We last posted from Antigua after an exciting visit from our parents and Adam's sister. Since then we joined back up with a couple of travelers from the states who are on a similar timeline as us, Danny and Jody. We headed out of Antigua with them and met up in Coban to do a bit of traveling together.
We first stopped off at Semuc Champey, a beautiful site in the junglelike highlinds of Guatemala. Tracy and I visited an orchid nursery containing over 400 types of orchids (only about a third were in bloom). We (minus Tracy who doesnt do things that require her head to go under water, except with snorkel gear) took a tour of a cave that was about 2 hours long, half swimming and half walking. The only light was that oif candles which we had to hold over our heads while swimming. Caves are remarkable places and this one was no let down. Bats do, however, give Adam nightmares, resulting in more than one girlish squeal.
From there we hit the highlight, a series of pools on a natural limestone bridge than runs across a river that is deep and an amazing valley. The water is crystal clear with white and turquoise tints and is amazingly beautiful. Unfortunately, we were swinging from a rope swing into the river when Adam went in sideways and burst his eardrum.
We hit the northermost state of Guatemala where we found Mayan ruins dating back to 1000 b.c. We first hit Tikal, the most famous of the Mayan ruins and then the following day we hit Yaxha, a lesser known but equally impressive set of ruins that are much more difficult to get to. Being do-it-yourselfers, we passed on the tours and took local transportation and tried to hitchhike the remaining 11kms. However, hitchhiking is much easier when vehicles actually pass you, so instead we got a good workout. Luckily, we were able to talk our way into an employee of the national park's truck to get a ride out.
From Flores we passed into Belize where we still remain and are exploring the offerings of the country. We knew it would be odd to be in an English speaking country, but we grossly underestimated just how interesting and beautiful Belize would be. The majority of the country are descendants of Africans, brought to what is now Belize to be slaves. However, one group, the Garifunas, successfully resisted the enslavement and still thrive as a wonderfully interesting culture with its own language, foods and traditions to this day. Pockets of Mayan groups, hispanic groups, Asians and Mennonites exist throughout the country in a very visible way.
We first spent time in Caye Caulker (pronounced, key corker), a small island overflowing with local life (and snorkeling/diving trips). We were fortunate enough to arrive about a week after lobster season opened up. Neither of us had previously tasted lobster, but after a few days on the island we had eaten at least 3 or 4 of them, lobster burritos and other lobster dishes served with a Caribbean flare of lots of spices and often coconut rice (as a side note, Adam and coconut have had a long held disdain for one another, however, during this trip they have had several long talks and sorted out their differences and now look longingly at one another, especially when coconut decides to flavor lobsters or rice or any other seafood dish. Adam remains suspicious of coconut's cousin, dried coconut in a plastic bag). We also were able to enjoy the wonders of the barrier reef by snorkeling with sting rays, eagle rays, at least 100 species of tropical fish, nurse sharks, manatees, turtles, moray eels (got to see the eel fight a fish, the eel won because he has really sharp, scary teeth), barracuda (scary in the water, delicious on a plate as we were served this guy as part of one of our Garifuna dishes), conchs, lobster, lots of reef, and more.
A nurse shark swims by right before we jump into the water.
Island life.
We headed to Hopkins from the island. On the way we stopped off for a locally famous treat, a tour of the Marie Sharp hot sauce factory. After setting our mouths on fire, we settled into our room on the beach and basically sat in a hammock on the edge of the warm Caribbean water for a couple of days. Hopkins is a small town with much beauty. The Caribbean gets top billing, but the people make the place. Warm people, most of Garifuna descent, greet you as you walk the streets and excitedly serve their local dishes. No one moves too fast and others are encouraged to move at a similar speed. (at this point in our trip, we don't really do fast, so we think we fit in).
We can't seem to get enough of this new local culture and the amazing food, so who knows when we will move on, but we will try to throw more updates up as we move along. Our time is getting short, so we will try to share as much as possible along the way.
Go slow.
