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!

*** 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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