We spent 10 days studying Spanish in Antigua, a picturesque colonial town just outside of Guatemala City. It was the original capital of Guatemala until a series of big earthquakes knocked most of it down.

The day we arrived a tropical storm rolled in and decided to stay for the duration of our time in Antigua, and everyday we were impressed with Antigua’s sewer systems capacity to hold water, lesser cities would have sunk!

On our first Sunday in Antigua we decided to visit the famous Chichicastenango market which is a must see on any Central American trip. Originally a hot trading spot for Mayans back in the day, it has continued every Sunday to set up stalls and take over the city. In order to get to Chichi from Antigua you have two options, pay $20 and take a mini bus, or pay $3 and take a two chicken buses… we opted for option B. We started at 5 am and anxiously climbed aboard the decked out school bus. We booked it through the narrow windy streets as dogs and early risers leaped out of the way.

The bus ride to Chichi was fairly tame in comparison to the bus ride back in the afternoon. On the way back they packed 80 plus people into a school bus designed for 40! At breakneck speeds with only flimsy PVC piping to keep us standing upright (we weren’t lucky enough to get seats) did we mention that it was a 3 hour bus ride on a mountainous highway that was under serious construction at the time on a road where solid lines and speed limits seemed to be merely suggestions?

It seemed to us that the name chicken bus must have derived its name, not for the number of people that it packs on, or the numerous animals that share the ride, but rather the game of chicken the bus drivers seem to enjoy playing with every possible vehicle and pedestrian they can! This wasn’t our first chicken bus and it won’t be our last, but so far it has been THE most terrifying thing we have done so far… all for cost of $3!

The main reason for visiting Antigua is that it is famous for its Spanish schools, so we both had 4 hour private Spanish lessons with Pedro switching up mornings and afternoon lessons. With only half the day taken up with lessons we were left with ample time to explore the city, read, nap, develop a caffeine addiction to the most glorious coffee this side of paradise, watch the rain, get a fungal infection in the intestine… etc

During our time in Antigua we stayed with a Guatemalan family. We were pretty nervous at first, but it ended up being one of the best decisions we have made thus far. The family was amazing, they only spoke Spanish but they welcomed us immediately and made us feel part of the family. Patty the mom took us under her wing, made us special Guatemalan delicacies and chat with us after dinner.

At first Claire and I did a lot of smiling and nodding, understanding one out of every 10 words, by the end of our stay however we were making jokes and holding up conversations. The kids were pretty awesome too, we helped them with their English homework, invented snoopy soccer, and teased them about their new haircuts.

In the last week of our stay in Antigua Patty joked that the house was more of a hospital than a homestay. Four of the five students were bedridden (nothing to do with the family, all injuries were self inflicted) Mike the Brit had to have an emergency root canal that put him out for a couple of days. The two girls from the States Summer and Diane went away to the Pacific coast for the weekend to get away from the rain for awhile and came back with food poisoning for Summer and second and third degree burns for Diane from sun exposure. Claire had to top them all and ended up with a fungal infection in her intestine that left her OUT for 5 days unable to keep down even crackers! 300Q poorer, 4 different types of antibiotics, anti nausea etc for 10 days and Claire is now right as rain!

Antigua was beautiful, the family was amazing and Pedro taught us a lot , but after 10 days of rain we were both jonesing for some sun. Before we could leave Antigua we had to visit one of the many active volcanos.

The chance to hike up an active volcano and poke lava was too much to resist. So we managed another early morning rise and long bus ride to the volcano. The hike up was more strenuous than we had anticipated, and halfway up we regretted not opting for the horseback option. The hike took about an hour and half to reach the lava, the summit of the volcano was too active to go all the way up that day so we missed out on the last 200 meters. However, it was hot enough where we were that we didn’t mind too much!

The lava bursting out of the top of the volcano sounded like a 747 passing overhead, combined with the lava oozing only a few feet from us, made us feel like we were on a different planet. Our fellow hikers had anticipated the heat and brought marshmallows to roast on the lava (delicious earth crust taste)

The Moltan rock that we were walking on was only 20 days old and maybe a meter and a half from the active lava below (we could feel the heat through our shoes) As we scrambled over the sharp uneven rock we could see only a few feet away red hot lava oozing down the black crusted rock. It was incredible to be that close, and so hot that we could only spend a few minutes close to the free flowing lava.

