Aeeshah

 

PHOTO LINK–>>https://photos.app.goo.gl/wqjG2VnYTN6nWQaJ6

 April brings quarantine….

Our days were numbered, we had to re-up on the 5th, but on reaching Placencia the Dock Master advised us to do our extension as soon as possible. The reason being, Belize now had 3 cases of convid-19 and the Prime Minister was putting the entire country into a month long lock down. Apparently, the public in Belize City was not observing social distancing as requested, so everyone was to stay at home for a month. – We had 2 days to re-up and stock up and head out to quarantine in the cays.

It was a hectic time for us, however we managed to get fuel for the dinghy and Aeeshah, stock up on our dry goods, meats, produce, get a soda stream refill, get our months data, plus a wonderful fish take out from Ma G’s. 

Doing a re-check

Going to Big Creek for our re-up was a half day event. We got the Hokey Pokey Ferry which was full, not a soul was observing anything like social distancing so we just had to all hope nobody was infected.

As usual we had to get a taxi to 1st immigration, we shared ours with a German couple. At immigration we washed hands and waited outside for the lady to take our passports and paperwork, all went well and we were given 60 more days.

From there we taxied to Customs where we found the door locked, then had a 45 minute wait, outside – after washing our hands. The fellow returned and promptly gave us -30days extension, they couldn’t do more.

Next door we visited the Port Captains where again we were given 30 days, had paperwork filled out and paid to stay. By then it was nearly 12:00 when our water taxi was leaving so speedily our taxi driver got us back to the Hokey Pokey. Later I found out we were more or less the last folks they re-checked as they too are going to be on minimum staffing for the month long lock down.

And then we were off….so we thought

Back in Placencia we managed to pick up the last few items we needed and so fully prepared we decided to head out before being “stuck” in Placencia Harbour. Off we headed deciding on Laughing Bird Cay where we read they had moorings. We figured we could use one for the night then move on in the morning.

We knew Laughing Bird is a sanctuary with no anchoring, but information did say they have moorings. Well, after an hour and a half of motoring we spied Laughing Bird, as we approached I noticed the moorings were but 1 and very close to the beach. Then we saw what we assumed was the caretaker come out of a hut and aggressively wave his arms telling us to get lost, go!! 

Soooo, plan B was to try South Cocoa Long Cay, but the light to see the reefs was disappearing due to a large cloud and there were reefs along the way. We did make a valiant attempt at finding a path through the shallows, but after too much stressing we gave up and headed back to Placencia where we knew where to anchor safely for the night. We arrived back just before 7:00pm, and resolved to be up at dawn to “escape” to the cays again.

South Long Cocoa Cay

Up at 5:15 and out of the bay by 5:30 it was a lovely morning, off we set for South Long Cocoa Cay. We took the long route getting there which took us through the parks territory, which was probably not such a good idea. Arriving at the cay it took us a while to anchor up as the bottom was far from ideal. Finally anchored we spent an enjoyable afternoon snorkeling the nearby reef. The cay looked wonderful for exploring which we looked forward to doing the next day.

However the next morning during breakfast a parks boat arrived with 2 rangers aboard. They informed us that all cruising boats had to head back to Placencia and if we didn’t like it we could go, just leave……. They took photos of us and Aeeshah, not asking permission, just snapping them as if they were cops. Yes, they were quite belligerent, we tried to explain that we had been given permission to “shelter in place” that is go to a close anchorage and stay. However they were insistent we return to Placencia within the hour! 

Return to Placencia

So, once again we returned to Placencia. There we found that another official looking boat was doing the rounds checking boats/cruisers documents. This boat had a customs, an immigration, and Port authority officer aboard to recheck papers. So, once again we were checked, and, yes, more photos taken. When asking about going back out, or getting any information we were told to listen to VHF16 for updates. This sounded suspect to us as we knew they normally did not have any VHFs. Off they went, they did find two boats in the harbour that had not checked in so they were yellow flagged. 

Now this was the 3rd, April a Friday. Nobody was at the Port Authority booth on the dock all weekend, so really life in the anchorage continued as normal. Not really knowing if we were coming or going we decided to hang out in Placencia for a while.

Placencia is not a harbour that you would imagine as such. There’s just one small dock with a few colourful huts, – Port Authority being one, a lovely long beach and a few small, seaside resorts and restaurants. The “Harbour” is not for ships as it is shallow and so just us and other sailboats are anchored.

The fishermen have part of the beach where they clean their catch. At that time the seabirds – Pelicans, Frigate Birds and Laughing Gulls swoop and dive competing for the scraps the fishermen throw. In fact there is such a relationship between these wild birds and the fishermen that the men can throw the scraps and the birds catch them in mid swoop. 

Ashore there is the village with small shops, veg and fruit stands, tiendas such as hardware stores. Of course now all but the grocery stores and fruit/veg stands are closed. 

We were allowed to go ashore for necessities, groceries and laundry. When we do go we find the streets deserted, literally no cars, just no traffic, few people not even dogs walking about.

At the grocery stores we have to wash our hands outside before we enter. We have started to wear surgical gloves and masks, plus we have sanitizing gel. Only a few folks are allowed in the shop at a time, plus we have to avoid being anywhere closer than 6 feet near from each other. – much the same as everywhere else nowadays.

