What's up guys, it's Emily again. That's right, you haven't gotten rid of me yet. And don't think you're going to, because for the rest of the trip, you'll be hearing from me once a week. That's seven blogs. Get excited. Anyway, to begin.
I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but we've encountered quite a bit of wildlife lately, starting in Chicacnab. After being assaulted by insects on our two hour hike to the village, we were greeted by the shrill barking of several dogs, undoubtedly perturbed by the sight of muddy, sweaty gringos. We looked at each other knowingly; we'd seen this before. So we continued walking and talking until another noise stopped us. Our heads whipped in all directions; we wondered what creature could possibly have produced that gargling, throaty call. We all saw it at the same time. A massive turkey stood before us, chest puffed out as if to say, "this town ain't big enough for the two of us." It became immediately clear that our new acquaintence essentially owned Chicacnab, and it was best that we stayed out of his way. The other animals in the village (chickens, dogs and less domineering turkeys) managed this just fine, calmly moving within their own territories. We quickly realized that we would have to carve out a place of our own before the wildlife took over. And between working on the kitchen, trying to stay warm, and sleeping for 12 hours a night, we came to find this task a little bit difficult. The village dogs paid no attention to the door on the outside of our cabin, and more than once we returned to our beds to find them covered in pawprints. To my horror, one of them even stole the loaf of bread I left on top of my sleeping bag. Even as we ate, the animals made it clear that we were merely visitors to their domain. The mother hen that lived in the village dining room clucked sharply at us whenever our feet moved near her chicks, and the roosters operated on their own clock, completely indifferent to the fact that their 3 AM crows were not appreciated by those trying to sleep. And worst of all, the alpha-male turkey and his brood set up camp beside the bathroom, gobbling madly whenever anyone tried to pass. So for someone like me, with a deep-seated irrational fear of birds, peeing became impossible. Needless to say, I was kind of relieved when we threw our bags over our shoulders and and high-tailed it out of Chicacnab. However, our wildlife encounters had only just begun.
We got through Semuc Champey without seeing much in the way of animals, but as soon as we got to Tikal, we realized once again that humans weren't the only inhabitants of Guatemala. No more than five minutes into our tour of the Mayan temples did we notice the black clump of fur attached to our guide's back. He was carrying a tarantula. A few of us screamed and jumped backward despite his insistance that the four-inch spider was "really friendly." I immediately asked to hold it, because even though I refuse to go within five feet of a pidgeon, spiders don't frighten me. After a few more of us got a turn to hold Harry the tarantula, we trekked deeper into the jungle, greeted by the dinosaur-like sounds of howler monkeys. We wondered what it must have been like for the ancient Mayans to try and sleep despite the screetching. Eventually, we got to a small clearing in front of temple number four and took a break to eat. It was here that we saw an army of furry critters similar to raccoons. They bounded through the grass with the strides of an antelope, shyly sprinting away whenever we got too close. Then we noticed a little one lagging further behind the pack, its nose buried in a discarded bag of Lays chips. "It's too bad that people litter all over their home," said our guide, looking at the animal reproachfully. As I continued to gaze at the little mammal, I felt an epiphany creep over me. The animals in Chicacnab weren't the nuisance that I'd originally they were. We had encroached on their territory, on their land, on their home. We were guests in Guatemala, and the people and animals who lived there were understanding enough to let us explore their world. I couldn't believe that I'd been so quick to forget how to be a good visitor. Only in Central America can a pissed off turkey and a shy, furry dude teach you how to respect the land you walk on.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Chicacnob!!!!!
Greetings from Coban....Kelley here!!
Let me start this weeks blog entry by saying everyone is alive and well after our week in the cloud forrest. (Dirty, smelly, and cold...but alive, and happy to be alive!) After our super relaxing week in San Marcos getting in touch with our spiritual, creative sides we had a bit of a change of pace hiking to a remote village with no plumbing or electricity.
We spent the week clearing out mud and clay so that a community kitchen could be built and used by the entire village in the future. Due to rain, we were unable to work on Thursday, giving our sore muscles and blistered hands a break from shoveling and we helped in the feilds picking corn. Friday we finished our work and even got to plant a few trees!
