January 29, 2011
So far San Pedro is a very different town than San Marcos. Things stay open here until 11pm! The mayor however has put a curfew on business's (bars) that they must close by 11. A couple places will stay open...like our hostel Zoola! They have a pool with a bar which is pretty unheard of here. Last night they had a pool party but we had to get up at 5:30 for our hike up Volcan San Pedro so we didnt make it! The hike was the hardest thing I thinkI have ever done! The trail was steep and long. I'm not sure how many km but it seemed to go on forever. Once we got to the top however the view was insane! we could see every town around Lake Atitlan and the other two larger volcanoes across the lake. The whole hike took 4 hours to the top and 2 hours down. We went with a group of 5. Our friends Lauren and David and this guy from the states that was a super good hiker and didnt even get out of breath and told lots of great stories about central america! Lots of good tips! My legs are like jello. My feet hurt. Won't be hiking again for some time I've decided. When we got back to our hostel I had an inch of dust and sweat to remove. The food here is great, have had the schitzel a couple of times and the big beers are a always nice and cold. This place is run by Israeli's and I guess they advertise quite heavily there so there are people who come from Israel just to stay here. There is a big tent with cushions and tables in the middle you can eat or drink at. Everyone calls it the Bedouin tent, Chad just got back from drinking cervesas in the Bedouin tent with David.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
The dueling churches and "going Rainbow"
Tomorrow is our last day of spanish classes in San Marcos. Today I tried to explain (in spanish) to the hotel manager that we wanted to check out tomorrow afternoon instead of on Sunday and that I wanted my money back for the two nights that I had already paid for....so that was rather interesting. To say the least he was pretty good at figuring out my spanglish and he refunded me my money! Chad got wednesday off from class because his instructor had to go to court or something. We are going to San Pedro tomorrow which is a 15 minute boat ride away. We start classes there on Monday. We wanted to get out of San Marcos a bit early because the hippies are really starting to get wierd!! There is the thing called the Moon course where you have to meditate for 7 hours a day and then only eat fruit and then fast for 5 days and then sit in darkness or be silent for 5 days and pretty much torture yourself so that you can come to some sort of realization about what your life is about and the path to take. After you complete the moon course which is about 28 days you can do the Sun course which is i am guessing 3 months? not sure but it sounds even more intense with 40 days of silence at the end. During these courses you have to analyze your dreams and journal them and then try to make some sort of connection with everything and anything. This guy from California was so intrigued becuase he dreamt about making space for a garden and then lo and behold meditation that next day was held in the garden...whoaa! We heard this other guy talking about how he was going to consult with the universe and maybe go talk to Rainbow to figure out if he should date this girl or not. So ya, we are in need of some non hippy socialization. We hope to meet some friends to do a hike up the Volcan San Pedro!! There is the option to start hiking at 3 in the morning so that you can reach the top by sunrise! Hopefully we can get to San Pedro and get organized enough to do it on Saturday. It will be nice to stay in a hostel that has a kitchen because eating out for every meal is getting expensive and not very good for the belly. We have had every type of stomach ailment so far so when we get home there is nothing that will penetrate our bellies of steel! We went for curry at the restaurant voted best in San Marcos and the rice had a big bug in it and the chicken had bones and cartilage still in it! The chocolate and coffee here is amazing! We went for coffee earlier today at the Moonfish Cafe. The owner is an American who has lived here for 18 years and owns some property near Santiago(around the lake) and he grows his own beans and roasts them everyday...so you can imagine freshly roasted, freshly ground, freshly brewed coffee...yep, its fresh! I bought some chocolate from this little girl who was at the rocks today and paid way too much for it but she was so frickin cute that I couldn't help myself! Another interesting San Marcos tid bit is that there are 2 churches in town that hold a sing off at about 6 every night. They pick the worst singers in the entire congregation (usually a 10 year old kid) to sing one song for an entire hour over a huge megaphone perched atop the church roof of course!! Both churches do this and they try to out sing each other. This is what we refer to as ear plug study hour. ahh the joys of travel!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
San Marcos
January 23, 2011
Time seems to be flying by. I can't believe its already time to start spanish classes. We went to San Pedro and San Marcos yesterday by boat and checked out a few schools and signed up for two weeks. It was actually quite difficult. The first school we went to and fell in love with was full for next week so we booked for the week after. The next school we liked said they were full in San Pedro but had two spots in San Marcos. San Marcos is really quiet and a bit hippy-esque for us but we took a little tour and it looks nice and relaxing. There are natural hot tubs and saunas from all the hot springs. There are three volcanoes right in this area! San Pedro is right below the biggest one. So one week in San Marcos and one week in San Pedro! Its actually strange to have the next two weeks planned out. So far this trip has been anything but planned. The San Pedro school is super cheap! $65 a week for lessons and $40 a week to stay in our own bungalow. San Marcos however is trying to scam us and are charging $30 more a week for accomodations than what we agreed on (they just sent me an email) buggers. Gonna have to go and figure it out today. Chad was craving a steak really bad last night so we thought we'd find a comendable steak house. Thought we found one but the beef turned out to be a slimy couple of cheap steaks covered in green pepper sauce! No grilling involved here. I got pork ribs in BBQ sauce and they were tasty little morsels!