So in Placencia we stayed.We cleaned the boat, did odd jobs,  John got on with a few engine room fixes. I tried to do yoga, but found it difficult on a moving boat, plus it was very hot. Time passed and still no word from the authorities. We visited with friends Rene and Michael who are caring for a friends empty resort, life just ticked along.

John befriended the fellow in the Port Authority booth, when he finally turned up, and managed to get permission for us to go out to Ranguana Cay for a few days. But, we are not to tell the other cruisers on the boats around us….hummm not sure how that works, as most folks spend a good part of each day watching each other. Anyway a few days break would be nice, even if not fair to all the others.

So Easter passed, nobody was about, the village was empty, all was deserted. We did get news on the VHF and Internet of other cruisers in the outlying cays. They were laying low, surviving out there. It sort of struck me that we had more liberty than they did, as we could get supplies, have laundry done and walk on land.

After 10 days we decided to head out to Ranguana for a few days of snorkeling. 

The Port Authority officer had not been on duty for 4 days and Mr T at the public dock didn’t think he was going to be fussed to return. So with that information, plus our handy permission to leave text we hauled the anchor and headed to Ranguana.

We were delighted to again be accompanied by dolphins along the way. They were playfully racing Aeeshah and dancing in the bow spray.

We also caught fish! First time this season, 2 Spanish Mackerel and a large Cobia. The Cobia we let go and the others we kept for Chico. Once there we picked up one of the mooring balls.

We could see 3 men in kayaks a few women sitting in the shallows and a few kids. This seemed strange as every resort and tourist place plus beaches were supposed to be shut…. One of the men approached, his name was Sylvester, he wanted the fee for the mooring ball plus asked if we had any thing to smoke, which was a negative. We checked that we could go ashore – fee covers mooring ball and landing on island plus wifi usage, he said yes.

The rest of the day we spent snorkeling the outside reef. It was lovely after so long not being near any reef to snorkel. The seas were quite rough and there was quite a strong current running, but we covered the entire outside reef. I saw some very nice stag horn corals, a large tarpon, and many other reef fish. 

After our rinse off we headed for shore, where we were greeted by Sylvester, who informed us that one of the men did not want us to leave the area of where our dinghy was resting. I just went and sat on a swing by the water and did my wifi catch up. We figured afterwards that they had women and kids illegally there, as I had seen them creeping along under the palm trees, sort of sheepishly trying to disappear from view. Anyway, we were annoyed as we had paid and quite frankly they were rude. Back at the boat we decided to not go ashore again.

The next day we had a couple of wonderful snorkels at the inside reef. The seas were calm and ever so clear. The corals were beautiful, just so many fish too and the rays were almost tame. I also saw Flamingo Tongues, a Guinea Chick lobster, a Porcupine fish just to mention a few of the special sights.

This was about when we noticed a haze developing from the land and sure enough by the morning there was quite a thick haze. Yes, it was the beginning of the burning season. The time of year when the indigenous folks burn the grounds for planting, such a destructive farming method. And here we are now at the end of the month and the fires still burn. The haze makes each sunset and sunrise a hazy red glow. 

Blue ground Range

We headed off to a second anchorage, catching 2 large Spanish Macheral. However, one had teeth marks in it and the other was missing it’s lower tail area. Otherwise perfect eating fish for the 3 of us. 

Our new anchorage was Blue Ground Range, a sheltered anchorage amount some mangrove cays. Here we could get a very nice breeze, but be sheltered from the seas and also be able to explore the surrounding cays. 

We stayed in Blue Ground Range for 6 nights. During the day we would do boat work, chores or pursue hobbies/crafts. For John this was polishing the stainless, maintenance, and such. Myself, after cleaning, baking cooking and the regular mundane I started a Christmas Stocking making project.

My daughter in law had asked me if I would make stockings for Lily and Evie as I had made for my son Gavin, many moons ago. I had quickly picked up some bits and pieces when traveling back to Guatemala months earlier, now was the time to proceed. Basically I started by designing, then creating stencils, cutting materials and sewing of the new Christmas stockings. Sounds odd, but the task is strangely therapeutic during these terrible, smoky, pandemic days.

We rode the dinghy each day around the mangrove cays exploring the surrounding territory.

The water crystal clear turquoise we saw fishing camps where the reclusive fishermen live, an osprey and its nest and then some unusual abandoned structures. It was a very quiet time, hardly a soul about, just the birds.

 The osprey and its nest was the highlight of the bird watching, but we also saw all types of sea birds, herons and egrets too.

Back to Placencia we sailed to restock on some essentials. The smoke from the fires continued, the haze was thick, the dirty residue left on everything unimaginable. However this too will end soon.

“Life … is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity.” —  Gilda Radner

“Finding a problem’s solution is what gives life its gusto.” – Martha Beck

 

Christmas in Bermuda

 PHOTO LINK below—>>

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZsYxJcr9TvVGKn486

For the first time in 7 years, since the time we first started cruising, John and I went home to Bermuda for Christmas. 

We stopped in Guatemala City for one day to do some gift shopping. Visiting the central market we found it in full seasonal swing!

There was even a skating/ice ring set up! Decorations galore and festivities abounding, we enjoyed our day just strolling around.

