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endless drivel about planning for my trip, the actual trip, and the return home
Friday, April 30, 2004
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!
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!
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!
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
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!
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!
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
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
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
Sunday, April 25, 2004
Happy Birthday B-Rad!
Just wanted to wish Brad a Happy 21st Birthday, as he celebrates with his family and friends, and hopefully a lonely kitty...Amber is missing you big time, B-Rad!
Just wanted to wish Brad a Happy 21st Birthday, as he celebrates with his family and friends, and hopefully a lonely kitty...Amber is missing you big time, B-Rad!
One more night...pant, pant...
Well, we managed one more night here and will spend our last in Flores tonight...it is surely hot though...we got up fairly early and headed out to the "beach". After a walk of about 1km, we found where the launch boats take you across to a small island for the cost of 1Q, which is about 15cents each. Then it was supposed to be a short walk up the hill and past the soccer pitch...yeah, RIGHT. Try another 5 kms through the jungle (was it really that far???) and we finally melted our way down the other side of the island to the swimming spot. It wasn´t a mirage either, a real swimming area, but no beach. The edge was rocky and hard to the feet, but the water was clear, full of tiny fish, bigger than minnows that swam all around us, and the water, while fairly warm, was quite refreshing. We had been given the option to take a launch all the way to the beach where they would wait for us for one hour while we swim, and then take us back to Flores, however, our Spanish is so bad that it took the length of the 30 minute walk to figure out what the heck they were saying to us in rapid fire spanish at the launch site. Many of the people here have NO english, so it is up to hand gestures, my broken spanish from the little guide I have and just plain guessing.
So we kicked ourselves after we realized what they were offering us and we didn´t take them up on it...and that we might have to actually face walking uphill through the jungle...and then we began to wonder if smarter people might actually take the launch, and we could perhaps hitch a ride back with them...so we nabbed the second launch we saw and they charged a mere 20Q total to take us back to Flores, which is about $2.50...it was worth way more, to avoid another jungle walk!!! We were able to swim for about an hour and a half, which was fine...didn´t want to miss that launch!
Once back from swimming, the walk back to the hotel cooked us up nicely, so we showered once again (I´ve been taking about 6 showers a day I think) and then headed downstairs for some lunch. We had ham and cheese sandwiches with fries and sprite. The sandwiches had a twist by adding some type of salsa or something to them. They were yummy and we had been starving as we skipped breakfast to go swimming.
Back again to the room for another cool-down and shower, once I figured out how to turn the heat off the water...they heat the water by electricity it seems, right at the showerhead, so you can turn it up, or off...and of course I turned it off. The showers got a little colder then, and were quite a bit more refreshing, but of course, we still had to return to the steamy room again...We had been looking for the guy who promised us a ride to the caves, but didn´t see any sign of him then.
About a couple of hours later, I went down and checked and there he was, ready to go, so we got into the boiling inferno that was his 1989 Toyota Corolla, and off we went to the caves, just a few kms away. It was a HOT ride, but much appreciated, and he left us there with a promise to return in 45 minutes...
The air from the caves was cool, but so humid and damp that we sweated more in there than out. There were several linked caves, so quite interesting to see, and we also spotted a few bats flying and hanging. They give you a flashlight to check out the darker areas, which we did, and took a few pictures there. Afterwards, we hung out at the refreshment shack for our ride and shared a Coke, and gave the owner´s little girls some Canadian lapel pins. I had forgotten the pencils, so felt bad about that. We have given out a few so far, but I refuse to bring any back so better start handing them out. I forget most of the time.
After the cave tour, it was back to the hotel to SWEAT and siesta...so now we sit in this airconditioned modern internet cafe and forgot to bring the digital camera to send some pics out...perhaps tomorrow morning we will remember. Although I just looked and do not see a usb port...oh well...you will just have to wait!
We are heading out in search of supper soon, as it is finally dark and cool enough to walk outdoors again. Wonder what delicacy awaits us tonight?? We had a wonderful supper last night, grilled chicken sandwiches with an interesting sauce, salad, and steamed potatoes. And another half gallon of water...yes, bottled. Agua...
Tomorrow morning we hope to do some laundry at the one just next door, so we can pack clean clothes with us. Things have a way of getting funky quickly in this heat, like socks and sweaty shirts. I just checked the weather for Antigua, and it forecasts for about 10-15C less than what we have here..thankfully...I am about ready to pass out from the heat, it is so dry and relentless. Antigua promises to be beautiful in surroundings as well.
Check back in couple of days for the next update I reckon...
Oh, and if anyone wants to e-mail, because I am getting a little homesick for yáll, and the msn messenger is not always reliable...booted me 10 times tonight before I gave up...try e-mailing me at dreama_gal@hotmail.com and I will likely be able to reply easily enough. Internet is just 11-12Q per hour, which is just about $1.25US or so.
