Central American Quest

the pictures have been posted...please take a look for the newest ones! One roll left to go, black and white photos...now if I can just drag myself over to put them in...

the remaining pictures are in! I will attempt to get them scanned later today, so keep checking the photo barn site! They turned out awesome and there were a few surprises as well...lol

my tan is finally just about finished peeling and I am losing the reptilian look...a whole new me!

it all seems so surreal now, like we were never even there...

Pictures!

Well, I have some pictures posted from the digital camera that I took, as well as many pics that Amber took. Mine are still being developed and are yet to come in a few days (I took the cheap way out, instead of one hour photo!)

You can check them out here: Jude
s Photo Barn

Enjoy! I hope to get some descriptions written in today as well, so be patient.

The Canucks Have Landed

Well, after several delays in travel, we finally arrived home here at about 11pm last night. Our trek began in Antigua on Saturday...flew by twin propeller plane from Antigua to Flores, then took the bus from Flores to Belize City...all on time and wonderfully hot.

Then we were to depart from Belize City on Sunday at 4:15pm...not to happen...there was some air valve malfunction to do with starting the plane and they had to call the mechanic in on his day off...here we are at an international airport, and there is no mechanic there...whatever...in any case, we left over an hour late which made us miss our connection in Houston to Newark, which was not the end of the world...Continental then put us up in a hotel that night and we flew out in the early morning to Newark. The hotel was a Clarion Inn, nice enough with good food at the restaurant (that we could read on the menu in English!!!)

The flight to Newark was uneventful and we spent the day lounging at the Ramada Inn where we stayed the following night. Then we left for the airport to fly out from Newark yesterday to Halifax...supposed to leave at 1:30pm...we didn't haul out of there until nearly 4:30pm...due to foggy conditions in Halifax, they wouldn't even leave Newark. Information was spotty so we weren't sure if we were going to leave at all, but then we finally were herded into the plane, only to sit on the tarmack for an hour...sheesh, we just wanted to get HOME! We finally landed, and are safely in the privacy of our own home...no more shared bathrooms, with other tourists or roaches...

Sunday morning in Belize did however, find me covered in bug bites and I have no idea just what bit me. They are mostly on the shin and calf of my right leg, nearly 40 bites, and are they ever itchy!!! I have been putting some anti-itch stuff on them, but will make a trip to the drugstore to see what new type of relief is out there.

I have a lovely tan to sport, which is very nice next to these pasty white people here in Port Hawkesbury...no offense intended...lol...I have already peeled, so it is just a nice rich tan. I didn't get as much tan on my legs as I had hoped since we wore capri pants most of the time, but will catch them up next month when the sun gets warm enough. My hair on the other hand, leaves something to be desired...It was a nice rich purple before leaving, but the salt water soon took care of that...now it is nearly bleach blonde, with the lightest of pink in it...going to have to take care of that pronto this morning, directly after this blogging! I am not meant to be a blonde!

So this concludes the travel portion of our Quest. Stay tuned to hear of photos being posted. I hope to get some posted this morning from the digital camera (I never did get any uploaded while travelling...my laziness!) and then the others will be processed sometime today. Just check out Jude's Photo Barn - Central America

Thanks for reading all about our travels, its been an enjoyable trip, even with the illness and other happenstance! We have many fond memories of the people and places we've seen, and you will tire soon enough of hearing about it, I'm sure.

ps - being back does not mean back to work just yet...will check in folks and see how you are all doing later today...

Homeward Bound

Yup, you heard it right here folks...we have decided to cut our trip short and head home a little early...too much heat, too much sickness (upper respiratory colds, nothing exotic) and are miserable. So we pitched together the remaining spending money we had for hotels, travel, and food and changed our tickets...we leave Belize today and fly into Houston, then change planes for Newark where we cool our heels until Tuesday afternoon as the flight tomorrow was booked into Halifax...we will grab a Holiday Inn room, which will seem like a palace after some of the "rough" accomodations we have stayed in on this trip...lol

Saw the HUGEST cockroach this morning in the bathroom...was about 4 inches long and came after Amber...she got out the baseball bat and swung at it, but it reared up and hissed at her...HAHAHAHA, just kidding...saw the huge roach but ran like children from it...It is still there, lurking...

