Quito, Galapagos, and End of the Road

See our Quito-Galapagos album at
Quito-Galapagos Album#
Ecuador has been the subject of much travel buzz for the last year or so as "The new Costa Rica"--beautiful, cheap, exotic, hospitable, and expat-friendly.  We saw none of that.  For us, Ecuador was Quito as a jumping-off point for the Galapagos.  Ecuador needs a second visit!

Quito
Quito, a lesser prize of Spanish plunder, is a modern city with a colonial core (like Lima and Cusco).  We stayed in the modern financial district, though, which was pretty much closed up for the weekend when we arrived.  The blowing litter and shuttered store fronts made us think of home; it looked sort of like Detroit, but with fewer wig shops.

We met our guide, Roberto, who would shepherd us through our week in Ecuador, and Sylvia, who would show us around the Quito portion.  Roberto gathered us together in a hotel meeting room for our orientation get-together. Sandy was feeling a bit puny, though, and didn't attend.  We didn't know it then, but an emergency room visit with an IV antibiotic drip was in her immediate future.  Roberto lacked the optimistic enthusiasm of Pavel in Peru, but he was a serious man with a great sense of humor--a wonderful combination.   He was a university-trained  experienced naturalist and third-generation Galapagan--just the sort of expertise we would need in the Archipelago.  But Quito?

Sylvia: Cute as a guinea pig!

But we had Sylvia!--young, bubbly and and effusive, passionate about her city, and cute as a guinea pig.  Roger wanted to put her in his pocket and take her home with us. Linda said no. She handled the goofy gringo tourist portion in Quito while Roberto took care of more serious business, like taking Sandy and big sister Linda to the clinic, arranging for hotel doctor visits, scouring the city for pharmacies in the middle of the night--that sort of thing.

We visited the Middle of the World, sort of a geographic Disneyworld just outside of Quito. It sits squarely on the Equator (marked with a prominently painted red line, so you can't miss it), and we were treated to all manner of physical demonstrations of equatorial oddities. There was a cultural element, too, like the shrunken heads.  We saw a mummified sloth head (see album) and then the park guide displayed a wooden box, from which he removed with great solemnity a shrunken human head of a long-dead native chieftain.  "But you cannot take pictures," Sylvia warned us.  It was out of respect, the park guide said.  We're not making this up.  Roberto watched the whole circus with detached bemusement.  His feet might have been in Quito, but his heart was in the Galapagos. 

The Galapagos

Our Galapagos portion of the trip began with an early morning flight. Service was quite wonderful, with Roberto handling our bags and even our boarding passes. By this point we had become well-trained group travelers dependent on our leader, much like a group of three-year-olds,"What are we doing today? What should we wear? What's for dinner? Is it bedtime yet?" Docile, but not totally tamed.

By lunch, we were aboard the Tip Top II, a small ship built to hold exactly 16 travelers. Our routine aboard the ship included fine food and two or three excursions daily. The ship's two zodiacs would ferry us to shore for hikes, or to various rocky reefs for snorkeling. We were busy and active, but had plenty of time to lounge about the ship, much like the chubby sea lions on the beach. Our Cipro consumption dropped, and everyone returned to our pre-trip levels of well-being (Welcome back, Sandy!).

The islands were astounding. This is not a terrific description, but vocabulary constraints keep us from describing them accurately. The Galapagos are inhabited by 38,000 people, but 97% of the land is a national park, under very strict control. No one may visit without a naturalist guide, and the islands are pristine. We saw other tour groups, but not many, since access to each island is strictly monitored. Animals were everywhere, and had no fear of people at all. We tried to stay the requisite 6 feet from the animals, but they were often right on the trail. Roberto knew them all, and our heads spun with the names of dozens of birds and lizards. The sea lions, giant tortoises, and absolutely precious blue footed boobies were our favorites, as you can tell from our photo album. Thank God for digital cameras. If we had been shooting photos with film we would have spent a fortune.

How was the snorkeling? Even better than the hiking. As a prelude to this, you should know that Linda is an ocean wuss. As soon as she's in water over her head, thoughts of giant squid, great white sharks, and swift undertows throw her into a near-frantic, gasping wreck. It isn't the best state of mind to enjoy an underwater experience. Fortunately for us, Roberto owns a dive shop and is a skilled diver and group leader. Confidence in him made all the difference between panic and pleasure. The animals were close to us and abundant. In addition to schools of spectacular fish, we watched huge sea turtles munching sea algae, sting rays gliding below us, and (gasp) hammerhead sharks. Linda's biggest thrill of the trip occurred when a playful sea lion swam up to her and touched her mask with its whiskered nose. Yep, she'll want to snorkel again! The only unpleasant event was Roger losing his wedding band in 35 feet of water. At least that's the story he told Linda. No ladies, he's NOT available.

We had five days aboard ship, hiking, swimming, eating, and sunning. What a wonderful way to wrap up this trip! We headed back to Quito for a farewell dinner and our flights home. Thankfully Roberto did not give a heart-wrenching speech, so we laughed instead of cried. It was an amazingly full three weeks. We made good friends, got lots of exercise, and saw sights we had dreamed of for a lifetime. What a great trip!

Coming up next January: South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. You'll hear from us then!

Peruvian Andes

A Post-trip Blog Retrospective: Adventures in The Peruvian Andes and the Galapagos Archipelago  in an action-packed trilogy in two parts!

We had neither time nor Internet access in South America, so we're catching up with two post-posts from the safety of Detroit, all things being relative. 