Well, we managed one more night here and will spend our last in Flores tonight...it is surely hot though...we got up fairly early and headed out to the "beach". After a walk of about 1km, we found where the launch boats take you across to a small island for the cost of 1Q, which is about 15cents each. Then it was supposed to be a short walk up the hill and past the soccer pitch...yeah, RIGHT. Try another 5 kms through the jungle (was it really that far???) and we finally melted our way down the other side of the island to the swimming spot. It wasn´t a mirage either, a real swimming area, but no beach. The edge was rocky and hard to the feet, but the water was clear, full of tiny fish, bigger than minnows that swam all around us, and the water, while fairly warm, was quite refreshing. We had been given the option to take a launch all the way to the beach where they would wait for us for one hour while we swim, and then take us back to Flores, however, our Spanish is so bad that it took the length of the 30 minute walk to figure out what the heck they were saying to us in rapid fire spanish at the launch site. Many of the people here have NO english, so it is up to hand gestures, my broken spanish from the little guide I have and just plain guessing.
So we kicked ourselves after we realized what they were offering us and we didn´t take them up on it...and that we might have to actually face walking uphill through the jungle...and then we began to wonder if smarter people might actually take the launch, and we could perhaps hitch a ride back with them...so we nabbed the second launch we saw and they charged a mere 20Q total to take us back to Flores, which is about $2.50...it was worth way more, to avoid another jungle walk!!! We were able to swim for about an hour and a half, which was fine...didn´t want to miss that launch!
Once back from swimming, the walk back to the hotel cooked us up nicely, so we showered once again (I´ve been taking about 6 showers a day I think) and then headed downstairs for some lunch. We had ham and cheese sandwiches with fries and sprite. The sandwiches had a twist by adding some type of salsa or something to them. They were yummy and we had been starving as we skipped breakfast to go swimming.
Back again to the room for another cool-down and shower, once I figured out how to turn the heat off the water...they heat the water by electricity it seems, right at the showerhead, so you can turn it up, or off...and of course I turned it off. The showers got a little colder then, and were quite a bit more refreshing, but of course, we still had to return to the steamy room again...We had been looking for the guy who promised us a ride to the caves, but didn´t see any sign of him then.
About a couple of hours later, I went down and checked and there he was, ready to go, so we got into the boiling inferno that was his 1989 Toyota Corolla, and off we went to the caves, just a few kms away. It was a HOT ride, but much appreciated, and he left us there with a promise to return in 45 minutes...
The air from the caves was cool, but so humid and damp that we sweated more in there than out. There were several linked caves, so quite interesting to see, and we also spotted a few bats flying and hanging. They give you a flashlight to check out the darker areas, which we did, and took a few pictures there. Afterwards, we hung out at the refreshment shack for our ride and shared a Coke, and gave the owner´s little girls some Canadian lapel pins. I had forgotten the pencils, so felt bad about that. We have given out a few so far, but I refuse to bring any back so better start handing them out. I forget most of the time.
After the cave tour, it was back to the hotel to SWEAT and siesta...so now we sit in this airconditioned modern internet cafe and forgot to bring the digital camera to send some pics out...perhaps tomorrow morning we will remember. Although I just looked and do not see a usb port...oh well...you will just have to wait!
We are heading out in search of supper soon, as it is finally dark and cool enough to walk outdoors again. Wonder what delicacy awaits us tonight?? We had a wonderful supper last night, grilled chicken sandwiches with an interesting sauce, salad, and steamed potatoes. And another half gallon of water...yes, bottled. Agua...
Tomorrow morning we hope to do some laundry at the one just next door, so we can pack clean clothes with us. Things have a way of getting funky quickly in this heat, like socks and sweaty shirts. I just checked the weather for Antigua, and it forecasts for about 10-15C less than what we have here..thankfully...I am about ready to pass out from the heat, it is so dry and relentless. Antigua promises to be beautiful in surroundings as well.
Check back in couple of days for the next update I reckon...
Oh, and if anyone wants to e-mail, because I am getting a little homesick for yáll, and the msn messenger is not always reliable...booted me 10 times tonight before I gave up...try e-mailing me at dreama_gal@hotmail.com and I will likely be able to reply easily enough. Internet is just 11-12Q per hour, which is just about $1.25US or so.
Saturday, April 24, 2004
Walk through the jungle, oh yeah
Well, today we took HOT to a new meaning...we took another steamy but comfortable bus to Tikal, the Mayan Ruins near here...and the drive out wasn´t too bad, but coming back, there were heat waves coming off my head for sure...
The ruins were amazing, and we didn´t get to see them all, as it was just too hot and too far. The site is huge, and each one was spaced apart and often UPHILL. Most paths were in the jungle, which was somewhat cooler, but still hot. Its interesting how much liquid you can ingest with so very little coming out the traditional way...heh heh...sweating it out instead I guess!