Had a nice enough flight from Antigua yesterday morning, although quite hot - they didn't bother with the air conditioning...rats...and then we took the HOT and DRY shuttle from Flores to Belize City where we baked in the sun...was so glad to finally hit Belize City...the crossing at the border was murderously hot and long...must have taken an hour or so, as it was a holiday weekend for central america (Labour Day is May1st). Once in Belize City, we returned to the same hotel we had been in before, and met up with some fellow travellers. We chatted for hours then went out for supper where we had the worst service yet...their cook was late for work, if she showed up at all, and the food was terrible...I just want to be home with a regular, predictable meal, where there are not rats scurrying by the tables...I swear, the one we saw last night was a big as a dog...

Well, will blog from home next...see you all soon enough!

more observations from the south

Well, Amber had hopes of catching Brad online so we came back to the internet cafe...no luck though, he is off gallivanting elsewhere on a Friday afternoon, like 'e would! She will catch him tomorrow perhaps. Since it is so cheap, we are just hanging out here as the heat outside is a bit much this afternoon here, for a change.

Not sure if I have included these observations before but if so, just read them again...heh heh...

- there is an armed guard outside the McDonald's restaurant...he is wearing army greens and a red beret...we have seen him there every day...wonder what that is all about
- there are other armed guards elsewhere with machine guns, outside of larger markets, and certain monuments...must have been trouble spots...there are also truckloads of police that drive by once in a while, and sometimes you see them on foot...all carrying machine guns. The guard by the market next door to our hotel is carrying some kind of shotgun with a stub handle or something...I don't know much about guns though. It is just different to see so many guns as we never see them other than on RCMP in Nova Scotia.

- did I mention that they have a version of Mayflies here? We came back from the volcano yesterday to find our room infested with them...they apparently flock to the lights and begin to crawl on the ceiling, losing their wings and then dropping to below...in our case, our bed and bags...they are tiny little worms that we have found to travel in groups of two...ICK...they were all over our beds and clothes...we had to shake everything out.
- did I mention Amber got bit by bedbugs once again...we think it was the hotel in Caye Caulker...she had a lovely smattering of bites on her lower legs as she had been wearing shorts to bed
- we had been out to market a number of times and thought it was just the two rows outside...we missed the 20 or so inside, so today went in and wandered through the huge market, which is much like a mall, only market style...there were tons of clothing booths, selling American clothing cheap, lots of little stalls selling toiletries, and others selling handmade leather goods, candles, and other handcrafts....among all this are the food vendors...nothing to see a lady with a machete whacking a chicken next to where you can buy cd's or underwear. And the stench near the butcher stalls was not pleasant...we bought a few more souvenirs, and got out as it was sweltering inside the market stalls.
- the ladies here often carry their things on their head...huge bundles of cloth, or large baskets of items, sometimes half as tall as they are, and they rarely have to hold it or balance it...we have even seen their daughters, sometimes just 6 or 7 years old, balancing a similar basket. The children of the vendors do not appear to attend school.
- the children here all wear uniforms to school, and they seem to have a long lunch break and attend until suppertime after that.
- there is a travel agency on every corner, three to a block sometimes, just like the pubs in Ireland...they often offer different services as we have found, but all can arrange tours

We went to see the huge church and convent the other day and came across a funeral with hundreds of people. We weren't sure what was going on, although many were dressed in black, then we saw the coffin come out of the church, so that was an easy one...they carried it by hand to the cemetary, down the street, with all the people following along behind it. The convent was interesting, but much of the architecture here has been destroyed by earthquakes, with the last one in 1976. There were some kids at the convent, in the music room, playing some really nice music on a type of large xylophone, and some drums. There were others outside with string instruments, but they appeared to be in a type of class, as the instructor was standing in front of them, talking while they held their instruments.

We are thinking of trying some local pasta tonight, as it didn't happen last night...when we got back from the volcano, we were both too tuckered out to bother.

hasta mañana!