The next stop was Miami for some Airbnb purchases for Langata Lower and a few Christmas gifts. This was more of a chore than fun, but a necessary stop. 

Finally we arrived in Bermuda on December 9th a few weeks before Christmas. We were staying in our Airbnb – aka our home. 

The first week was mighty busy.

There was family to visit, Gavin, Katie and the girls, in their new home. Plus Kate and May to catch up with and Fabio to meet. Jessie and Jossie the horse and pony to feed for Kate, a few days and odd hours of babysitting to do, house maintenance, plus the garden to try and check. 

There were repairs to start. This time around they mainly consisted of plumbing problems. A pipe had broken, so there was water damage in the storage room, one of the water heaters had died and the pressure pump needed replacing. 

I also spent time cooking for everyone and cleaning the upper house where our daughter Chrissie lives with her son Quest, plus our grandson Ethan. 

On the Sunday before Christmas we had a grand baking day, mince pies by the dozens and sausage rolls by the scores were produced by Kate, Chrissie and myself with Fabio helping in the background. They were delicious!!

There were trips into Hamilton, both business and shopping, a visit to my family’s grave site after which we were able to have a quick drive around Somerset and along the Southshore Road. 

Before we knew it, it was Christmas Day. 

The morning was spent first opening a few presents with Chrissie and Quest, then off we rushed to 1st visit Kate, May and Fabio followed by a stop at Gavin’s and Katie’s. 

At Kate’s we opened gifts and had minosas, May loved the bike we got her, she also had a new miniature pink car which she proudly drove around the garden.

Quest really wanted the car for himself and had a hard time parting from it. Kate gifted us with a lovely sailing print for our place. It really looks wonderful in Langata Lower.

At Gavin’s the girls Lily and Evie were thrilled with the new fishing gear. Living right on the shoreline plus having a boat they will have lots of opportunity to fish. Gavin and Katie liked the Guatemalan painting we had brought them. It will be a splash of colour in their new house.

Back at the house it was full ahead to get ready for the Christmas dinner which we hosted for the entire family, excluding May for a few hours. We had a full menu, a kale salad to start, followed by the turkey, ham, cassava pie and all the trimmings plus 3 vegetable dishes and 4 dessert choices to follow. 

Quest’s Daddy – Ivan visited, he had brought Quest a motor bike, just a toy one but still it runs. Quest of course loved it.

At the table it was a squeeze to fit us all in, John and I, Gavin and Katie, Kate and Fabio, Chrissie plus the 6 grands. And it took John and I a good 5 – 10 minutes to serve up and get the food to the table. The meal was – I think – a resounding success! Afterwards the younger grands played with the new toys, the older grands and the rest of us chatted. 

The next day – Boxing Day is traditionally one for visiting, Gavin and Katie were having a house warming party celebrating their new house.

We all gathered at their house in early afternoon and were able to catch up with old friends. There was a fun castle and many children who all had a blast playing.

With just a week to go before we were to leave with Chrissie and Quest John and I had to rush to try to finish off everything we had hoped to do. The time in Bermuda as usual just flew by……

 “In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.”
– Alex Haley

“A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it.” – George Moore

 

PHOTO LINK –>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/N2AnPiUpRXWN6sTn9

Volunteering and helping: La Escuela de Amatillo

We became quite busy, John more so than I, with repairs to another local school. A fellow cruiser couple were approached and agreed to fund and manage the necessary workforce a small village school. 

The proposal for help was for a school in a nearby village called Amatillo. The village is situated on the property of a fruit farm. Some of the villagers work on the fruit farm and the farm supplies water for the villagers. However the is no electricity so in every way it is a typical village in Guatemala.

The villagers really wanted to fix up their school La Escuela de Amatillo (Amatillo School). The school is a three room building, government built years ago for the village children. 

But why would they need help? 

 An average wage for a Guatemalan is 25 Quetzales a day (~$4 / day). Therefore most families just get by day to day with just the basics, there is no extra money. Also in Guatemala, the school year starts in January, and continues to October. To attend school a child has to be a legally registered Guatemalan citizen, there is no official hospital or any kind of record keeping in these small villages, the majority of children are born at home and without any official documentation.  Then cost for a family to register a child as a citizen is approximately 150 Quetzales (~US$20), an absolute fortune for a Guatemalan family.

Another common problem is that in order to start school in January, the child must have a School Supply Starter Pack. The cost of the School Supply Starter Pack is 75 Quetzales (~US $10) per child. Again too much money for the family to afford and the government funded supplies do not arrive until April. This is disheartening as the children have already missed too much school and so most don’t bother attending.

Other needs that the villagers had was that the school needed fixing up, it was old, unsafe, ill equip and tired. Long story short: they needed help to get the school up and running for all the village children.

A Go Fund Me account was set up to raise the money needed to equip the school, ready for a January opening for all the village children. See here:- Escuela el Amatillo in Guatemala

 We were part of the volunteer group that visited to 1st start painting the building, inside and out. What a day that was, we started out early leaving Catamaran Marina at 7:00am with all that we needed. From the public dock we traveled to the village, down a rough road, past dozens of vultures and driving through a river as the bridge was partway collapsed finally arriving at the school. We were all set to paint the entire building inside and out. 