Later that day....
Checked into San Marcos this morning and paid the cheaper amount! ha ha! We have a little cabana all to ourselves with the tiniest bathroom i have ever seen! Chad can't even close the door because his femurs are too long! There is a friendly cat who reminds me of LB. He likes people who read in chairs so that he can knead away to his hearts content. We went for lunch and had quite possibly the best coffee we have had this trip! We have met so many poeople who are from Canada here as well as other expats who have set up shop and have no plans on leaving. This American lady was trying to get me to come to her massage/yoga studio in Antigua where she has been living and trying to get citizenship for some time. I don't think we have been anywhere where there is more english speaking people. There is an amazing view of the volcanoes from the cliffs here in San Marcos they are called: San Pedro, Toliman, and Volcan Atitlán. The last eruption was in the 1800's I believe. This town is seriously hippy central. We saw a sign for a Centre of the Pyramids that specializes in Tarot card readings, astro travel, zodiak, spiritual cleansing through vocalizations (i guess that was the hideous chanting we heard earlier today!) and all sorts of crazy mystic stuff. I guess this area is considered to be quite sacred and has lots of spiritual vibes and things. The bugs also consider it sacred because they congregate here in droves to partake in a blood sucking ceremony on my legs.
Time seems to be flying by. I can't believe its already time to start spanish classes. We went to San Pedro and San Marcos yesterday by boat and checked out a few schools and signed up for two weeks. It was actually quite difficult. The first school we went to and fell in love with was full for next week so we booked for the week after. The next school we liked said they were full in San Pedro but had two spots in San Marcos. San Marcos is really quiet and a bit hippy-esque for us but we took a little tour and it looks nice and relaxing. There are natural hot tubs and saunas from all the hot springs. There are three volcanoes right in this area! San Pedro is right below the biggest one. So one week in San Marcos and one week in San Pedro! Its actually strange to have the next two weeks planned out. So far this trip has been anything but planned. The San Pedro school is super cheap! $65 a week for lessons and $40 a week to stay in our own bungalow. San Marcos however is trying to scam us and are charging $30 more a week for accomodations than what we agreed on (they just sent me an email) buggers. Gonna have to go and figure it out today. Chad was craving a steak really bad last night so we thought we'd find a comendable steak house. Thought we found one but the beef turned out to be a slimy couple of cheap steaks covered in green pepper sauce! No grilling involved here. I got pork ribs in BBQ sauce and they were tasty little morsels!
Later that day....
Checked into San Marcos this morning and paid the cheaper amount! ha ha! We have a little cabana all to ourselves with the tiniest bathroom i have ever seen! Chad can't even close the door because his femurs are too long! There is a friendly cat who reminds me of LB. He likes people who read in chairs so that he can knead away to his hearts content. We went for lunch and had quite possibly the best coffee we have had this trip! We have met so many poeople who are from Canada here as well as other expats who have set up shop and have no plans on leaving. This American lady was trying to get me to come to her massage/yoga studio in Antigua where she has been living and trying to get citizenship for some time. I don't think we have been anywhere where there is more english speaking people. There is an amazing view of the volcanoes from the cliffs here in San Marcos they are called: San Pedro, Toliman, and Volcan Atitlán. The last eruption was in the 1800's I believe. This town is seriously hippy central. We saw a sign for a Centre of the Pyramids that specializes in Tarot card readings, astro travel, zodiak, spiritual cleansing through vocalizations (i guess that was the hideous chanting we heard earlier today!) and all sorts of crazy mystic stuff. I guess this area is considered to be quite sacred and has lots of spiritual vibes and things. The bugs also consider it sacred because they congregate here in droves to partake in a blood sucking ceremony on my legs.