Amber braved it all and climbed to the top of temple 5, which must have been 150 feet or so. We took photos, so will share when we return. I just didn´t have it in me to do the climb, so watched from the ground in the shade of the jungle. The jungle here isn´t as high as I had imagined, but still jungle none the less...there are warning signs for all sorts of animals, such as jaguars, monkeys, and other sorts of beings in the jungle. We didn´t see any, but I am sure they were watching us!
Amber and I are learning to barter with the vendors, although it still does not seem natural, so I´m sure they still get the best of us...lol. I have bought a few things, but what I really have my eye on is a home made hammock...that will take some bargaining to get for a good price.
Some more highlights of the trip that I have forgotten, or think I have forgotten, so forgive me if I repeat myself as it is so hot...
highlights:
- Amber standing in the street in Belize City with a boa constrictor around her neck and shoulders...there was a guy there with two of them, and let anyone pet or hold them for free...he tours the schools and tells the kids all about them. He said he trains them not to constrict by snapping them on the head when they try to at a young age...sure bud, tell it to the judge...
- meeting people who knew people I knew...met a couple in Newark airport that knew my old friend from grade school, Gisele McClafferty! And another couple who thought they knew my friend Natalie from BC...have met a number of Canadians, but even more Dutch and German...must be there time to travel...and only one Kiwi, imagine that! (New Zealander).
- the fact that the guys in Guatemala are nowheres near as rude as the Belizians, which is a refreshing change...no rude comments yet! Did I tell you about the guy who offered me himself...I think so
Tomorrow we head to the beach in the morning which is just a short walk and tiny boatride from a local away...we´ll stay for the morning and then we are going to visit a cave in the afternoon with the guy in the travel agency taking us for 40QZ which is about $5.50 for the return trip. He is such a nice guy. We booked tickets to Antigua today too...cannot bear another travelling sauna, especially for 11 or more hours to Antigua, but so dearly want to go...we have booked a short flight - 35 minutes - to Guatemala City and then a shuttle from the airport to the hotel in Antigua an hour away. We have booked the return, so will do same in reverse when we leave Antigua area, and catch a bus from Flores straight to Belize City the day before we fly out. We are hoping to head to Chichicastanega, and perhaps another city from Antigua, depending on how hot it is...it is promising to be cooler in the mountains, so we shall see.
time to take my sweat elsewhere...and for hellos
Hi to Brad, faithful housesitter...are you keeping the kitty safe and rescuing her from lonliness?
Hi to Kathleen, my imaginary housesitter..heh heh...thanks for checking my messages, Kath
Hi Georgette...think about you all the time...holding down the fort all by yourself...Mike G will be back with you on Monday and you can hand it over to him then :-)
Hi to Tobey, faithful reader!
Hi mom and dad, sent you two postcards so far...hope they make it there ok
Hi to my sister Kimm and family...about setting up a hotel down south and getting you to work with me...yeah, forget it...to flippin hot...
Hey big brother, hi to Olivia, the little miss...look forward to seeing you in June!
Hi Susan, reading with envy...You could have come, you know...
Hey Linkers, I know Shane is reading...he has all that time on his hands at work you know...
Hey gals and guys at CAS - I have all but forgotten about my caseload...the heat has a way of doing that to a person...
And hello to all else...see you when I return!
Adios!
Well, today we took HOT to a new meaning...we took another steamy but comfortable bus to Tikal, the Mayan Ruins near here...and the drive out wasn´t too bad, but coming back, there were heat waves coming off my head for sure...
The ruins were amazing, and we didn´t get to see them all, as it was just too hot and too far. The site is huge, and each one was spaced apart and often UPHILL. Most paths were in the jungle, which was somewhat cooler, but still hot. Its interesting how much liquid you can ingest with so very little coming out the traditional way...heh heh...sweating it out instead I guess!
Amber braved it all and climbed to the top of temple 5, which must have been 150 feet or so. We took photos, so will share when we return. I just didn´t have it in me to do the climb, so watched from the ground in the shade of the jungle. The jungle here isn´t as high as I had imagined, but still jungle none the less...there are warning signs for all sorts of animals, such as jaguars, monkeys, and other sorts of beings in the jungle. We didn´t see any, but I am sure they were watching us!
Amber and I are learning to barter with the vendors, although it still does not seem natural, so I´m sure they still get the best of us...lol. I have bought a few things, but what I really have my eye on is a home made hammock...that will take some bargaining to get for a good price.
Some more highlights of the trip that I have forgotten, or think I have forgotten, so forgive me if I repeat myself as it is so hot...
highlights:
- Amber standing in the street in Belize City with a boa constrictor around her neck and shoulders...there was a guy there with two of them, and let anyone pet or hold them for free...he tours the schools and tells the kids all about them. He said he trains them not to constrict by snapping them on the head when they try to at a young age...sure bud, tell it to the judge...