Alas, Alive and Well

Yes, it's true, we are alive and well in Guatemala! We went out walking a bit yesterday morning and saw some more of the city, had some local pizza...which was passable for pizza but very greasy! We then headed over to catch our shuttle bus to the Volcán Pacaya. The bus was full, with one of the travellers being a fellow we met in Caye Caulker last week. It was a bit of dusty hot ride, but not too bad. The gal in front of me kept closing the window, so I finally opened it again for the third time and propped it open with my arm. She didn't try it again, heh heh.

Most of the drive was on good pavement. The highways here are quite good, complete with rain gutters for the heavy rains that begin next month. Then as we pulled into the park, which was fenced off with barbed wire, it got worse and finally was cobbled and dirt, making for a very bumpy and dusty ride! The tiny villages were interesting to look at, and the ascent of the mountain was breathtaking in scenery. As we passed through the last village, we picked up our tour guide, literally as he grabbed onto the back bumper of the mini-bus and hung there until we reached the little visitors centre. The Tourist Police also met us there, and they are stationed every few hundred metres along the hiking path up the volcano. They travel in pairs, and are armed with hand guns. The tour guide is armed with a machete. So we felt a little safer, actually, a lot safer. After picking up some fruit at the visitor's centre, we began our trek. The tour guide spoke only in Spanish, so we caught only some of his meaning as we began the ascent. The first leg of it was paved with concrete and nearly straight up...I have a cold, allergies, and bronchitis...it wasn't a pretty sight. I got up the first leg, barking and wheezing like a seal, so asked the tour guide just what it was he said about fatigue and horses...Turns out we could hire a horse to take us up to the summit for 40Q, which is about $5.50 or so. I decided it would be in the best interest of the group not to wait for my wheezing butt, and in the best interest of my health to hop on a horse for the ascent. So there we were, me and Juan Valdez leading me on a small white horse, and the rest of the group ahead of me. Amber was in pretty good shape, so opted out...also, we had not brought enough money for both of us to take a horse, as we were thinking that if we got robbed, they weren't going to get much...so she soldiered on with the group while me and Juan plucked our way up the side of the mountain.

Well, Amber managed to develop blisters the size of loonies on her heels from her sneakers...guess they weren't broken in enough. They were bleeding and she was in severe pain, so I traded off the horse with her a few times until we finally made it to the end of the road for the horse. The remainder of the hike was all lava dust and rock, and too bad for the horse. It was quite steep and I knew I couldn't make it with my lungs...the air was infinitely thinner by then, and beginning to get gaseous from the volcano (remember, it is an active volcano!). So Amber swallowed her pain, determined that one of us was to make it to the summit, and I remained at the last flat rest area with Juan (not his real name). I paid him the extra to wait and take Amber and her blisters back down the mountain.

The view from the landing where I stayed for an hour and a half was amazing when the mists cleared. I took lots of pictures, and while I waited, I chatted up with Juan, with him understanding clearly more than I did, but we struggled through. He set his horse out to pasture, and then shimmied down the side of the mountain a bit to the lava flow (hardened) to take a look and poke around. While he was gone, it began to rain, and there I was, standing on the side of a volcano, in the pissing rain, all by myself, surrounded in fog, with no machete. And Juan was down over the side on the lava....I questioned my own sanity at that point...

But he returned, and convinced me to return to the previous sitting area where there were trees and bathrooms to stand in or under to get out of the rains. I wasn't altogether sure what he was beckoning me to do, and hesitated a number of times but he was insistent...I could have been going anywhere for all I knew...blast my lack of Spanish!!! But it was apparent soon enough we were simply going to get shelter to wait for the others to descend the volcano.

The group finally returned and they were soaked from the rains, and BLACK from the volcanic ash that splashed around as the rains hit it. Amber's new hikers that were formerly beige, are now charcoal in color...she thankfully didn't have pants on like the others who had the last 8 inches covered in lava soot. We were both wearing capris. Amber and the others proclaimed it was not really worth the harsh conditioned they endured to make it to the top...it was like walking in sandbanks as they sludged through the ash - two steps forward, one back...and once they reached the final summit, after a near vertical climb, it was completely shrouded in mist and fog, and they saw very little. The gases up there were stifling, as was the heat from the volcano. She took several pictures, so I will have to settle for that. On the ascent through the ash, she began to slide, and slid nearly 40 feet when someone grabbed her arm...she wasn't the only one to fall...another guy there on his honeymoon fell and sprained his thumb, and scraped his legs.