Guatemala!
January 22, 2011
We are finally in Guatemala as of yesterday! We were both feeling well enough to take the bus. We paid $300 pesos each for the trip. The bus picked us up at 7am (actually on time!). It was one of those tour bus things not like the big greyhound type buses we are used to on long trips. Not the most comfortable but not too bad. We got to see so much of the Mexican and Guatemalan countryside and farms. Also saw a lot of garbage and dead dogs and vultures! I geuss you take the good with the bad. Crossing the border was super easy. We got our passports stamped on the Mexican side and then stamped again and $20 pesos to pay on the Guatemalan side. Then back on the bus and 5 hours later and one movie later (Nacho Libre!!) we were in Panajechel. Its a little port town on Lake Atitlan that connects all of the lake side villages. It was about 6 when we got here so we changed our money and went looking for a hostel. We found one within 5 minutes for a super good deal. Breakfast and hot water, private room with a bathroom and even a little tv for only Q170 or 10 bucks each! We plan on doing some village hopping today to check out which town looks the best for spanish school and accomodations. So far it sounds like we won't have to use our spanish so much because everything here is in spanish and english. Oh well I think our belly's will be more than happy even if our spanish suffers a little. Last night we went for indian food at this little restaurant that was absolutley delicious! We were just happy to have veggies in our belly! Mexican food is seriously lacking in the salad department.
We are finally in Guatemala as of yesterday! We were both feeling well enough to take the bus. We paid $300 pesos each for the trip. The bus picked us up at 7am (actually on time!). It was one of those tour bus things not like the big greyhound type buses we are used to on long trips. Not the most comfortable but not too bad. We got to see so much of the Mexican and Guatemalan countryside and farms. Also saw a lot of garbage and dead dogs and vultures! I geuss you take the good with the bad. Crossing the border was super easy. We got our passports stamped on the Mexican side and then stamped again and $20 pesos to pay on the Guatemalan side. Then back on the bus and 5 hours later and one movie later (Nacho Libre!!) we were in Panajechel. Its a little port town on Lake Atitlan that connects all of the lake side villages. It was about 6 when we got here so we changed our money and went looking for a hostel. We found one within 5 minutes for a super good deal. Breakfast and hot water, private room with a bathroom and even a little tv for only Q170 or 10 bucks each! We plan on doing some village hopping today to check out which town looks the best for spanish school and accomodations. So far it sounds like we won't have to use our spanish so much because everything here is in spanish and english. Oh well I think our belly's will be more than happy even if our spanish suffers a little. Last night we went for indian food at this little restaurant that was absolutley delicious! We were just happy to have veggies in our belly! Mexican food is seriously lacking in the salad department.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
stuck in San Cristobal
Yesterday we went on a tour of the Canyon del Sumidero that is about an hour away from San Cristobal near Chiapa de Corzo. we got to ride on a little boat and go down the river until we got to a dam and then head back. the canyon was 1000m deep and it was super pretty as long as you didnt look at the water. The river was totally poluted with plastic bottles and garbage floating around everywhere. Its supposed to be a national park. I couldnt imagine our rivers being full of plastic. Its crazy. The river is inhabited by crocodiles! We saw two. One was just hanging out on the bank and the other was soaking up the rays on a rock with his mouth open. We got pretty close to the first one but the boat driver wouldnt stop to see the second one. After the river we ate lunch in Chiapa de Corzo where they just so happened to be having a massive festival with dancing and firecrackers! We climbed to the top of the church bell tower (for 10 pesos of course) and had a great view of the whole main square and the festivities. I had to sample some of the tacos and desserts in the square and had a delicious deep fried pastry whipped cream thingy that I NEED to learn how to make at home. After we got back it was siesta time and then off for another film. This one was very long and all about how the Mexican government is taking all the land away from farmers for development by rich multinational corporations and about how some of the people try to fight back (backed by the Zapatistas of course).
This morning we were supposed to catch a shuttle bus to take us across the border to Guatemala and to the lake where we were going to check out spanish schools. But alas the diarrhea came swiftly and a 10 hour bus ride with no bathroom was not going to happen. We lost our money because there is no refunds for anything here. Oh well! not worth poopy pants over. Today was pretty relaxing actually. Chad spent the day in bed and I went for coffee and groceries to make some chicken veggie soup. Talked with my Mom and caught up on all the gossip from home and found out my Dad fell of the roof of his shop trying to shovel snow! Right after i told him not to go up there! He's lucky im not there to give him crap!
