallows.

another good experience and great sight seeing.  but just like the ruins, i might be done with volcano climbs.  its about time to get back to the ocean.  a few more days of spanish class then i head north again to semuc champay to check out the underground rivers, then hopefully soon some lazy sunny days of scuba diving and margaritas on a beach.

but for now its time to put away my happy face and get ready to get argue with the locals.  i need to remember that every starting price at the markets is over twice as much as they will sell for, no matter how many starving kids and lazy husbands they have at home.

antigua

antigua is a strange place.  old time cobblestone streets (that aren't nearly close to even or comfortable to walk on), most of which are one way, lots of back alleys, and no street signs.  its almost like being in hell for the directionally impaired.  the city is surrounded by volcanoes and i made a point on my first day here to go to the roof of my hotel with my compass and figure out which volcano is north, which is south.  no problem, i should be able to find my way within at least a couple blocks of my place.  but its rainy season and the tops of the volcanoes are covered in clouds so its really not helping at all.

i am so grateful for my iphone app citymaps2go.  i don't need wifi and as soon as it can figure out where i am i get a blue dot showing the direction in which i'm walking.  for maybe $2 i have maps for every country in the world.  i bookmarked my hotel, my school, the yoga place and the street with atms.  i honestly don't think i could travel by myself without this app.

last nite i found a pair of shorts in my backpack that i forgot were in there, figured i'd try them on.  omg.  that was the last straw.  time to get my shit together and start working out again, eat better, stop drinking so much.  i even set my alarm clock for 6am to try running.  its been several weeks.

with my new resolve strong in my mind i hit snooze on my alarm a couple times this morning but finally dragged my ass out of bed at 6:15.  shoes on, map in hand, here i go.  and it wasn't so bad.  a few blocks into my run (over those horrible cobblestones, which requires you to watch your feet rather than where you're going) i saw a couple running and figured i'd follow them, they looked like they had a route.  after a few more blocks i'm checking my phone to see which direction we're going and i hear both the guy and girl screaming about 20 feet in front of me.  when i look up i see a man jump onto the back of an idling motorcycle and the 2 guys drive off fast.

the guy that was running chased for a few feet but turned back to the girl who was crying hysterically.  i ran up to see what happened but they were talking in spanish so fast i couldn't understand anything.  all i could figure out was that one of the guys on the motorcycle did something to the woman jogger.  maybe he grabbed her ipod.  maybe he grabbed her.

all i know is that i was feet away from some sort of assault this morning in full daylight with all sorts of people around.  sorta kills my resolve to get up and run tomorrow.

after that happened i kept running for another 20 minutes before going home.  i was trying to keep my iphone hidden and ended up getting completely lost so i had to consult my map anyway.

its weird being witness to something that i don't understand, i'm not sure if i should be worried or not.  i'm constantly wandering around this town with my phone in hand, otherwise i'd never get back to my hotel.  there are cops with large guns at all of the atms and internet cafes so it seems pretty safe.  and why would a couple guys pick a couple to rob when there are plenty of single women walking around?

i'm still going to go with the theory that these tiny guatemalan guys aren't going to bother with a girl my size.  but still keep my eyes open.  i don't want to get paranoid, that would kill all the fun of this trip.

there was also another spider attack in my spanish class today.  which actually scared me more than the running episode.

i'm the little blue dot

so gross

i swallowed a spider in my sleep last nite.

the best thing i can say about this is that i hope it was a spider.

it musta been kinda big since it woke me up.  it was about 2am, i woke up coughing and swallowed whatever was in my throat.  i can't stop thinking about how gross this is.  i know that alot goes on while we sleep (i've seen toy story) but i try not to think of these things, 6-8 hours is a long time to be unconscious.  but thinking about something crawling on me, maybe it found my arm and worked its way up, or my hair, or webbed directly onto my face, that's the thing, it was on my face.  ugh.  then in my mouth.  i've been having a hard time thinking about anything else today.

even when i was thinking about the family of 17 that was at the hostel last nite.  17.  15 kids.  i'm absolutely astounded by this.  why is there a need to have 15 children?  are we homesteading in the wild west?  does our populations survival depend upon having as many offspring as possible?  i'm slightly morally outraged by this.  these people are missionaries from the us, living in guatemala to teach the local people how to more efficiently use their resources while they themselves are blazing through like a swarm of ginger locusts.

what actually set off my anger was seeing the father sitting on the lanai drinking coffee all morning, lounging on a couch.  and what's his wife doing?  running from dorm to dorm getting all of the kids ready for the day.

as angry as that made me i still can't stop thinking about the spider.

molly told me that she remembers a 'ripley's' fact from when she was younger that said the average american swallows 3 spiders per year in their sleep.  i'm ok with that, as long as they don't wake me up.

