Each awkwardly sized step took us that
little bit closer to the top of the ancient pyramid that stands obstinate, towering
above the jungle floor. Slightly
frustrated we continued to climb, thinking contrary to the evidence; these
people must’ve been tall with small feet!
Apparently the steps are steep and narrow to make it harder for the
people below to climb to reach the royalty at the top, one theory anyway. As I reached the top and sat on the ancient stone
structure from AD250, I took in the view.
Dense, tropical jungle stretched the distance to the horizon with peaks
of other pyramids visible within its path.
The Mayan people had long fled but their presence clearly remains. Their structures indicate strength, knowledge
and mysticism. Not a bad way to end the
year being in the presence of such qualities.
Not a bad way to see the last sunset of 2015 atop this ancient
structure; amazing view before me, howler monkeys howling, and sitting close to
the beautiful sky of pink shades. To my
surprise there was a large flock of toucans in the neighboring trees
below. I was amazed because until this
day I thought they were extinct. Maybe a
blonde moment, but I took this to mean good luck for the New Year. Beautiful birds back to life, anything is
possible!
My time in Guatemala was more of a
love-hate experience. I loved the
colours! Amazing embroidery of the textiles, everything from bags to shoes, to
clothing, to belts all embroidered with detailed and beautiful patterns and
colours. It had some stunning natural
scenery. Tikal ruins with its expanse of
jungle were the most stunning I’d seen in Central America. The blue pools of Champey, and the country
scattered with volcanic peaks, were not short of glorious. Even the colonial towns had character and
colour. However, it frustrated me the
defined tourist path that was mapped throughout the country, and the types of
tourist we kept running into. Small
shuttle buses pick you up from your hostel and take you door-to-door, tourist
destination to the next. Sure this is
convenient but I found it hard to find the adventure in that. Attempting to get off the tourist path seemed
to result in, just not much there. Coming
from Mexico where the culture was fiery, vibrant and bold, I found Guatemala a
little subdued in comparison. We
wandered the streets on New Years Eve with the blarring sound of reggaton but
no one dancing. I found the people were
friendly enough, but kept to themselves.
It was also no cheaper than Mexico as expected, if not more costly and
it was unexpectedly cold. I missed
Mexico. I missed the heat, the surf, and
the rhythm but actually ended up staying quite a while.
From Flores in the north, we parted ways
with Will and Alice who we’d met in La Punta, Mexico. It was a long journey travelling on the tiny
un-kept roads to Semuc Champey. Surprisingly,
many make the long trip here to only stay 1-2nights, see the sights and trudge
on. Amongst the constant transient
crowd, Gus and I feel into our own little world of chillin’ out. We swam in the crisp blue pools, floated down
stream on tyres, and explored the caves by candlelight. Then we smoked, played chess and backgammon. For hours we would sit on the balcony and just stared at the trees while telling magical stories of the brontosaurus in the distance, or the faeries by the river, or simply theorize why the leaves were the colour they were. After a blissfully nothing day, the body would drift off to sleep by the swing of a hammock.
Antigua was next. Similar to the colonial town of San Cristobel
in Mexico but a little more beautifully ruined and local. The large town was nice, but we did intend to
just pass through until we met Marco.
Marco was a 70 something year old businessman that knew how to work the
streets and find tourists what they wanted.
So we ended up staying in his ex-wife’s house, amongst the many family
members that come and go on a daily basis, and learnt Spanish. I took on my Spanish alter ego of ‘Maria’, as
Shae seemed to difficult so my middle name of Marie took a Spanish twist. It’s always nice to spark the brain with a
new challenge and 5hours/day for 8days definitely was a challenge. As the days went by though the white noise of
the streets started to turn to a recognizable language. Our eyes were opened to the details of the
Guatemalan family culture and their frustrations with such a corrupt
government. The girls in Guatemala start
with kids young, but you’d wonder why because once you’ve got them they are in
your house and your kitchen everyday.
It’s not over with the grandchildren either. The household food was painfully bland, but
it had to stretch for the entire extended family. Gus and I found ourselves skipping dinner in
exchange for the most delicious chicken sandwiches from a market stall down the
road, and for $3.
With our brains full with what felt like
capacity, we decided to get some fresh air on a volcano hike before leaving the
town. Eight hours of hiking up hill to
an altitude of nearly 4000mts turned out to be well worth the views. It was the most spectacular view above the
clouds, with the neighboring volcano slightly spilling its red-hot lava. One of the best places I’ve ever set up camp,
on a ridge in the sky. The altitude made
it absolutely freezing cold though and I didn’t find much sleep with the thought
of frostbite seeping into my fingers. I
don’t do cold! But it was magic. It was
a slow and tiring hike but it made me think how lucky I am to have a body that
doesn’t fail me when on impulse I just decide to do a massive volcano
hike. Will it always be like that? Will my body fail me when I’m older? Then I thought about travel. Will it ever stop? I guess it’s like the body, if you don’t use
your muscles then they’ll fade. Just
like, if you don’t use your sense of adventure that too will fade and too many
comforts slip in. I couldn’t help but hope
I could keep my strength. Hope it all lasts.
We felt like we’d been in Guatemala long
enough and oh how I missed the surf and ocean.
Guatemala does have beaches but it is not known for surf and I wanted to
be sure to get waves, so El Salvadore was the desired destination. To my extreme frustration, weeks later we
ended up having to come back to sort my Indian visa. This time we were not doing anything
touristy. It is highly un-recommended to
spend time in Guatemala city due to dangers and lack of sights, but that’s
where the embassy was and that’s where the locals would be. Surprisingly, this actually turned into a
redemption trip for Guatemala. We
discovered delicious food at the local markets where people were wondering what
we were doing there. We wandered the
streets to the different districts and found a mix of stylish western
restaurants and cultural sights. With
the Guatemalans clear accents we were able to communicate easier, our Spanish
frequently put to use. We worked out
the use of the local chicken buses, an experience within themselves. Don’t carry anything of value but take in the
atmosphere of the cranking music, people pitching elaborate sales for simple
items like gum and colour-in books, the drivers assistant hangs out the door
rallying up commuters, hang on to your seat as the bus speeds round corners
whilst the driver is talking on the phone.
The bus driver and his team seem
to have a pretty sweet job, apart from the part when gangs extort them or they
could get killed. I guess its safe to
say its all fine and an adventure until it all goes horribly wrong. Luckily, this time we hit the jackpot. I got my visa. Then we were back on the road, back to the
beach.
