Courtesy of Melanie Rubin:
USVI sailing
Monday, March 3, 2008
Antigua photos
After my camera was stolen, I bought a disposable film camera in Flores which still needs to be processed. However, when Colleen joined me in Antigua, she brought our old digital camera. Here are the Antigua pictures we took and a few from a BBQ in Utila that a friend took with her camera and sent me:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sephiac/sets/72157604034323524/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sephiac/sets/72157604034323524/
Home at last!
I am back in my apartment in Arlington. Immigration in Charlotte pulled me aside for "special" questioning and searching for the 3rd time in the 3 trips I've taken this past year. The 1.5 hour delay almost made us miss our connection from Charlotte to DC. Even at the Guatemala City airport, where I was supposedly among fellow brown men, I was searched 3 times, twice more than regular passengers. All this does make me a little depressed.
Originally, I had wanted to do a 3 month trip and include Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and maybe Antarctica. Based on what I read in guidebooks and saw on travel shows, this seemed a simple and easy trip to make. However, Chile and Argentina wanted 1 month EACH to process my visa and Belize wanted $350 for a visa. As a result I couldn't visit Chile or Argentina and did my diving in Honduras (with a little trouble at the border) instead of Belize. If I held almost any other passport, the fees and processing times would have been much more reasonable and if I held a US/Can/UK/Aus/EU origin or even an Israeli passport, I wouldn't even need a visa for any of these countries.
But the trip I ended up making was fun, relaxing, exciting, rewarding and educational. Having to spend more time doing things and less time travelling may have even benefitted me. I will save South America for a future trip (possibly after obtaining a US passport). I learned a good amount of Spanish, got my open water diver certification, put up the walls for a new school in rural Guatemala with others, climbed 2 volcanoes, read a few good books and got to spend some quality down time with Colleen. No complaints here.
Originally, I had wanted to do a 3 month trip and include Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and maybe Antarctica. Based on what I read in guidebooks and saw on travel shows, this seemed a simple and easy trip to make. However, Chile and Argentina wanted 1 month EACH to process my visa and Belize wanted $350 for a visa. As a result I couldn't visit Chile or Argentina and did my diving in Honduras (with a little trouble at the border) instead of Belize. If I held almost any other passport, the fees and processing times would have been much more reasonable and if I held a US/Can/UK/Aus/EU origin or even an Israeli passport, I wouldn't even need a visa for any of these countries.
But the trip I ended up making was fun, relaxing, exciting, rewarding and educational. Having to spend more time doing things and less time travelling may have even benefitted me. I will save South America for a future trip (possibly after obtaining a US passport). I learned a good amount of Spanish, got my open water diver certification, put up the walls for a new school in rural Guatemala with others, climbed 2 volcanoes, read a few good books and got to spend some quality down time with Colleen. No complaints here.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Pacaya / Diego's Wedding
Today, we are heading back home to D.C. All in all, I'm looking forward to getting home. I will be facing a tough job market but I'm ready. This morning, Colleen and I had a 1 hour massage session together, which was very relaxing.
Yesterday, we mountain biked all over the city for 4 hours. I bought 2 shirts and 2 Mayan masks. Colleen bought a beautiful jade pendant. Later, we went to Manny's (my pledge brother from Sigma Chi at Purdue) friend Diego's wedding. It was very similar to what a US wedding would look like with language being the only major differentiating factor. However, it was held in a beautiful setting, in an outside coutyard with well manicured lawns and fountains. A band played virtually the entire time except during lunch and guests from all age groups danced the day away.
The day before yesterday, Colleen and I climbed Volcan Pacaya, an active volcano closer to Guatemala City. The climb lasted about 2 hours, maybe slightly longer for us because Colleen had trouble climbing the the mounds of solidified lava at the top which was very brittle and unstable and had dangerous jagged edges. However, getting within meters of flowing lava and roasting a marshmallow on glowing magma was very cool. I nearly burned my eyebrows off doing it though! That night we had a fantastic dinner at Cafe Flor. We were seated at an intimate candle-lit table for two by the window and enjoyed some first class Thai food while listening to the piano being played 3 tables away. We were the last people to leave the restaurant that night and had a couple of songs played just for us. The piano player/singer then came to our table and we chatted for a bit while I paid the bill. Just a perfect dinner!
Yesterday, we mountain biked all over the city for 4 hours. I bought 2 shirts and 2 Mayan masks. Colleen bought a beautiful jade pendant. Later, we went to Manny's (my pledge brother from Sigma Chi at Purdue) friend Diego's wedding. It was very similar to what a US wedding would look like with language being the only major differentiating factor. However, it was held in a beautiful setting, in an outside coutyard with well manicured lawns and fountains. A band played virtually the entire time except during lunch and guests from all age groups danced the day away.