Before our climb we bought some hiking sticks from the local kids and when we got the lava field we proceeded to poke the exposed lava, at which point our sticks would burst into flame! SO COOL. The whole experience was pretty damn cool, though on reflection probably not something we would do again…

Once we had seen the volcano and drunk as much coffee as we could handle we jetted off to sunny San Pedro a few hours away to get some sun and lake fun before skipping over to Honduras.

Hey Guys, Sorry for the SUPER LONG Delay in getting this up, but here we are getting back on track this time we promise.

As round The end of May we were Officially in Guatemala now, we stayed on the small island of Flores. Flores is a quaint colonial town with cobble stone streets tightly packed onto a 2 square kilometer island. It is surrounded by clear warm fresh water that everyone from locals to tourists frequently dip into. Aside from the dubious electricity that seems to turn on and off at will, and strange flying earwigs that prefer to attack at meals times and in washrooms. Our alarm clock is the stiffening heat that fills the room after the electricity has cut out, our only source of relief from the heat. Although not even 100m from mainland attached by a single road, there is no access to fruit or vegetables on the island, there is cheese in the fridges a month passed dues date (and lets not forget about the many times the power goes out in a single day), so not much coking happened, only restaurant eating….and even than had its very very Rough patches.

The afternoon we arrived we organized ad early bird trip to Tikal - by early bird we mean the worm hasn’t come out of the whole yet – We talking 3am here people!!! In hindsight we should’ve just stayed up – giddy with lack of sleep the four of us plus our new Norwegian friends Anetta and Peter, all stumbled into the van at 3:20. We arrived at Tikal a little later than expected with a flat tire and while the other groups were driven all the way up to Temple 4, we had to sprint through the jungle – a good 3 km – to beat the sunrise. We made it to the top for a bit of the sunrise. We were at the top of a temple that was built for the King and his queen, a rise that pokes it head out of the jungle. Needless to say the Sunrise was incredible, well what we saw of it anyways, it was completely silent except for the odd opening of a water bottle, or the shutter of a camera trying to capture the impossible true beauty of what was laid before us. Slowly the Sun rose through layers of mist to reveal it’s true rapid speed of movement. The Forest slowly began to awaken with bird calls, monkeys howling and frog croaking. Soon the sun was consumed by the fog again and we continued in silence listening as more bizarre sounds came to life.

Tikal is the center point of all the Mayan ruins; it is the largest national park in Central America and it its day must have been the most spectacular place to see. Temple 4 peaks out the top of the rainforest into a network of 4000 buildings of which only 15% has been recovered from over-growth. Tikal means Temple of echoes or echo of the Mayan Spirits. We were apart of a group which seems silly, but Luis was not only the best but we head the week before a Dutch guys tried to do Tikal himself and was lost for 2 -3 days, they only found him because he ripped pages out of his Lonely planet…so we thought a guide was a great idea, and Luis…he was the cream of the Crop.

We were lead through the Jungle from Temple to temple but none was such a head rush as Temple 6. Almost completely restored to the top, you wonder why it isn’t funny until you get to the top and can’t imagine anything else apart from wanting to get safely to the ground. Before we get to that let’s talk about how to reach the top. Beside the stairs was a “wooden staircase” I’m sorry did I say stairs let me replace that with a series of ladders that has a small platforms now and then with a light tilt forwards. If you’re not scared of heights then clearly you have not been this high and steep and NOT strapped in!!! At the top the view is incredible but the adrenalin is debatable as to whether it was worth the climb and standing at the top. Even with our backs flat against the wall so close we could almost be apart of the wall, you still feel like you’re falling forwards. If you don’t suffer from Vertigo then trust us you will on the small wooden platform at the top. Coming down was no where near as bad as going up you were so focus on hanging on for dear life then you never really looked down. We saw our fair share of wildlife monkeys swinging from branches, various birds (including Toucan Sam), some fuzzy animal related to the anteater and so many other things.

A few hours later we returned to the Van and headed back to Flores. We stayed in Flores for a couple more days then after swimming lessons for Sonya and some relaxing time it was off to Antigua to begin Claire’s and my Spanish lessons.