Once the rains stopped, the sun came out and the mountains were again visible and breathtaking. Amber rode the horse down with Juan, and I walked with the group...amazing how the ascent caused me no difficulty whatsoever...Once at the visitors centre again, we had some serious claps of thunder that scared the crap out of me, especially as we crowded next to the canteen that was under a tree...I got the heck out of that! They laughed at me, but I pointed out to them the two trees nearby that had been killed by something not so long ago, perhaps lightening strikes...

The bus ride back was dusty, as the rains had obviously only reached the upper altitudes. Amber and the others were covered in soot, including faces and hair. I fell once coming down, and was somewhat dusty, but not sooty. By the time we all reached the bus, nearly everyone had fallen once.

Amber is hurting today though, as she is certain she pulled a muscle in her groin, and is limping about. We will take it easy today and figure things our from here. Will likely be back on later as she wants to talk to Brad when he gets home from work later.

so greetings one and all...especially to Cibele...hi girlfriend! Say hi to Tobey for me...lol

It might be a couple of days for the next entry as we are unsure of just where we will be...but we are safe and sound from the volcano trek...or should I say "adventure tourism" as Amber calls it!

We're sure to get kidnapped tomorrow

That got your attention...well we do head out to the Pacaya Volcano tomorrow, where there has been much attention focused in the past few years with tourist busses being hijacked and everyone robbed, raped, kidnapped, etc...so it sounded like quite an adventure to partake in...

Not that the above is not true, but there have been many changes made to the tourism industry here that promise to alleviate the fears...they have Tourist Police and have for years, but now a guard can accompany you anywhere you don´t feel safe, even within the town. So we have booked into a tour of the volcano tomorrow...it comes complete with tour guide AND guard. We leave at 1:00pm on a shuttle bus for one and a half hours to the volcano base, then it is a 2 hour hike up the side of this thing. We will stay for one hour at the top for pictures and rest, then it takes one hour to descend. I will probably expire during the walk, so plan to score some nitro from the street dealers...lol...it is supposed to be cool though, and we were advised to wear pants and a sweater, so I can manage a two hour walk if it isn´t hot stinking jungle...Tomorrow will test us though! Thankfully the tour is cheap, just $7 US each. The afternoon group is a larger one, which I thought to be somewhat safer...will be about 20 of us if full. Hopefully no Americans, as they were the target of all the past violence.

Last night we attempted to get some supper at a local restaurant, and when we couldn't decipher the menu for the umpteenth time, a local came over and helped us. We ordered the chicken and against my better judgement, I looked towards the kitchen and happened that a mirror reflected what was going on in there...I saw them take two odd looking chickens out of a plastic bin, look them over and then thrown them back in there. Then the waitress came back out and informed us through our little interpreter that they were just out of chicken right now....wonder what that meant...lol...so we paid for our water and decided to go elsewhere, and the waitress understood and was not offended. I am not sure what was up with the two chickens they manhandled in the kitchen and didn't ask...

We headed out to the Campero Restaurant, which is a cross between Swiss Chalet and KFC...the food was good, and cheap enough, and clean establishment. There were children begging everywhere though, which is not what you want as you chow into your chicken and fries...we had about four come to our table, tap us every so gently on the hand and say "senora, quetzales por favor". It breaks your heart, but I have a policy of not giving money to those who beg, so didn't. I saw some of the same children back later buying some chicken so someone did give them money.

That is one thing that surprised us here, is the amount of homeless people...they are everywhere and come out especially at night. Of course, beggars are all day long, especially the sick and lame, but at night, blankets and cardboard comes out and they line the streets nearby. One fellow was snugly wrapped in one of those nylon vegetable sacks. Some of them appear to be local vendors with their wares stashed next to them, so perhaps cannot afford to go home again to their small villages until their wares are sold in the cities. The begging isn't too overt, not like in Italy when we went there a few years ago. Just usually a jingle of a dish or hand, except for the children.