Click on our Peruvian album link at
Peru Album


We left the Amazon in the same way most intrepid explorers have departed--swarming with viruses, bacteria, and parasites.  The Amazon is an amazing ecosystem designed to consume or destroy everything that invades its turf, and we were gracious hosts; by the end of the trip we were all popping Cipro antibiotics as casually as breath mints after a dinner of roasted guinea pig. So we fourteen ticking time bombs returned to Lima, where we met Lee and Ellie, the couple from Tuscon who completed our tour group for the rest of our trip.

Our tour company, Overseas Adventure Travel, seems to be designed for Active Geezers, and they worked our asses off.  We took an early morning tour of the Incan Sun Temple, a feature of nearly every pre-Spanish Incan city, but we found it interesting in Lima because the sun rarely shines there.  The modern city was founded by Francisco Pizzaro on January 18, 1535, apparently because he liked the weather.  What he didn't realize is that the sun shines about four weeks a year (mid January to mid February, we're guessing), and the rest of the year it is dominated by a weather system known locally as garua, (Spanish for 'shitty weather').  Cool and drizzly, which doesn't seem fair for the tropics at sea level.

"I scored some fresh coca leaves..."

Roger had done his homework, and he began badgering our top-
notch Peruvian guide, Pavel, for access to fresh coca leaves. Pavel agreed that it is commonly (and legally) chewed by the indigenous population in the mountainous villages of the Andes, and its properties counteract altitude sickness, provide energy for arduous mountain hiking, and it constitutes an important part of the rural cultural heritage that we probably shouldn't miss during our Andean adventure. But in case we hadn't noticed, he kept reminding us, we were in the middle of a modern capital city. And we were at sea level.

Cusco and the Sacred Valley

Gonzalo Pizzaro: a Major Asshole

We then flew to Cusco for our Andean Adventure.  Cusco is the ancient Inca capital and is nestled in a valley at over 11,300 feet.  It was occupied by the notorious Pizzaro brothers shortly after the Conquest, and they plundered and raped and murdered with reckless abandon.  Not to be judgemental, here, but Gonzalo Pizarro, the youngest of the five, seems to have been a real asshole. 




Cusco is the jumping off point for throngs of tourists en route to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu--some via the four-day Inca Trail through the mountains, others by modern bus.  We were in the second group.  Our first stop in the Valley was the town of Pisac, where we arrived in the middle of a local native celebration.  As in Guatemala, their religion is a unique blend of pagan animism and Catholicism.  Our impression in Lima (and from what we had read), was that the Spanish ruthlessly crushed the native culture, religion, economy, and language.  True enough in Lima, but in the villages we realize that maybe the Spanish didn't do such a thorough job after all.  The celebration included a bizarre procession of music and dancing, with animal heads, monkey costumes, and masks with giant penis noses,  followed by a solemn float with a statue of the Virgin Mary.  Sort of like The Wicker Man meets The Song of Bernandette.  We then proceeded to the ruined Inca city of Pisac, located a couple of thousand feet above the town.  The Inca apparently built their cities among their mountain gods; the Spanish relocated them to the valleys. This was our first experience with Inca ruins, and we hiked along ancient wind-swept terraces, dodging the odd llama, with Andean pan-flute music wafting through the hills.  Pretty cool.
     We spent the night and a day at the town of Urubamba (yes, it is named for the river), where we visited a local school and had a lunch hosted by a local family.  We were served roasted cuy--guinea pig--which we believe to be  a local delicacy.  Either that, or it was the old "let's-feed-the-tourists-a- roasted-greasy-rodent-and-see- if- they-eat -it" trick.  We did.
     The next day we visited Ollantaytambo, a village as charming as its name.  We toured the ruins and astronomical sculptures in the hills above the town.  Add the glaciers shimmering in the distance, and the tableau is complete.  As great as this was, we knew it was just a prelude to the Big Banana the next day:  Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu
Never believe the travel tales that tell you the place you are about to visit has been ruined by tourism so don't waste your time.  We have heard those tales for nearly fifty years, and if we believed them we would not have gone anywhere.  It is the most transparent form of travel elitism.  Machu Picchu was fantastic (don't waste your time, though; it has since been ruined by rampant tourism!)

The trick to our great experience at Machu Picchu had much to do with the expertise and the timing of our tour company, Overseas Adventure Travel.  We caught a narrow gauge train at Ollantaytambo, traveled though magnificent canyons along the Urubamba River, and arrived at the town of Aguas Calientes shortly after noon.  Aguas Calientes is located at the base of the ruins, which is its only reason for existence.  It is the terminus of the rail line (the only access to Machu Picchu other than hiking the Inca Trail), and it is the site from which you board the park's buses, which run in a non-stop stream up 2000 ft. of switchbacks to the park entrance.  The criticism of Machu Picchu is that it is crowded with tourists.  The truth is, they limit the number to 2000 a day, and nearly all of these are day-trippers whose schedules are defined by the rail schedule from Ollantaytambo.  We were able to arrive at the park in late afternoon, as the throngs were leaving.  By the end of day, we were nearly alone.  We spent the night in a local hotel, and Pavel roused us at 5:00 am so we could be at the park when it opened, where we saw the sunrise and enjoyed the ruins WAY before the first tourists began arriving from Ollantaytambo.  Books have been written on the beauty and engineering marvel that is Machu Picchu (and a couple of really bad movies, too.  We do not recommend The Secret of the Incas starring Charlton Heston and notable as a particular stinker.)  So we leave it to what we hope are creditable pictures on our Picassa Album (link provided near the beginning of this post).