Thanks for holding, the blogs will be up soon to hopefully be followed by Photos!
Cheers,
Simpson and Claire

Welcome to the Jungle, where…there are crabs?!? Leaves the Size of Claire?!? Sorry that we have been out of contact for so long, but there is no internet in the Jungle and then we have been in constant transport for awhile so Info of the last little while will be filled in slowly and divided into three posts. Palanque was wonderful. We stayed in the Jungle just outside the park(where the Ruins are) in a small community FULL of artisans from jewelry makers and circus performers to Native drummers and fire dancers.

It was full of life, music and a hippie traveling vibe that took over the wholeplace. Claire and I stayed in a small cabin that shared a wall with a Jeweler and her talkative 3 year old Daughter (Who was up until 1 am happily chatting away, every 10 minutes she would be on the shared deck, on our side, shouting "OLA" to the campers 30 feet behind us...it wasn't annoying at all...nope didn't keep us up in the slightest). The first night in the jungle was a little rough... at 3 in the morning I awoke to Claire ...this is how it went....

Claire: (whisper) "Simpson, Simpson are you awake?"

Simp: (waking up) "hmmm? Not anymore, why?"

Claire: "Don't you hear that?...(moment pause to hear a loud demonic roaring noise)

Simp: "what is that?..."

Claire: "How do you sleep through this shit!!!"

It was an eerie noise that sounded like it was right outside our hut…it sounded as if a jaguar were giving birth and everything was being torn up inside by the cubs claws…Claire and I stayed awake for a three hours listening to the terrible noise and trying in vain to fall back asleep. When we asked the hostel owner the next day what had made those terrible sounds we were surprised to find out that it was a monkey! That´s right a howler monkey, just slightly larger than a house cat! Gives new meaning to the phrase Mono Loco! The first full day we just vegged and took in the quirks of the Jungle. Found a tattoo artist that does traditional tattoos, she's well known for her art, and Sonya and Izzy were keen to get some of her beautiful work....but she was leaving for a tattoo conference inHolland and didn't have time to design anything.

The second day took us to the ruins of Palenque, which were pretty amazing.

The Sun was blazing as we walked the 3km uphill to get there and by the time we reached the ruins it was already mid day and we were feeling the heat! The walk was inspired by the idea of saving money which we found out later was only a dollar for the collectivo, but still that's pretty much a beer, we clearly have our priorities in order!! The ruins were surrounded by jungle and were open to be climbed on, which is always fun! After a few hours the sun proved to be too much and our traditional ruin loopyness took over. We found a bunch of bean pods (tamarind we think) and proceeded to swordfight each other in dramatic drawn out fights. The last one with a unbroken bean pod was declared the winner and officially knighted. Did I mention the sun had gotten to us! When we finally stopped after a traditional knighting there was a loud applause and we turned around to see a crowd of about 50 Asian tourists armed with cameras who had stopped to watched the whole thing and found it highly amusing. Highly embarrassed we bowed and then briskly walked away. If you ever see a youtube video of four idiots bean fighting in some Mexican ruin be assured that it totally is not us…

The next day we caught a bus form Palenque to Tulum, a place off the Caribbean coast in the Yucatan province of Mexico. Getting there involved another 12 hour night bus ride with bumps and sharp turns galore, interrupting the fleeting bits of sleep we were able to catch. Tulum was nice, but not the famed town we had been expecting. After searching in town for a few hours we managed to find a nice cheap hotel at the north end, near the ruins. Tulum´s ruins are fairly unique as Mexican ruins go because they are built on cliffs over-looking the sea. Apparently when the Spanish arrived they made mention of what an incredible site it was at night due to the fires that burned at the tops of the temples. An awesome sight I am sure! However, by this point we were a little ruined out and decided not to go. Tulum is a Mayan word meaning dawn, apparently it is spectacular then, not that we were ever up that early to see it, nor it the site even open then. Tulum is an expensive town and our $20 a day budget would not have stretched very far had we gone out for meals, again we were really glad the girls had a stove and pot set. We managed some pretty great dinners and took advantageof the cheap fruit to make massive fruit salads. Cooking in the room was a bit dodgy, I am sure the hotel would not have appreciated it so we took turns guarding the door and keeping a lookout for any friendly staff that might come along.

