Good sorts

We ran into some mechanical trouble lately, nothing serious, but we had to stay a few days longer than expected west of Lake Atitlan. We visited mechanics in places with improbably long names such as Chichicastenango and Quetzaltenango. In the end we got a seal replaced in our real axle which has stopped oil pissing out over the brakes - this is a good thing.

First we visited the famous market town of Chichicastenango. Torrey got some mechanics (or at least a couple guys who had socket wrenches) to inspect the brakes. Meanwhile Kellie and Tori popped out to do some shopping in the town's famous market place. They ended up being lead around by an annoying guide who somewhat detracted from their experience.

In Quetzaltenango, while we were contemplating where we should stay while the Gladiator was getting fixed, a guy walked by with his daughters and we struck up a conversation. We ended up staying with him and his family at their house. He took care of liaising with the mechanic the next day freeing us up to visit some hot pools in the mountains. There are some good sorts out there - and our new friend Charlie is one of them.

The ride to the Fuentes Georgina hot springs, through some beautiful highland scenery.

The ridiculously beautiful lake

Lake Atitlan is a ridiculously beautiful lake west of Guatemala City. It is actually a very deep crater, surrounded by steep cliffs and numerous volcanoes. 

We camped right on the lake for a few nights in Panajachel, stayed a couple more in San Pedro, and climbed "Indian's nose" (see photos).

However, the best bit of the trip was being joined by our friend Tori for a couple weeks. Hopefully more of you take her lead and come join us over the next few months!

Volcanoes! (Antigua Part Dos)

There are a number of volcanoes ringing the city of Antigua. Volcan Agua rises over the city to the south all symmetrical and Fuji-like. Volcan Fuego is constantly erupting and sending plumes of ash into the sky (and in fact covered the town in a few centimetres of ash a few weeks ago). Volcan Acatenango looks down on Fuego and wonders what all the fuss is about. 

 Fuego erupts at dusk while Acatenango looks down bemused.

Volcan Agua towering over Antigua.

We also climbed Volcan Pacaya, also active, and toasted marshmallows on the hot rocks of a lava field.

Learning how to speak good

We have just spent a week in Antigua trying to learn how to speak espanol more good. I think we are marginally better than we were last week, and can at least use some new tenses. No more, "yesterday, I am going to a river and taking a swim".

For $150 USD we got 20 hours of lessons with our own private teacher, 7 nights at a homestay, 3 meals a day, and free field trips around Antigua to practice listening and speaking. We had a great homestay with a terrace to view Antigua and surrounding volcanic peaks.

We also had a very special visitor in Antigua- Kellie's good friend Tori arrived for a two week visit with us in the Gladiator!

The city of Antigua has an interesting history too. It was once a colonial power centre, but got ravaged by a number of large earthquakes (or terremotos in espanol). They gave up rebuilding some of the cathedrals after the third or so, so now you can walk around these cool modern ruins throughout the city.

Tour of a macadamia farm with our Spanish school. Did you know that macadamia trees can produce nuts for over 150 years? This farm operates as a non profit, donating trees to 

nearby villages as a means of long term healthy food and income.

Northern Guatemala

Lots of beautiful places to visit in this region. First up was Flores, a town on an island on a lake. We ran into our friends Simon and Ali, who are also driving from North America south, and we found a great spot to camp on the waterfront and cook dinner.

Next was a long drive down to El Paraiso near the beautiful lakeside town of El Estor. There is a pretty sweet swimming hole, where a geothermal spring above a waterfall results in hot water cascading down into a cool pool. It was a great makeshift shower after a few days of freecamping!

Next we visted a place called Semuc Champey. "Swimming hole" doesn't begin to give justice to this natural fun park, where you can explore half a dozen clear blue cascading pools. The Rio Cahabon dives under these pools which sit atop a natural limestone landbridge. Just look at the pictures and try to figure out how it works. 

The road we took from El Estor to Semuc Champey is not on a map, and took seven hours of unpaved mountain "roads". It was a beautiful drive through remote Mayan mountain villages, but was pretty hard going for the old Gladiator.

Ma sa laach'ool, Guatemala

That's Q'eqchi' for "hows it going, Guatemala?" (one of 22 Mayan dialects).

We had an easy border crossing from Belize into Guatemala in the northeast corner of the country. The difference in culture with Belize was obvious even though they are mere metres apart - borders are funny things. Spanish is again the main language. Lots of indigenous Mayans around as well, over half the nation's population in fact.

Our only hiccup at the border was a woman who charged us quadruple the going rate to cross the border bridge. Only so much you can argue when she has a couple colleagues with shotguns lurking around. Bridge trolls are real life creatures as it turns out.

We visited the old Mayan power centre of Tikal, one of the largest Mayan cities built. Great wildlife too, lots of monkeys (howler and spider), birds, and weird mammals. Like a racoon/possum/kangaroo thing we saw called a pizote.

Welcome to the Belizean Jungle

We are in Belize, a very small country east of Guatemala. If you are not familiar with it, it is the only British colony in central america. It is english speaking, has a diverse population with people of European, African and Indigenous heritage. The difference in culture is definitely an interesting contrast from Mexico.

We visited places with exotic names such as Dangriga, Placencia, Crooked Tree, Orange Walk and San Ignacio. We also visited an exotic place with the boring name of Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. This sanctuary is 120,000 acres of river basin, set aside for the jaguar, and everything the jaguar would want to feast on. Great hiking and lots of swimming holes.

We didn't spend much time on the Caribbean coast, and no time on the offshore cayes (barrier islands). But if you want to get amongst some jungle next time you visit Belize, we highly recommend Cockscomb and San Ignacio.

You want a relevant song to accompany this blog post, do you? Hmm we can always oblige, try Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears on for size:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xD8tu77WxXA