We returned to Cusco for our last night in Peru. Pavel, our trip leader, arranged a pre-dinner debriefing session in the hotel bar. Our Arno school friends would have recognized this as a "Sue Vokal year-end staff meeting". Sue, our principal, would ask us to share our positive thoughts about the past year, which really sounds pretty harmless. The meeting would quickly degenerate into teary heartfelt soul-bearing until the staff was emotionally exhausted, surrounded by piles of soggy tissues.  How does this translate to Peru? Pavel, the most sincere man EVER, had us sniveling with his gratitude that we had chosen HIS country, of all the places on earth, to visit. By the time we finished sharing our personal memories of Peru, we were blubbering like the audience of An Affair to Remember. A box of tissues later, we had pretty much recovered, and were ready for part three of the trip, Quito, Ecuador and the Galapagos. We're aiming for fewer tears and more animals. Read our next installment to see if we accomplish that!

Coming next:  Quito, Ecuador and the Galapagos Archipelago.

Roger and Linda in South America

Roger and Linda on the Road Again…in South America

see our linked album at Amazon#


Amazon Sunrise

Roger and Linda are back at it, on a three-week tour of the Amazon rain forest, Machu Picchu, and the Galapagos.  We're all packed up with micro-fiber travel clothes, more sophisticated electronic gear than the Mercury space missions, and we're carrying more drugs than a Detroit Middle schooler
This is our first group trip, and there is assembled here in the jungle an intrepid group of  fourteen adventurers.  There is among us a loose association of friends and friends of friends that comprise nine of the fourteen (the Michigan Mafia)—so even if the group turned out to be made up of total social misfits, we figured, they would be US.
The Cast, in order of aqppearance

The Michigan Mafia

Linda and Roger (your humble narrators)
Sandy-Linda's sister and, as it turns out, Roger's sister-in-law

Chris and Gary--life-long friends from Arizona, (formerly of Michigan)

Gail- Linda’s college roommate (with Chris) and fellow traveler

Carrie-Linda’s former colleague at Arno Elementary

Michele-Gail’s friend from Port Huron (and Roger’s former colleague)

Ellen-Michele’s friend from Port Huron

Our Fellow Travelers

Eric and Debbie, delightful couple from Staten Island—he a retired cop, she a retired school counselor.  They immediately bonded with the group and are as determined as the rest of us to suck every bit of fun out this excursion.

Nels and Tess, from Colorado---she retired last month and he a semi-retired engineer.  Nels is a real rocket scientist (No, we mean this literally.  He managed the guiding systems for all of NASA’s Mars missions.

Barb from Oklahoma—recently retired and bravely traveling singly.
One more couple- we'll meet them today.

Lima, Peru –where micro mini skirts continue to thrive

We arrived at our hotel around midnight on Saturday night, and everyone crashed immediately after a LONG day of traveling.  Except Roger, who on some flimsy pretext managed to wander the neighborhood around the hotel alone, attracted by the street bustle and the electric glow of the small casinos.  Like a moth to the flame.  Lima is home to over nine million people, many of them living in crowded, crushing poverty, we have heard.  You cannot prove it by us.  Our neighborhood is called Miraflores, a very upscale and cosmopolitan area of the city.  It is sort of like Detroit, but with clean sidewalks and throngs of well-dressed people on the streets after dark.  In case you were wondering what happened to the micro miniskirt fashion of the sixties and seventies, apparently they all migrated to Miraflores, where they host a convention on Saturday nights. Not exactly the third-world scene we were expecting, but an interesting experience nonetheless. Our city exploration time was short, but we managed to find a city park where 200+ cats are protected and fed by volunteers, a dog convention selling any clothing your shaggy pet might need, and a Zumba experience on the city streets.

The Amazon Rain Forest

On Monday morning we flew from Lima to Iquitos, a city of 700,000 in eastern Peru, deep in the Amazon basin.  Iquitos is accessible only by boat and by air (the largest city in the world with those attributes).  From Iquitos we took a boat upriver-- dodging floating tree trunks the size of, well, tree trunks--about an hour and half to our ecolodge called Exlporama.  The hotel was pretty basic—kerosene lighting in the rooms and cold showers—but the food was good and the thatched construction charming.

Our days have been packed with activities that sounded like fun, and have turned out to exceed all expectations. So far, we have fished for piranha (caught and ate some), Roger was gored by a catfish (flashback to India), we visited Monkey Island (where Carrie fell in love), hiked in the rainforest and walked the longest aerial canopy walkway in the world (119 feet high and astounding), bird~watched, saw a native shaman and got tattoos after our healing ceremony, visited a jungle clinic, went to an authentic village and market, and did a night~time boat trip (way-cool sounds!). We visited an enormous Cieba tree where our guide, Roger (yes…confusing!) promised we can swing like Tarzan, and took a night hike. That turned out to be more exciting than anticipated. We stopped walking to watch Roger (guide Roger) poke a tarantula with a stick (perfectly safe!), and those crafty fire ants saw their opportunity to chomp on North American flesh. We finished the hike, doing an ants-in-the-pants dance the whole way back, and hopping from foot to foot to prevent new one from latching on. If someone would have been filming this, it would have been the most popular viral youtube video yet. Whew…no wonder we’re tired, and that the blog is behind schedule! 