Our accomodations were most definitely basic- we all stayed together in a big room, sleeping on bunk beds. We enjoyed staying all together, something we have yet to do.
All that being said, what a beauitiful opportunity for all of us to appreciate life's simplicity! I think it's safe to say that we we were all able to take something special away from this experience. We are all very grateful for showers, indoor plumbing and a break from beans and rice!!
In recap: We were dirty, smelly, blistered and sore...but happy! Happy to have such an experience, and happy to have had it together. We are looking forward to our last few days in Guatemala with visits to Semuc Champey, cave exploring, and seeing ancient Mayan ruins. I guess our lives are kinda cool, right!? It is crazy to think that our time here in Central America is almost half way over and even more crazy that our time in Guatemala is down to only a few days.
Let me leave you with knowing that everyone is happy, everyone is healthy, and everyone is very thankful for everything we are so incredibly lucky to have back home. Next time you hear from us we will be in Nicaragua!!! Hugs from all fourteen of us!!!
PS it has been brought to Ella's and my attention that our blog might be lacking a little in the photo department.... lo siento!!..... Enjoy!!
The group on the last leg of the trek to San Marcos!!!
My girl Ella kayaking in San Marcos!! Kindaaaaa cool
Outside the school in Chicacnob on the soccer field.
Some of our group with our guides in Chicacnob next to some of the work we did
Let me start this weeks blog entry by saying everyone is alive and well after our week in the cloud forrest. (Dirty, smelly, and cold...but alive, and happy to be alive!) After our super relaxing week in San Marcos getting in touch with our spiritual, creative sides we had a bit of a change of pace hiking to a remote village with no plumbing or electricity.
We spent the week clearing out mud and clay so that a community kitchen could be built and used by the entire village in the future. Due to rain, we were unable to work on Thursday, giving our sore muscles and blistered hands a break from shoveling and we helped in the feilds picking corn. Friday we finished our work and even got to plant a few trees!
Our accomodations were most definitely basic- we all stayed together in a big room, sleeping on bunk beds. We enjoyed staying all together, something we have yet to do.
All that being said, what a beauitiful opportunity for all of us to appreciate life's simplicity! I think it's safe to say that we we were all able to take something special away from this experience. We are all very grateful for showers, indoor plumbing and a break from beans and rice!!
In recap: We were dirty, smelly, blistered and sore...but happy! Happy to have such an experience, and happy to have had it together. We are looking forward to our last few days in Guatemala with visits to Semuc Champey, cave exploring, and seeing ancient Mayan ruins. I guess our lives are kinda cool, right!? It is crazy to think that our time here in Central America is almost half way over and even more crazy that our time in Guatemala is down to only a few days.
Let me leave you with knowing that everyone is happy, everyone is healthy, and everyone is very thankful for everything we are so incredibly lucky to have back home. Next time you hear from us we will be in Nicaragua!!! Hugs from all fourteen of us!!!
PS it has been brought to Ella's and my attention that our blog might be lacking a little in the photo department.... lo siento!!..... Enjoy!!
My girl Ella kayaking in San Marcos!! Kindaaaaa cool
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Trekkin and Relaxin!
Hola familias!
