Flores Guatemala, el nueve de inero, 2017

I had a horrible sleep!  At 4 a.m., I was awoken to drums, singing and bombas!  I thought I had left all that in Nicaragua!  Then once it had passed, someone or something was walking on the tin roof right next to my bathroom window - clang, clang, clang.  It seemed to go on until I finally got up.  I probably fell back to sleep but it was super annoying!

I am staying at La Casa Del Lacandon-

on the island of Flores-

I hope to get a better vista of the whole island tomorrow from the other side at the Mirador.

The view from my bed is pretty sweet-

Only the window is very dirty.  I guess not many people want to look at this!

The market is typical-

And so much cheaper than the supermarket.  I first went to the supermarket and 1 mandarin orange was 9.50 Q.  I bought 7 at the market for 10 Q!  Clothes, school supplies such as notebooks and backpacks are available because school starts in a week.  Fruit and vegetables are also plentiful.  Shuttles also leave to various pueblos from here.

I had a Whopper at Burger King for lunch!  It was okay but not as good as at home.  Nachos with guacamole, onions, tomatoes and beans were for supper.

At 5 p.m., the noise started again-

but this time with more instruments than just drums-

It's the 'spring fair' and parades and celebrations are going to go on until next Sunday!  I might not get any sleep here!

As the sun sets, the view is pretty nice off the second floor deck/restaurant where I've spent the afternoon-

I might go to some Maya ruins tomorrow and I might not.  I have 4 more nights so lots of time to decide!

Travel Day - Lanquin to Flores, Guatemala el ocho de inero, 2017

It poured all night!  It's very weird because it is not the rainy season, however this morning the roads were not a muddy mess.  They are mainly rock so were very passable.  

Today's route-

I was picked up from Viñas Hotel at 8, then waited in the town until 9 when the shuttle was full: 15 people.  It was next to impossible to find proper information on the Internet about transportation from Lanquin to Flores.  It is simple and hotels can also arrange it - no problem!  

We stopped numerous times along the way.  In a gas station, you can buy separate pills including tiamina - vitamin B1, cold relief, anti inflammatory and kidney pills ... All for pennies-

As we drove further north, the mountains disappeared-

but what's up with the poles?

This fence should keep something in-

We came to a river but didn't have to wait long for the ferry-

We stopped for gas and got "the full meal deal"-

Guards are a common site everywhere: grocery stores, banks and gas stations.  They just stand around holding rifles or shotguns.  I've never seen one of them have to use their weapon-

My room in Flores is sweet-

I look out onto the lake but it's too dark to take a picture...tomorrow!  Looking forward to 5 nights here!

Semuc Champey, Guatemala, el siete de inero, 2017

Today was fantastic!  

I lucked out because I booked a 'dorm' room, which means me and who knows how many others sharing, usually a pretty small space with the bathroom somewhere else, and in this case outside.  Well the toilet and shower are both in very small rooms but the sink is literally outside.  My concern is that I will get stuck on a top bunk and I have to get up at least once during the night and crawl down a rickety or metal ladder that feels like it's cutting through the soles of my feet, only to stumble around in the dark, unlock the door, find the bathroom and then do it all again in reverse.  This place, Viñas, has met people like me because there were only 3 beds in the room and all were one level.  Perfect I thought!  And to make it even better, I was alone all night!  So, I paid dorm prices for a private!  

I woke up early so went walking through the empty streets of  Lanquin.  The church needs some renovating-

As always, the faithful were praying-

I signed up for a tour to Semuc Champey which is 9 km, or 1 hour away.  We rode in an open truck similar to this one-

Over bumpy roads-

There are cement paths for the tires on the really rough spots!  There's only room for one vehicle so someone has to pull over, stop and wait.  I feel like what I think a slave might have felt like riding in the back of a pickup going to work.  You have to hang on for dear life but it is a great way to see the country side and the air is warm so that makes it quite pleasant.  

This road was in the process of being graded.  I didn't think that word was in the Guatemalan vocabulary, especially after yesterday's trip-

Through jungle-

Finally the river came into view-

Once at Semuc Champey, the first part of the tour was up to the Mirador which is the lookout.  It took about an hour to go up on stairs-

or just plain rough parts-

The view was fabulous-

Semuc Champey is special because the river comes charging out of the mountains-

But most goes underneath the limestone and away, however, some goes on top, forming beautiful pools-

You can jump from pool to pool, slide down natural 'rock slides' or just take your time walking down.  The water is very clear and clean and fairly warm.

After lunch, we went on a cave tour.  It wasn't claustrophobic at all and everyone had a candle.  That was the biggest challenge - trying to keep the candles lit.  There are ropes everywhere to hang onto and anytime we had to go up, there were metal ladders with good hand holds.  There is an optional jump - some said it was 2 or 3 meters high and then to exit, I went through a shoot in a waterfall.  It wasn't a very long fall, maybe 2 meters and then I popped up with the water pouring on my head.  The stalagmites are really interesting - all kinds of textures: elephant skin, very porous, striped, columned, you name a texture and it was there.  Of course there are no environmental rules so not only can you touch whatever you want, the smoke from the many candles has put black soot on everything.  It was pretty crowded because there was more than just our group there but that made for slow, more careful walking.  There are large rocks here and there but generally the bottom felt sandy.  I was very glad to have worn my runners.  

After the cave tour, we went tubing down the river-

By this time it had clouded over and was later in the afternoon so believe it or not, it was chilly!

After another hour ride in the back of the truck, I made it home and had a great visit in the restaurant over supper and piña coladas.  Tomorrow I'm off to Flores for 5 nights!  Looking forward to that but not the 10 hour van ride!

Livingston, Tortugal - Rio Dulce, Guatemala, el cuatro de inero, 2017

I had a great sleep and woke up headache free!  After breakfast, I wandered around Livingston for a couple of hours.  

I had breakfast on the end of the dock, looking back to my hotel-

Making tortillas-

Not sure if this place would pass our food service code!

Brown pelicans-

Waiting at the buffet table-

Storks?-

There's a lot of graffiti around town depicting the Garifuna culture.  The Garifuna are descendants from escaped African slaves (17th century) and Caribs, living along the Caribbean in Central America.  They are farmers and fishermen, growing mainly cassava-

Garifuna practice a combination of Catholicism and their traditional religion which has African and Amerindian influences.  Their Jesus is black-

Sabu-

And todo-

is split-

heavily salted and dried in the sun for 3 days before it's shipped to Guatemala City-

Gross is all I can say!

I had the best ever Piña Colada and ceviche-

I caught the 2:30 boat back to Rio Dulce.  We stopped to drop passengers off at a cool resort hidden away down the narrow path on the left-

Mangrove trees grow in coastal saline or brackish water-

I'm staying for 2 nights at Tortugal.  Tonight's room is pretty normal-

But the bathroom is special.  The tub is made of cement-

I've never had a bath in a cement tub!  This must be a classy place because I have a bidet too!  I haven't had a bidet since I was in France years ago-

Looking forward to kayaking and visiting the Castillo tomorrow!