The day before yesterday, Colleen and I climbed Volcan Pacaya, an active volcano closer to Guatemala City. The climb lasted about 2 hours, maybe slightly longer for us because Colleen had trouble climbing the the mounds of solidified lava at the top which was very brittle and unstable and had dangerous jagged edges. However, getting within meters of flowing lava and roasting a marshmallow on glowing magma was very cool. I nearly burned my eyebrows off doing it though! That night we had a fantastic dinner at Cafe Flor. We were seated at an intimate candle-lit table for two by the window and enjoyed some first class Thai food while listening to the piano being played 3 tables away. We were the last people to leave the restaurant that night and had a couple of songs played just for us. The piano player/singer then came to our table and we chatted for a bit while I paid the bill. Just a perfect dinner!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Hauled in by La Policia! / Tikal
I was playing pool with the young men of San Andres. All of I sudden, I saw the barrels of 2 AK-47's come in from the door to the bar, which was closest to our table. A third followed and I was relieved to see they were in the hands of policemen. Then they indicated that they wanted everyone against the wall. Being as brown as I am at this point, they didn't consider that I might be a volunteer or tourist so I made my way with the rest of the guys to the wall. The others kept looking back at me and smiling because they knew I was an international volunteer. Anyway, the cops were very courteous and just did a quick pat down. It was obvious they were only interested in guns, of which there are a lot in Guatemala. Even if I had a knife, which I carry occasionally, they wouldn't have found it and even if they did, I think they would have let it slip.
The next day I went to Flores and from there to Tikal. I watched the sunset from Temple II, looking towards Temple IV and it was very beautiful. That night I camped at Tikal on the grounds of the Jaguar Inn. There were huge spiders outside the tent the size of tarantulas but much faster so I made my entrances and exits of the tent very quickly. Luckily nothing got in and the mosquitoes weren't that bad either. The howler monkeys however, were something else. These medium sized monkeys make a tremendous sound and until a guide told me the next morning what they were, I thought I was hearing a Jaguar outside my tent. The next morning, I got up at 4:30 and my group left for Temple IV to watch the sunrise just before 5:00. I found it to be the most contrived tourist trap I have ever seen. There were probably over a hundred tourists there and the sunrise really wasn't that spectacular. However, there was a lot of fog that morning so perhaps it would have been better had there not been any. The wildlife coming to life was nice but again nothing that amazing. I explored the ruins for another 4-5 hours and have to say as a whole they were unimpressive.
The guides could have been better also. They didn't seem to know much about the Mayans beyond their standard repertoire. Part of the reason for this is that to this day there is much about the Mayans that we don't know despite their not being that ancient a civilization. By building with limestone in a high humidity climate, the Mayans didn't do themselves any favors. Their ruins, sculptures and especially records (In the form of Hieroglyphs) are badly eroded and barely legible. Ruins in Egypt and Pakistan that are 3,000 years older are in better shape and indicate a more advanced civilization than whats at Tikal. Currently, there is construction of new "ruins" taking place in Tikal, the idea being to portray what the past may have looked like. However, the recreations are not clearly marked (same as in Copan), which I feel is misleading to tourists who think they are looking at original artifacts. Many tourist I spoke to felt the same way about Tikal. After seeing 2 of the most famous Mayan ruins, I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to visit any Mayan ruins for historical/archaeological reasons unless you have a fascination with the Mayans specifically. The one saving point of Tikal however was that the jungle and whatever wildlife we did see were fun walking through.
The next day I went to Flores and from there to Tikal. I watched the sunset from Temple II, looking towards Temple IV and it was very beautiful. That night I camped at Tikal on the grounds of the Jaguar Inn. There were huge spiders outside the tent the size of tarantulas but much faster so I made my entrances and exits of the tent very quickly. Luckily nothing got in and the mosquitoes weren't that bad either. The howler monkeys however, were something else. These medium sized monkeys make a tremendous sound and until a guide told me the next morning what they were, I thought I was hearing a Jaguar outside my tent. The next morning, I got up at 4:30 and my group left for Temple IV to watch the sunrise just before 5:00. I found it to be the most contrived tourist trap I have ever seen. There were probably over a hundred tourists there and the sunrise really wasn't that spectacular. However, there was a lot of fog that morning so perhaps it would have been better had there not been any. The wildlife coming to life was nice but again nothing that amazing. I explored the ruins for another 4-5 hours and have to say as a whole they were unimpressive.
