Fuentes del Norte, Rio Dulce Guatemala, el tricero de inero, 2017

My sleep was okay; it should have been fine seeing as I went to bed about 8 pm!  However, even though my hotel was very clean, the window opened onto a busy street - city buses, taxis and pedestrians.  The door opened to the 3rd level courtyard, open to the restaurant below on the first floor so it was pretty noisy too.  But the really hot water flowed faster than at home in the shower and the staff was very accommodating.  When I left the hotel at 4:50 am, there were as many people on the sidewalks as there had been yesterday afternoon.  Public buses were full - the city was alive.  I'm not sure if Guate ever really sleeps.

The Fuentes del Norte bus depot is a 3 minute walk from Hotel Ajau.  There were 4 big coaches loading up and the one I was getting on was the rubbiest!  The windshield was smashed on the passenger side and the driver's side had lots of silicone looking type repairs.  The bathroom was padlocked shut - from the outside.  I had chosen my seat early-sitting in the front, not behind the driver, so I could see out.  I went into the bus as soon as I'd given my maleta away - (I hoped I would see it again) to check on my seat.  The lights were off and I don't see that well in the dark.  I could see a large, a very large mass of something in my seat.  I thought it was maybe a huge black garbage bag full - ha!  That would be something wouldn't it!  TIG - this is Guatemala!  I reached out to touch whatever it was and it was a man, the hugest man I have ever seen in my life.  I screamed - wrong thing to do as he turned out to be the driver and was snappy to me the whole trip!  As it turned out, seat #4 in 'this' bus is against the window behind the driver.  That turned out to be fine though because I had my seat to myself for almost the whole way.  We left Guate at 5:25 - early!  That is unheard of as most people function on Guatematico time.  The air conditioning was blowing full blast.  I had read about this so had my towel and hoodie along but I was still freezing.  I finally asked if it was possible to turn it down. "No!"  Then, I moved over to the non driver side to see out the windshield and was immediately told those seats were 'private'.  That's where the suitcase of the driver rode!  The driver also played loud Guatemalica musica but he didn't like many songs so he'd switch part way through, and the bass part of the speaker was broken because it constantly vibrated on the low notes.  So, to combat all of this, I slept and slept and slept.  The bus stopped numerous times, similar to a chicken bus, to pick up and let people off but when we cruised, we really cruised.  

A couple hours in, two women got on with baskets.  I made room for the larger one, (basket I mean) beside me and she produced a restaurant-

She made tortilla chicken sandwiches with chilies, frijoles and other condiments.  They also sold gaseosa from a pail.  Plates were partial sheets of paper.  Once the passengers were full, they got off at the next town.  She had at least two full cooked chickens and she chopped them up in seconds!   

A man passenger asked about a baño about 3 hours in to the trip and was directed off the bus.  I decided I should maybe use it too but was told 'no,no,no'.  I don't think the driver was being nasty, it was probably a filthy hole in the floor for men only.  Luckily I didn't need it.  Our first bathroom stop for the passengers was 5 hours into the trip.  Can you believe that!  I was so glad I did not have coffee this morning!  

We arrived at my destination, Rio Dulce town at 11:50.  I have had my hotel booked for tonight in Livingston, an hour down the river, for a while, but not my transportation to there booked.  All I had to do, once I got off the bus, was walk down under the bridge to the lancha site-

They are bungie jumping off the bridge but I don't seem able to catch them in the act-

The river is very wide and there are lots of boats and seadoos-

It takes about an hour in a lancha-

 to get to Livingston.  Along the way is the Castillo de San Felipe, first built in 1643 to defend the coast against pirates-

We spotted a lot of white pelicans-

And double breasted cormorant-

 

My room is hot but I do have a fan.  Hope it cools off tonight-

Tomorrow I'll explore Livingston until 2:30 when my lancha leaves to go back to Rio Dulce.  Looking forward to some Garifuna food!

Farewell Minish Family, Hello Guatemala, el segundo de inero, 2017

It was an early start to get to the airport by 4 am!  I'm not sure I really had to be there that early but my flight left at 6:15 and I always hear horror stories of how people weren't there 2 or 3 or 1 or however many hours ahead of time and they were denied boarding.  I was lucky because A Jay flew back to Saskatoon at 7 am so Orville and Michèle drove us to Managua.  The 40 minute flight to San Salvador with Avianca Air was great in a spacious and new plane.  

Before Christmas, when I was in León, I visited León Viejo and saw Volcán Momotombo from the lookout.  Here is another great view from above-

San Salvador to Guatemala Ciudad is even shorter at only 30 minutes.  After a screw up with the hotel and a cab, I eventually got to Hotel Ajau, checked in and went looking for the bus depot because tomorrow at 5:30 am, I leave for Rio Dulce.  I wanted to be able to walk rather than rely on a cab so early in the morning so the Fuentes Norte terminal is a short one and a half blocks from here.  Having tomorrow figured out, I started walking.  Guatemala Ciudad is a colonial city, founded by Carlos III of Spain in 1776 as the capital because Antigua Guatemala had been destroyed by earthquakes three years earlier.  However, Guate was also greatly destroyed in 1917-1918 and again in 1976 but has since been just about completely restored.  