- meeting people who knew people I knew...met a couple in Newark airport that knew my old friend from grade school, Gisele McClafferty! And another couple who thought they knew my friend Natalie from BC...have met a number of Canadians, but even more Dutch and German...must be there time to travel...and only one Kiwi, imagine that! (New Zealander).
- the fact that the guys in Guatemala are nowheres near as rude as the Belizians, which is a refreshing change...no rude comments yet! Did I tell you about the guy who offered me himself...I think so
Tomorrow we head to the beach in the morning which is just a short walk and tiny boatride from a local away...we´ll stay for the morning and then we are going to visit a cave in the afternoon with the guy in the travel agency taking us for 40QZ which is about $5.50 for the return trip. He is such a nice guy. We booked tickets to Antigua today too...cannot bear another travelling sauna, especially for 11 or more hours to Antigua, but so dearly want to go...we have booked a short flight - 35 minutes - to Guatemala City and then a shuttle from the airport to the hotel in Antigua an hour away. We have booked the return, so will do same in reverse when we leave Antigua area, and catch a bus from Flores straight to Belize City the day before we fly out. We are hoping to head to Chichicastanega, and perhaps another city from Antigua, depending on how hot it is...it is promising to be cooler in the mountains, so we shall see.
time to take my sweat elsewhere...and for hellos
Hi to Brad, faithful housesitter...are you keeping the kitty safe and rescuing her from lonliness?
Hi to Kathleen, my imaginary housesitter..heh heh...thanks for checking my messages, Kath
Hi Georgette...think about you all the time...holding down the fort all by yourself...Mike G will be back with you on Monday and you can hand it over to him then :-)
Hi to Tobey, faithful reader!
Hi mom and dad, sent you two postcards so far...hope they make it there ok
Hi to my sister Kimm and family...about setting up a hotel down south and getting you to work with me...yeah, forget it...to flippin hot...
Hey big brother, hi to Olivia, the little miss...look forward to seeing you in June!
Hi Susan, reading with envy...You could have come, you know...
Hey Linkers, I know Shane is reading...he has all that time on his hands at work you know...
Hey gals and guys at CAS - I have all but forgotten about my caseload...the heat has a way of doing that to a person...
And hello to all else...see you when I return!
Adios!
Friday, April 23, 2004
A new meaning for the word hot
We have arrived in Guatemala today, on the rolling sauna bus...holy cow, I have never been this hot...we thought it was too warm in Belize...OH NO.
Since our last entry, we travelled by water taxi to Caye Caulker (pronounced Key) where the "beach" is...well, for one, there is no actual beach, but there is a swimming place at the Split, where the island split into two after a terrible hurricane years ago. The water was awesome, and the sandy bottom pure white and gorgeous...Amber and I went for a swim shortly after arriving there, then set out in search of food. I had some undercooked ribs, so sent them back...and we were harrassed terribly at the restaurant by a local drunk...it was funny at first, then he got quite rude, and I told him off, to no avail. We ended up just going instead of hanging out after our meal.
The next morning we had a wonderful breakfast and headed out to snorkel for a half day trip...at first we were very terrified as we had never snorkelled and the water was deep, winds strong and we darn near drowned...after the initial shock of it all, and some help from Glen, our trusty tour guide, we were on our way...we also used life jackets to keep from dying. the snorkelling trip took us out to the Belize Barrier Reef where we swam amongst the Shark Rays, and a few sharks...the next two stops had us at the coral reef where we saw thousands of colorful tropical fish. Aside from inhaling too much salt water from time to time and burning the inside of my nose, throat and who knows what else...we had a wonderful time! We didn't get any pictures, as we didn't have a waterproof camera, but it is forever engrained in our minds...awwww...
We did have a wonderful souvenir of the snorkelling trip, however...lovely lobsterish burns...I am crispy on my back and shoulders, face, arms, and neck, oh yeah, and my ears...Amber managed to brighten up her butt and backs of her legs...ouch. We hope it will darken to a nice tan in a few days, and will likely peel in a couple of weeks.
This morning we caught the water taxi off of Caye Caulker and just caught the morning bus to Flores, Guatemala with NO minutes to spare. We chose to take the "tourist" bus as it looked more comfortable as it is an OLD regular greyhound type bus, with comfy seats, however, nothing could have prepared us for the sweltering heat...we were glad of the comfy seats, especially after crossing the border into Guatemala and the first leg of the trip was dirt road...bad dirt road, but then he picked up the pavement and we were smooth riding after that, even if we were melting...pant, pant...