I painted with a hand brush cutting in. The building being made crudely of cement blocks meant that each block needed cutting in around with the paint. I painted so much that my right wrist ached for days after.

John used a roller and rolled all day. The villages were so keen that if you put your paint brush or pan of paint down or aside they would soon be claimed. There were mothers and children of all ages trying to help in anyway possible. Everyone was laughing and having fun.

Others were working on the toilets trying to fix them with new parts, while others were collecting more supplies, the villagers were either helping with the painting or with the fence being erected around the school. Busy, busy, busy, all morning and into the afternoon we painted and worked. 

When we stopped for the day we went to Rita’s house for a meal and a small Birthday celebration. 

John was back at the school for 2 more work days where he helped with desks, chairs, playground equipment, painting and other work. 

He also was a daily part of the team working at the marina to build the equipment.  In fact the first thing a few of the guys did was build a work area or rather extend the work area where the marina crew did their work. Thus giving everyone a work area.

 I helped with the painting of the play ground equipment and such. So that has kept us busy.

Birthdays and Thanksgiving

There were again several Birthday celebrations, one was for marina staff Mavi and Rosa. Much fun was had by all.

Thanksgiving was another celebration. At Catamaran the cruisers buy, cook, prepare, serve and clean up Thanksgiving dinner which is for the staff. The day of Thanksgiving everything was organized and everyone had their tasks.

The afternoon started at 2:00ish with “games” played between the marina staff and the cruisers, well some of them, as the rest were working on the food. 

The meal was served by us and then we sat all together for a large delicious Thanksgiving meal at 4:00pm. The desserts were next followed by clean up by us and the staff back to work. It all went very well.

Friends and boat work

We had several goodbyes with friends who have sailed for many different destinations. You sort of get used to good byes in our way of life. 

We did get a few boat chores sorted. The new name was put on Aeeshah and she’s been cleaned inside out in anticipation of Chrissie and Quest’s visit. 

Rocky: The Traveling Rock

Then our friends Derek and Carol presented us with “The Traveling Rock”. They had been given the “Rocky” when in Florida by a lady called Micheline. Derek and Carol are selling their boat and their journey is coming to an end and although they had not heard back from her they were reluctant to just leave Rocky behind. So, they asked us to continue the journey for Rocky. I agreed to include him in our travels and on our blog. Here for the first time is Rocky!

Chico

Chico has continued to enjoy his stay at Catamaran. Just the other day he came trotting down the dock with a snake in his jaws. Yes, a snake!! Thank goodness it was not a poisonous one, just a green snake. Gillian is watching him while we are away.

Guatemala City

It was soon time for us to leave the Rio and travel to Guatemala City then off to Miami and Bermuda. We decided to spend a day in the capitol and visit the central plaza and the market. 

In the Plaza de la Constitucion  we found they were all ready for Christmas, Feliz Naviadad, with an ice ring set up! We strolled around looking at the wonderful architecture of the Plaza de la Constitucion flanked by the National Palace to the north, the Cathedral of Guatemala City to the east, El Portal de Comercio to the south, and Parque Centenario and the National Library to the west. We wandered around the square and visited the Cathedral where a Communion service was taking place for a group of children. While in the plaza a memorial was being set up for all the young ladies lost in the Mayan struggles.

Off at the market we found again Christmas preparations were in full swing. Now this market is just massive, the prices amazingly low and the selection wonderful. We easily found everything we wanted and so were all set to travel home to Bermuda.

“Just as man cannot live without dreams, he cannot live without hope. If dreams reflect the past, hope summons the future.”

— Elie Wiesel

 

PHOTO ALBUMS: –>>

A Wonderful Trip to Tikal: https://photos.app.goo.gl/rBdqMrgxeauiEjU28
A Few Days around Flores:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/C23eoZMZ211pzE8W6

John and I had previously visited Tikal, but we had 2 days where is just poured and so we had planned to return. Asking me what I wanted for my birthday, I responded to John, “to revisit Tikal”. And so the plan was formed to revisit along with our friends Pam and Don.

Traveling to Tikal can be arduous from Fronteras as the only bus usually arrives full, in fact over flowing and so there’s a 4hour journey of standing in in crowed bus – that was experienced last time. For this visit we were fortunate to be able to tag a ride on a private tour that was already headed there. So on November 11th at 7:00am  we boarded a tourist bus at Mar Marina and headed off towards Tikal. 

The journey was a pleasant one past lovely countryside and on relatively smooth roads. We stopped for a lunch break and then at the fork in the roads that lead to Tikal our driver let us off. Our driver had arranged with a taxi driver friend to meet us there to carry us onward to Tikal. Sure enough our driver was there, a big fellow called Sergio. 

Once we reached the park gates we had to purchase our park tickets for the days we were to spend there. While doing that we met a tour guide who convinced us to let him do our sunrise tour, so we also purchased a ticket for the sunrise tour and secured his services. Now from the park gates it is 17 kilometers to the park and the few small hotels, this is a very large park.  

Tikal National Park

Tikal National Park is said to be 575 square kilometers of jungle with thousands of ruined structures.The central part of the ancient city alone contains 3,000 buildings and covers about 16 square kilometers. There are many other temples and structures in the Tikal National Park area, it is estimated that only 30% of them are unearthed.