Tikal and Near the End of the Road

(see album link at Tikal Album#

 Our last guest has left and we fly home in less than a week. Obviously, it was time for a road trip.. After much discussion, we decided on a 2-day trip to the great Maya ruins at Tikal in the rain forests of northern Guatemala. Although it was short, it was a very full two days. We left the apartment at 4:00 am for an hour-long ride to the airport in the capital. As an internal flight, the plane left from a VERY different terminal from the modern international terminal.  It was a series of rusted quanset huts on the tarmac right out of a bad fifties movie. We made it through the laxest security EVER.  The only evidence of security was a sign (in Spanish) that firearms were prohibited.  Or maybe they were REQUIRED--our Spanish hasn't improved much. They didn’t even check our ID. The twin engine prop job took us to Flores, far in the north near the Mexican/Belize border, where we climbed aboard a shuttle for an additional hour- long ride to the park. We dropped off our bags at our hotel, then began our four-hour walking tour of the park with our trusty guide with the unfortunate name of Nixon. The plants, animals, spectacular ruins, and Nixon's running commentary kept us fascinated...what an amazing place!

We had a quick lunch and swim, then headed back to the ruins for a second, more leisurely look in the late afternoon. That's when we ran into a large troop of coatamundis. They were off in the distance, chattering on the road. Linda said, " Look at all those birds...no, monkeys...no, I don't know what they are." Roger countered with,"Anteaters? Maybe coatamundis?" We stopped worrying about their name as they started running toward us, and did out best to snap photos as furiously as the cameras would allow. When they got close to us, they veered into the trees and kept running until they noticed a small cistern filled with water. Suddenly, they were lined up, tails straight in the air, getting a drink. Cuter than cute. The enormous, intricate, ancient temples and pyramids had to take a back seat to cute wildlife yet again.

After an abbreviated night's sleep, we met Roxie, guide number two, at 4:30 am for a quick cup of coffee before we headed back into the park to see the sunrise. She guided us to temple 4, where we climbed many, many steps to the top, and silently sat with a handful of other tourists, waiting for the sun. On the eastern horizon we saw miles of rainforest, a handful of towering temples, and a breathtaking sunrise, listening all the while to birds and the roar of an occasional howler monkey. Perfection.

Roxie continued the tour with a detailed description of what is known about the Maya and their occupation of Tikal. She had done a number of archeological excavations at other sites in the Maya world, and knew a lot through her work and university studies. Our heads were spinning with information that we couldn't possibly retain, although we thoroughly appreciated and briefly understood it at the time. She pointed out all kinds of wildlife that we never would have seen without her expert eye. If you have a chance, find an audio file of howler monkeys. The noise is less a howl than a roar, and sounds just like a scary monster..check it out!  Roxie also gave us a lesson in ancient lime-making and food storage, so we're your go-to people after the apocalypse (remember to mark your calendars...the world ends December 21, 2012).  All in all, a terrific tour. An afternoon at the pool, meals, night flight back to Antigua, and our 2-day whirlwind was at an end.

The fun, however, was not over. Joan, our neighbor and new BFF, planned a pig roast with her Guatemalan friends Ian and Cuca on our terrace for Saturday night. Ian and Cuca had the arrangements made, so all we had to do was round out the guest list with people we sort of knew from our time here. So, Joan, Roger, and Linda boldly invited people that were our dearest Antigua friends, although many of them probably didn't quite know who we were. No matter...they all showed up, stayed the whole time, and we had a terrific time. The pig roast was spectacular. Be sure to look at the album to see to see the grill they assembled in our tiny courtyard--an engineering sight to behold. The chef was a wonderful cook, and the food was top notch. A GREAT night.

So, we are down to our last two days in town, cleaning out the fridge, buying a few souvenirs, and deciding where to eat our last meals. Not tough decisions. We plan to add one more post of a couple of photo albums that we haven't quite finished yet. Look for that in a day or few. After that, you probably won't get another post until July, when we head to Peru and Ecuador, so look for it then. Until then, adios amigos!

Gail's Guest Blog

(see picture album links at end of blog) 
Semana Santa

I am very happy to do this guest blog because it means I was able to partake of Linda and Roger's hospitality in this lovely city of Antigua during the most amazing time of the year - Semana Santa.  Linda met me at the airport in Guatemala City with their number one taxi driver, Kenny.  Kenny knew the shortcut back to Antigua, thereby avoiding the two hour traffic jams into Antigua, as families and visitors were arriving for Semana Santa.   Banks, schools and other businesses were closed from Wednesday through Monday.  Fortunately restaurants and stores remained open.  Linda, Roger and I, after a very good lunch at Cafe Condesa, wandered around town, looking at the alfombras, or carpets.  There are several processions every day and each has a prescribed route.  Anyone living or having a business on the route can make a carpet.  No permits are needed; there are no themes to follow nor are prizes awarded.  It truly is done as an expression of faith.  The carpets vary from a simple cross on a bed of pine needles to multi-colored ones made of dyed sawdust and decorated with flowers, mini- sculptures, animals and religious figures made from fruit and even the face of Jesus carved into the rind of a watermelon.  After the procession has passed over the carpet, city street sweepers follow and clean-up the remains.  If another procession is scheduled along that same route later that that day or the next, the families make another carpet. 

