Journey home and other misc notes of useful items

You'd never guess that Guatemala has the fourth highest murder rate in the world. The people are so nice. We would heartily recommend Guatemala. We didn't have any shady incidences.

Our trip from Panajachel to Antigua was without incident. We got our first room back at the Dona Angelina - not the one with rattling window panes that I had to stabilize with a tube of toothpaste.

We organized our shuttle for the ride to the airport, got some lunch, found some rolls for a quick breakfast, and then went to bed early.

Must have been windy last night because the window pane in this room rattled as well. As it was an upper pane, I had to lean my backpack against it to stop the rattle.

Between the rattling window panes, night buses, roosters, and dogs we've not gotten a lot of sound sleep. I'm sure we look like something the cat drug in this morning.

Darren just came back with some tea and coffee as I sit here typing in the airport. He was one Quetzal short for the cream to put in the coffee.

I believe I've picked up a mild stomach bug these last few days. The Imodium has kept it in check for the most part. I will be sure to eat bland food when I get home - not sure I know how to cook bland food. It could be just from the copious amounts of beans here, although we have been more adventurous in our eating than usual when traveling.

Things I never thought would be useful on a trip to Central America, but have been indispensable: thermals for those night buses, nights in hammocks, and generally when the weather is cooler than expected. My jacket has also been a must. Mornings waiting for a bus in Antigua are cold.

Darren says on the next trip he would bring deodorant (it was a space issue) and a knife/spoon set. The Spanish dictionary has not been used.

I would probably bring an extra mug as Darren has co-opted mine for his morning cup of coffee. I’d also bring a second bra. Some mornings my single bra has not been completely dry as promised in the travel shop ad.

Other notes: The American couple that had done most of South and Central America suggested putting religious icons and addressing packages to "Sister...." to get them to arrive unmolested in the post.

Copan to Panajachel - long and informative journey

Wow! What a bus ride-6.5 hours. We are camped with our luggage at the Rainbow Room for a nice lunch. Darren has gone to get tickets for the next leg to the famed Lake Atitlan, which is 2.5 hrs away.

We had a hodge podge of foreigners on our minibus. Most got off south of Guatemala City to connect to Tikal and areas east, which left a lot more room.
 
We had a very enlightening bus ride with some Americans from Seattle who put us in the know about Central American travel. Seems we were worried about nothing. Most of her explanations were entertaining. They were hard core travelers who had done most of Central and South America. Here is what she had to say about the scary news reports we saw before leaving home:
 
Bus robberies in the Peten Region(Flores and Tikal): after the war, the local militia didn't get paid and the government doesn't put a lot of effort into maintaining peace there. So these ex-soldiers periodically stop buses for an unofficial toll. Pay the bribe and be on your way.
 
Brigands blocking roads: protests against some government ruling, the locals simply get off the bus at the road block and are allowed to walk through it to the next bus on the other side. The brigands are only interested in impeding government and businesses.
 
The drug cartels are pretty established and the locals don't care as long as they are not violent and don't bring drug addictions into the community. The drug violence in Mexico is mostly between fighting cartels.
 
She did warn that Managua is bad news, but the rest of Nicaragua is great.
 
Very informative conversation. We suspected, but they verified that Copan was a tourist trap with most things being overpriced. She described a lagoon excursion where you used to be able to go out all day with lunch included for $1.50. As wealthy tourists went out with the guides and tipped them $5, the fare is now $7.
 
They got off in Guatemala City to continue to the border as their three month visa for the region was expiring (Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador).

One item I must relate: saw some goats in the middle of Guatemala City on the way in. Apparently they are the latest in fast food here. You can get goat milk on the spot on the sidewalk. A new niche in the market. You never know, it could take off in America.

We got lunch at the rainbow cafe. Darren was very frustrated trying to change our remaining dollars to Guatemalan for possible shopping tomorrow. The bank demands a lot of info- like what address are you staying at? As we were in transit we didn't know where we were staying.

We got to Panajachel just as the sun was setting. The view of the volcanoes as the sun set was marred somewhat by our co-passenger who was sick out the window. There were only 4 of us on the shuttle from Antigua. The other couple was students from Iowa and Minnesota. Poor girl was sick all the way. We discussed health care policy with the med student.

We did a quick turn around the main street lined with tourist shops and restaurants. Darren only took one photo today – amazing - at the border crossing.
 
It's been a long day. I almost felt like puking with the poor girl today.

