Sorry - story of my life…. the Mañana-feeling! LOL

Back to the efficiency of the third world… Guatemala! No offense to either country of course, but there were a certain number of “reliefs” after leaving Cuba. For example, you can actually talk to people in the street (one of the reasons I love Guate so much is its friendly people) without having to say either of the following:

“No, I don’t want to buy your cigars”

“No, I don’t need a tourguide”

“No, I do not want to sleep with you (woman) / your wife (family offer)”

and “No, I definately don’t want to marry you!”

Anyway, that’s Cuba… and maybe a little bit of personal frustration ;) Let’s move on to the final steps in Central America; flying back to Guatemala was easy, though interesting as quite a bit of commonly called “undefinable smoke” entered the cabin. Well, I don’t panic as long as the crew doesn’t so whatever… and we even got there on time! Another few bumpy rides (I love those chicken buses!) and a little boat trip took us to the biggest miss-out on my Guatemala-list: San Pedro La Laguna! We got into this nice lake-view hostel on a prime location and paid the extortionate amount of $2,50 a night for a room. How dare they!Time for a little more chilling, lazing around, hippie-being and this:

Kayaking - it’s not like I haven’t done this before… but hey, it’s Lake Atitlan so one should just do it. Besides I could use a little exercising after being linear for a while ;)

Lazing around - see above (and about 25 other posts - this site has a search function ya know!? ;))

Volcano climbing - these cone-shaped things are scattered all over the place so it’s a matter of picking one’s poison! Volcan San Pedro is the nearest and (as they say) prettier one, thus a good one to climb in order to say goodbye to volcano-climbing! (for now that is!)

Losing weight - it’s one way to do it… stuff came out quicker than it was supposed to… no details!

Shopping - Come on, I’m a man… but the home-front demands gifts once you return so it’s something you just have to do ;)

So there’s one way to “lose” another 5 days in Central America. Next up is the USA, Arizona and California to be exact. Come back soon for the final travelling article!

-René

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Volcan San Pedro - who can run up fastest? ;)

In France they call this "hors catégorie" ;)

Local weather forecast: a very high Holland-factor!

Sorry, that list is too long! I’ll write it down in an “about me v2.0″ section at some point in time but not now. (Yes, there are some background developments going on with regards to this website, so stay tuned!)

So, back to business. From city to city, bus to truck and the hills to the coast; time to complete the loop! After Bayamo (sshhh, be quiet!) it was time for some more coastal work; off to Trinidad! FInding a place to stay is easy as there are about 1200 rooms for rent and 400 tourists scattered throughout the city… so you’re pretty much being nailed to the wall by casa owners desperately trying to rent their place to you - lol! Having to deal with such a thing a 6am is all the more fun! Other than that, this has definately been the nicest city I’ve been to in all of Cuba, though I know a lot of people will argue this :) Trinidad forms a nice mix of Caribbean and Latino/Cuban culture, along with beautiful surroundings in the inland as well as a pretty beach. Quite the place to crash down for a couple days and get drunk so that’s what I did! The days merely consisted of city-viewing, beach-bumming, exchanging stories (and laughing my butt off) and dancing! Great to be there so go watch pictures like you always do!

Next up; a final visit to Habana! Since I knew I’d be passing through here a couple more times I decided not to visit all parts in one go so here’s part 3! You know, buildings, old cars and stuff… so on to Vinales; tobacco country, backed by limestone rocks and a lot less linear than the rest of Cuba - or so it seemed at first sight :) I got there together with this guy (you’re welcome Trav!) and went on cave visits, biking trips and some longer hikes, in the middle of the day while it was 33C (what were we thinking again!?). Visiting local tobacco farmers, discovering (well, sort of) a cave nobody told us about and going on bike trips is fun after a lot of city-flavour!

After Vinales it was time to crash down in Las Terrazas, a Soviet-style model eco-village (try to say that 10 times in a row), pretty much out of the way of most places. Pretty fit to chill out for a while and explore a little more nature, after all I now realise I like being near nature more than being in big cities :) Part of the fun was staying in a bird’s nest-style house but I forgot to take a picture, sorry!

Then, the final stop: Habana, getting ready for the return leg to Guatemala. This basically meant I re-re-re-reconfirmed my flight for the 5th time - although it was fun I didn’t want to go through this hassle again - and found the time to help Travis out trying to file a report for his stolen camera… NOT!!! A couple hours, three different police stations and A LOT of talking later, we were simply being told this: “Your story about this theft is strange, so how about we start investigating your story and hold you in custody until we sort this out?”. Ehmmmm… (sweat, tremble, gnawing for breath) … not quite what we need only 4 hours before our flight’s departure. Anyway, we eventually managed to get the hell out of the police station and subsequently the country :) Socialism, at some point it just gets to you… bye bye Cuba!