This morning we were supposed to catch a shuttle bus to take us across the border to Guatemala and to the lake where we were going to check out spanish schools. But alas the diarrhea came swiftly and a 10 hour bus ride with no bathroom was not going to happen. We lost our money because there is no refunds for anything here. Oh well! not worth poopy pants over. Today was pretty relaxing actually. Chad spent the day in bed and I went for coffee and groceries to make some chicken veggie soup. Talked with my Mom and caught up on all the gossip from home and found out my Dad fell of the roof of his shop trying to shovel snow! Right after i told him not to go up there! He's lucky im not there to give him crap!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Palenque and San Cristobal
We went on a tour of the ruins in Palenque and some waterfalls the other day. The ruins were insane!! I can't believe they let you walk all over it and climb where ever you want! Its in the jungle and there were howler monkies and toucans apparently. We didn't see them but we could sure hear them! Howler monkies sound like freakin jaguars!! or what i would think a jaguar sounds like anyways. After 4 hours wandering the ruins we got back on the bus and went to see some waterfalls. The driver kept trying to make us pay more money for things we already paid for so we stuck with some plucky vancouverites and a couple of mexican ladies who that was retarded and we just didn't pay him. He actually let us back on the bus! ha! so obviously he was being a scammer. The next morning we got on the early bus at 7am. I lost our tickets somewhere along the way so I had to try to sign language to the ticket taker that i had lost ours and needed a re-print! thank god she figured it out! haha!
We are in San Cristobal de Las Casas right now and it is freeeezing! Going from the jungle to the mountains was a bit of a shock but its nice to be dry and not have bugs eating me alive. This town is so pretty. There are huge cathedrals surrounded by mountains and a mix between alpine and tropical plants and trees. Its a nice mix to see pine trees, cactus and orange trees in the same yard. We are staying here for a couple more nights. The coffee here is delicious! Chad wants to check out the Zapatista store and maybe a film tonight if we can find the theatre. The mayan women here are so tiny! Chad's mom would fit right in, she would even be a bit tall to them. They are probably only 4 foot 8 or 9! I love how they carry their babies here. Just a sling and they tie them onto thier backs and they are perfectly content to hang out there for the whole day. I might try to snoof one! (a sling, not a baby)
We are in San Cristobal de Las Casas right now and it is freeeezing! Going from the jungle to the mountains was a bit of a shock but its nice to be dry and not have bugs eating me alive. This town is so pretty. There are huge cathedrals surrounded by mountains and a mix between alpine and tropical plants and trees. Its a nice mix to see pine trees, cactus and orange trees in the same yard. We are staying here for a couple more nights. The coffee here is delicious! Chad wants to check out the Zapatista store and maybe a film tonight if we can find the theatre. The mayan women here are so tiny! Chad's mom would fit right in, she would even be a bit tall to them. They are probably only 4 foot 8 or 9! I love how they carry their babies here. Just a sling and they tie them onto thier backs and they are perfectly content to hang out there for the whole day. I might try to snoof one! (a sling, not a baby)
Thursday, January 13, 2011
our travels so far
We are in Palenque, Chiapas right now at a nice little restaurante drinking a bottle of cab sav to celebrate chad's 29th year of birth! We got here on the night bus this morning at 10am and pretty much went straight to a hostel that was recommended by some other travelers who we have met along the way. Its called El Panchan and is right in the jungle across from the entrance to some ruins that we plan to check out in the morning. I slept the entire 11 hour bus ride despite having an army dude rumage through my bag at 4 in the morning and ask what my pepto bismol tablets were for! haha. For some reason another nap was in order (adrienne would be proud) and we slept until 3! We caught a collectivo and did our usual walk through the town. Found a coffee place that does not make thier coffee with nescafe!!! i will be back in the morning!
The past 9 days have been absolutely beautiful! We spent two nights in Cancun that was relatively expensive and not really interesting in the least bit. The beach was pretty however. Then we caught the bus to Playa del Carmen and spent two nights eating and drinking to our hearts content. The last night there was an electronic music festival night thing until 430 in the am. no sleep for us and our cabana neighbour was hiccuping all night from excess drunkenness so ya lots of fun.