Our hotel was a 3km walk from the beach, and when we ventured there on the first day after the 12 hour bus ride, all the trouble to get toTulum became totally worth it. The beach was incredible! White sand as fine as flour stretched for kilometers. The turquoise blue of the ocean offset by the white beach dotted with fishermen's boats was the most picturesque beach we had been to yet. Claire was particularly taken with the beach and could be heard muttering ¨this sand is amazing!¨, ¨I love this beach¨ every few minutes.

On the second day we travelled to the local centotes, or Sanatra´s as Claire liked to call them. When we arrived Claire and I were not sure of what we were getting into, all we understood was water and snorkeling… that was enough really! For those that don´t know Cenotes are freshwater caves with tunnels that go on for kilometers. We weren´t exactly impressed at first, but as we swam deeper into the caves light from above illuminated the water, and the lights from the scuba divers below hinted to the extreme depths of the Cenotes. It was AMAZING. Diving down into the caverns as far as our lungs would allow and snorkeling through stalactites. The Mayans believed that these pools were gateways to the other world, it is easy to see why. Four hours later it was only the frigid temperature and pruning digits that eventually pulled us from the enchanting waters of the Cenotes.

Later that night I did a solo trip to visit Chichen itza, It is a magnificent ruin that on the Spring and Fall equinox, at the rising and setting of the sun, the corner of the structure casts a shadow in the shape of a serpent that from the corner tiers slithers down the northern side of the pyramid with the sun's movement...thousands of people gather each year to see this...but unfortunately I missed the bus and ended up taking a taxi. It took 2hr just to get there…and somehow with his broken english and my broken Spanish we were able to uphold a conversation for the whole 2 hours. Unfortunately with province crossing and random police checks I missed my sunset,that I had so desperately want to see…but I arrived for what they call the light and sound show. When I entered the site it was pitch black save for the lights that lit the path. There were school groups with children about 11-13 years old surrounding me asking me questions 5 at a time about where I am from and so on. I posed for pictures with them and signed jerseys (weird!) and felt like a celebrity for a while until we reached the area that we watch the show from that over looks the main plaza of the ruins. The temples were dark shadows against the night sky. Then the path lights went out and the music started and suddenly El Castillo (the main temple) was light up. It was incredible, it was everything I had hoped and more, the stairs rose to a place I found myself only dreaming of. There was a loud booming voice over the speakers as a surround sound as the temples lit up with different colours...all in all it was a bit cheesy (and later I found out that I could have rented a translating devise to listen in english but I think that the spanish was much more powerful and I'm sure I would have been less interested and felt that it was more cheesy). However, there was this Magical moment. The lights all went out and then over the speaker there was this light rumble. Behind El Castillo there was a quick flash of a bright light echoing a hauntingly shadow… then suddenly a loud crack of thunder over the speaker, then the sound of rain. I sat there and watched a fabricated thunderstorm over the ruins and was nearly brought to tears, it was so magnificent, it was as though I had this quick glimpse into the past and how incredible this place must have been.

The next day we headed for Belize where our Central American adventure truly begins. Unfortunately Belize was too expensive for our small budget, so our planned week in Belize was swallowed up by Mexico and instead turned into a corridor for entering Guatemala. We took a three hour bus from Chetumal Mexico to Belize city, then had two minutes to grab our bags, pee and board a good old fashioned cheese wagon to San Ignacio close to the Guatemalan boarder. From what we briefly saw, Belize is a very chill Caribbean country with the friendliest boarder guards in the world! It was nice for a night to be able to speak English and know exactly what we were ordering for dinner, but we were anxious to get to Guatemala. The next day we bussed into Guatemala and got a collective to Flores a small island that serves as the jumping off point for trips to Tikal. Leaving Mexico was more difficult than we had anticipated, and we were sad leave, however, now that we are in Guatemala and officially out ofNorth America we feel like our trip has really begun.

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QUOTE OF THE ENTRY:

(translated from spanish)

Izzy: Pardon, (to the hostel owner), can you tell me what that noise was last night at about 3 am?

Owner: oh it was...um, hold on a moment I have to chance a cat