  The Procession

Every procession seems to include two floats.  The first has a statue of Jesus on it, looking to the right.  The floats are decorated anew each year, but the statue remains the same.  The same is true of Mary, who is on the second float.  The women decorate Mary's float; the men decorate Jesus'.  Included in the procession are bands, with clarinets, trumpets, baritones, tubas and drums, playing funeral-like dirges.  Jesus' float weighs 7000 pounds and is carried by 80 men, who may pay 40 Quetzales (about $5.00) for the privilege.  The tallest men carry for the first segment, usually one block, when the next group (the second tallest) takes over.  The transition is completed silently, as each carrier has been assigned numbers, indicating the corner where they begin carrying, and the exact spot on the float they are to carry.  The women carry Mary's float.  Mary's float is half of Jesus' - the cost, weight and number of carriers.  A procession may consist of 60 turns, so 80 carriers times 60 turns times many processions equals a lot of participants.  The men are garbed in purple robes and the women in black and white.  On Good Friday, after 3:00 pm both men and women wear black.  As we watched the processions, we saw fathers carrying their young sons on one arm as the other shoulder bore the weight of the float.  Likewise, with the women.  Young children also walked along side their parents, and were dressed like their parents.   Occasionally we saw someone on a cell phone and the Mahanic's neighbor, Joan, reported seeing one of the marchers snap a photo with his iPad, but generally there was a solemnity and non-commercialism to Semana Santa.  I took Elizabeth Bell's tour at 6:00 am on Good Friday, and we walked one of the procession routes, looking at over a hundred carpets.

 The Food

We have eaten delicious food here, often in a nearly empty restaurant.  Epicure and Don Martine treated us to a complimentary appetizer and dessert (tortilla soup and chocolate truffle at Epicure and eggplant ceviche and fruit platter with rum creme at Don Martine).  I took the cooking class at Pena de Sol Latino and highly recommend it, even though they did not give us aprons to wear that day.  I've taken many cooking classes and I probably did more hands-on prep than any previous classes.  I also took the class at the Chocolate Museum, where I did get an apron!  We ate at Hector's one night, which seems to be the unanimous choice as the best restaurant in Antigua.  Hector's seats 22; after a twenty minute wait, we were seated at the bar which offered a front row view of the kitchen and meal preparations.  The actual open floor space of this kitchen is about two feet by eight feet.  The head cook, prep person, hostess/waitress, dishwasher and even Hector are all in the area.  Their movements are the dance of a well-practiced ensemble, as they efficiently move in the tiny space.

 The Hiking

  On my first day we hiked to Cerro de la Cruz, for a nice overview of the city.  On Easter Sunday, we took the Earth Lodge shuttle to Earth Lodge, about a 20 minute ride, where we had understood we could hike safely.  Locals told us to avoid certain roads as the robbers are especially on the lookout during holidays.  We arrived at the drop off point, walked ten minutes uphill to Earth Lodge, only to be told that it was not safe to hike there, either.  Then one young woman said she had hiked earlier, along the same route we had just come, without any problems, but that we should probably not take our cameras because we would probably be relieved of them along the trail.  So we left our backpacks at Earth Lodge, retraced our path back to where the shuttle dropped us plus a little further, than back to Earth Lodge, where we arranged for the shuttle to take us back to Antigua.  Not quite what we had planned for the day but an interesting experience to see Earth Lodge.  Later that day, Linda and I walked through Santo Domingo, where a monastery that had been partially in ruins has been renovated into a beautiful hotel/restaurant/convention center  - it seemed the polar opposite of Earth Lodge, where (usually) younger people will go and volunteer for a bit in exchange for lodging.

The Hiking, Part II

On Monday, the tourist van picked us up at 6:00 am for the ride to Pacaya Volcano.  There were 11 of us on this bus and we were joined by an equal number at the start of the hike, led by a Guatemalan tourist guide.  The hike was advertised as an easy two hour hike.  However, for those who live in the flatlands of Michigan, it was not quite so easy, as we hiked up for over an hour to the top, which is at 8373 feet.  Accompanying us were three horses and their riders.  They kept saying to us (and by us I mean Roger, Linda and me) 'Taxi?'  I like to think we were at the end of the hikers because we were the sweepers of the hike, not because we were just a little slower than the twenty-somethings on the hike with us.  Finally Roger explained to them in his best and most polite Spanish that if he wanted a taxi he would let them know and to quit asking.  It was effective.  Pacaya was very windy at the top.  There was a small Lava Store, where one could purchase lava jewelry and other souvenirs, payable upon return to your hotel.  Our guide had sticks and marshmallows for roasting over one of the hot areas at the top.  Linda and I patiently roasted ours; Roger ate his unroasted.  Views from the top were spectacular.

 

Textiles

Linda and I visited the Textile Museum on Tuesday, then hit the shops so I could buy  some Guatemalan fabric.  Linda had already purchased some with Carol, and both she and I were practicing restraint as we still have yards of fabric from Bali awaiting us.  The colors are bright and lively.

Miscellaneous

 While Semana Santa (Holy Week) is a very special time in Antigua, with businesses closing for several days, it was interesting to see the places of business that remained open, including a nail salon, where Joan was able to get a manicure on Easter Sunday.

I have made very good use of my "Guatemalan wallet," which I have had for years, but was unaware of how useful it is where one must be vigilant of pickpockets, especially ones with sharp knives.  I expect to be using this wallet on future trips to South America and Africa.

And finally, anytime Linda and Roger Mahanic invite you to join them on any adventure, just say yes.  Cancel whatever else is on your schedule, buy your ticket and be ready for a wonderful, memorable trip. (Roger sits in Pope's chair from 2002 Antigua visit in 2002: "If they didn't want you to sit in it, they'd have put up a rope or something."