Debbie here, writing from the super zen, super hippie town of San Marcos. So, last time we checked in was in during our lovely 2 weeks in Xela homestays! Where we are now, is quite different, not in a bad way though, in fact most of us love it here more than Xela! San Marcos is a tiny town located on Lago Atitlan (one of the most beautiful lakes in all of Central America) and is mainly a place where people come for spiritual healing and what not. But, before I get too into explaining what we're doing in San Marcos let me tell you how we got here... Friday morning we woke up bright and early (6 am to be exact) and drove 45 minutes away from Xela where we began our trek. For the next 10 hours we trekked up and down a mountain, struggling, but doing our best to keep up our positive attitudes. 16 km later at about 4:30 pm we arrived in a small village, set up our beds in a local families home, ate dinner and went to sleep at about 7:30! We were all soooo tired from the day, and we were told that day 2 (Saturday) was going to be the hardest day out of the 3, and we had to wake up at 4 am! Saturday was indeed the hardest day of all, even though it was the same amount (16 km) most of the day was up hill, and it wasn't slighty up hill either, it was like climbing giant, unsteady stairs made of slippery rocks all the way up, but we did it and we are all so proud of ourselves! After setting up at a local hostel in Santa Clara, we all went to dinner together and talked about the day. Sunday we had to wake up at 4 am again, but this time it was worth it. We walked for about 20 minutes to a spot over looking Lago Atitlan and watched the sunrise. It was without a doubt one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed. All of you should google Lago Atitlan after reading this and be jealous as to where we are spending the next week. Sunday was also the day we arrived in San Marcos, after a 15 minute boat ride from San Pedro we arrived at this quaint little town of San Marcos and settled into our absolutely gorgeous hotel, La Paz. After 3 days of trekking and no showering you can imagine how excited we were when we realized where we were staying, a place with hot showers, warm beds, beautiful scenery and of course, delicious food. This week is supposed to be somewhat of a spiritual retreat for each of us, and we are required to do at least one spiritual activity each day, so many of us do yoga or meditation. Maya and Meghan are both taking Indian head massage classes, and Keely and myself were lucky enough to be their massagees yesterday for 2 hours. Over all everyone else is just excited and happy to be in this beautiful place! Until next time... Adios!!
-Debbie
Debbie here, writing from the super zen, super hippie town of San Marcos. So, last time we checked in was in during our lovely 2 weeks in Xela homestays! Where we are now, is quite different, not in a bad way though, in fact most of us love it here more than Xela! San Marcos is a tiny town located on Lago Atitlan (one of the most beautiful lakes in all of Central America) and is mainly a place where people come for spiritual healing and what not. But, before I get too into explaining what we're doing in San Marcos let me tell you how we got here... Friday morning we woke up bright and early (6 am to be exact) and drove 45 minutes away from Xela where we began our trek. For the next 10 hours we trekked up and down a mountain, struggling, but doing our best to keep up our positive attitudes. 16 km later at about 4:30 pm we arrived in a small village, set up our beds in a local families home, ate dinner and went to sleep at about 7:30! We were all soooo tired from the day, and we were told that day 2 (Saturday) was going to be the hardest day out of the 3, and we had to wake up at 4 am! Saturday was indeed the hardest day of all, even though it was the same amount (16 km) most of the day was up hill, and it wasn't slighty up hill either, it was like climbing giant, unsteady stairs made of slippery rocks all the way up, but we did it and we are all so proud of ourselves! After setting up at a local hostel in Santa Clara, we all went to dinner together and talked about the day. Sunday we had to wake up at 4 am again, but this time it was worth it. We walked for about 20 minutes to a spot over looking Lago Atitlan and watched the sunrise. It was without a doubt one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed. All of you should google Lago Atitlan after reading this and be jealous as to where we are spending the next week. Sunday was also the day we arrived in San Marcos, after a 15 minute boat ride from San Pedro we arrived at this quaint little town of San Marcos and settled into our absolutely gorgeous hotel, La Paz. After 3 days of trekking and no showering you can imagine how excited we were when we realized where we were staying, a place with hot showers, warm beds, beautiful scenery and of course, delicious food. This week is supposed to be somewhat of a spiritual retreat for each of us, and we are required to do at least one spiritual activity each day, so many of us do yoga or meditation. Maya and Meghan are both taking Indian head massage classes, and Keely and myself were lucky enough to be their massagees yesterday for 2 hours. Over all everyone else is just excited and happy to be in this beautiful place! Until next time... Adios!!
-Debbie
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Saturday was our trip up to chi chi. Unlike our other trips this one was planned entirely by the students. The plan was to take a mini bus to Minerva where these guys ask you where your going and then try to drag you into their bus. Once we found one that was headed to chi chi we all hopped on. Keep in mind this was no New York city bus. We got on at 2 or maybe three to a seat. When we thought the worst was over they have one driver and one guy who hangs of the side of the bus yelling for peple to hop on. People got on and of but there were more than 50 cramed into our bus. The windy clifs this guys was flying around (a three hour trip we made in 2) made everyone a little nervous but we got there alright.