The border crossing was something else...expensive if nothing else...we paid $15 US just to leave Belize, plus another $7.50BZ (about $3.75US) for the parks and conservation tax or something like that. Its a one time fee and we don't have to pay to come back. We then had to fill out the standard forms and we were on our way. The whole bus had to unload to do this. It was HOT but thankfully there were many little stands that sold cold drinks. There were also tons of moneychangers (official with nametag and all) that hounded you to change your money into Guatemalan Quetzels, at no cost, so we did that, as it is harder to spend US dollars here and they did take US travellers cheques...strange they were, with huge handfuls of money.
Once we finally melted our way here, after 5plus hours on the bus, we were met by a he/she who took us to a hotel, which was a very nice for the $6US each we are paying for it...two double beds, a private bath, table, nightstand, and ceiling fan. And no bugs yet...
We head off to Tikal Ruins tomorrow...bought the bus ticket already for 40Quetzels, which is about $6 I think. It will be hot and sweaty once again, and we will probably expire out there in the jungle for the animals to devour, but we will have seen the second larges Mayan Ruins site in the world...hope the malaria ridden mosquitoes don't finish us off...yes, we are taking our quinine...
Well, it is absolutely beautiful here, but I am melted onto this chair...the area looks underdeveloped but internet is everywhere...talk again from the next stop maybe.
We have arrived in Guatemala today, on the rolling sauna bus...holy cow, I have never been this hot...we thought it was too warm in Belize...OH NO.
Since our last entry, we travelled by water taxi to Caye Caulker (pronounced Key) where the "beach" is...well, for one, there is no actual beach, but there is a swimming place at the Split, where the island split into two after a terrible hurricane years ago. The water was awesome, and the sandy bottom pure white and gorgeous...Amber and I went for a swim shortly after arriving there, then set out in search of food. I had some undercooked ribs, so sent them back...and we were harrassed terribly at the restaurant by a local drunk...it was funny at first, then he got quite rude, and I told him off, to no avail. We ended up just going instead of hanging out after our meal.
The next morning we had a wonderful breakfast and headed out to snorkel for a half day trip...at first we were very terrified as we had never snorkelled and the water was deep, winds strong and we darn near drowned...after the initial shock of it all, and some help from Glen, our trusty tour guide, we were on our way...we also used life jackets to keep from dying. the snorkelling trip took us out to the Belize Barrier Reef where we swam amongst the Shark Rays, and a few sharks...the next two stops had us at the coral reef where we saw thousands of colorful tropical fish. Aside from inhaling too much salt water from time to time and burning the inside of my nose, throat and who knows what else...we had a wonderful time! We didn't get any pictures, as we didn't have a waterproof camera, but it is forever engrained in our minds...awwww...
We did have a wonderful souvenir of the snorkelling trip, however...lovely lobsterish burns...I am crispy on my back and shoulders, face, arms, and neck, oh yeah, and my ears...Amber managed to brighten up her butt and backs of her legs...ouch. We hope it will darken to a nice tan in a few days, and will likely peel in a couple of weeks.
This morning we caught the water taxi off of Caye Caulker and just caught the morning bus to Flores, Guatemala with NO minutes to spare. We chose to take the "tourist" bus as it looked more comfortable as it is an OLD regular greyhound type bus, with comfy seats, however, nothing could have prepared us for the sweltering heat...we were glad of the comfy seats, especially after crossing the border into Guatemala and the first leg of the trip was dirt road...bad dirt road, but then he picked up the pavement and we were smooth riding after that, even if we were melting...pant, pant...
The border crossing was something else...expensive if nothing else...we paid $15 US just to leave Belize, plus another $7.50BZ (about $3.75US) for the parks and conservation tax or something like that. Its a one time fee and we don't have to pay to come back. We then had to fill out the standard forms and we were on our way. The whole bus had to unload to do this. It was HOT but thankfully there were many little stands that sold cold drinks. There were also tons of moneychangers (official with nametag and all) that hounded you to change your money into Guatemalan Quetzels, at no cost, so we did that, as it is harder to spend US dollars here and they did take US travellers cheques...strange they were, with huge handfuls of money.
Once we finally melted our way here, after 5plus hours on the bus, we were met by a he/she who took us to a hotel, which was a very nice for the $6US each we are paying for it...two double beds, a private bath, table, nightstand, and ceiling fan. And no bugs yet...
We head off to Tikal Ruins tomorrow...bought the bus ticket already for 40Quetzels, which is about $6 I think. It will be hot and sweaty once again, and we will probably expire out there in the jungle for the animals to devour, but we will have seen the second larges Mayan Ruins site in the world...hope the malaria ridden mosquitoes don't finish us off...yes, we are taking our quinine...
Well, it is absolutely beautiful here, but I am melted onto this chair...the area looks underdeveloped but internet is everywhere...talk again from the next stop maybe.
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Hot and Sweaty in Belize
Yes, it is hot here, but honestly, I expected that...it does cool off at night though, and makes it pleasant enough to sleep...except when irritating roomies unplug the fan for who knows what stupid reason...he left today, so that's ok...