Starting at Parque Central is Palacio National, built after the 1917 earthquake.  It contains the police headquarters, chamber of deputies and a cultural center.  Unfortunately it was closed because of the holiday-

Beside it is the cathedral and that's all it's called - the cathedral.  Construction was started in 1782 and finished in 1815.  Unfortunately it was closed too-

Walking along, I came to the Arco de la 12 Calle which is really the post office, built in 1949-

Close by, La Merced, in neoclassical style, was dedicated in 1813.  Lots of the rich interior was moved from Antigua Guatemala.  Unfortunately, it too was closed-

The back cupola is yellow-

Bombas and piñatas are still for sale and you can buy a 'full meal deal'.  This one includes 2 regular piñatas, 1000 candies, 100 chiclets, 24 bags to put the candy in once the piñata is smashed, 24 little games, probably to also fall out, 60 lollipops, 1 stick to beat the piñata and 1 major jackpot prize, all for a mere $49!

There were some huge piñatas for sale but this had to be my favorite!

Walking around the market there were some funny t-shirts-

And typical Guate goods-

Lots of bolsas-

Guate is a rough city and I'm told not to go out walking at night.  There is a huge police presence on the busy streets and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.  There is a lot of graffiti too which always says 'rubby' to me-

These crazies were playing this large xylophone and the woman and another were dancing, sort of shuffling and singing, sort of squeaking and groaning.  Quite a crowd gathered to watch-

Back to the churches.....

Iglesia Santa Clara-

The inside was simple but with Navidad colors-

El Calvario-

The draping curtains are interesting.  I think this is their version of red and green for Navidad-

The whole front was a nativity scene-

Iglesia de San Francisco-

The front was all wood-

After all of these churches in just one day, I'm going bananas!  Ha!  Today was the first time I've seen the red ones-

Today was a good Spanish speaking day.  I don't want to lose what I've learned so I try to strike up conversations with randoms!  Sometimes they speak slowly and correct me and sometimes they talk a hundred miles an hour.  I don't talk to those ones for long!

Tomorrow I have to be at the bus station at 5 am as I head towards Rio Dulce so it's going to be an early night tonight!  I may not have internet for the next 5 days because I'm going to some remote areas so if you don't hear from me for a while, don't panic!  I'm enjoying nature!    

Granada, Nicaragua, el dos de inero, 2017

The day started out like normal- coffee, visiting and a little time in the swimming pool-

You can't get much cuter than Brooklyn!

It is going to be hard to leave-

This afternoon we went into Granada but were sort of skunked.  It being January 1, the church was closed-

It's massive and very beautiful.  There are also a lot of other colonial buildings that have been restored-

Of course not every building is colonial but they still look good- 

I am not sure what the relationship is with frogs, but....

We had plans to go to Volcano Masaya but learned it was closed so we just headed home, only to get stuck in crazy traffic-

Public transportation was very crowded-

It took us an hour to get through what normally takes 10 minutes.  There are no sidewalks or shoulders, so people walk on the road.  January 1 means more drinking than normal so it can be rather dangerous for drivers but we made it safe and sound.

I am feeling sad tonight because my time with Orville, Michèle, Jaclyn and A Jay, Adele, Mark and Brooklyn has come to an end.  They are a remarkable family: happy, helpful, friendly, caring, easy going - absolutely wonderful.  I am so lucky to have been able to spend the last 12 days with them.  I have had a fantastic time and I thank them from the bottom of my heart!

We have an early start tomorrow.  My flight leaves for Guatemala City at 6:15 and A Jay flies to Saskatoon at 7 so we're leaving at 3 am!  Good night!

Feliz Año Nuevo!

I spent the day lazing around: by the pool, reading in my room and in a hammock, on the patio, and on the couch....  Very nice.  

Roy and Karen brought supper - soooo good!  Roy does magic tricks, like pulling a coin out of my ear and a dollar out of a paper towel.  I watched a few times but could not see how he did it!  Very cool!

We all managed to stay awake and about 10:30 went to Barb and Reinie's to see the fireworks.  From their beautiful home, you can see Managua, Masaya and Granada.  There is nothing but lights for 180 degrees.  My little camera doesn't do the view any justice-

The fireworks started about 11:45 and ended half an hour later-

As time went on, the air was thick with smoke and driving home, the roads were littered with paper!

An albino gecko dropped off the roof onto Reinie's shoulder.  It didn't bother him one bit.  I'd have still been freaking out and probably jumped off the deck-

Neighbors came over to celebrate and the two young boys had a ball lighting Mark's bombas.  They knew what they were doing!  Later on, they played musical chairs-

I practiced my Spanish with a few people.  One woman works at an egg distributing office where they sell 300,000 eggs/day!  Eggs are expensive too at $5.82/30 = $2.33/dozen, however they are cheaper than carne so a good source of protein.

This guy greeted us at the entrance to the house.  He's dead, thanks to chemicals in the yard and the ants were having a feast-

Tomorrow we're going to Granada and the Masaya Volcano in the evening to see the lava!

Feliz Año Nuevo!  Buena suerte y mucho felicidad en 2017!