Our hotel in Panajachel is the best so far and at $12 per night a bargain. They didn't have a double bed, so we got the widish twins with private bath. It's in a quiet alley near the church. The owner is friendly and speaks a little English. He told us where to pick up the local bus to Chichicastenango.
 
After 13 hrs in transit, I don't want to sit on another bus for a very long time. But being a glutton for punishment, I've convinced Darren that we should brave the chicken bus tomorrow on our day trip to the Chichicastenango market 2.5 hrs away. I know, stupid right? I would like to give a chicken bus a go at least once and this may be our last chance. Due to the long distances needed to travel in a short time, we’ve opted for the speedier tourist shuttles.
 
This market is well known to be colorful with lots of souvenirs and possibly pickpockets if the State Department is to be believed. We will leave everything behind but the cameras.
 

Back to Antigua and on to Copan Ruinas

Considerably groggy, we waded through the taxi drivers to the bus station waiting room. We hadn't prebooked a shuttle to Antigua. We thought to either hitch with the shuttle coming to pick up the other foreigners or Darren walking around the corner to the other bus company and inquire about their shuttle service.

Darren came back from the other station with the news an official taxi would take us to Antigua for 30 dollars. We picked up two other travelers going that way and split the cost. One was an Englishman in Guatemala for the diving and the other was a Romanian who had flown through 13 countries in four wks on his current trip.

The taxi dropped us all at the square and we crashed again when our retirement hotel opened.

We caught up on laundry, had lunch, and browsed through the market. It’s hard to browse there with the hard sell. Darren is off taking photos somewhere or catching up on his soccer news.

Shouldn't be any more climbing this next week.

The alarm went at 3:05. We bumbled around, making coffee with the water heater (we finally worked out how to use it effectively), and brushing teeth. We always seem to have difficulty with the complex dead bolts on the outer door of the Dona Angelina Hotel.

As we stood waiting for our shuttle in the cold pre-dawn, a snazzy car pulled up and the most slicked down young man I believe I've ever beheld jumped out. Not a hair was out of place, not a wrinkle or a dog hair on his black slacks and shirt. There was a 24 hour pharmacy next door (must ring the bell) and we thought maybe someone was ill or perhaps emergency condoms were needed. As it turned out, he beat on the door to the Dona Angelina until the attendant opened the small window in the door. Our spotless visitor was looking for a room by the hour. Despite his slick appearance, he obviously didn't know how to impress a woman if he was taking her to our hostel for retired hippies. The attendant said the place was full.

We found our seats in the crowded shuttle bus for the 6 hour ride to Copan in Honduras. We picked up a couple more people on the way out of town. The last was a young woman with a bag just slightly larger than mine. I was impressed until she turned and I could see the behemoth bag on her back; a Brit from Manchester traveling in Central America for gap year and teaching English. I know all this because she immediately struck a conversation with the one single guy on the bus and told us all her life story.

Who knew public transportation could be such a hot bed for romance, although after our experience on the China Bus to NYC, I shouldn't be surprised, but at 4 am Prince William in drag would not grab my attention.

He was an Aussie law student from Melbourne. Darren said it wasn't a flirtation in the strictest sense, but if she chattered away like that with most men I've encountered, it would be considered flirtatious. Anyway, the rest of the sleepy bus occupants were entertained by their life story at the ungodly hour of 4 am. The Aussie even mentioned that he'd only had an hour of sleep and needed a nap and she chattered on.

She finally wound down and I tried to nap, which was not really possible. I gave up as the sun rose and turned on a book on tape to pass the time.

We passed through some impressive mountains - sort of Appalachian height (not Rockies). We stopped for a break/breakfast (we'd had a cheese roll and tea while waiting for the bus). The Aussie student talked about his girlfriend at home at the next table. The romance petered out after that.

Pacaya Volcano Hike

Another dawn rising. We were outside the hostel at 5:50 and worried we missed our 6 am shuttle because it was late. Darren had gone up the street to get a dawn pic of the volcano that overlooks the town when the shuttle arrived. We were the last passengers to load so we got the front seat.

Our driver looked about 18. His girlfriend happened to be walking down the street and he had a nice conversation with her for a couple of blocks as the shuttle kept pace with her. He even managed a smooch through the window. No conversation from the 14 or so passengers, just some cool Latin tunes. We were in high spirits though. I decided I was going to like Guatemala.

A dog had staked his spot lying in the middle of the road and refused to budge as the shuttle whizzed by. Maybe a suicidal dog? He looked happy enough, though.

I found the hike up the volcano to be a little disappointing. Not the scenery, which was spectacular.