Yesterday we finally had some excitement...we left Belize City on the Novelos Bus service and managed to break down just outside the city in the sweltering heat...another bus came along in about 30 mintues so all was not lost...we headed north to Orange Walk where we had planned to hook up with a river tour to the Mayan ruins at Lamanai. The buses are old American school buses, with little vinyl left on the seats, and not too overcrowded most of the time. We at least got a seat. When we got off in Orange Walk at the Tower River Toll Bridge, there was a private tour from one of the hotels just getting ready to leave, so we talked our way into their tour. It was a bit pricey at $35US each, but well worth it for what we received. We began by loading into the tour boat that carried about a dozen people. They had cold water for everyone, and the tour Guide was Daniel, a Mayan descendant. He wsa very knowledgeable, and we enjoyed it immensely. The highlights of what we saw are:
- a number of crocodiles, including a baby one, all basking in the sun until the wake from the boat washed them off
- a large turtle, also basking in the sun
- an iguana
- several species of birds including the largest bird in the northern hemisphere, the Jabaru Stork (remember Survivor called their team that?) with a wingspan of up to 12 feet. We also saw hawks, vultures, kingfishers, the Jesus Bird (walks on water) and many more
- some local fishermen in tiny boats...ours did slow down so as not to drown them while they worked...heh heh
and then came the tour of Lamanai...we began with a visit to some black howler monkeys in the trees while the guides prepared lunch for us. The monkeys were very LOUD and sounded like they wanted to come down and rip the face off us...but seemed pleasant enough otherwise...there was a tiny baby monkey about the size of my cat, Via.
For lunch we had a lovely meal of chicken, salads, plantains, and beans and rice. We filled up, and polished off a coke as well, then began our extremely informative tour of the ruins at Lamanai. We walked to the top of one of the temples, but were discouraged against the others as they will wear too much. We could have walked one other, but the first one darn near killed me (I was looking for nitro, I tell ya) so I opted to hang out in the shade.
During the tour, we saw a very colorful toucan, which was very cool, and our Guide also thought it would be cool to stop in the middle of the path and coax out a tarantula..you heard me, a big, black and red, hairy legged tarantua...which came out and reared up on its back legs at him when he poked it with a stick that had my gum on it. Apparently he likes gum. We got some very closeup pictures which were very cool.
The tour ended with a little museum, and then headed back down the river (1.5 hour ride each way) to the landing site, where we headed back up to the toll bridge to take the return bus home. It was a wonderful day, and we both are sporting sun/wind burns on shoulders and my big nose.
The evening was relaxing as I beat Amber once again at Scrabble...and we had some snacks at the guest house. More guests arrived and we chatted up with a couple from Chicago and a very odd fellow from California.
Today is a different day..we dropped off laundry and have come in search of internet...no easy task...the first two cafes were closed...now we are at Mailboxes Etc, if you can believe that.
More Highlights of Belize:
- getting asked if I want a taxi, and when I say no, getting offered a husband - "tall, black and dynomite"..I told him I got rid of the first one, why would I want another?
- the rats on the streets, day or night...as big as my cat again...not too many, but gross just the same
- the size of the bug that was on the wall behind Amber's chair last night that I almost didn't tell her about because I was waiting to see what it would do...it could have provided some entertainment...
- the disgusting park that smells of urine, and the benches that are covered in bird poop, and homeless people
- constant cat calls - "Hey mommy, do you want a taxi? or me?"
- occasional comments on my hair (which I tend to forget is purple)
- barely any white people around...so we stand OUT
We leave this afternoon after my job interview with NWT Health and Social Services at 1:15pm to go to Caye Caulker for the night....look out beach, I will be wearing my first bathing suit in years...Tomorrow we head to San Ignacio for a tour of some caves...stay tuned...
Hello ma and pa...sent you a postcard today
Hi Sis and Bro - thinking about you as I sip cold ones in the shade...
Hi Tobey, faithful reader
Hi Georgette...all there alone in the office...hope it is quiet for you...I'm sure if it isn't you will pay me back when I return
Hey gals, you know who you are...hope you are having fun..seeing lots of well-built Belizians here for you...
Hi Paula - I AM coming back you know...it is too hot down here...would rather the snow...(did I say that?)
Hi Brad - Amber is thinking about you always - what is Brad doing now, wonder how he is, would he like this, how is the cat liking him, etc...hope the house is still there, and you in it...lol have you checked the mail yet?
Hi to Via (give her rub for me, Brad)
Hi all other faithful readers...will write again in a couple of days...
-Jude in Belize
Yes, it is hot here, but honestly, I expected that...it does cool off at night though, and makes it pleasant enough to sleep...except when irritating roomies unplug the fan for who knows what stupid reason...he left today, so that's ok...
