Part 1 | Part 2
The cutest clown I've ever seen... |
The next day, we came back as clowns! Arguably, I've been a clown throughout my life, but this was the first time I'd actually dressed as one. Susy is actually quite an experienced clown; it was first thing she did when she started volunteering at the hospital. Over the years, she's built up her clown repertoire and paraphernalia. She had enough to let Erin and I wear funny outfits and perform a few short skits with her! |
This looks neat, but the nose got to be annoying after a while, so I skipped it. I also tasted a lot of blue hair, but its added value was too much to pass up. |
Of course, we couldn't go with our normal faces... |
Professional clowns spend a lot of time on their makeup, I'm told |
Ready to rumble! |
Although I couldn't be much of a talking clown, I could still be a musical one |
Susy performs a favorite trick |
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After clowning around for a while, we made a hasty escape so the school wouldn't take food away from the kids to feed us prosperous Americans. Susy dropped Erin and I off in Antigua, one of the most beautiful cities in Guatemala. Antigua, a one-time capitol of Guatemala, has a quaint, almost European feel because of its architectural ruins and cobblestone streets. It is also relatively small and highly walkable. We spent much of the afternoon and evening wandering around, seeing the sights, and just taking in the atmosphere.
Antigua is also where we learned about the importance of up-to-date guide books. I had borrowed a 2006 guide book from the library, but we looked for and failed to find more than one resturant. Fortunately, cheap and tasty food options abounded. |
She looks cherry now, but eventually Erin grew tired of me taking her picture. |
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Although the volcano Pacaya is somewhat closer to Guatemala City, most tourists are based in Antigua, and consequently most tours run from there. After a roughly two hour ride, a cheery guide greeted us at base camp and we started walking up. Pretty soon, because of the high altitude and my imperfect fitness, it became quite a struggle. The breathtaking views, however, made the effort all worthwhile. |
One of my favorite pictures from the trip |
We're on volcanic rock, right in front of exposed lava |
Here's a unique way to roast marshmallows! |
On a nice day, the view from Panajachel looks something like this |
Thus far, the fact that we'd arrived during rainy season hadn't affected us too much. In Panajachel, it finally did. The tourist town of Panajachel is situated on the banks of Lake Atitlian, which is ringed by several volcanos. We'd planned to cross the lake on a ferry, but weather wasn't conducive to boat travel, so we stayed ashore.
It was market day in the city, and the streets were lined with open-air shops. On this rainy day, however, they weren't exactly bustling with activity. Not ready to head back to Guatemala City quite yet, we slowly made our rounds through the market. We didn't buy too much, but I augmented my musical instrument collection with two wooden drums, in addition to the flute that I'd picked up back in Antigua. As with our other experiences in the Guatemalan markets, we partook in some back-and-forth bargaining. It wasn't that we were particularly short on cash or stingy. I just saw it as part of the culture and didn't want to be suckered into paying much more than I could. There was one time, though, that I was eyeing a small cloth pouch, envisioning it holding the loose change in my car. Erin wanted something else from the same stand, so we started talking money. With a counteroffer, we had a concession from the original price. I asked again, but then the man started talking about how his mother spent nearly that much on materials and poured her energy into making the pouch by hand. In this instance, our desire to support the small local producer overcame our desire to get the best deal possible. |
After resting for most of Monday in Guatemala City, we hopped on an overnight bus across the country to Saint Elena, a city near the ancient Mayan ruins of Tikal. At the outset, the bus seemed comfortable enough, but my mind was running in circles, so I couldn't sleep for a while. Not too long into the trip, as a Jet Li movie was still playing, the "nonstop" bus made a mysterious stop on the side of the road, idling for a good thirty or forty minutes. "What's going on?," I wondered. I also wondered how everybody else could sleep so soundly as the windows steamed up with body heat - the bus was completely full - and subsequently cooled down after the attendant lowered the windows and we started moving again. A bit later in the trip, people were probably wondering the same thing about me.
When I was finally out, I was out like a log. Erin tells me that our bus eventually got pulled over. Two official-looking men with flashlights ordered most of the passengers to get out; they were looking for someone. Erin and I were in the last row on the second floor, and I was completely asleep. Like everyone else, Erin wasn't asleep, but wasn't going to get out unless I got out. They left us alone.
Then everyone got back on the bus and we started moving again. A few minutes later, we got pulled over again. This time, I woke up to the sight of a squat man with a rifle slung over his shoulders, held across his body. He asked for our passports, so we handed them over. He took a glance at the papers, handed them back, and left the bus. I fell asleep again, slightly annoyed at having been awakened in the first place.
In spite of our delays, we still arrived in Saint Elena bright and early. As is often the case, Erin said I was being pokey (short for being a slow-poke) as we got off the bus. We cluelessly wandered around the bus depot, saying, "Tikal, Tikal," until a man escorted us across the city to a tourist agency. We booked our bus tickets to the national park, sat around for a while, and were on our way!
Tikal is in the middle of a rain forest, so I expected to see signs of wildlife, but not these signs...
Deer
Jaguar
Pizote
Snake
Turkey
I thought it was slightly comical. How did they know that these particular animals would cross the road in these particular places?
After arriving at Tikal, we got together with some of our fellow bus passengers and hired a tour guide. It was a worthy investment; he explained many things about the ruins and the wildlife we wouldn't have known otherwise. He also is of Mayan descent, so I asked him random things about the customs and whether various local flora and fauna were edible or tasted good. He didn't go into too much detail about exotic foods that he has eaten, but he did show us an allspice plant. In addition to its flavor, allspice is useful as a mosquito repellent! As there were a decent number of insects around, we rubbed a few leaves over our bodies. It was also somewhat hot and muggy, but it was slightly neutralized by the breeze and the temperature was nowhere near the highs of the summmer. The guide blamed global warming for the unbearable conditions they expected in the few months. I'm was just glad that we came early! |
Erin looks up at a Ceiba, Guatemala's national tree... |
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Up until fairly recently, the ruins of Tikal have been covered with rainforest. In fact, most of them are still under mounds of dirt, waiting for archaelogists to slowly uncover them. The exposed ruins, however, are a tourist's delight. I always get a kick out of seeing old buildings; it makes me think about how people were able to do this centuries ago without the technology and infrastructure that we have today. As an added bonus, we were allowed to climb atop many of the structures and explore different spaces, an opporunity I took full advantage of. |
| Soon enough, the tour was over, and we were left to our own devices. After lunch, we decided to continue exploring the grounds. During the course of these wanderings, I again discovered that my 2006 guide book wasn't up to snuff. The trails had been rerouted, more digs had been uncovered, and the descriptions in the book just didn't cut it anymore. |
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A Pizote. I hadn't seen or heard of this creature before. |
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It was a different story in the afternoon. The bus driver knew nothing of the situation and the verbal agreement, and wouldn't let our friends on the bus. We ended up waiting for another bus. Luckily, the next bus driver was more sympathetic.
Lesson learned: try to get everything in writing.
Frog by trash can |
We visited a restaurant that was decorated with movie posters. It took me a second to realize that this one was actually political satire! |
Erin poses by a smoothie-like Guatemalan drink. |
Erin tastes an exotic fruit. |
Adios, Guatemala! |
Guatemala was the first time I'd been on anything like a volunteer vacation. It was still relaxing, and I definitely felt a stronger connection with the locals and culture than I usually would on a typical sightseeing tour. I also was glad to be helpful to God's other children, even in a small way.
I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed taking part in it!