Tikal is also part of the one-million-hectare Maya Biosphere Reserve created in 1990 to protect the dense forests of the Peten, which started to disappear at an alarming rate due to population pressures, illegal logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices.

Our hotel was the lovely Tikal Inn. It had for us absolutely everything we needed, nice room, good food, quiet atmosphere and location being in Tikal. We dropped off our bags and set off to see some of Tikal for a few hours.

A Quick Look around the grand Plaza

We headed straight down the main walkway towards the Grand Plaza. We were all just so impressed by the beauty of the trees  towering above the sides of the lane. When wandering around Tikal you are surrounded by enormous trees which are home to toucans, parrots, wild turkeys, howler monkeys, raccoon-like coatimundis and countless other wild animals. 

After about a 20 minute walk we were in the Grand Plaza where some of most impressive temples are found, The Grand Jaguar and Temple II plus the Acropolis Central and Acropolis Norte.

There in one of the trees were some really interesting birds, Crested guans. These were eating the ripe berries and not at all concerned by the humans nearby. Scurrying along the remains of Acropolis Central were a troop of spider monkeys. We wandered around enjoying it all and then headed back to the Tikal Inn to relax poolside and have a lovely dinner.  

The first day in Tikal

The next morning we set out to cover as much of the Southside of the park as possible. Taking the left side pathway we walked for about 25 minutes till we reached Templo VI. 

Estimated to have 1st been populated by the Maya in about 900 BC. Tikal grew into an important ceremonial, cultural, and commercial centre over the centuries. Most of the city’s huge temples were constructed during the eighth century AD when Tikal became the greatest city in the Maya world with a population of perhaps 100,000.

Tikal started to decline at the end of the ninth century and was virtually abandoned. The causes of the Maya empire’s collapse remain a mystery, but wars, famine, overpopulation and resource depletion have all been blamed. Our guide, Almando, (that we had for the sunrise) believes that it was over population which depleted the water supply, deforested and killed off the wildlife thus the whole city system failed. And we tended to agree with him, just looking at the world today…..

Templo VI is know as Temple of the inscriptions due to its hieroglyphics that cover the whole back of the shrine. 

We then followed the Calzada Mendez pathway. Some scholars believe this is the original entrance roadway to the city. It led us to Palacio de las Acanaladuras – Grooved Palace otherwise known as G group. 

The palace has proved walls representing grandeur and luxury at the time. There were many different chambers which again are unique. The entrance is through a tunnel which represented a mouth of the “witz monster”.

Next was the Plaza de los Siete Templos/Plaza of the Seven Temples. This is renowned for its triple ball court built by Yikin Chan Kawil.

From there we followed the path to Temple V which is very impressive at a height of 184ft. It is the earliest of the temples it had been decorated with the rain and sun gods, but most of these hieroglyphs  have eroded with the ages.

 

Our stop for lunch was near Mundo Perdido, aka Lost World and Plaza de la Gran Piramide, the great Pyramid plaza as it is known.

As we ate lunch we had Coatimundis all around, some even tried to sneak up behind us to get some tip bits. 

We followed lunch by climbing the wooden stairs to the top of the Grand Pyramid. It is the oldest pyramid in Tikal and the Mundo Perdido, Lost World dates back to 400BC. 

The next stop for us was Templo Talud- Tadlero followed by Palacio De Los Murcielagos – Bat Palace or Palace of the Windows where we could see wonderful stone carvings that still survive. 

 

Our next stop was, Templo III the Great Priest Temple or Temple of the Jaguar Priest it remains unexcavated except for its “tower” which looms over the jungle at 180 feet. 

Meanwhile the monkeys both spider and howler monkeys were active above us. Pam spotted a pregnant spider monkey swigging through the tree tops.

We then climbed the stairway to the top of Temple II. This massive temple looks out over the Grand Plaza giving a superb view across to Temple I the Grand Jaguar Temple and out over the jungle. 

Our last exploration of the day was to the South Acropolis, it is gigantic. There is a central temple, platforms, terraces, and palaces all set up high looking down on the Central Plaza.

Here the highlight for me was getting a close up look at a Keel-Billed Toucan. I was exploring the rear of the complex and there it was searched beautifully in front of me.

Back at Tikal Inn we relaxed poolside, congratulated ourselves for walking just over 20,000 steps and enjoyed a lovely evening.

Day two around Tikal

In the early hours of the morning at the ungodly hour of 3:30 we had to arise to meet our guide Almado at 4:10am. He lead us through the jungle towards Temple IV for the sunrise. The problem was it was raining, which was quite disappointing, but nothing could be done about it….. While walking we chatted to our guide while he gave us more info about Tikal and the wildlife. 

At the temple we climbed the stairs to the top, using the light from our flashlights we found seating at the very top, turned them off and awaited the dawn.

Dawn came slowly, the rain eased somewhat and we could hear the jungle awaken. The noisiest were the Howler Monkeys, they were roaring as only howlers can do.

Around 7:00am we made our way down and followed our guide. He knew we were interested in the wildlife and found for us Keel-Billed Toucans and Montezuma Oropendolas to watch as they dried off from the rain in the trees above us. 

We all opted to return to Tikal Inn for breakfast and a nap.

After which we set off again this time to follow the pathways we had yet to explore.

