This latest update comes to you from Flores, Guatemala. In most Internet cafes you pay by the minute, but here the guy stands next to you with a stop watch. When the computer is going too slow, he stops the watch until things are happening again.
I did not mean to give the impression with my last update that I was bored. I only meant that the ratio of new things and exciting hikes to repeat experiences was not quite as high as I would like. At that point I had driven 5000 miles in three weeks and only five hours of it was new. Now that whole weeks of my trip are new, life, again, couldn't be better.
After I left San Cristobal de las Casas, we spent two enjoyable days on a macadamia nut ranch in the highlands of Chiapas. Then we drove all day long and visited Cenote Azul for a little swimming. The next three days were spent at my favorite beach, Xcacel. We looked at the ruins of Tulum, went snorkeling in caves and in an area where the ocean meets fresh water, scuba diving, went out on the town in Playa del Carmen and hung out on the beach.
Xcacel, I am sorry to announce, has been closed down. Someone bought it and plans to build a resort. It was very sad. People who came to the beachfront camping area 10 to 16 years ago and never left were forced out. My group and I were the last people ever to camp there. Oh well.
That trip ended in Cancun and I had a day to wash the van and do paperwork. Then I started a new trip. This one is called the Ruta de Maya.
We left Cancun and headed for Chichen Itza. This was my fourth time at the ruins, but it was like being there for the first time. We got a guide who took us to all sorts of places I had never seen before. Then we went to Merida, saw the flamingos, and bought hammocks. We also found this night show at a place called Tulipanes. You go down the steps into a cave and sit next to the underground lake. Then there is a nice show with lights, drums, fire, dancing, and a ritual sacrifice.
Then we continued on to Uxmal and saw the sound and light show. At this point this trip diverged from all my previous trips and became very exciting. We wandered around the old town of Santa Elena and climbed up the church. Then we drove. It got close to lunch time and I began looking for a place to stop. I found the perfect place. It was across the street from a gas station, which meant toilets. It was next to a very impressive cemetery, which meant some interesting sight seeing. There was a large airy building, which meant shade. There was even a long low table, which meant long low table.
We ate our lunch on the table and then I had a wander around the cemetery and looked at all the little buildings and gravestones. When I returned to our lunch spot I realized the the little building could be used for funeral services. I then noticed that the long low table was about coffin size. I did not mention my observations to anyone until every one was done eating.
Then, to make the day stand out even more, we found a blue bucket of bones next to a skull. It was great. A whole bucket of bones sitting right there in the middle of the cemetery. I took my first picture in two months.
Then we finished the drive of the day and prepared to cross into Belize. This proved to be quite an ordeal. The people took about ten minutes to get through, but the van took six hours. None of us were amused. After six hours the van was cleared through, but then they wanted us to take the luggage off the roof and bring it in for inspection. We unloaded and carried into the office. Inside they waved us through without even a glance. Then we reloaded the van and arrived in Belize city at five o'clock. We hopped onto a water taxi and hit the water.
We took a 45 minute boat ride to Caye Caulker. Caye is pronounced 'key' and means a small island with mangroves, palm trees, and sand. We got there, checked into a small hotel and went for dinner. The next day we took a most excellent snorkel trip.
At our first stop, the guide caught a three foot shark. I don't mean with a hook or a harpoon. I mean he jumped into the water and grabbed the nurse shark. I followed him in and had a chance to hold the shark. That was great. We also got to pet some sting rays and snorkel around the coral. Then we had lunch on another little island and went out snorkeling again. This time we went to the Hol Chan Marine Preserve and looked at the colorful fish and coral. We also saw a few spotted-eagle rays swimming by. I swam down about 20 feet into a cave that was guarded by a moray eel. The cave turned out to be a tunnel so I swam on through. It was the best snorkeling trip of my life so far.
The next day was a free day to wander around the small island and relax. Belize is a wonderful country. The people on the coast speak a Creole, which very occasionally sounds a bit like English. There are also lots of Rastafarians wandering around. We were there for Bob Marley's birthday. I think it was a national holiday. Now I want to go to Jamaica and see more of the Caribbean.
When almost everybody was nice and sunburned, we returned to Belize city and set out to cross the country from east to west. We made a few stops, so it took almost four hours. We stopped in the capital, Belmopan. I took a wrong turn and in five minutes we had circled the city of 6000 twice. Then we went to a small national park to look at nature and then continued west to Cayo. In Cayo we made a nice dinner and prepared to enter Guatemala.
Tuesday morning, after being two hours late, our ride came to pick us up and take us to Tikal. We left Belize with no problems. The border guard even shook my hand when we were finished. Then we entered Guatemala and went to the Mayan ruins of Tikal. There we found that the hotels were all full. We looked at ruins for two hours and then drove a little over an hour to Flores.
We spent the night at a nice little hotel and this morning riding in a boat around the lake and looking at jaguars, monkeys and other animals in a small zoo. It is amazing, the number of rather large mammals in the world that we never hear of in the States.
This morning I had a most amazing breakfast, for four dollars. My bread was toasted and buttered. There was cheese and cream to pour over my tasty eggs. My orange juice was freshly squoze and there was a bowl of ice next to it to cool it off. I even enjoyed, for the first time in my memory, the plantains. Following the meal, they gave me a mint. I can't remember the last time I got a mint after a meal.
I know I have only seen a small and touristy section of Guatemala, but I think it is a great country. People say 'Hola' in the streets.
I am now ready to put a trip through Central and South America high on my list of places to go, right after Nepal, India, Southeast Asia, Turkey, the middle east, west Africa and south Africa.
I also enjoyed Belize quite a bit. Everybody is very laid back. In a restaurant, the waiter was busy giving water to the dog next to me, so when he told us what the dessert choices were, he asked us to pass it down to those who could not hear him.
Well, that is about it for now.