We did a bit of a walking tour of the city today and saw a museum, churches, plaza, central park. Lots of vendors, some portable who will chase you through the streets, peddling their wares. Amber was taken in by one and bought a hematite necklace for half of his original asking price. She doesn´t even like it much now, so look out for who gets that for Christmas...lol...just kidding, it is a nice necklace, but she was taken in. I managed to only buy the fresh cashews, only because they are so good. I think I overpaid for them, but I wasn´t in the mood to haggle at the time.

The Tourism Reps are all over the park as their office is across the park...the one fellow hounded us three times to take his paid tour, but we opted out and I was close to telling him to take a flying leap, but he finally left us alone. We just wanted to check things out at our own speed, not sign up for a 4 hour tour.

We had lunch at McDonald's yesterday and boy were we impressed with the establishment! It had a McInternet part...never saw that before, but that was just a small part...it was huge, probably could seat 200 easy or more. They had an outside terrace portion, complete with water fountains, garden, and lovely stonework benches. There was a huge play area for children, and the architecture was lots of old timber, high arched ceilings, and indoor water fountains as well. The staff were very FAST, much better than our snail paced workers at Port Hawkesbury McD's, and very friendly. The manager was there, with a timer, which likely had something to do with that, lol.

Last night we played a few games of scrabble in our room...Amber is getting better but still has a ways to go to beat me very often...heh heh..oh the arrogance of it all. she has won a couple of times though, back in Flores.

This hotel is much better and we like the room. I still tossed and turned a little, and might spread out my air mattress for tonight. It is cool at night, so that is welcome relief. The bus station nearby is noisy, but by 10pm, it had slowed down, and by midnight you could hear a pin drop...all the homeless were tucked into their cardboard on the next street, and no loud music from the bars nearby. I dreamt of the homeless and felt guilty for our fortunes in comparison, as is the usual effect on me.

This afternoon brings more touring of the city...there are ruins nearby that we want to see of a convent and church. My hour is nearly up, and the internet is so slow at this particular cafe...no usb port either, and the one we found with them had their internet down at the time, so sorry folks...no pics...perhaps later tonight.

Greetings to one and all...will tell all about the volcano in two days as we return at 8pm tomorrow night and will likely be too tired to venture out. If you don't hear from us, we are surely kidnapped...lol...I have a note in my purse about being kidnapped...don't bother to hold me for ransom because my workplace has no money, and neither does my family...lol...just kidding...we just have notes saying who we are and who to contact in case of emergency.

Adios!

Air, we have cool AIR

Well, we spent our last sweltering night in Flores, then did some laundry yesterday morning...had been at the internet cafe while that was being done when the power went out, thankfully it was not in the laundry, or we would have had to pack soggy clothes...

We had breakfast earlier in the morning, which was pretty good...fruit salad for me and Amber had bacon and eggs (they fry it all together) with some very dark brown bean paste. After packing up our stuff, we headed out to the airport to sweat for a few hours before the flight, foolishly thinking it might be cooler over there than on the island of Flores...nope, about the same 40C or so...yuck. Finally our flight was called and we all packed into the tiny jet that seated 20, they shut the doors and it was instant inferno...the flight crew finally turned the plane on, and the air conditioning with it and within about 15 minutes, it was livable.

While at the airport, the military landed for a refueling stop, both Guatemalan and US Navy. Two helicopters, and well armed soldiers in regular greens for the US and black for the G´s. There were probably about 25 or so in total, all with machine guns...they looked happy enough, so I wasn´t too nervous. From what we have read and heard, things are pretty stable here now anyhow, with no real problems other than rising crime rates. I wanted a take some pictures, but thought better of it (just kidding, I´m no fool).

Once landing in Guatemala City regional airport, we were met by our shuttle which was a nice, clean vehicle, and since the air was cool, we could open the windows...then we entered traffic...Well let me tell you...It was rush hour (about 5pm) and Susan, remember all the fuss about emissions testing we had in Waterloo...well, no one really seems to care down here...there were clouds of black smoke that would put Grand Bruit coastal fog to shame in July....we choked and spit our way through the traffic and the plumes of black smoke hurling out of the old school buses that obviously are not in good repair, regardless of the circuslike appearance outside. So the windows were closed more than open, but since it was not too hot, it was livable.

