Guatemala- San Pedro La Laguna at Lake Atitlan, Belize-Placencia

1/18/11 - 1/27/11

Our second week+ of travels seem to have come and gone quickly but with plenty of fun and memory making. We ended up extending our stay in San Pedro la Laguna at Lake Atitlan for a total of 5 wonderful nights. We spent our days kayaking to neighboring villages where locals and tourists soak up sun on the steep cliffs, bartering in the markets, walking the long dusty road to and from the center of town, and hopping a boat to explore the neighboring town's (Panajachel's) wildlife sanctuary and local vibe.

our bungalow is the little one on the right

Casa Lobo on Lake Atitlan was our first place with a small kitchen which we used excessively.  It's nice to get a break from eating out all the time. We cooked lots of big breakfasts and dinners (lots of fresh veggies from the market, sweet locally grown fruits, fresh home-made breads, eggs...and of course....beans) that we enjoyed at our lake-front table. I've never seen people who eat so many beans....and yet....we never knew how delicious they could be...Especially with the local hot-sauce we discovered that we carry with us everywhere.  Besides beans....ice-cream is consumed more than we've ever experienced (even in my own home where my mom and I find it a fun challenge to make sure we eat at least a bowl a day when we're together)....I'm trying to get Adam to see how eating the thick, sweet, cold, deliciousness daily is supporting the Central American dairy farmers and the culture of the people...I think it's starting to work :)


The only thing we weren't crazy about at our bungalow were the spiders. We came back one afternoon to find the BIGGEST, blackest, long legged creeper I've seen in a long time hanging out mid-wall enjoying the afternoon....we had no choice but to murder him.  As animal fans we normally would try to trap him and release...but not this sucker.  He was too quick and it took us a solid 20 minutes and lots of jumping on chairs and fearful squealing (yelling on Adam's part) to kill the thing.  Spiders normally don't bother me...this one was different. I had nightmares for days that they were cuddling with me in my sheets....

may he rest in peace.....

San Pedro La Laguna at the lake is a very interesting town to spend a week if you ever get the chance.  While our bungalow was a bit out of town, the main village was full of action.  People from all over the world have come to settle here and start their business on the lakeside fringes.  There are outdoor yoga studios, massage therapies, smoothie and sandwich cafe's, bars, horseback riding tours and foreigners promoting the benefits of soaking in their hot spring tubs off the lake shores.

hard day at the office

San Pedro La Laguna lies at the foot of Volcano San Pedro (3020 meters or nearly 10,000 ft) up.  As the volcano is part of a national park, we paid an entrance fee which got us Juan....our small and impressively quick-footed guide for our hike on Friday the 21st.  The trail runs through fields and fields of lush green avocado trees and thick coffee bean bushes.  We were surprised to see how many tasty avocados were lying helplessly on the ground as we hiked past...(Juan helped us stuff a few in our pack for later).  The top gave us a great view of Lake Atitlan and surrounding mountains and volcanos.  San Pedro's peak sits 1000 meters lower than our last volcano hike (Santa Maria/Santiaguito) so we embraced the "easier" hike.  Our guidebook puts the hike at 7-8 hours but we were up and down in under 3 hours 45 minutes.  This was something we were quite proud of until later that day when poor Adam came down with what we found to be Altitude Sickness.  Altitude sickness is often brought on when one tries to ascend too quickly not giving enough time for your body to adjust to the air and altitude.  We weren't sure what it was at first....he didn't have a fever but his body felt frighteningly hot to touch and he shivered to no end like a bad flew.  After a couple of days and lots of water and Gatorade, the chills, aches, pains, and nausea has left!

