Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Guatemala, Belice y México (Español)

28 de Junio, 2006

Donde empezar???? Hemos pasado por dos países,
Guatemala y Belice, y ahora estamos otra vez en
México. Pasamos 4 días en Guatemala antes de cruzar
la frontera a Belice. Guatemala es increíble. Nos ha
gustado mucho el país y la gente. Estuvimos en Flores
una noche y al principio estuvimos un poco
decepcionados con Guatemala. Flores es casi una isla
y se conecta con Santa Elena por un puente. Es muy
turística y los precios de los restaurantes y
supermercados son muy caros. No creo que un
Guatamalteco pueda pasar sus vacaciones allí. Es un
pueblo muy bonito de casitas de colores y se puede
nadar en el lago. Pero al día siguiente cogimos una
furgoneta y fuimos a 30km a un pueblo llamado El
Remate. Es un pueblo entre Flores y Tikal, un
yacimiento arqueológico muy importante de los mayas.
No hay mucho turismo, todavía, y esta en el mismo lago
que Flores pero en el otro lado. Es precioso, el
lago es azul, se puede ver el fondo y puedes ir a
nadar. Hay bungaloes y habitaciones justo delante del
lago en una calle que llega a un parque en la selva.
Tranquilidad total. Hay caballos pastando, niños
jugando fútbol, gente pescando en sus canoas de madera
y no hay ruido de coches......total paraíso. El día
siguiente fuimos a Tikal a las 7am. Llegamos antes
que nadie y tuvimos las ruinas para nosotros solos.
Son más de 16km y mil ruinas descubiertas, todas
metidas en la selva. Nada mas que llegar vimos un oso
hormiguero, luego un zorro nos cruzo el camino y en
todos los árboles había monos arañas, vimos
escarabajos gigantes y tucanes. También escuchamos
los monos aulladores y por supuesto nos comieron vivos
los mosquitos. Pero valía la peña. La zona es muy
bonita y las ruinas están bien conservadas. Después
de 5 horas nos fuimos y justo a tiempo porque empezaron
a llegar muchos turistas y empezó a llover con
muchísima fuerza. Esa tarde hicimos lo único que
había para hacer, echar una siesta y bañarnos en el
lago. El día siguiente fuimos a Belice. En la
frontera intentaron cobrarnos 10 Quetzal para salir y
por supuesto negamos pagarlo si no nos daba un recibo.
Que tacaños......son como 1,20€. Pero ya estaba bien
de tomarnos el pelo. Al final nos dejaron pasar. En
Belice cogimos un autobús para ir a Dangriga, un
pueblo pesquero, para coger el barco para ir a la isla
de Tabaco Key. Fuimos en un autobús escolar con
música Reggae y un paisaje que parecía a Jamaica.
Nunca he estado allí pero me imagino que las casas de
madera de colores, la gente negra con sus rastas y su
música seria igual. Al final llegamos al pueblo de
Dangriga y fue un choque total. Había un montón de
Beliceños en el muelle y todos eran capitanes y nos
quería llevar en su barco por un precio desorbitado.
Pero eso no fue lo peor....La mayoría olían a alcohol,
los que no estaban muy borrachos o desmayados o
vendiendo droga. Nos fuimos a un supermercado y en
frente hicimos nuestro campamento base cada uno
mirando para un lado para que no nos pudieran tomar
por sorpresa. Allí estuvimos mas de 2 horas pensando
nuestra próxima jugada. Varios vinieron
ofreciéndonos todo tipo de drogas o solo para pedirnos
dinero. Al final vino uno, más o menos normal y nos
ofreció un precio mas barato para llevarnos en su
barco con la condición que nos quedaríamos en su
resorte. Como no estaba borracho fuimos con el. Al
llegar a la isla nos dimos cuenta que todo los nervios
y el mal rato que pasamos antes mereció la pena. La
isla parecía un postal. Las aguas claras, arrecife
coral, y un montón de peces de colores. Podías cruzar
la isla en un minuto y andarla en 3 minutos. Toda la
comida estaba incluida con el alojamiento. Yo les
dije que no comía carne y comí pescado en todas las
comidas y la cocinera era muy buena. Estuvimos dos
días buceando con tubo y tomando el sol. Vimos rayas
mantas, peces payasos, agujas, barracudas etc.
También vivimos unas tormentas tropicales por la noche
que eran para asustarte. Después de ver en todos los
sitios refugios para huracanes....las tormentas en una
isla, que con un huracán débil llevaría toda la isla.
Después de dos días nos fuimos de la isla y estuvimos
viajando un día y medio hasta llegar a Tulum, Mexico.
Aquí estamos en una choza en la playa, muy rustica,
pero muy tranquila y la zona es preciosa. Las playas
son de arena blanca y agua azul y hace una temperatura
muy agradable. Hemos alquilado unas bicis para ir
al pueblo, esta a 8 km. Estaremos aquí dos días mas y
luego iremos a Isla Mujeres, también en el caribe.
Iremos contando nuestras aventuras.....