i'm in antigua, guatemala now, arrived about 3 hours ago.  it seems like a nice place, kind of like san miguel de allende in mexico, maybe more touristy.  i couldn't find a grocery store but i found 12 travel agencies.  and not alot of local food, most of the restaurants were pretty pricey, so i'll have to do more investigation.  i only walked enough to feed myself and find an atm since my legs are still screaming from the volcano hike yesterday.  tomorrow i'll find the spanish school and lavanderia.  and a good bar.

spider.  

a volcano nearby erupted yesterday and if the clouds clear up i should be able to see the lava flowing.  so far there's been hurricane ernesto, an earthquake and a volcano eruption where i've been, i'm not going to take it personally, though.

a google search tells me that its almost impossible to swallow a spider while you're sleeping, and that the stories are urban myth.  the part i can't believe is that they say that spiders view us as giant predators and they don't want to come near us.  i can't count the number of times a random spider has webbed onto me unprovoked.  and how can anyone prove that the myth is a only myth?

i actually got on my computer to start looking up my next destination so i guess i should get on that.

hasta luego, ladies

volcan san pedro

september 3, 2012

oh crap i'm tired.  i meant to get up at 6 this morning and get to san pedro by 7 to have breakfast and start climbing the volcano by 8.  but i didn't get out of bed until 7, then decided to have breakfast here.  but the women had just started a major cleaning project and i didn't want to disturb them so i went to the dock and the guys were fixing the boat that was supposed to go to san pedro.  i finally left at 9, grumpy, coffeeless, and of course today was the day that everyone at every stop had a gazillion things to load onto the boat.  at tzunana there were 2 girls that were taking flat tires to get fixed (most towns on the lake don't have roads to the other side of the mountains), those took forever to load onto the boat, at san marcos there were boys with a load of lumber.  i was irritated because the last boat back to san pedro leaves at 5pm and i still needed to have breakfast, climb the volcano, and get back before then.  shawna told me that there was a guy staying here that missed the last boat, talked a tuktuk driver into driving him to san marcos, then tried to walk the trail back to santa cruz without a flashlite or shoes.  he ended up talking some guy into letting him sleep in his barn.  so i wanted to get home by the last boat.  i packed my headlamp just in case.

so i finally get to san pedro and find a place for breakfast, they say there's wifi but i can't connect (i've been almost 2 weeks with only 2 days of wifi, i think i'm at my limit) and find a tuktuk up to the volcano park.  its 100q to enter and it includes a guide so i start up with benito (i think that's his name, old age is really getting to my short term memory).  its great at first, i wanna run all the way up.  that lasts for about 20 minutes uphill.  breathing hard, going slower and slower, i'm no longer on his ass trying to make better time.  there's a lookout (mirador) about 40 minutes up and i'm so happy, i can sit there and stare at the amazing view and concentrate on breathing and drinking water.  

shortly after the mirador it goes from uphill paths to steps, either carved in the volcano or built with logs.  i was still making good time but it was almost 2 hours of steps.  i went from slightly slow walking to super slow walking, gasping for air, then coughing up the hundred bugs i just breathed in, to needing regular breaks.  i didn't want benito to know what a hard time i was having (yay ego) so i'd pretend to be fascinated by a tree or bug and stop to take a picture and breathe.  i have a hundred pictures of random plants, insects, whatever, if you're interested in a detailed documentation of the local environment let me know, otherwise i'm going to delete them.

one fascinating aspect was that the local people farm a lot of the land on the way up.  we passed loads of coffee plants and multiple maize plantings.  i saw men doing work at that elevation (started at 5500 feet) and they had cords of firewood that they were carrying down, i can't imagine what work it would take to harvest up there.  the men had giant crates filled with wood and it was attached to them by a thick belt, which they looped over their foreheads to carry down.  to digress, pedro had me reading local stories in my spanish class, and one mentioned that when he (the author) could stop carrying crops by forehead maybe he'd grow a bit taller.  

back to the trail.  several times i wanted to tell benito that i had to stop and go back down.  we were so high i lost feeling in my hands, my fingers were swollen and my head was spinning.  but i just couldn't.  so up i trudged, barely walking up the steps, benito having to wait for me every couple of minutes.  one guy came running up the trail and flew past me and i really wanted to stop at that point.  but it turned into a battle, there's no way i would stop till i got to the top.