The next article will be posted on Wednesday night so stay tuned and come back soon!! Hasta luego!!

-René

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A church! After all it's been a while!

Trinidad's street "life"

Trinidad - unique rooftops and hills ;)

*** Update 11-Apr: right, mañana… anyway the pics are up. Uploading took terribly long so couldn´t be bothered too much to do a quality check. Better luck next time! ***

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Rio Dulce + longest bridge in Central America

My speedy kayak (the left one!)

Kayaking shot...

As I said, time to move on! I was shocked to see that my trail through Guatemala is actually making sense; it’s starting to become a (near) perfect loop… not quite in line with the way things have been going so far!

So the next logic step went down to Finca Tatin, a place on the Rio Dulce, between the equally named city and Lívingston - indeed, close to the Caribbean coast again! Somehow that area keeps attracting me but I’ll elaborate more on that in the near future (trust me, it doesn’t all end whenever you think it will ;)). Anyway, what’s to encounter here; sweltering heat and 3 litres of sweat per hour to begin with. Apart from that; kayaking, lots of community-based eco-tourism, great swimming spots (in the river, not the sea this time!), lovely indigenous villages, a devastating jungle-hike, Lívingston (a Garifuna / Caribbean coastal town) and last but not least: a rope-swing in combination with my self-destructive attitude! May I suggest you check the cartoon-like sequence at the end of the picture gallery :) All in all, time to be hyperactive again!

It all started with a 5-hour kayaking trip to a nearby biotope (Chocon Machacas - have fun pronouncing!). Just what my arms, shoulders and abdomen needed after all this sitting still! Besides, kayaking is fun and the trip was beautiful. Next day, next level: 32 degrees Celsius, extreme humidity and an unforgivingly lot of sunshine: time for a jungle-hike! This hike took us to some indigenous villages which gave a great insight in what everyday life really is like in Guatemala. Also, it felt reassuring to see my guide being just as worn as me at the end! The hike ended in Lívingston, so why not check it out straight away; it’s amazing how quickly Q’eqchi’ culture changes to rasta, yah man and reggae in just a few kilometers!

The final day was a chill-out day - after all the old man still needs to watch out for his foot (and lazy bones). Nonetheless, rope-swinging was still fun (and unsafe)!

The following days were mainly marked by transits and a weird border crossing into El Salvador, but I’m saving that one for the next post, in order not to drag on as I usually do :) Come back soon, more is on the way!

-René *no quote this time* Miltenburg

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As I said before; “Variety is the spice of life”. I know, that article wasn´t too good but it´s still true :) The things I did in the last couple days did indeed vary strongly, so here we go:

Water: I mean fresh water; something different from yet another beach this time. I´m talking about Lake Atitlan to be exact. Visited Panajachel and took a first glimpse of this gorgeous lake, surrounded by volcanoes, indigenous communicites and whatnot. Also bumped into a funny procession as apparently Easter is nearing, which is supposed to be pretty hectic here. Keep you posted!

Lava: Yes, hot stuff coming from the center of the Earth :) Up close and personal on Volcan Pacaya, close to Antigua. Pretty interesting and not always equally safe, but still good fun. Who needs Volcan Arenal anyway!?

Culture: Yes, again… Antigua this time, a colonial marvel close to Guatemala city. Intensely beautiful, and completely different from the rest of Central America since it´s so well-organised, clean and (relatively) safe. Started to feel like home… scary!

Ocean: Almost forgot how much I loved the beach, so time to head down for a change! Monterrico is hot, humid and a nice spot to crash down and hang out for a bit. Different from everything else I´ve seen lately but hey, it´s an addiction remember?

Coffee: Lots of plantations around, but hadn´t really had a close look at any of them yet. Coban was the place; got a (private!) tour on a small coffee finca and learnt a lot more about this addictive stuff. Indeed; I have been moving my dirty hands through beans from which you are now having your daily shot of caffeine. How does that feel? Enjoy it!

Natural pools: Swimming pools suck; they smell like chlorine and are congested with hair. In Holland, that is. Guatemala offers all natural pools on a huge cascade. Almost as blue as the Caribbean Sea, almost as clean as European tap water!

Cave-swimming: I know, that word doesn´t exist but it´s the best way to describe it. Swimming through a cave (Las Marias, near Semuc Champey) with a candle in your hands, a unique experience and most of all a lot of fun. Hectic at times too, since passages are narrow / steep and slippery at times! There was a little consequence to this one, so keep reading!