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Chiapas, México

June 21, 2006

I just wanted to send a quick email letting you know
what has been going on the last few days. We spent a
few days on the beach and then headed to Chiapas to
pick up two friends on the way to San Cristobal de las
Casas. SC de las Casas is a cute little town and most
of the population is indigenous. It was great to see
all the people in the local dresses. The women
carried their babies slung around on their chest tied
with a scarf. The houses and the little shops are very
colourful. We spent two days there and then headed to
Palenque. Palenque is on of the most important Mayan
archaeological sites in Mexico. The ruins are
beautifully set in the jungle. We slept in Cabins
about 2km from the ruins in the jungle. It was
awesome. We also went and saw a waterfall, called Agua Azul, and went
swimming. It was nice and refreshing,
since it is so hot and humid here. The next day we
left and went to two other Mayan ruins. We had to
take a bus to a boat on the river that divides
Guatemala and Mexico to get to the ruins. The first
ruins, Yaxchitlan, were not as spectacular but they
were more in the jungle, so we were eaten alive by
mosquitoes. I also got bit by fire ants and we saw toads, frogs, centipedes, and heard and saw howler monkeys, which funny enough sounds more like lions than monkeys.

Then we went to a smaller
ruin, Bonampak, which still has its original wall
paintings. Pretty incredible considering that it
dates back to 600 AC. We slept in a pretty rustic hut
but you could also hear the monkeys and there were
lots of creepy crawlies around. Then this morning we
got on a bus, where we had our second snake sighting
(thank god I was on the bus because it was huge). We
got back on our boat and went about 30mins up stream
to the Guatemalan border. We took a beat up bus on a
bumpy dirt road about two hours and then the last hour
on a paved road to Flores. We are now here. It is a
cute little town which is surrounded by a lake on
three sides. It is very expensive though. I am
assuming that only the international tourist can
afford this. We will be going to the ruins of Tikal
tomorrow and staying in El Remate tomorrow night. We
heard Guatemala was cheaper than México but I think
Flores is excluded.

Monday, June 19, 2006

Puerto Escondido, Guatemala, Belice (Español)

19 de Junio, 2006

Aquí os mandamos un mensaje en español. Estuvimos la
semana pasada en el Pacifico en un pueblo, Puerto
Escondido. Lo pasamos muy bien. Es una zona donde
van muchos surferos buscando esa ola perfecta. Solo
había dos playas donde se podía bañar pero eran unas
calas muy bonitas. Comimos pescado, muy rico, tipico
de aquí. Después fuimos a recoger a Guti y Mamen y
seguimos todos hasta San Cristobal de las Casas,
Chiapas. Es un pueblo en las montañas con una
población de 250 mil. La mayoría son indígenas. El
pueblo era muy bonito, con todas las casas pintadas de
colores y las calles estrechas. Fuimos a un pueblo
cerca, San Juan Chamula, con 8000 habitantes. Tiene
una iglesia súper bonita y un mercado dominical.
Vimos muchos indígenas, todos vestidos con sus trajes
típicos. Los hombres llevan una especie de chaleco
largo de lana blanco atado a la cintura con un
cinturón de cuero ancho. Las mujeres llevan una falda
negra de lana que les tapa las rodillas, unas blusas
bordadas con flores y adornos de colores en el pelo.
Ayer cuando quisimos coger el Autobús hasta Palenque
nos dijeron que ya no quedaban billetes entonces
decidimos coger el transporte local, 4hrs 30min hasta
aquí. Al final no fue tan cómodo como un autobús pero
fue mejor porque estuvimos con la gente local.
Pasamos por todos los pueblos y la gente de allí subía
y bajaba. Era increíble ver las mujeres y sus trajes
tradicionales. Cada tribu es diferente. Las mujeres
llevan sus niños atados a su pecho con una manta de
colores. Algo que no hubiésemos visto en un autobús
normal. Al final llegamos a Palenque, donde hay unas
ruinas mayas, unas de las más importantes de México.
Están metidas en la selva y son las mas bonitas que
hemos visto hasta ahora. Estamos alojados en unas
cabañas metidas en la selva. Hace mucho calor y
humedad pero no hay nada mejor que dormir con el ruido
de la selva. Mañana vamos a ver unas cataratas y
pasado iremos a ver dos ruinas mayas más y luego
seguiremos hasta Guatemala. Hemos cambiado un poco la
ruta. Hemos decidido entrar en Guatemala, pasar por
Belice y volver entrar a México por el norte de
Belice.
Hasta ahora todo va muy bien y estamos pasándolo muy
bien. Hay muchas cosas por ver y todos los días
estamos haciendo algo. Os mandaríamos unas fotos de la
gente de aquí pero no se puede fotografiar a los
indígenas porque creen que les roba un poco de alma. Bueno no
se si a mi me gustaría que me hiciera fotos tampoco.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