Once we exited the city, we headed towards beautiful Antigua, a lovely Spanish Colonial City with all cobblestone streets...which are lovely to look at, not so much fun to jiggle over in your shuttle bus when you need to use the bathroom...heh heh. And many of the streets have concrete barriers to keep out large vehicles, and the smaller ones drive between them, with just inches to spare...holy cow...I thought for sure we were going to be smeared for sure. But our driver knew what he was doing, so we put our faith in him...sure, that´s it...

Once we arrived at our hotel, chosen out of the Lonely Planet guide, we discovered they had only two rooms left with a 'queen' size bed in it, and shared bath...queen my ass...it was a 48inch. There were two other backpackers that shared the shuttle, so they took the other one. Well, it was cheap enough $3.75US for both, but you get what you pay for...

So there was a huge lump in the mattress, right under my back, so it felt like it was in ultra lumbar position...what a rotten night sleep, if it wasn´t so cool (airwise). I did sleep some, but vowed to look elsewhere in the morning for lodging, which we did.

The showers were freezing, from what Amber said, I waited until we moved to another hotel. This one is 80Q, which is about $10.50US per night, so a little more, but has two double beds that look reasonably new, and the room is cleaner. The other one was quite dumpy and run down...quite a haven for backpackers who are doing the long hauls (3-6 months or more).

We found ourselves in a nice restaurant last night, struggled through the menu once again and got some good chicken and rice. The tortillas were awful though and we didn't eat them. The meal was lovely, and in total cost us I think about 60Q, which is about $8US or so.

After that, we headed back to lumpy central and chatted the evening away in the cool air. There was some crazy white guy hanging around though, looking for someone to walk him to the corner because he was afraid...also looking for a cigarette, money, a phonecall, a taxi, water, etc...the hotel manager threw him out finally and declared him 'loco' to us. Said he hangs around all the time. The hotels are neat though, they have an outside big door that opens into a courtyard for the hotels, and in some, they keep the outside big door closed. In the courtyard, there are plants and tables and chairs, quite nice, even for the cheapy hotel last night.

Our new hotel is just off the main street though, so hopefully not to noisy. The cars make a rumbling sound going over the cobblestone. I think the city wraps up early enough, although the bars keep on serving, but with all the buildings being made out of concrete, sound is contained much better.

We did some shopping at the markets today, and got some neat stuff. I am still in seach of a few things though, and hope to score big in Chichi this weekend. Not sure what we will get up to this afternoon, likely a walking tour of the city if we can manage it. We also want to secure a trip to the volcanoes here too, which we can see from the streets at certain points. There are three here and one of them plumes all the time, although today it appears to have clouds around it, so can't really tell.

We will stay in Antigua for a few more days, before heading to Chichicastanengo for the weekend as the big market is there on Sunday, and we are advised to arrive on Friday or Saturday if we can. After that, we might go to Panajechel for a couple of days to see the lake there (Atitlan I think) and then come back to Antigua for Thursday and Friday and fly out again on Saturday to make our trek back.

For those wondering (there might be one of you) our itinerary is as follows for the travel home:
Saturday - leave Antigua at 4:00am via shuttle for Guatemala City where we catch small plane to Flores; catch bus there to Belize City shortly after; Spend the night in Belize City
Sunday - Leave Belize City via Continental Air for Houston, and then transfer to a flight to Newark.
Monday - We don't arrive Newark until near midnight so will spend the night at the airport and catch the flight to Halifax the next day, arriving around 4:15pm in Halifax. We will then have to get a shuttle or taxi back to Uncle Ralph's to pick up the car and then head for home. Where Amber will leap into Brad's arms, and I will head to bed to rest for work the next day... :-)

enough blogging, time for hellos

Hi Intake Team - miss you guys!
Hi Brad, glad to hear the house is still there and you are making friends with kitty
Hey family, thinking about you, wishing you could see what we do, but promise to share pics when we get back.
Hi Mr Melnyk, I am writing this on personal time, heh heh - sorry, I couldn't resist, Mike
And hello to Tobey, faithful reader...got your email, both of them. we need to talk...lol

hasta mañana, amigos