The guides could have been better also. They didn't seem to know much about the Mayans beyond their standard repertoire. Part of the reason for this is that to this day there is much about the Mayans that we don't know despite their not being that ancient a civilization. By building with limestone in a high humidity climate, the Mayans didn't do themselves any favors. Their ruins, sculptures and especially records (In the form of Hieroglyphs) are badly eroded and barely legible. Ruins in Egypt and Pakistan that are 3,000 years older are in better shape and indicate a more advanced civilization than whats at Tikal. Currently, there is construction of new "ruins" taking place in Tikal, the idea being to portray what the past may have looked like. However, the recreations are not clearly marked (same as in Copan), which I feel is misleading to tourists who think they are looking at original artifacts. Many tourist I spoke to felt the same way about Tikal. After seeing 2 of the most famous Mayan ruins, I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to visit any Mayan ruins for historical/archaeological reasons unless you have a fascination with the Mayans specifically. The one saving point of Tikal however was that the jungle and whatever wildlife we did see were fun walking through.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Circus is in town
A caravan of 5 dusty cars pulled by a old truck has pulled in to town and is all the excitement. The Red Top Circus is in town and I´m sure its old school all the way, really fat or majorly mustached women and all that fare I´d guess.
There was a big accident in town a few days back. A large truck ran backwards into a house when it lost traction on a steep gravel road. It took the whole house out. They had to put up supports for the roof before taking the truck out of the house because the truck and one wall were the only things holding up the roof. The streets around here are very steep. Much more than San Francisco. Luckily no one was hurt.
I´m trying to decide between leaving for Tikal tomorrow or the day after. They have zip lines running through the jungle which I think would be fun to do and I also really want to see a sunrise or sunset from Temple IV. Thats the update for now. Either way, will be in Antigua come Wednesday.
There was a big accident in town a few days back. A large truck ran backwards into a house when it lost traction on a steep gravel road. It took the whole house out. They had to put up supports for the roof before taking the truck out of the house because the truck and one wall were the only things holding up the roof. The streets around here are very steep. Much more than San Francisco. Luckily no one was hurt.
I´m trying to decide between leaving for Tikal tomorrow or the day after. They have zip lines running through the jungle which I think would be fun to do and I also really want to see a sunrise or sunset from Temple IV. Thats the update for now. Either way, will be in Antigua come Wednesday.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Working in the Ecological Park
Today, I found the School construction site empty so decided to join the Canadians in the Ecological Park. I spent around 4 hours today clearing a new walking path through the jungle with a machete and cutting bad branches off of banana trees. On the one hand, it was very peaceful and serene and I saw lots of butterflies, humming birds and colorful lizards. On the other hand, there were tons of other not so cuddly bugs all over the place and on me. Sometimes, I´d take a swing at a tree with my machete and a centipede would fall on my arm. I had already seen scorpions, tarantulas and massive iguanas around. Additionally, I was told rattlesnakes and at least one large alligator also lived near where we were working so I was very cautious given how much brush cover was available for them to hide behind and under. I have to say, slicing through the jungle with a machete feels very satisfying.
The cops in Livingston were freed with the government offering talks to the revolting farmers so that crisis is over. I was able to borrow one of the American highschooler´s camera for a few hours before they left and was able to snap pictures of the house where I live and the town of San Andres. I´m going to have a lot of young new Facebook friends once they get back to the States and start adding me. I have to say working with them and joking around with them all those days made me feel younger and I really enjoyed their company.
Last night, the father and eldest brother in my local family returned home for a few days. I spent a good hour talking to Oscar (the dad) over dinner. He told me about his work in Yaxha, digging out and restoring Mayan ruins and doing restoration of artifacts. I´m happy to say I can now conduct long conversations covering a broad subject base in Spanish, albeit with tons of grammatical mistakes and very basic and at times lacking vocabulary.
I saw Mormon missionaries in San Andres a few days back. They are one dedicated faith when it comes to spreading their word, to the point where its really quite ridiculous. I ran into one of them today. No surprise he was from Utah.
I have decided to leave San Andres Tuesday morning and spend the whole day in Tikal. After sunset, I will return to Flores for the night and will fly to Guatemala City Wednesday morning.
The cops in Livingston were freed with the government offering talks to the revolting farmers so that crisis is over. I was able to borrow one of the American highschooler´s camera for a few hours before they left and was able to snap pictures of the house where I live and the town of San Andres. I´m going to have a lot of young new Facebook friends once they get back to the States and start adding me. I have to say working with them and joking around with them all those days made me feel younger and I really enjoyed their company.
Last night, the father and eldest brother in my local family returned home for a few days. I spent a good hour talking to Oscar (the dad) over dinner. He told me about his work in Yaxha, digging out and restoring Mayan ruins and doing restoration of artifacts. I´m happy to say I can now conduct long conversations covering a broad subject base in Spanish, albeit with tons of grammatical mistakes and very basic and at times lacking vocabulary.
I saw Mormon missionaries in San Andres a few days back. They are one dedicated faith when it comes to spreading their word, to the point where its really quite ridiculous. I ran into one of them today. No surprise he was from Utah.
I have decided to leave San Andres Tuesday morning and spend the whole day in Tikal. After sunset, I will return to Flores for the night and will fly to Guatemala City Wednesday morning.
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