On to Puebla, Oaxaca and Puerto Escondido

June 13 2006

After Mexico City we spent 3 days in Puebla, a cute
colonial town in the mountains. We ate the typical mole there but it wasn't one of our favourites. We are not really big on sauces and mole is made from chocolate and ground nuts etc. So it’s pretty rich. After that we went down south to Oaxaca, a really nice town with cobblestone streets and brightly painted buildings. The people were really nice there. We stayed for three days in the city. The first day we just bummed around the town. There is a teachers strike going on and the whole downtown was full of tents and people camping out, which made it a difficult if not impossible to see the buildings and visit any museums in the main square. But there are other beautiful areas in Oaxaca and I am glad that we went there and didn't skip it because of the strike. The next day we went to Monte Alban, ruins of pyramids. We ended up hiking up there instead of taking the tourist bus. It was a nice 4km hike to the ruins and the surrounding area is beautiful. We really liked Monte Alban. There is a lot to see and they have a nice museum. Then we hiked back down and caught the local bus back to Oaxaca. The next day we left early in the morning for a 2 day hike in the Sierra Norte.
We took a local bus at 9am about 3hrs to a town called Cuajimaloyas which is at about 3,500m. It was much cooler than Oaxaca and the town has only about 1,500
population. We met our guide there and started a 15km or 5hr hike through the forest. We ended up being 5 so it was nice to talk with other people about there
experiences. It was a good hike, a lot of up and down and with a backpack on is a little harder. We stopped about an hour from our final destination at a trout
farm and had dinner. We saw as they picked our trout
out of the river and cooked it in aluminium foil with veggies and potatoes. It was pretty good. The only thing is the guide expected us to buy his dinner and
beer. But we were told when we were getting ready to
leave that there was one trout left unpaid for...hint
hint. None of us had calculated that into the price
and so we said no and that if he would have told us
before hand then we could have all decided together. He
seemed to take it well. From there we continued on to our cabins, which were at the top
of the hill in a town called Latuvi, 1000
population. The cabins were super deluxe. We had a
hot shower, fluffy towels, a nice bed and pillows.
There is also a fireplace but it wasn’t cold enough to
light. The views are spectacular from the front
porch. We met another American Aaron who had lived
in Chiapas and was a great source of info for us and a
lot of laughs. The next morning we met our guide and
started off to Lachatao. The guide was the big
downfall of the trip. He didn’t talk to us at all and
walked about 20ft in front the whole time. He was
eager to get to the town so he could turn around and
return home. Understandable but we paid for a guide
and would have liked some kind of info about the area or
the hike. It was another 15km hike alongside a river
and through a forest which is called the haunted
forest. There is white moss hanging from the trees
and it is a little ghostly. About 4hrs later we arrived
at Lachatao. Lachatao is a beautiful little town in
the side of the mountain. It has about 800 population
but used to be one of the biggest towns in the Sierra Norte. Lachatao was
the first town and from there the locals immigrated to
other areas and created the other towns. The locals
are very proud of this and everyone will tell you the story. We
met Juan and his wife Veronica who basically run the
ecotourism there. The have a restaurant and the rent
out the cabins. They have a very nice family and we
enjoyed spending the day with them talking. They took
us to see a cave and gave us all the information that
we asked for. The cabins are no comparison to the
ones in Latuvi, in fact they are a little abandoned.
They are building new ones which were not ready when
we were there. I would have definitely liked to have
spent more time there. There is no noise and no
phones. It is a great place to do some exploring and
just relax. The next day at 5am we headed back to
Oaxaca and caught a bus at 10.30 to Puerto Escondido
on the Pacific coast. The bus was only supposed to
take 7 hrs but ended up taking about 10. The bus
driver stopped to pick every single person up on the
side of the road. He also stopped a few times to say
hi or eat something and watch TV with his friends. About 6hrs of the
drive or 100km is through the mountains on a curvy
road. It was beautiful and we were very entertained
which made the bus ride not seem so long. We had the
option to take a mini van to the coast which is faster
but in the end I am glad I didn’t. Being in a box
between two other people on those windy roads is
probably not that fun. In fact some of the kids on
our bus were vomiting. We had front row which I think
are the best seats, if you are not afraid of heights.
The bus was a 2nd class bus and people got on with
chickens and their fruits and veggies from their
crops, it was definitely a good experience. There was one
point when we went thru an area of heavy fog and
things got a little nerve racking but here we are
alive to tell. So the last few days we have been here
on the beach. Puerto Escondido is a cute little coastal town that
is very well known for surf. They call it the Mexican
pipeline and almost everyone comes here to surf or to
learn. It is low season so there are not that many
people. The first 2 nights we stayed close to the
only beach they say you can swim at, due to the
currents. But the place was very run down and our
room was like a black, humid hole in the wall. So
yesterday we changed and came down to the main area and
just decided to walk back and forth to the beach. For
about the same price we are in what seems to us like a
5 star hotel. The beach is very nice and we have
spent the last two days relaxing, reading and
swimming. We have made some friends with the locals
and at night we go out and have a few drinks with them.
We have eaten at some good restaurants and had some
great fish for pretty cheap. I am in heaven.
Tomorrow night we leave on a night bus to San
Cristobal
de las Casas, Chiapas. We are definitely
going first class on that 12hr trip. We will be
meeting a few friends there who will be joining us for
two weeks.