Yesterday we finally had some excitement...we left Belize City on the Novelos Bus service and managed to break down just outside the city in the sweltering heat...another bus came along in about 30 mintues so all was not lost...we headed north to Orange Walk where we had planned to hook up with a river tour to the Mayan ruins at Lamanai. The buses are old American school buses, with little vinyl left on the seats, and not too overcrowded most of the time. We at least got a seat. When we got off in Orange Walk at the Tower River Toll Bridge, there was a private tour from one of the hotels just getting ready to leave, so we talked our way into their tour. It was a bit pricey at $35US each, but well worth it for what we received. We began by loading into the tour boat that carried about a dozen people. They had cold water for everyone, and the tour Guide was Daniel, a Mayan descendant. He wsa very knowledgeable, and we enjoyed it immensely. The highlights of what we saw are:
- a number of crocodiles, including a baby one, all basking in the sun until the wake from the boat washed them off
- a large turtle, also basking in the sun
- an iguana
- several species of birds including the largest bird in the northern hemisphere, the Jabaru Stork (remember Survivor called their team that?) with a wingspan of up to 12 feet. We also saw hawks, vultures, kingfishers, the Jesus Bird (walks on water) and many more
- some local fishermen in tiny boats...ours did slow down so as not to drown them while they worked...heh heh
and then came the tour of Lamanai...we began with a visit to some black howler monkeys in the trees while the guides prepared lunch for us. The monkeys were very LOUD and sounded like they wanted to come down and rip the face off us...but seemed pleasant enough otherwise...there was a tiny baby monkey about the size of my cat, Via.
For lunch we had a lovely meal of chicken, salads, plantains, and beans and rice. We filled up, and polished off a coke as well, then began our extremely informative tour of the ruins at Lamanai. We walked to the top of one of the temples, but were discouraged against the others as they will wear too much. We could have walked one other, but the first one darn near killed me (I was looking for nitro, I tell ya) so I opted to hang out in the shade.
During the tour, we saw a very colorful toucan, which was very cool, and our Guide also thought it would be cool to stop in the middle of the path and coax out a tarantula..you heard me, a big, black and red, hairy legged tarantua...which came out and reared up on its back legs at him when he poked it with a stick that had my gum on it. Apparently he likes gum. We got some very closeup pictures which were very cool.
The tour ended with a little museum, and then headed back down the river (1.5 hour ride each way) to the landing site, where we headed back up to the toll bridge to take the return bus home. It was a wonderful day, and we both are sporting sun/wind burns on shoulders and my big nose.
The evening was relaxing as I beat Amber once again at Scrabble...and we had some snacks at the guest house. More guests arrived and we chatted up with a couple from Chicago and a very odd fellow from California.
Today is a different day..we dropped off laundry and have come in search of internet...no easy task...the first two cafes were closed...now we are at Mailboxes Etc, if you can believe that.
More Highlights of Belize:
- getting asked if I want a taxi, and when I say no, getting offered a husband - "tall, black and dynomite"..I told him I got rid of the first one, why would I want another?
- the rats on the streets, day or night...as big as my cat again...not too many, but gross just the same
- the size of the bug that was on the wall behind Amber's chair last night that I almost didn't tell her about because I was waiting to see what it would do...it could have provided some entertainment...
- the disgusting park that smells of urine, and the benches that are covered in bird poop, and homeless people
- constant cat calls - "Hey mommy, do you want a taxi? or me?"
- occasional comments on my hair (which I tend to forget is purple)
- barely any white people around...so we stand OUT
We leave this afternoon after my job interview with NWT Health and Social Services at 1:15pm to go to Caye Caulker for the night....look out beach, I will be wearing my first bathing suit in years...Tomorrow we head to San Ignacio for a tour of some caves...stay tuned...
Hello ma and pa...sent you a postcard today
Hi Sis and Bro - thinking about you as I sip cold ones in the shade...
Hi Tobey, faithful reader
Hi Georgette...all there alone in the office...hope it is quiet for you...I'm sure if it isn't you will pay me back when I return
Hey gals, you know who you are...hope you are having fun..seeing lots of well-built Belizians here for you...
Hi Paula - I AM coming back you know...it is too hot down here...would rather the snow...(did I say that?)
Hi Brad - Amber is thinking about you always - what is Brad doing now, wonder how he is, would he like this, how is the cat liking him, etc...hope the house is still there, and you in it...lol have you checked the mail yet?
Hi to Via (give her rub for me, Brad)
Hi all other faithful readers...will write again in a couple of days...
-Jude in Belize
Monday, April 19, 2004
Its a hot one here today....we went for a walking tour of the city, saw the sights, and met some interesting locals...Alfred was one...wanted to follow us everywhere, but we shook him. We at some breakfast at the Shiny Mermaid Restaurant - Amber had some kind of quesadilla with refried beans and the hottest salsa ever! We are playing scrabble this afternoon on the deck, overlooking the ocean and enjoying the shade...I'm sure it will be feeding time for Amber soon enough, so we will go in search of a meal later this afternoon. Apparently we are the same as Mountain time, which is 2 hours back from my blog time.