Album Links:
General Pictures: Guat5#

Antigua Carpets:  Antigua Alfombras (Carpets)#

Quilt Inspirations:
Quilt Inspirations#

Lake Atitlan with Jane and Ralf

A Ripping Yarn of Pagan Idolatry, a Scorpion Attack, Fun with Ralf and Jane, and a Disgusting Travel Tale

Maximon - (mah-shi-moan)...we never heard of him until this trip. Wow. This is one freaky fellow. We first encountered him about a month ago. We saw a display in the local craft shop that was made up of 30 or so seated male wooden figures, dressed in black, with black hats and pursed lips, some with cigarettes. When we first saw it, Katie said, "It must be someone in particular, maybe someone important." He is indeed someone particular AND important. Long story short....  is a combination of Saint Simon and a Maya god. One day when the men were working in the fields, he slept with all of their wives. They returned and cut off his arms. SOMEHOW, after that, he became an object of worship. (We agree; an important part of the story is missing.) Anyway, he is worshipped only in the western Guatemalan Highlands, and has shrines in only four local towns. Apparently, he is a bit of a bully. Worshipers give him donations of cigarettes, liquor, or money, and he grants favors, often hurting an enemy in the process.  

One of the effigies happens to be at Lake Atitlan in the village of Santiago, near our village of San Pedro . We are visiting the lake for two days with Jane and Ralf. Roger has a few favors he'd like granted. The perfect storm. 

So Roger is on a pilgrammage.  “I guess it’s sort of like idolatry,” Roger admits.  “No,” Linda corrects him. “It IS idolatry.” 

Mah-shi, Mah-shi Moan...  I Wanna be a Mah-shi Moan 

From San Pedro, we took a local boat to Santiago. On our arrival in town, we were bombarded by guides wanting to give us a tut-tuk ride to see Maximon for 100 quetzales each. Roger knew better. After some sharp haggling, he and Ralf secured the services of a fourth-grader named Juan to take our group of four to see the big man for 15 quetzales total. Do we know how to take advantage of a kid or what?!?  

A long winding walk through a labyrinth of tiny lanes brought us to a narrow alley in a poor residential area of town. We thought,     " Is this kid scamming us? Is there a group of thugs waiting to accost us once we head down the alley?" Linda, experienced with fourth grade boys, determined that Juan was on the level and we proceeded.  We met  Maximon, in the flesh (or wood), in a small incense-filled room, where a ceremony was under way. A number of people shared their wishes with the shaman. There was chanting, lighting of candles, and kissing of a scarf-draped black cowboy hat. Attendants ensure that Maximon always had either a lit cigarette between his wooden lips, or was sipping Quetzalteco, apparently his booze of choice. The danger of fire concerns us, with copious amounts of alcohol splashed around the open flame, but we dodged that bullet.   

Roger has someone translate his request to the shaman, and he had his moment in the sun, so to speak, as he took his place at the altar. He hasn't shared his request with the rest of the group, so we don't know what favor he asked of Maximon. Since that day, however, Linda has felt an overpowering urge to shop online at Victoria's Secret. Related? Perhaps. 

The rest of our time with Jane and Ralf has been equally exciting. To share just a few of the events...Ralf had his pocket slit by a pickpocket (with no loss to either his money or his junk); he saved Linda by killing a three-inch scorpion; we met a crazy cat lady who decided to remain in Guatemala because she found a cat (a cosmic sign, she said); we resisted the urge to buy "sky cookies" in the hippie enclave at San Pedro. 

How to Acquire Good Travel Stories--On the trip back to Antigua, we shared a mini-bus (and numerous travel lies ) with two Canadian flight attendants who have been traveling together for years. 

“So tell me,” Roger says.  “What is the most obnoxious passenger you ever had to deal with?” 

Dusanka  pauses, but only for a moment.  “Is disgusting OK?” 

“Absolutely!” Roger says. 

“I once had to stop a lady breastfeeding a cat,” she says. 

Yeah. Glad we didn't ever meet THAT crazy cat lady.

See our album link at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/106750917165477506851/2012Guatemala4?authkey=Gv1sRgCNCriOKP-aPisAE#

Sizemores in Antigua -With PIX!

Our blog is long overdue (yes, we know!) but we have a good excuse...we've been entertaining a steady stream of visitors. Carol and Ron were here for a week. We spent most of our time with them here in Antigua. We saw the biggest procession of the season (and in the world), with ungodly large crowds, stalls with bizarre street food, and magnificent ‘carpets’ made of flowers spread on the streets along the parade route. Linda was sick and missed out on much of that, and somehow Carol was left behind when the boys left the apartment. Undaunted—though a little miffed-- she braved the throngs alone, on the most crowded day of the year, asking for directions as she followed the procession route to see the carpets. What a trooper!!  The four of us also did a village tour around Antigua with Victor, a local guide with terrific insights that he shared with us. Carol and Linda fabric shopped, and Ron and Roger toured the local hardware shops.

One early evening, hanging out on the rooftop terrace with several friends, we noticed that Fuego, one of the local volcanoes, was puffing black smoke every five minutes or so. Now, Fuego puffs often, but it is NOT Old Faithful, and we were intrigued. As we lounged, Ron paced around and announced every puff of smoke. Roger took advantage of the time between puffs to share yet another Customs story, when Ron shouted,  " Look at that!". Roger lost his audience as we all shifted our attention to Fuego, which glowed red. We saw a small stream of LAVA flow down from the crater. How cool, our first volcanic eruption! It was a real plus that we were not in danger.  As it turned out.

The highlight of the week was a day at the beach. Guatemala is NOT known for its Pacific beaches, due to a nasty undertow. But walking on the deserted black sand was perfect. The guys discovered and toured a local low-tech salt works and we all lounged in the hotel pool. The sea almost claimed Ron, knocking him off his feet in mere inches of water and sucking him out to sea half way to Guam. He claimed that cinco Gallo beers had nothing to do with that. That's his story and he's sticking to it.