Taking the right hand branch of the pathways we headed to Complex Q and R, known as the Twin Pyramid groups.

These again comprise of palaces, stelas, ball courts, altars and pyramids, but all distances from each other. 

The pathway we were following was called Calzada Maler/Mendez, the original city roadway. It led us next to Zona Norte, Complex O, and P plus Group H. Many of these are still to be excavated, but comprise of platforms, buildings, a temple shrines and more. These were apparently finished around 751AD. 

From there we had a 25 minute walk to reach Temple IV again. As it was now sunny I wanted to reclaim and see the view across the jungle in sunshine.

At the top it was a wonderful view across the jungle to all the other temples. Such a magical view!

Back down we had but one area to visit, Acropolis Norte, which dates back to 250BC.

It too is made up of many platforms, temples, rooms and altars. It faces the Central Plaza and is still under excavation and restoration. 

By that time we were all truly tired, that day we walked over 21,000 steps. Back at the Tikal Inn we relaxed poolside, ate a delicious dinner and crashed out.

Flores

The following morning we had arranged for a taxi to collect us and take us to Flores. Our taxi driver stopped along the way for us to get views of the lake, Lake Peten Itza, the 3rd large lake in Guatemala.

It is a beautiful lake and looks just like the ocean with its colors.

In Flores we had booked the Los Amigos Hostel and Secret Garden for 2 nights. This is a wonderful place to stay as long as you do not mind hostels.

We each had a private room and bathroom, John and I were in the annexed building nearby. The decor is to my eye wonderfully colourful and the food is International and we found it excellent. 

After a delicious lunch we set off to walk around Flores. Flores is an island which is joined by a causeway to the mainland.

It is jam packed with colourful buildings, tiny alleyways and loads of character so we were not disappointed. 

Our final day we chose to visit the market on the mainland, – San Benito. The market is quite large and caters to the locals with no other tourists around you know it is authentic.

There is absolutely everything there you could think of needing, I managed to buy an unpicker for sewing, Pam the local apron she had been wanting, Don and John local shirts.

I just love wandering around markets and seeing everything on offer.

Our last day was traveling back to Rio Dulce on the tourist shuttle. It was a bit cramped but leaving early we were back at the boat by early afternoon. Oh what a wonderful few days we had in Tikal. 

You have no control over how your story begins or ends. But now, you should know that all things have an ending. Every spark returns to darkness. Every sound returns to silence. Every flower returns to sleep with the earth. The journey of the sun and moon is predictable. But yours, is your ultimate art. – Suzy Kassem

 

Click HERE for Photo album–>>  https://photos.app.goo.gl/U3ZxpScqjAy6GZ6f6

After our our road trip it was back to life as usual. Boat work to be dealt with, activities at Catamaran, meeting up with friends, walks along the pipeline road, so forth and so on…..

Boat work:

John built a new “shelf” in the bow of the dinghy. Our old one had been plywood and had begun to rot so the new one he built is fiberglass. Now why do we need the shelf? Well, when we have shopping we can have it on the shelf and keep it dry. Plus we can fasten the cooler in the bow to again use it to transport supplies.

Plus he built us new sole – flooring for the galley. The old was soft and he feared it would collapse into the bilge.

Medical / Dental

We both had “medical” issues. John developed an infection in or above one of his molars. This caused him agony, so he had an emergency root canal, but the pain still continued for a few days. He was on antibiotics and his face swelled up and up. He really looked a sight! But all is good now.

Meanwhile I had a cyst that became infected on my back. When it got huge and angry I had to go to the local clinic. There is not a hospital and the only available doctor is at the clinic. Well he had me lay down on my tummy on a examining table in a back office. He then proceeded to numb the cyst area. He cut the cyst and the infection out. Apparently it was very deep, meanwhile he called in the others working at the clinic to watch, I guess to learn. He did a brilliant job! 2 weeks later after I followed his instructions and John attended to them, there was hardly a mark left! And not a stitch was sewn!

Chico meanwhile is very happy wandering around Catamaran Marina

El Bongo work:

John again was involved in the El Bongo work party. When we had last been at the school JoAnne and I had taken measurements for the desk/seats and tops. There were many worn out, broken desks and chairs even the ones in use were in a rough state. We found out that the “good” ones were for the children whose parents had made them specially for their little ones. So the new project was to repair all the damaged and broken desks and chairs.

A work party set up near the Bodagas and work area here at Catamaran, power tools were shared and from 4 large sheets of plywood they cut enough seats and desk tops for 40 to be repaired. The work party cut, sanded and then applied numourous coats of varnish. They then set off for a morning at the school to replace the broken and worn with new varnish seats and desk tops. I never went but everyone said all went brilliantly and everyone was very happy.

Now another team here at the marina is making enough tops and seats to repair and replace even more desks and seats!!

Birthday fun

Here at the marina we had a several Birthday celebrations, one was for our dock master Steve. It was a surprise and set up by the staff and cruisers combined. There was lots  of food and fun for everyone!

Shrimp and bread

We have also been fortunate to have had several weeks of shrimp and yummy bread deliveries. The shrimp were delivered by a local fisherman and were just huge and delicious. The breads were both lemon bread and carrot cake/bread which were delicious.