Bats: Ugly mice with wings, flying really fast. Had a few hundred of those around my head at the Lanquin caves, which they all seem to fly outof at about the same time. Interesting, especially the fact they fly straight past you but don´t strike you at all.

Health care: The Las Marias cave, a hole, my twisted motorics and a few sharp rocks. Need I say more? Ended up cutting my foot (4cm in length, 1cm deep) and am now stiched up, for the first time in my life. I love traveling, you just experience something new every day! ;) I now know what a hospital looked like in the 1940s, though they did a pretty good job on cleaning (45 minutes because I was too stubborn to leave the tour after this happened) and stitching me up. To be continued!

-René “leave me alone, it´s just a little scratch” Miltenburg

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Lake Atitlan ... and me

Jesus is coming!

Some real lava, up close!

Yeah, I know, I`m sorry… its been way too quiet out here in the last couple weeks but it`s just that I seriously geared up on traveling speed and as such don`t have too much time to write stuff down here. Anyway…

“Rene Miltenburg! Stop complaining about the fact you cannot dance… either DO something about it or just shut up!”

This is what I (sort of) told myself on a minivan trip between San Cristobal and country #8 on this trip: Guatemala! My first destination: Xela - aka Quetzaltenango - located in the country`s western highlands! Yes… more C, culture and cold! However, before arriving there I had to cross yet another border. This is the 13th time this trip (believe it or not!) … and the third time I got into trouble. I guess I`m not doing too well, statistically speaking… Anyway, the conversation between me and the migracion guy about having or not having paid tourist tax was interesting. Click “read more” for a short transcript! :)

Whatever, fast forward; Xela isn`t quite the place you just hang out at - people come here to accomplish something, be it learning Spanish, doing some serious hiking, learning Mayan languages, or … learn salsa dancing! In my case, mainly the latter applied though inbetween I also ascended Volcan Tajumulco - this highest peak in Central America. After all, you can`t really say you topped Central America if you haven`t been to the highest point, can you? :) Pictures once again are worth more than words, so have fun viewing! The erupting volcano you see is Santiaguito; one of the most active volcanoes in the region so no, we`re not talking coincidence (or bad karma) here! In order to chill down, we also visited some hot springs (H-O-T!) and - for a change - the cheesiest church on the western hemisphere (where´s the competition? ;))!

As for the dancing - again, believe it or not - I did actually book some serious progress! “Unfortunately” I couldn`t take any pictures :) but for those interested I`ll be happy to give some demo`s once back home! Yes, you heard that right, home… where`s that again!? I`ll come bck to you on that topic soon - stay tuned!

-René  “this is a friggin` bootcamp!” Miltenburg

PS: In light of respect for local indigenous cultures I cannot publish any detailed pictures of the people and / or elements of their daily lives. Taking pictures without any explicit consent is believed to steal spirits and is as such not appreciated - let alone these pictures being published. Thanks for understanding.

PPS: The pictures of the Tajumulco hike will be included tomorrow(-ish)!

Update 19-Mar: Done!

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Xela - "any given Sunday"

Indigenous market we bumped into - nice ´n busy!

Xela´s surroundings - Volcan Santamaria (amongst others)

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OK, short one this time - no too much text, lots of photos… just the way you like it right? :)

It´s been a while already, thus high time to update this site! So after leaving Merida (and with that, Carnaval and the heat) I got to San Cristobal de las Casas. (Yet another) colonial town, but with the difference that it´s in the middle of an area where indigenous cultures and traditions are strongly mixed into daily life! Besides it´s in the mountains (at 2100m altitude, so it´s C-O-L-D at night!), which means there´s lots of opportunities to be hyperacctive for a bit, which was just what I needed!

So here´s a little rundown; after getting off the nightbus (= 1 hour of sleep thanks to snoring Mexicans) I decided to go on a litle hike, just for the heck of it. It was fun though :) The next days consisted of cruising around town, visiting indigenous communities (San Juan Chamula, amongst others), finally (!!) going to a cave and … sigh … visiting a waterfall, which was really massive by the way! As for the Disneyland-factor (after all I was on a popular tourist trail, bumping into the same people over and over again :)), I visited Cañon del Sumidero; a nice-looking canyon but a huge tourist-trap (though a cheap one ;)). In light of being realistic (as I always am!!), see below for a picture of what was to be found “around the corner” once we went in.

Anyway, no complaints; it´s been great out there! Right now I went on to Xela (aka Quetzaltenango, Guatemala) - yet another good spot to be hyperactive so expect another article soon!

Take care!

Rene “where´s my backpack again” Miltenburg

Update 09-Mar: Cosmetics are done!

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San Cristobal´s main cathedral

Wanna see a church? WORK FOR IT!

... and this is the reward ...

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