At chi chi we checked into a cool little motel. We went to dinner later that night and it was a lot of fun eating with everyone again being in homestays prevents some group interaction. The rest of the night was not that exciting because we were all kind of tired and went to bed early.
The next day we woke up and had a free breakfast thanks to Ellas negotiating skills, and prepared to head of to the market. It was intense, everyone knows exactly where they are going and have no problem grabbing you to get by, headbutting, or the most common elbow. Some streets are not as popular but trying to weave in and out of these 4 foot women was a challenge in itself. There was a small festival that I do not know the name of. They had saints they carried which we though was cool. Every once and a while they set up a tube and pack some kind of firework and light it. I was with Kelley and Ella at the time and people start moving past us so we didnt know what was going on until what we thought was a bomb went of 3 feet away from us.
At chi chi we checked into a cool little motel. We went to dinner later that night and it was a lot of fun eating with everyone again being in homestays prevents some group interaction. The rest of the night was not that exciting because we were all kind of tired and went to bed early.
The next day we woke up and had a free breakfast thanks to Ellas negotiating skills, and prepared to head of to the market. It was intense, everyone knows exactly where they are going and have no problem grabbing you to get by, headbutting, or the most common elbow. Some streets are not as popular but trying to weave in and out of these 4 foot women was a challenge in itself. There was a small festival that I do not know the name of. They had saints they carried which we though was cool. Every once and a while they set up a tube and pack some kind of firework and light it. I was with Kelley and Ella at the time and people start moving past us so we didnt know what was going on until what we thought was a bomb went of 3 feet away from us.
At the end we all had fun it was a good experience and were back in Xela
Friday, October 1, 2010
¡Puchica Xela!
Hola mis compadres!
It's Liza here, blogging from the gringo friendly cafe, La Cafetera. Where do I begin? This week has definitely passed by much faster than the week we spent in Pasac. This is a good thing. Pasac was overall, an amazing and wonderful experience that I'll always remember. However, upon our arrival in Xela, I had one thing on my mind and one thing only: to take a hot shower. Waterfall showers in the rainy jungles of Pasac just doesn't really clean you off after a day of playing soccer in the mud with endless amounts of tiny energetic children. Besides showering, there was one other thing on my mind, food! The majority of our conversations on the three hour bus ride from Pasac to Xela revolved around pizza, pan (guatemala's bread delicacy), and any other kind of americanized food that we had been deprived of. When we arrived at Xelaju, the Spanish language school that we would be attending for the following two weeks, we were warmly greeted by our host families. I have never been more grateful for a comfertable house with my own bedroom, a clean bathroom, and meals cooked for me three times a day. We started our exploration of the historic and lively city of Quetzaltenango on Sunday the 26th of September after spending our first night with our host families. Everyone was eager to go to El Mercado and check out the local food joints. On Monday we started spanish school at Xelaju, each student getting paired with a professor. Classes last from eight until one, with the lessons ranging from the studying of verbs and vocab in a classroom, to walking the streets of Xela making small talk and bettering our conversational skills. At first a lot of people were reluctant to go back to the classroom (didn't we do this trip to avoid school?!) but overall it's a good feeling to start of the day with purpose and I know I will value the lessons, at the very least, for the remainder of our time in Central America. After school, most people spend their afternoon shopping in the local market, which has an affluence of striped skirts and pants, drug rugs (a popular striped wool sweatshirt type thing), jewelry, and lots of nasty raw meat and unappetizing vegetables. And have no fear, I think everyone here has taken full advantage of the exchange rate, roughly eight quetzales to a dollar. Besides browsing the market, much time is spent lounging in comfertable cafes sipping cappuccinos, as I am doing right now. Oh! another favorite pass time in Xela is eating pan. Guatemala is renowned for its plentitude of sweat bread. Let me expand upon that: donuts, creme filled pastries, scones, eclairs, and many other kinds of fluffy white breads which I do not know the names of. It is now custom that we go to La Paneria daily to fulfill our helpess cravings for the most delicious bread we have ever tasted.