These were made by a group of cruisers who were raising money for their musical theatre where they teach the local children. Now the shrimp season is over and the bread folks have moved on.

Halloween on the Rio and Day of the Dead in Guatemala 

We had a Halloween for all the children living in the marinas around the Rio Dulce. Each marina offered something different and the dinghies loaded with the kiddies zoomed from one to the other to enjoy treats, fun and games of all types.

It was quite a turn out with some excellent costumes worn by adults too.

This time of year is celebrated here in Guatemala with the Day of the Dead. The Day of the Dead, (El Dia de los Muertos), is a celebration that takes place every year on the first and second day of November in Guatemala and throughout Latin America. It is a day when Guatemalans remember and honour their dead loved ones and celebrate that they were able to meet them or to be part of their family.

We heard the locals clearing and prepping the graveyard across the water from our marina. We went over in the later afternoon to have a look at all the lovely decorations. There were a few families seated around their family grave and sharing food – having a picnic.

Our wonderful walks

Our walks started up again with the arrival of cooler temperatures. Yes, finally the temperatures are in the 80s during the day and the 70s at night so we can comfortably go for our long walks.

There has been a group of us going along the pipeline trail, actually venturing further than ever. We came across the water buffalo and have seen they are replanting the fields and harvesting the oil palm trees and rubber. 

And after the walk on Tuesday and Saturday we purchase our veggies at the village vegetable stand. The vegetables are just wonderful! – even the pigs agree!!

Friends

Friends have returned from the summer ventures abroad, and we have been meeting them to catch up with news. Living this life style means we have friends form all over the globe.

In the end nothing we do or say in this lifetime will matter as much as the way we have loved one another. – Daphne Rose Kingma

Its not about perfection. Its about purpose. – Beyonce 

 

PHOTO ALBUM–>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/d9RppEUa41sQBGji6

Lake Atitlan

Also known as Lago de Atitlan, reputed to be one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, is about 1,500m above sea level. It is completely surrounded by soaring volcanic mountains and volcanos; is seven miles long and three miles wide with an average depth of 200m.

Panajachel

On our first day at the lake we decided to explore Panajachel in the  morning. As the largest town near Lake Atitlan, Panajachel (also known as Pana) is sort of the hub for the area. We started out by wandering along the water front with it’s lovely views across the lake.

It was then up one of the main tourist shopping lanes stopping to admire all the wonderful textiles, woodwork and crafts on offer.

Next stop was the market where every manor of spice, fruit and veg was for sale, plus clothing and bunches of plastic items.

Markets are just fascinating, I could wander around them for hours if able, John soon tires. 

So then we were off to a coffee shop where we all enjoyed refreshments and planned what we would do for the afternoon….

A launcha to a few of the neighboring villages

We decided to risk the weather and take a launcha to a few of the neighboring villages. The launcha ride took us along the lake shore passing some lovely looking homes, obviously homes of the wealthy.

Santa Catarina Palopo

Our 1st stop was Santa Catarina Palopo where all the buildings were decorated in blues, turquoises, yellow and green geometric designs. Why was this, well apparently Santa Catarina Palopo is currently being transformed by a community-based art project called the “Pintando Santa Catarina”. As the project grows, the village is being transformed into a colorful masterpiece, decked out in traditional Mayan patterns using vivid, eco-friendly limestone paint.

The patterns represent the town’s ancient textiles that are usually found woven into the garments/clothing of the indigenous people. This project is primarily designed to raise local pride and attract tourists in order to market the local textiles and crafts.

The effort has effectively raised money for the whole community and everyone has profited. I just loved the designs and the uplifting image they had on the town in general. We had an hour here to wander around,  and to enjoy refreshments, unfortunately it was drizzling, but no matter it was very enjoyable.

San Antonio Palopo

The next village we went to on our launcha was San Antonio Palopo. This village is inhabited by Maya cakchiquel people. It is known for its pottery and weaving of textiles. As we approached we could see that much of the agriculture was on shelving terraces depending the mountainside. We had seen this before in Peru where they too have to farm steep slopes.

At the dockside was a local Maya lady who was introduced as a guide. We walked with her along the lakeside lane until we can to a pottery. There we went in and had a look at the very colourful beautifully hand-painted wares.

We were then guided up a very steep lane until we came to a small weavers. There we had a look at the different materials, they were all so beautiful.

We ended up buying a large piece that was in purples which I now use to cover our bed. Then before I knew it the ladies had a beautiful poncho shaped shawl over my shoulders. It was woven in wonderful blues with the lightest of threads, of course I needed to purchase it too. John was not left out as he was shown a really smart shirt of local design which he purchased and loves.

Saying our adios to the ladies we then passed by the church, but as there was a service in session we did not enter.

The view from in front of the church was wonderful, but with the drizzly weather we didn’t linger.

Our guide led us down all the tiny back lanes to the launcha area where we had, more refreshments – a drink waiting for the heavier rain to abate.

Off to Huehuetenango

The next morning we set off for the next leg of our road trip following the Pan-American Highway – the CA1 148 odd kilometers to Huehuetenango.

The steep climb from Panajachel afforded us wonderful views of the lake. The weather was just perfect.

We stopped at the Mirador/viewpoint for photos. And really the photos do not do the view justice. It is just magnificent!