We're having technical difficulties linking our Google Picasa album to this post; check again in a couple of days (that's exactly what Google told us!)
We might have found a fix!  Check our album https://picasaweb.google.com/106750917165477506851/2012Guatemala3#

Bali from Guatemala

At the risk of confusing everyone about where we are, let us explain:  We are STILL IN GUATEMALA and continuing to have an exciting time  (Sizemores go home in the morning and  and the Lauermeirers arrive in the afternoon--but more about that in our next Guatemala BLOG).  In the meantime, we  ARE on vacation and we have some time on our hands.  So we're polishing off books we've been meaning to finish, playing Words with Friends, flossing more regularly, etc.  A major accomplishment is that Linda has FINALLY assembled her picture album from last September's trip to Bali.  A little delayed, but worth the wait!  See her album at the link below, and stay tuned for Ripping Yarns of volcanic eruptions, Lenten Debauchery, convoluted financial transactions, and more and more hiking!




https://picasaweb.google.com/110361796458981119336/2011Bali?authkey=Gv1sRgCNOV6ODz7LbTMA&feat=email#

Local Crime Wave Hits Duo; Having Fun Anyway

Our adventures continue.  The story is best told in pictures, though, and Linda has put together a couple of albums whose links can be found below in this post.    

We took a three-hour bus ride last week to Chichicastenango on their market day—the world-famous local market was an amazing spectacle of sounds and sights.  They were selling all manner of local fare—Linda wanted to buy a live turkey, but Roger prevailed (would they have charged us additional bus fare on the return trip?). Santo Tomas, the main church in Chichi, was quite amazing. It is a Catholic church built in 1545 on the base of a Maya temple the Spanish destroyed. The Maya influence survives and it is incredible. Both sides of the cathedral are lined with small shrines to various saints, where one can light a candle or give a cash offering and perhaps get a little saintly intervention. This is pretty normal for a Catholic church.

However. The center aisle leading to the main altar has about a half-dozen low stone slabs, and they are most definitely Maya.  Each wax-coated stone slab has a particular purpose: prosperity, health, fertility, and anything else one might worry about. Local families can contract with their local shaman (there are lots of them) for help with their particular problems. The shamans light candles and stick them in dripped wax on the slabs, surround the candles with flower petals, and sprinkle the petals with quetzalteco, a cheap local liquor. They then chant and pray. The local Catholic priest is good with this, and the combined Maya/Catholic rituals coexist quite happily. This is a far cry from Linda's personal Priest Pet Peeve: not letting non-Catholic baptized Christians take communion. End of rant.

We are hiking around town like Sherpas—we found a four-mile hike up the mountain above Antigua where the views are stunning and the roadside thieves so far have kept their distance. Not so in town.  Roger had his pocket picked at the Lenten Procession yesterday.  It was a fabulous experience (the Procession—not so much the pocket picking).  Roger has become something of a professional victim, having had his pocket picked twice in Rome and now once in Guatemala.  “I felt the hand in my pocket rummaging around,” Roger said later.  “I thought it was Linda.”  They only got about eight bucks, though.  Roger is planning ahead, thinking of places to stash the cash where the thieves can’t reach it.  Linda shudders.

Antigua is WAY more comfortable than we imagined.  It has an awesome colonial charm, and far too many great restaurants set in magnificent courtyards.  We hope the hiking equalizes the increased calorie intake.  We have a great and fascinating neighbor, Joan, who is here from New York studying Spanish FOR TWO MONTHS for the second straight year.  We hold her power of concentration and intellectual stamina in considerable awe. Not to mention her tolerance of obnoxious neighbors.

Our journey takes an exciting turn this week, as we entertain a succession of guests from the US, except for Ralf and Jane who are Canadian.  The Sizemores come down on Wednesday for a week, Ralf and Jane Lauermeier after that, and our friend Gail Nawrock the week after that.  We look forward to showing them some of the wonderful things we have seen, sharing some of our favorite restaurants and churches, and suggesting interesting places to hide their valuables.

See our Market album at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/110361796458981119336/2012TheMarketInGuatemala?authkey=Gv1sRgCIrsobr109XWRA&feat=email#
and a general Guatemala album at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/110361796458981119336/2012Guatemala2?authkey=Gv1sRgCJjMzoDA0YDRjAE&feat=email#

Pictures From Guatemala

We've been pretty sparse with the pictures, so here is a post dedicated to throwing up three albums from Picasa.  The first is general stuff from our first few weeks in Guatemala; the second covers our time in Antigua and Lake Atitlan with daughter Kate, who just left after a way-too short 6 days; and the the third documents a wild parade that passed by the house yesterday monring in honor of International Women's Day.  Man.  This town loves a good parade!

Roger and Linda in Guatemala (Part Uno)
https://picasaweb.google.com/110361796458981119336/2012Guatemala1?authkey=Gv1sRgCIOyxcWalvuPkQE#

Katie in Guatemala
Katie's Visit Album#

International Women's Day Parade
https://picasaweb.google.com/110361796458981119336/2012InternationalWomanSDayAntiguaGuatemala?authkey=Gv1sRgCIKAi9bB4u_rQQ#

Kate's Guest Blog

As I write this I am sitting on the ledge of our balcony, which is overlooking Lake Atitlan, drinking a glass of wine and listening to my parents attempt to shoo what we all hope is the hotel cat off of Linda's bed.  I've taken about 80 pictures of nothing but landscape but I don’t think any of them will completely do it justice.  My portion of the trip- a measly 6 days- is set up for the first 3 days in Antigua, the next 2 at Lake Atitlan, and the last day and a half back in Antigua.  But let me start from the beginning...