The last group to head up the mountain, the guide drove us up the trail like a herd of crippled billy goats - ok, maybe I was the only one to resemble a crippled goat. I brought up the rear, behind the geriatric dude – very far behind. Darren kept ushering me to keep up. About 90% up I became an ugly American. I decided that the chances of her shooting me where slim. The trail was fairly well marked. And down the mountain is down. So I was the last to come huffing and puffing at the sparse breaks.

As I said, we were the last group to leave the parking lot and we passed two other groups that were well ahead of us. There were villagers following us with pony taxis. I suspect our guide got a kick back to rush us up the mountain so we're exhausted and require taxis. I don't believe there was a need for the rush. We had two 30 min breaks at the top and we waited around 30 min at the bottom at the parking lot before leaving. An extra 20 min on the assent would have been more pleasant. Felt like I was going to have a heart attack. Obviously yoga is not going to cut it for my sole source of fitness.

The views were beautiful, though. There were two amazing volcanoes in the distance. Walking on the volcanic dirt was difficult - sort of like walking up a mountain of sugar. Closed toed shoes were essential as the rocks were rough. The guide held a handful of dried twigs over a volcanic vent and they instantly burst into flame.

The village dogs accompanied us all the way. Though many were starving, they were cute and made the most of the begging opportunities. We didn't have anything on us but protein bars that had bits of chocolate. I convinced Darren to give one to two particularly starved puppies. I know chocolate is bad, but it only had a little and they looked so hungry.

On the way down I slid in some loose gravel and sat down hard. Believe I wrenched my shoulder some. I was covered from head to toe in ash or dust or whatever it's called. Thankfully we paid for an extra night in the room even though we're leaving at 6:30 to get the night bus. Need a shower and a nap.

We rewarded ourselves with a nice lunch at the Rainbow Room after our showers. The Rainbow Room is marketed to foreigners. I usually avoid any sort of fresh fruit or veg when traveling outside of Europe or the US, but they've prepared it so there is little worry. The food was absolutely delicious after a near heart attack hike.

More information on our room: Did I mention there are no mirrors in the room? You have to go to the end of the veranda to brush your teeth at the sink and comb your hair. The black metal door does not stay closed unless the dead bolt is engaged or the padlock is on. It's currently opened to let in fresh air as I catch you all up, pack, and relax a bit.

We'll be back Saturday and Darren’s already asked for the room back. By the way - haven't seen a single bug.

Darren got pics of the room and me huffing up the mountain. No banditos yet :)

Antigua

People are super friendly here. Darren has been practicing his Spanish by discussing soccer with the check in clerk.

A bit frazzled when we arrived, we went to get drinks at the local McDonalds. It was something else. It has an adjoining cafe and walled garden with blooming azaleas- really pretty. Has a guard at the door - no gun though.

Once we got our second wind and some caffeine, we set out to take photos. Toured the square - where Darren got caught red handed trying to serriptiously photograph a local woman with a large wash basin on her head. The square was a hopping place on a Saturday with young lovers and indigenous women selling trinkets. Beautiful weather.

We were so busy having a good time that we forgot to change more money, which brings us to this morning.

The streets deserted when we unbolted the court yard doors this morning. We scrounged around for breakfast, but I needed a nap. Two days without sleep takes a bit out of you.

Post-nap was when we seriously got down to looking for a way to change money. We lucked out when a cafe owner directed us to the Industrial Bank. Could have used an ATM, but have been reading that many here are compromised.

Darren stumbled through negotiations for our volcano tour tomorrow morning and the night bus to Flores. He did a good job, but it was work.

We strolled through the local market. They have some awesome textiles here. We walked around most of the day actually. My feet are tired. Even though sun is intense here, hats are not common. Darren saw some school girls on chicken bus this morning pointing and laughing at my hat :)

We took pictures of the colorful chicken buses that are like pimped out retired US school buses. You have to see them to believe - red flames, catchy names, flash colors. This is where old school buses go to die - how is that for recycling?

Antigua is a pretty town. The houses are painted bright colors and some of the churches have been restored. Others have been left picturesque ruins (from earthquakes). Two beautiful volcanoes hover in the background.

So basically we've not been very polished backpackers this trip:
Losing our luggage, forgetting to change money in a timely fashion, ending up in a retirement hostel. But all in all, we've laughed at our little mistakes. It's added a bit of excitement to the trip.

Will be heading out early for the volcano hike and we're getting the night bus tomorrow evening. We decided to pay for tomorrow night so we can get a shower and organized after the hike, so I may be able to update in the afternoon.