2 and a half hours from the start i finally made the top.  2 and a half hours of uphill, mostly straight up on stairs.  i sat at the pinnacle and thought i might sit there till i died.  but the view was amazing, i could see almost the entire lake, the other volcanoes, the mountains in every direction.  unbelievable.  i found a pack of shot bloks in my backpack and was so happy.  there were only 4 of us at the top and it was quite peaceful.

after almost half an hour it was time to go back.  feeling pretty good again, benito let me lead and i started at a run.  down was fun.  it was like a barely controlled free fall.  the fun lasted for about 40 minutes before my down muscles started getting upset with me.  and then i started noticing that my newly acquired beer belly was jiggling way more than i was comfortable with (reminded me of the simpsons episode when homer gets hit in the stomach with something (a bowling ball?) and his fat jiggles in slo mo).  new resolution to drink less (which didn't last cuz i'm kinda drunk right now).  for once, though, my boobs didn't hurt while i ran since they've obviously gained beer weight too but my bras haven't gotten any bigger. 

still made good time down, about an hour.  benito stopped about three quarters of the way down and called a tuktuk so my ride was waiting when i got to the base.  when i finally got back to the boat dock it was only almost 3pm and there was a boat waiting to leave.  which made me forget that i needed to go to an atm (there isn't one at santa cruz), so instead of paying cash for my 12 days here i get to pay by credit card with a 7% fee.  boo.  

tomorrow i leave for antigua and since its my last nite here i've been buying the staff drinks and shots.  the women that clean and cook get paid but the staff is all volunteer (with free food and boarding).  which is why i'm a bit tipsy.  

a family of 17 just checked in (15 kids?  really??  over half are red heads which is sorta cool).  and a little mayan girl was combing my hair and talking to me in spanish, asking why my hair is so short and blond and what's up with the tattoo on my arm.  this blog would have been done while i was still sober but there's so many distractions here.

anyway, antigua tomorrow.  i was thinking about another week of spanish class and hiking some more, i think there are more volcanoes to climb.  there's a huge party on september 15, lasting for days, i think its independence?  not quite sure, benito was telling me but i would only let him speak in spanish so i don't have all my facts straight.  so i'll stay in antigua for the fiestas then head to semuc champay (yes, i came south, then north, then south again, direction isn't my thing).  then honduras for some scuba time.  

life is still good.

sittin on a volcano

backstrap weaving and chi chi market

i'm writing this on september 2 but seeing as how wifi or even an actual internet connection is next to impossible here who knows when i'll actually post it.

i've had a busy couple of days.  my spanish class ended and my teacher ran me through both preterit and imperfect and my mind is completely gone.  i have so many new verb forms in my head that i can barely pull off simple present tense now.  i'll be in antigua in a couple days and want to take another week of spanish so hopefully i'll get it all straightened out again.  or it'll just make things worse.  whatever.  i could probably get by yelling destination names at bus drivers so i don't know why i'm so frantically trying to be fluent in spanish.  its fun, though.  and makes me feel like i have a purpose, being jobless and all.

speaking of buses, i am so in love with the chicken buses.  not the part where i have to ride on them with everything i own, but their appearance and general attitude.  they must get the buses used from the states because i've seen a couple that haven't been painted and they have 'your tax dollars for blah blah blah county at work' written on them.  but the best chicken buses are totally decked out, flashy paint jobs in the brightest colors imaginable, perfectly pristine exterior, mounted decorations like bull horns or antlers, things dangling in all the windows, and when they blare their horns it sounds like a barge going by.  and man do they drive fast, almost up on 2 wheels when they take the hairpin turns around here.  and they all have names, like boats, splashed across the sides and backs  and in the windows.  sexy girl names.  

yesterday i went to a backstrap weaving class.  they make belts, shawls, table runners, stuff like that on these.  i picked out my colors and started winding the thread in a particular patter on a wooden peg board.  when it was about belt sized i took it off and tomasa (mayan woman i couldn't understand at all) hooked it up to the loom.  the loom isn't really a loom but she wove these thick threads around each strand and that's what will pull every other thread while i'm weaving.  not doing a good job explaining.  but the backstrap comes in because the whole thing gets attached to me around my back with a strap so my hands are free to weave.  the other end is tied to a post.

i met tomasa in the village above the hostel (straight up climb, super poor town but they all have million dollar views), i was told to sit at the basketball court and she'd find me.  i was early and watched the cutest boys playing soccer.  she led me to her house and we sat and weaved with barefoot kids running around and dogs wandering in and out.  i wasn't sure how long my lesson was supposed to be but at one point she started hanging laundry above my head.  i refused to take the hint, though.

anyway, about my belt.  since i wasn't told in advance exactly how the colors i pick or the way i wind them would turn out i refuse responsibility for its outcome.  i thought by weaving my colors i would get something like those cool mayan patterns, even if in a very beginner sort of way.  but not so much, my belt looks like a third grade art project.  maybe third graders in the special class.  there's a couple places where i knocked all the wooden pegs out of the thread and goofed it but i'm still going to wear it.  i'll have to post a picture of tomasa setting up the weave because i'm sitting here with my beer and neither of us has a clue how to give a visual without putting you to sleep with a migraine.