Lake Atitlan From our Balcony

 I arrived here in Guatemala on Thursday at about noon.  Even with the pictures and blog entries I had read leading up to this- along with the bit of international travel I'd already done- you still never know what to expect.  A few bumpy flights and a 40 minute taxi ride later we were in Antigua.  We had a relaxed first night in town, and walked around the park, had a great (albeit gigantic) dinner, and a quiet night at the apartment.  The next day was my solo adventure on the Guatemalan walking tour.  This was my parents' idea, and a fantastic way to spend the first full day in Antigua.  It gave me a great perspective and history lesson that I think is crucial to seeing a new place.

Our Cooking Class!

Quite A Spread!

The next day adventure was the cooking class- which I may or may not have insisted upon but I think was a great experience for everyone.  We met (and alienated) some really nice people, learned some new dishes, ate a great meal, and all in all had a really nice morning.  On the menu was a dish called Pepian – a traditional Guatemalan soup dish with vegetables, chicken, and rice. We also made chiles rellenos and tortillas. Making tortillas is easier said than done- I believe 3 were dropped by me alone, and I am almost certain that my dad has this on video.

Pepian – a traditional Guatemalan soup dish with vegetatable dinner

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We arrived in Lake Atitlan yesterday midday, and this has got to be one of the most beautiful hotel locations I've ever stayed in.  I am not ashamed to say that we spent the entire first afternoon lazing away on the terrace reading, napping, catching some sun, or a combination of all three.  Our dinner was served family style in the hotel restaurant.  The little cafe pushed all tables together to form a large L and was lit only by candle light.  We sat next to some lovely and interesting people, and while the food was not the best meal we have had since I’ve been in town (good, not great), the ambiance and atmosphere were outstanding.  Today was a little more of the pace we are accustomed to while traveling.  We woke up early, had coffee in the cafe (some more than others) and took a local boat/taxi across the lake to the town of San Pedro.  This is known for being a hippie back-packing commune, stuck in time.  So, sounds great.  After a VERY crowded, bumpy and wet boat ride via public "launcha" across the lake, we had breakfast at the dock in San Pedro and set about exploring the town.  To do over again, I would say this may the more interesting place to stay.  While our hotel is gorgeous, this town had a lot of coffee shops, restaurants, hotels, and most importantly, did not require a tumultuous boat ride to enjoy breakfast.

Farewell Dinner with the Old Folks

My time here in the country is about to end. We have dinner tonight, a 4- hour bus ride back to Antigua tomorrow where we will have dinner and will likely have time for little else.  I am going to leave here as anyone should leave a vacation; with several hundred pictures, a solid sun burn, and a little less money than when I started. My only regret is that I did not talk myself into taking more time off to spend in such an awesome place.

Spanish Class! Katie in Antigua!

Our Spanish Scool

One of the many thing many visitors do in Antigua is study Spanish at one of the dozens of immersion language schools here in town. Both of us have fared quite well over the years with the "point and grunt" linguistic technique which is useful in ANY country. But since Spanish is the ONLY language we even pretended to have studied, it seemed reasonable that we'd give this language instruction thing a shot.

We did our "research", reading Trip Adviser reviews until we found one that seemed good and, of course, cheap.  For $100, we get four hours a day with a private tutor for a week.  That's 20 hours. Of concentrated effort. Learning something new. What were we thinking?

Day One, 8 am. We were assigned our teachers, given a small notebook, and assigned tables in a small courtyard that we would share with our teachers. Linda's teacher is Miriam, and Roger's is Brenda. They are sisters, and are patient, chatty, and very kind. At the 10:00 break, we meet on the rooftop terrace to smoke(some of us) and compare notes.  The course is individualized; Linda is  improving her vocabulary and learning useful phrases, while Roger concentrates on "verbs and shit like that." By the time class ends at  noon, we are totally spent. We trudge home, eat a quick lunch, and sleep the afternoon away. Thought is impossible. That evening we try  to do homework, but realize that we have used up every bit of the Spanish language we know. There's NOTHING left. Can we cut class?

It is tough going.  We are increasing our vocabulary a little and we hope our pronunciation is improving, but it is unlikely that we will be engaging the locals in any philosophical discussions or learning from them the changing dynamics of their agricultural cooperatives under the new government.  No, our Spanish seems to be best suited to talking to other tourists who have taken the same Spanish classes; we all speak in the same cautious cadence in the same deliberate, and slow, pronunciation.  We atttempt to engage the locals in our business transactions, but they are somewhat aloof.  The Indians were interested in every intimate detail--why don't we have grandchildren?  How much money do we make?  The Guatemalans don't seem to give a shit.

Roger remembers part of a dialogue that he wrote for a homework assignment in10th grade Spanish( that caused him some trouble):
Q.  What did one Gay Cabarello say to the other Gay Cabarello?
A. Homo esta usted?

He has been carrying that chestnut around in his pocket for 45 years.  Will he have an opportunity to use it in Guatermala?  You bet!

Kate Arrives!

She Does!

Will She Know Us?

We get to cut class early today to ride with our taxi driver for an hour's drive to pick Kate up at the airport.  We have a sign to greet her at the exit that says "Kate" in case she doesn't recognize us.  It reminds us of a gag we pulled many years ago in Jamaica.  Roger and the kids met Linda at the little airport in Negril, and a very young Katie held a sign that said "MOM".   We met her puddle jumper on the tarmac (as you could in those pre-war years), and in the excitement it got jumbled around, with Katie wildly waving a cardboard sign that said "WOW".