To give you a visual of the group, many of mis amigos have decorated themselves with beautful jewelry from the market, colorful hair wraps (which Ernesto has a full head of), and colorful clothing from the market. We are beautiful!
Now, to sum it all up I will touch on the highlight of my week, my birthday! We all went out to La Disquoteca Parrenda for a night of embarassing ourselves on the dance floor and experiencing a little of the night life in Xela. There were two or three salsa dancers who stood in front of our massive group of awkwardly moving gringos on the dance floor, and tried to show us how to swing our hips and step with grace and agility. It was awesome to get out on the dance floor and have some fun group bonding by embarassing ourselves a little. The concensus is, the first week in Xela was incredible, I can totally see myself coming back here, and I am extatic to spend another week here! We are all bien, and I hope you all are doing great as well back home, where ever that may be. Happy thoughts from the CarpeDiem Itza group!
PS- Puchiba means "wow" in Quiche.
It's Liza here, blogging from the gringo friendly cafe, La Cafetera. Where do I begin? This week has definitely passed by much faster than the week we spent in Pasac. This is a good thing. Pasac was overall, an amazing and wonderful experience that I'll always remember. However, upon our arrival in Xela, I had one thing on my mind and one thing only: to take a hot shower. Waterfall showers in the rainy jungles of Pasac just doesn't really clean you off after a day of playing soccer in the mud with endless amounts of tiny energetic children. Besides showering, there was one other thing on my mind, food! The majority of our conversations on the three hour bus ride from Pasac to Xela revolved around pizza, pan (guatemala's bread delicacy), and any other kind of americanized food that we had been deprived of. When we arrived at Xelaju, the Spanish language school that we would be attending for the following two weeks, we were warmly greeted by our host families. I have never been more grateful for a comfertable house with my own bedroom, a clean bathroom, and meals cooked for me three times a day. We started our exploration of the historic and lively city of Quetzaltenango on Sunday the 26th of September after spending our first night with our host families. Everyone was eager to go to El Mercado and check out the local food joints. On Monday we started spanish school at Xelaju, each student getting paired with a professor. Classes last from eight until one, with the lessons ranging from the studying of verbs and vocab in a classroom, to walking the streets of Xela making small talk and bettering our conversational skills. At first a lot of people were reluctant to go back to the classroom (didn't we do this trip to avoid school?!) but overall it's a good feeling to start of the day with purpose and I know I will value the lessons, at the very least, for the remainder of our time in Central America. After school, most people spend their afternoon shopping in the local market, which has an affluence of striped skirts and pants, drug rugs (a popular striped wool sweatshirt type thing), jewelry, and lots of nasty raw meat and unappetizing vegetables. And have no fear, I think everyone here has taken full advantage of the exchange rate, roughly eight quetzales to a dollar. Besides browsing the market, much time is spent lounging in comfertable cafes sipping cappuccinos, as I am doing right now. Oh! another favorite pass time in Xela is eating pan. Guatemala is renowned for its plentitude of sweat bread. Let me expand upon that: donuts, creme filled pastries, scones, eclairs, and many other kinds of fluffy white breads which I do not know the names of. It is now custom that we go to La Paneria daily to fulfill our helpess cravings for the most delicious bread we have ever tasted.
To give you a visual of the group, many of mis amigos have decorated themselves with beautful jewelry from the market, colorful hair wraps (which Ernesto has a full head of), and colorful clothing from the market. We are beautiful!
Now, to sum it all up I will touch on the highlight of my week, my birthday! We all went out to La Disquoteca Parrenda for a night of embarassing ourselves on the dance floor and experiencing a little of the night life in Xela. There were two or three salsa dancers who stood in front of our massive group of awkwardly moving gringos on the dance floor, and tried to show us how to swing our hips and step with grace and agility. It was awesome to get out on the dance floor and have some fun group bonding by embarassing ourselves a little. The concensus is, the first week in Xela was incredible, I can totally see myself coming back here, and I am extatic to spend another week here! We are all bien, and I hope you all are doing great as well back home, where ever that may be. Happy thoughts from the CarpeDiem Itza group!
PS- Puchiba means "wow" in Quiche.
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