Thursday, June 1, 2006

México City

June 1, 2006

We are still here in México City and after a very rough start
are enjoying the city. As I told you on the first day
we got cheated on the taxi but that was nothing
compared to the second day. As we were changing
hostels, we had all our backpacks with us; we were
getting on the metro when Antonio got pick pocketed.
It was quite a bit of money and we were pretty upset.
We went to the police station which was another crazy
situation. The police definitely have that corrupt
look about them and there is no formality what so
ever, they don’t even use a holster for their gun, which they keep tucked in the back of their pants.
The next day on our bus trip to Teotihuacan, the
pyramids, a older guy almost died on us. Antonio and
I were the only ones to help as he fell to the ground
and started spitting up blood. Finally some other
guys on the bus helped us get him into a seat and I
pounded on his back. He came to and I gave him my
bottle of water and he seemed to recover. And for
once in 24 hrs I stopped thinking about us getting
robbed. Then last night, on a lighter note, we went
to see a mural of Diego Rivera and we were told there
was a concert going on and we could go in for free but
couldn’t leave until it was over, an hour later. So we
went in and the orchestra was set up in front of the
mural, ´´Suenos de una tarde..¨and it was really
beautiful until the orchestra started to play. I now
understand why it was free and why we could not leave.
It was horrible. Antonio and I couldn’t help but
laugh as we both thought....nothing worse can happen
to us on the rest of this trip. We of course left
early.
Anyway I have gotten over all of the past events and
look forward to a day with no major events.
Apart from all that, Mexico City is a beautiful city.
The buildings are half sunken into the ground and they
are colonial and beautiful. There are a lot of parks
and green areas. There is so much to see as far as
museums and art galleries etc. It is a dirty city
but nothing compared to India. There is over 18mil
population and the city is huge. It is not as cheap
as Asia but Antonio and I can get buy on about 50
euros a day.
There are many street performers and vendors but the
most interesting are the ones that get on the metro or
buses. They get on at a stop and get off at the next.
Some have guitars and sing; others have a radio
strapped to their chests and offer the cd that you
are hearing. Some sell books and calculators etc.
But all thank you before and after for listening and
any donation appreciated. There is no rudeness.
We have had some really good food, although very spicy. They
also have the chopped up fruit they sell on the
streets like in Asia, which I love.
So today we will visit some museums and go to Coyoacan
where Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera lived and visit the
area. Then tomorrow we are off on a VIP bus to
Puebla. I will let you know just how VIP it is.