Just like I said: hello! As some of you might know, Internet in Cuba is just like internet back home… in 1973! So there’s the reason for not posting anything lately, though of course there’s plenty of things to tell! I’ll be back in Guatemala on the 16th, so by then new articles should start pouring out here :) Oh, here’s something I could mention already: My ETA in Amsterdam is… 31 May at 2pm, just in case you felt like showing up / sending death threats / generally annoy me / etc!

Thanks for your patience (or annoyment!) and come back soon!

Regards from Trinidad,

René

Right - new article, new country: Bienvenidos a El Salvador! It`s a relatively small and well-developed hub in Central America… also it`s supposed to be the most violent country in the region - sounds like fun! ;) It seems like there aren`t too many tourists here (apart from the beaches) but nonetheless there`s plenty of stuff to do, so let`s take off…

The border crossing between Guatemala and El Salvador (known as Anguiatú) was the most intriguing until now. While crossing, loads and loads of questions ran through my head: “Why am I being let through without trouble?” , “Where are the 25 bicycle-taxi-guys that try to run off with my bag?” , “Where are the regular 50 money-changers?” , “Why is nobody trying to rip me off in general?” and “Why is the migracion-guy not trying to make me pay some non-existent tax?”. Very strange. A little scary, even.

Once I got into El Salvador it was another walk to a point where buses (to Santa Ana) would pass. Fortunately I ended up in some funny watering hole; while waiting for the bus I got into a talk with a guy that threw about half a month salary into the jukebox, only to hear this song over and over again. Welcome to El Salvador - woo-hoo! :)

I decided to hit the western highlands first, in an area called “Ruta de las Flores”. That`s right: lots of flowers, but no hippes. Crashed down in a town named Juayua, which is mainly famous for its food fair. You could probably guess: I stuffed up quite a bit! Next day decided to rent a bike and visit the following spots:

Apaneca: A nice climb up (what the hell happened to my physical condition!?) - the town is quiet but nice. Had fun watching a colourful procession with locals - after all it was Semana Santa!

Laguna (not so) Verde: Crater lake in a volcano, just outside Apaneca. Nothing verde about it as it was blue :) Makes a nice ride though and chatting with locals was - as always - fun!

Concepción de Ataco: Upon entering the town I instantly noticed one thing: everyone was smiling! It took an instant to realise why; never seen so many colourfully painted houses together. If you´re in a bad mood, go here - a cure is guaranteed! Even I was smiling at the end :) Trivia: Missed the entrance to town and as a result had to bike an extra 5km uphill. Could use the exercise though!

Next day agreed to climb a waterfall - something different from all the swimming, right? :) My assumption the climb would be up proved to be wrong; we went down instead! No secured ropes, belts or other gear, it was all bare hand- and foot-work for the 15-20m difference in height. One word: amazing! Later on my guide told me he was one of very few people that were allowed to guide this tour, and even then not many people did it. I asked him why and the answer was as simple as astonishing: A short while ago a large group of guides and tourists got killed down there. Ever since it`s been quiet… even though locals figured out who did it and “took care” of the problem. I don`t want to know any more details…

As Easter weekend was approaching, which basically means all of Central America`s infrastructure gets jammed, I decided to chill out at a spot I really miss: the beach! Playa San Diego became the place of choice; not too crowded, nice waves and a really cool place to hang out!

As this trip continues, I moved back to the mountains, slowly digging into El Salvador`s history. Stay tuned for more news… soon!

-René

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Juayua - heart of town

Biking material

Procession Apaneca - nice dresses btw! :)

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*** 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!

Update 20-Feb: comment function is now open. Sorry guys!

Dear diary Whatever. As promised, here`s a post which - in terms of quality - should exceed the previous two. Can`t be too hard, right? At least my predictive capabilities (”worst viewed posts ever”) still seem to work after all these travels, which feels like a delight ;)

Well then, so after having fun on Cozumel and spending most of my time in fairly small places, I felt it was time for some big city life. The place of choice: Mérida, famous for Yucatec culture, its “bustling” weekends, markets, architecture, people, surroundings… in other words: quite the place to get stuck in for a while! What can I say… the weather was nice (nothing but sun, 28C and rising temps), the company was very pleasant (hi guys!), the food was great and the beer was cold - what more could you wish for?

The city functioned as a base for exploring nearby cenotes (3 in total) - which was both fun and stunning. The latter is because in order to see one of the cenotes you need to climb down an 8-meter ladder… and the top step broke while I was climbing up, so I was almost part of yet another bodycount (sounds familiar?). I keep wondering how the people that were still down there got out though! :)

Also, we visited the Chichen Itza ruins (yes, more ruins), which were a bit of a Disneyland-experience but still pretty impressive. Other than that the city itself was good fun, providing basically everything one could look for. Cultural events such as traditional Yucatec dancing - which seems boring at first but then all of a sudden gets impressive - provide a little extra.

Still happy about cities, I moved on to Campeche and hooked up with some people I also met in Merida… yes, I`m still on a well-trodded trail at the moment! Campeche is nice but VERY quiet, the old city centre feels like walking through a candystore with all those hard-coloured buildings. Anyway, the company again was very good! Next day took a night bus to Palenque and after a nice little ride and even less sleep went to visit (MORE) ruins! Anyway, these were the most impressive so far and by now I`m getting a little ruin-tired (and so should most readers) so I promise I won`t post too much on these things anymore.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures (bigger series this time too, whoo-hoo!!) and on to… CARNAVAL! (This way, not this way!)

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One very weary traveler

This is how the Maya kept their kids under control

Chichen Itza skyline

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… or whatever way you’d like to pronounce yet another word for “island”! Arright once again! After almost a week of gray skies, it’s time for a little more sunshine, blue skies and oceans, palm trees, reggae, yah man, etc! (Look here for more terminology!)

After a little bus-and-boat ride we arrived on Caye Caulker, home to everything which is slow, sunny and very Caribbean! Time to continue enjoying the sun, swimming, snorkeling and … surprise … diving! The first few days mostly consisted of “decelerating” - after all the motto down here is to go slow. This appeared to be pretty easy, even wildlife seems relaxed when approached! We also made a brief visit to San Pedro… Madonna might have fallen in love with the place, we sure didn’t!

Our “plans” sort of separated after a while; Mayo went off to do an Open Water Diving course, however due to a cold she could not complete it. Yes - Caribbean nights can get chilly - trust us! She’s happy to receive some comforting messages from you guys though ;) René (that’s me!) on the other hand did another six good dives at the Turneffe Atoll, the famous Blue Hole and some other keys (or cayes…). Yep - the diving counter has really started rolling now! :)

Right now we’re off to the jungle again, back on the mainland (in the hills, even…). Our main “concern” at the time being is where we should be celebrating Mayo’s birthday (Jan 27 people - don’t forget! ;))! Any suggestions are welcome or course! And again, enjoy the pictures and to all you guys in Northern America and Europe - good luck with the weather!

Take care!

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Our house! ("on the middle of the beach")

Our view!

Rene's hammock + content!

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