The CA1 road proved to be somewhat worn with areas of massive potholes where it looked like the land under the road had subsided.

The scenery was a mix of forested slopes and busy towns that we passed through. We skirted Quetzaltenango the second capitol of Guatemala, it was a very busy area.

After several hours we entered Huehuetenango.

Huehuetenango

Huehuetenango  is found  at the foot of the Cuchumatanes Mountains in Guatemala’s Western Highlands. Known affectionately as “Huehue” (pronounced: wayway), by locals, and foreigners that find Huehue easier to say, the town lies in a valley ringed by mountains.

Huehue is a busy town, but it has a relaxed atmosphere despite the fact that it’s a hub for trade and transport in northwest Guatemala. As it is a departmental, (area/zone), capital, making it busy with coffee farmers, traders, and travelers heading to or from the western border with Mexico. Its location make it a great place to base our visit to a few nearby attractions.

Once we arrived we drove around looking for somewhere to park, the “roads” in the town are incredibly narrow and with folks crossing, wandering and bargaining in them it was quite a squeeze. Once parked we walked to the town square to follow the directions as to where the Airbnb was located.

Our third Airbnb

As advertised it was close to the center of town, we entered the gate and followed the path, crossed a field with a cow grazing, past a pen of very excited dogs and found our home for the next few nights. The house-keeper and her husband met us, she showed us around and he showed John and Chris where to bring the car. All this was conducted with our limited Spanish and they having no English.

The Airbnb really was a piece of the country in the town, very, very rustic, but adequate. That evening we had wanted to eat out, but the rain was unrelenting so we rustled up some food we had, ate in and played a game of “Town and Country”. Oh and yes it was chilly….

And on to Todos Santos in the Western Highlands 

Come morning we headed into the Western Highlands towards Todos Santos. This drive was stunning! The views and scenery were just a visual feast, the road wound around and up.

We stopped at Mirador Juan Dieguez Olaveri which as its name implies is a lookout/viewpoint. This was a magnificent view, admittedly the clouds kept drifting across, but it was still stunning.

Found here was also a wonderful coffee shop, that looked like a Swiss chateau, so we all had a hot drink and pastry which was delicious. Yes, it is chilly enough for a hot drink!

Back on the road we continued to head up and up, all the way past the clouds it seemed to go. We were over 10,000 feet above sea level!

Finally we seemed to reach the “top” and eventually we emerged on  what is best described as high plateau.

There we saw many flocks of sheep with a shepherd or two attending them and farms with fields of what looked like cauliflower growing. Plus areas looked boggy almost reminiscent of southern Irish landscape. But then plants growing and the flowers that seemed out of place in this landscape.  

The roadway started to wind downward around sharp bends towards the valley where our destination was located.

Todos Santos Cuchumantan

We reached Todos Santos  our destination and followed tiny roadways till we found Parque – aka – carpark. Todos Santos  as mentioned is located in Guatemala’s Western Highlands in the department/zone of Huehuetenango. 

Why visit this town? Todos Santos’ isolation has helped keep its Mayan traditions alive, and rightfully so, the town’s residents are proud of their traditions.

These Mayans still speak the Mayan language of Mam, one of the oldest Mayan languages and it’s one of the few places in Guatemala where you can see locals wearing traditional attire. For the men, it’s a Tipicos that means red pants with white stripes and a shirt that has a large and colorful woven collar, plus colourful accents on both sides. Some men also wear half-length black chaps over their pants, and wide-brimmed hats with blue ribbons.

The women wear purple blouses called huipiles and dark blue skirts. Both men and women carry a specially woven handbag.

Not everyone dresses this way, but I had read that chances were good that we would see at least a few people in traditional costume. We were not disappointed as we strolled around, many of the men and women were in the traditional attire, some of the little boys too. It really is eye-catchingly elegant.

Our starting point was by the town center where we saw the church, Todos Santos Cuchumatan’s church.

Next we wandered the lanes and alleyways of the market. Once again the market was fascinating, especially the stalls/tiendas selling the fabrics. However like most markets there is just everything you need for sale, the choices are extreme from hunks of meat to all forms of spices, sweets, shoes or clothes, you can find it all.

We found from talking to the locals that it takes a few weeks to make the traditional clothes. You start by having to be specially measured and fitted. The cloth is woven, the fabric sown and the embroidery attached. I just loved the hats and bags and ended up buying one of the colourful bags.

We ended up at the main plaza where it was excellent to people watch the residents going about their daily lives, wearing the most lovely clothing that is so similar but also so individual too.

Our drive back unfortunately entailed driving for a ways through the thick clouds. The clouds had fallen in the higher elevations and formed a very misty cover making visibility less easy. Passing the areas in the mountains where there were “mementos” to persons killed some horrible accident it was easy to understand how this can happen.

In Guatemala there are few if any precautions taken to stop anyone driving off the roads. In fact passing on bends is quite a reality of driving here, you never know what might come tearing around the bend.

That evening was spent going out for an early dinner and quiet reading back at our Airbnb. We were heading back to Lake Atitlan the next day.

What stunning landscapes we had been fortunate enough to see. 

There are only moments. Live in this one. The happiness of these days. – Kate Millett 

I am sure there are other versions of happiness, but this one is mine. – Lynsey Addario