Took the collectivo to Akumal for a snorkel day which was pretty awesome. I bought some gear at Walmart for a ridiculous price. Saw lots of fish and a stingray that i almost stepped on! That beach is famous for sea turtles but we went late in the afternoon so didnt get to see any. Chad was a little freaked out by the sea creatures and his tendancy to sink so he decided to leave the snorkeling for another day.
From Playa we decided to take the collectivo to Tulum. Excellant choice!! Tulum is wonderful. We stayed at a hostel called Posada De Mapaches. It was amazing. A bike and huge breakfast was included with the price. Family run place with super friendly staff. Two of the staff were canadians from Ottawa making $4 an hour but love the lifestyle. We did a lot of biking around and went to Grand Cenote the first day. Saw some turtles and little fish! not well described in words! The next day we went to the beach and were blown away by how beautiful! We went with another canadian named Rory who is a lawyer in Vancouver and muchos margaritas at a bar called the Mezzanine. Much discussion about the world in general was had and not remembered due to excess drinking. The bike ride home was rather interesting.
The next day the owner of the hostel, Jauquin, did a trip to Dos Ojos Cenote in his truck. 13 of us wanted to go and in mexico this is no problem! as long as there is squish room its all good. 7 in the box and 6 in the front! the mexicans were looking at us like we were crazy gringos trying to be as cool as they are! The cenotes were great. Juaquin took us on a route that went through some dark caves and i almost freaked out a couple times! We loved tulum so much, chad was obsessed with the taco stand down the road and had at least 6 a day and at 10 pesos each who could resist! But alas it was time to move on.
It rained all yesterday so we spent the day eating pizza and then a trip to Playa to buy this mini laptop. From here in Palenque we plan on heading to San Cristobal for a couple nights and then off to Antigua, Guatemala for Spanish classes. Its getting tiring trying to fumble with the language. I can't wait until we know what everyone is talking about! Well that is all for now. Now that we have the laptop, updating the blog should be a little more frequent.
The past 9 days have been absolutely beautiful! We spent two nights in Cancun that was relatively expensive and not really interesting in the least bit. The beach was pretty however. Then we caught the bus to Playa del Carmen and spent two nights eating and drinking to our hearts content. The last night there was an electronic music festival night thing until 430 in the am. no sleep for us and our cabana neighbour was hiccuping all night from excess drunkenness so ya lots of fun.
Took the collectivo to Akumal for a snorkel day which was pretty awesome. I bought some gear at Walmart for a ridiculous price. Saw lots of fish and a stingray that i almost stepped on! That beach is famous for sea turtles but we went late in the afternoon so didnt get to see any. Chad was a little freaked out by the sea creatures and his tendancy to sink so he decided to leave the snorkeling for another day.
From Playa we decided to take the collectivo to Tulum. Excellant choice!! Tulum is wonderful. We stayed at a hostel called Posada De Mapaches. It was amazing. A bike and huge breakfast was included with the price. Family run place with super friendly staff. Two of the staff were canadians from Ottawa making $4 an hour but love the lifestyle. We did a lot of biking around and went to Grand Cenote the first day. Saw some turtles and little fish! not well described in words! The next day we went to the beach and were blown away by how beautiful! We went with another canadian named Rory who is a lawyer in Vancouver and muchos margaritas at a bar called the Mezzanine. Much discussion about the world in general was had and not remembered due to excess drinking. The bike ride home was rather interesting.
The next day the owner of the hostel, Jauquin, did a trip to Dos Ojos Cenote in his truck. 13 of us wanted to go and in mexico this is no problem! as long as there is squish room its all good. 7 in the box and 6 in the front! the mexicans were looking at us like we were crazy gringos trying to be as cool as they are! The cenotes were great. Juaquin took us on a route that went through some dark caves and i almost freaked out a couple times! We loved tulum so much, chad was obsessed with the taco stand down the road and had at least 6 a day and at 10 pesos each who could resist! But alas it was time to move on.
It rained all yesterday so we spent the day eating pizza and then a trip to Playa to buy this mini laptop. From here in Palenque we plan on heading to San Cristobal for a couple nights and then off to Antigua, Guatemala for Spanish classes. Its getting tiring trying to fumble with the language. I can't wait until we know what everyone is talking about! Well that is all for now. Now that we have the laptop, updating the blog should be a little more frequent.
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