Hi there Tobey, know you are a faithful reader...also hello to all those linkers out there who are so glad to be done with their exams! Job well done, people!
Hi to family and friends...we are thinking about you as we gaze over the ocean, watching the boats come and go.
Must go and see what Kara has posted on her Blog so far...
Hi there Tobey, know you are a faithful reader...also hello to all those linkers out there who are so glad to be done with their exams! Job well done, people!
Hi to family and friends...we are thinking about you as we gaze over the ocean, watching the boats come and go.
Must go and see what Kara has posted on her Blog so far...
Sunday, April 18, 2004
Well, we finally made it here to Belize!!! Holy cow it is hot! We arrived this afternoon at 1:00pm local time (whatever that is). Our flight was late yesterday leaving Halifax by nearly 3 hours. We finally left at 9:15am (instead of 6:30am) and of course, missed our connecting flight to Belize from Newark...arrived in Newark later in the morning, then flew out to Houston Texas at noon, getting there around 3pm, local time. We were put up in the Holiday Inn by Continental, including meals, so that was ok, and then flew out from Houston to Belize the following day. The explanation for the late flight was ice on the plane, and it kept building up (freezing rain).
Cool stuff - flying into Newark airport and seeing the skyline of New York, including the Statue of Liberty for the first time
- Texas Beef Steak - it was amazing and how could we have anything else while in Texas!! We also had the HUGEST baked potato ever with it.
- salamanders everywhere
- Belize dollars look a lot like ours, with color and the queen..didn't know that!
- we are right on the waterfront at the Seaside Guest House
- the only thing open that serves food today is the local Chinese restaurant...oh well! We flew all this way to have Chinese food...lol
Amber is out on the veranda swinging in the hammock, taking in the beautiful breeze in the shade of the sun. We went for a walk, but it was SO HOT and nothing was open, so didn't stay out long.
We internet use at the hostel, but it is expensive, so will go to the cheaper one tomorrow or the next day. We expect to post every couple of days, likely, so might not post until Tuesday.
I have to check out the Canadian Consul tomorrow to see if they will allow me to conduct my job interview at their office. Otherwise, I may have to speak to the owner here...but it is quite noisy here with stereo and television on!!!
Anyhow...that's all for today folks...just wanted to let you know we arrived safely and FINALLY...hope to find some beach and sand tomorrow, or a trip to the Cayes (keys).
-Jude in Belize
Cool stuff - flying into Newark airport and seeing the skyline of New York, including the Statue of Liberty for the first time
- Texas Beef Steak - it was amazing and how could we have anything else while in Texas!! We also had the HUGEST baked potato ever with it.
- salamanders everywhere
- Belize dollars look a lot like ours, with color and the queen..didn't know that!
- we are right on the waterfront at the Seaside Guest House
- the only thing open that serves food today is the local Chinese restaurant...oh well! We flew all this way to have Chinese food...lol
Amber is out on the veranda swinging in the hammock, taking in the beautiful breeze in the shade of the sun. We went for a walk, but it was SO HOT and nothing was open, so didn't stay out long.
We internet use at the hostel, but it is expensive, so will go to the cheaper one tomorrow or the next day. We expect to post every couple of days, likely, so might not post until Tuesday.
I have to check out the Canadian Consul tomorrow to see if they will allow me to conduct my job interview at their office. Otherwise, I may have to speak to the owner here...but it is quite noisy here with stereo and television on!!!
Anyhow...that's all for today folks...just wanted to let you know we arrived safely and FINALLY...hope to find some beach and sand tomorrow, or a trip to the Cayes (keys).
-Jude in Belize
Friday, April 16, 2004
one more sleep! We leave today for Halifax and tomorrow for Belize!!! We are all packed, I just have to make some bags to put our summer sleeping bags in and we are good to go. My friend, Kara is also going on an international trip - to Spain and perhaps beyond. Her Blog address is Kara Kwest. Its her first blog ever, so keep that in mind, and her first international trip so she is bubbling over with excitement!
The next time we post will be from Belize!
The next time we post will be from Belize!
Thursday, April 15, 2004
And Away We GO
Well, its official, we have booked our tickets and leave for Belize on Saturday April 17th at 6:30am and arrive Belize at noon. Whoo hoo! I have to go and pick up the tickets today, along with a hundred other things that need to be done. We have most of the shopping done, and our gear is organized to go.
Temperature already this am in Belize City is 21C
Well, its official, we have booked our tickets and leave for Belize on Saturday April 17th at 6:30am and arrive Belize at noon. Whoo hoo! I have to go and pick up the tickets today, along with a hundred other things that need to be done. We have most of the shopping done, and our gear is organized to go.
Temperature already this am in Belize City is 21C