Tarzan

Juan and Cait at the top of the volcano

On top of San Pedro Volcano..trying to figure out how we'll get down

That Friday after our hike (before we understood how sick Adam was) we had committed ourselves to massages with Juan's friend down by the lake.  All over the lakeshore massages are advertised for $13-$15 per hour.  Naturally, we thought we should support the local guys (Juan's friends) over the colonized gringos. What Juan didn't tell us (and I failed to inquire about) was what type of massages these would be.  We were taken to a little bungalow right off the lakeshore for our pampering.  I knew immediately that something was "off".  I looked over at Adam who was smiling sleepily ear to ear as a beautiful, Mayan skinned local rubbed him down with fresh lavender scented oils.  I had Marcos. Marcos was a Mayan Spiritual Guide.  My massage started with excruciating pain applied to all my fingers and toes, one by one by one.  From there, Marcos tapped....literally tapped all over my body.  There was no pressure with this tapping...just light, painfully ticklish, feathery fingers and mumbled words.  The tapping was incredibly uncomfortably and I had to really focus not to laugh uncontrollably the entire time.  Part way through I hinted that this wasn't the massage for me by asking about the type Adam was getting...no luck.  He actually tapped all over my stomach...I've never had my body tense for so long.  At the end he "knew I could feel the energy" as I had sweated through my hair...little did he know I'd just showered slash was so uncomfortable I couldn't breathe most of the time.  When my hour of tapping was finally up...relief and the comedy of it set it...next time I'll ask specifics!


After our five days at San Pedro La Laguna on the lake were up, it was time for another bus ride.  This time we went cross country for 10.5 hours (bottom of Guatemala) to Puerto Barrios (right on the coast close to Belize).  Another interesting bus trip but this time we got a smaller shuttle for part of it (though we missed the herds of people piling onto the bus at every stop to sell us fruits, plantain chips, cold drinks, or mini home-made pineapple pies).  I've never felt so victorious convincing a bus driver to pull over and let me run off in the woods to pee (praying I'm missing my feet on the steep downhill slope).  These are long bus rides and I can't seem to give up morning coffee!



Fortunately upon arrival, we didn't have to spent too much time in Puerto Barrios (the dirtiest and most non-welcoming town we've visited).  We checked into our filthy $9 room, covered ourselves in bug-spray, and grabbed a drink with a very sweet couple we traveled with that day.  Early the next morning we were Belize bound!  Hopped a serious of buses and boats to get there (very pleasant and easy trip). Crossing boarders is a joke.  No questions, no bag checks, just $10 to leave Guatemala and a stamp to enter Belize.

The town of Puerto Barrios

We got to Placencia, Belize just after 2pm on Monday the 24th.  What a spectacular little haven! Placencia is a small fishing village on a thin and sandy beach freckled with palm trees and fallen coconuts.  Just what we wanted! Here in Belize, our town is home to not only dark skinned Mayans but also beautiful black Creole and Garifuna people. We were greeted by a local who offered us a beach front cabana for $25 a night (hot water and perfect view included).  We threw down our packs down, threw on our suits, and threw ourselves in the blue green Caribbean waters.

right out front of our bungalow

making friends

fresh coconut in front of our hut

Spending the last few days in Placencia have been a fabulous time.  We've met many gringos who left their lives elsewhere to make this quiet town their home....very tempting!  One couple we met along the beach took us up to their mansion, gave us the grand tour, offered tons of advice on local must-sees, gave Adam the low-down on NFL playoffs and sent us off with a  bottle of Mango Vodka as apparently that is very expensive here (we haven't touched it yet).   We've spent the mornings drinking hot coffee on the beach and sampling delicious goodies from the Belgium cafe.  Our days are filled with bicycling, taking a break from the hot sun with cool swims in the ocean, and learning the proper way to machete through coconuts for the sweet milk and nutty center.  Evenings have been spent with our toes in the sand and mouths stuffed with delicious burritos at the "Tipsy Tuna" 100 ft from the bungalow and enjoying the sunset at the dock down the way. We're looking forward to our next stop in Dangriga where we'll take a ferry to Tobacco Caye for a few days.  Missing you all and wishing you were here!

Love, Adam and Cait

beautiful big starfish all over the ocean floor

town of Placencia