tomasa had brought out some examples of things she's made (which is why i thought my belt would look so much cooler than it does) and i got suckered into buying something that i have absolutely no need for.  someone's christmas present, i'm thinking.  but i have to tote it around now.  that's a bummer.  i wasn't really suckered but the weaving lesson was super cheap, i spent about 3 hours of her time, and making my belt earned tomasa about $2/hour.  i was prepared to give her way more money than she charges but the penny pincher in me demanded that i get something for all the extra money i was gonna spend.  

maybe i'll buy some weaving supplies and everyone will get belts for christmas.  it was super fun.  

today i went to the market at chichicastenango.  woke up at 6, caught the 7 o'clock boat to panajachel, then a shuttle to chi chi, about an hour and a half northeast through the mountains.  chi chi has the biggest open air market in central america, and it was insane.  its held on thursdays and sundays.  hundreds of stalls in this town, plus all the normal stores.  and if i thought that i had any idea what aggressive sales people were like from mexico i was wrong.  these crazy mayan women would follow us shouting and pushing their stuff in our faces for blocks and blocks.  the further you walked from where their stall was the cheaper the price got.  but the more you had to listen to stories about how their kids won't eat unless you buy something, no one has shoes, her husband can't work, its up to you to save her family. 

i did buy a couple things for the family, as long as i started my christmas shopping i may as well buy enough to warrant mailing a package home.  the woman had been following me for a while and we argued until she was slightly less than half what she started at so that seemed ok.  minutes after i bought the items another woman wanted me to buy hers for 20q less, which is about 3 dollars.  oh well.  i'm not the best bargainer but i try.

i still can't get over how crazy the market was.  never ending aisles of stalls that have no direction whatsoever (i adopted a couple from australia to hang out with, pat is probably 6'5" so anytime i'd feel lost i'd just have to look over the heads of the 5' guatemalan folk to find my way, kristy is at least 5'10" and that helped too). everything you could image was for sale, from handmade clothing to used nuts and bolts and buckets of shrimp.  i've been keeping an eye out for a good folding knife to keep in my pocket and found a couple at a table.  when i tried them out i found that they were switchblades, for some reason that made me laugh so hard.  what would happen when i go through customs when i finally get home and i have a switchblade in my bag?  they were pretty and fairly cheap and i really regret not buying one.  

there were times when we'd be in a traffic jam between stalls, people everywhere trying to go somewhere and no one moving.  the little guatemalan women would try to use me as a battering ram to get through, i'd feel 4 or 5 hands on my back and ass, pushing me so i would trample through the crowd.  sometimes it was fun.  other times i'd dead stop and brace myself and make the little women try to make their way around me, that was more fun.  one time i did that and a little old woman started punching me.  it was impossible to get mad, though, because she was so small she was punching my thigh and i almost didn't feel it.

i heard a story the other day that made me decide that i wasn't going to mail anything home from anywhere.  i seem to have forgotten it in my shopping frenzy, though.  molly and daniel came here a few months ago and have been working at the hostel.  molly's mom sent them a care package with oreos and peanut butter and such, and after waiting and waiting they finally went to the post office to check.  they found a letter that hadn't been forwarded, it was from someone in guatemala city, and told them that if they wanted their package they could bring a bunch of money to the post office and they could have their box.  the contents of the package wasn't worth how much the guy was asking (over and above the postage paid) so they never got it.  

apparently its a bit of a lottery here with the mail.  anything from the states that looks good gets taken hostage, and there's absolutely no one you can complain to about it, the police are as bad as the muggers.  so i worry about sending a package home but does anyone here really want to steal things i bought here?  i'm hoping they won't.  but god forbid i get my wallet stolen and have to get a new atm card mailed.  not a chance i'd ever see that.  

hearing all of the stories from the multitudes of people that have come through this hostel in the past week makes me realize that getting mugged is inevitable.  its going to happen at least once while i'm in central america, i may as well resign myself to that fact.  wallets and day bags are the only things that get taken, and no one has been hurt.  up till now, i've kept all of my most valuable things (iPhone, computer, credit cards, iPod, camera) in the bag i always have with me while on the road.  but the general advice is to keep the things i'm most worried about in my giant backpack that gets strapped to the roof of the chicken bus, which is a horrifying thought to me.  but thieves don't wan't to carry a giant bag off.  so when i get to my next spot with wifi i need to buy some online storage and upload all thousands of my pictures from my computer, and maybe have a little advance goodbye party for the possessions i love most.

but let's end on a good note.  i'm getting used to the wildlife in my cabana here.  little spiders don't even bother me anymore, at any given moment i probably have one stuck in my hair. and after an initial wall and ceiling check in the cabana (there never seems to be bugs on the floor) i don't keep obsessively rechecking anymore.  i think i'm getting better.

learning to weave