Finished yesterday´s post by looking forward to today and the hot springs. Well, things didn´´t exactly go the way we wanted!
The day didn´t start off great when our hotel tried to screw us over with money. Luckily we found a lovely restaurant for breakfast which set us up well for the day. We took a local bus to Tipitapa, to see the agua termales (hot springs), only to arrive and find the place was horrid! The main pool was empty, the whole area looked run down and there was loads of rubbish around. There was one full swimming pool, which was so hot you could cook eggs in it. The sauna looked scary, and the loos can´t even be called as such... I leave it to your imagination.
So ran away again to collect our stuff from Managua, and decided to have lunch in the same restaurant. Our taxi driver was so incompetent (he couldn´t read a map), we went round in circles for half an hour. It was at this time we had to laugh, although he wasn´t laughing...
Eventually ran away to Granada, which already seems so much nicer. The hostel, http://www.nicaraguahostel.com/ is lovely, loads of hammocks to relax in, free internet, comfy beds... not too expensive... we are so glad to be here instead! We hope that our luck with Nicaragua will change, as it is our least favourite country so far. It must get better.... so being eternally optimistic, we are sure that tomorrow will be much better.
Hope that all is ok in the UK and Europe,
Much love,
Al xxxxxxxxx
Thursday 30 October 2008
Wednesday 29 October 2008
Managua, NICARAGUA
Finally left Utila (nearly cried) after a very booze filled Friday night. Caught the ferry to the mainland on Monday morning, which was very lucky as the ferries afterwards were cancelled due to a tropical storm. It absolutely poured down for about 15 hours. Not pretty! La Ceiba is not a pretty town, and there is not much to do. It's just a convenient jumping off point to the islands. Had to hang around La Ceiba for a day as J was waiting for a parcel (which never arrived anyway), so we ran away.
Unfortunately our next stop, Tegucigalpa (capital of Honduras for those of you who didn't know), was no better. The drive was slightly terrifying: the roads are fine, but the drivers are maniacs, overtaking on blind corners and the tops of hills (although it will be worse in Bolivia). Went past the first accident: about 4-5 cars, 1 pick up truck, 1 massive lorry and 1 coach - which looked like the top of it had been cut off. They were all completely mashed up. Just got over that one when we passed another accident of about 1 pick up truck and 3 cars: saw at least 7 body bags in the back of another pick up truck. The person who manufactures them obviously does a good business... Was pretty morbid and horrid.
We arrived after dark - true, not the best time to arrive - and stayed in a hotel that would have been brilliant for setting a horror movie in: long unlit corridors, many dark wooden doors, and a slightly brothel feel to it. (Quite funny when I asked directions from 2 very dressed up women earlier that day, only to realise half way through the conversation that they were hookers...) We managed to survive, and jumped on a bus to Managua today sure that it would be nicer.
It's not. Nicaragua seems gorgeous, but the capital does not seem to have any redeeming features. At all. Tried to do a bit of sight seeing but that failed. The most exciting part was hitching a ride in the back of a truck to our hotel. We had a horrid supper (I do not know how food can start off so nice as ingredients and be turned into disgustingness!) Suppose the most fruitful part of the day was going to the hospital where I got my ears looked at again. A lovely, handsome man (head of finance) translated for me, to tell me that my ears were completely buggered. Luckily the ear drums are intact, but no diving for me at all for at least a month, and no flying anywhere in the short term. Given many more drugs, and instructions not to get cold, change altitude, not to use air con or open a cold fridge (not all of them are here), not to drive with the windows down... Not sure how many of these things I will actually be able to adhere to! But a second opinion was worth it, - certainly for the translation alone.
So we are in our hotel at the moment (nothing else to do), enjoying a rarity: TV! Chilling out watching films and bad American programs/films, which is surprisingly enjoyable. Heading to Tipitapa tomorrow for some hot springs (Haz and J need a hot shower very soon), and then hopefully we can head to Granada the same night. Granada must be nicer than this!
Better go and shower (in a cold shower, not sure what the doctor would say...) Hope everyone's ok,
Muchos love,
Al xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Unfortunately our next stop, Tegucigalpa (capital of Honduras for those of you who didn't know), was no better. The drive was slightly terrifying: the roads are fine, but the drivers are maniacs, overtaking on blind corners and the tops of hills (although it will be worse in Bolivia). Went past the first accident: about 4-5 cars, 1 pick up truck, 1 massive lorry and 1 coach - which looked like the top of it had been cut off. They were all completely mashed up. Just got over that one when we passed another accident of about 1 pick up truck and 3 cars: saw at least 7 body bags in the back of another pick up truck. The person who manufactures them obviously does a good business... Was pretty morbid and horrid.
We arrived after dark - true, not the best time to arrive - and stayed in a hotel that would have been brilliant for setting a horror movie in: long unlit corridors, many dark wooden doors, and a slightly brothel feel to it. (Quite funny when I asked directions from 2 very dressed up women earlier that day, only to realise half way through the conversation that they were hookers...) We managed to survive, and jumped on a bus to Managua today sure that it would be nicer.
It's not. Nicaragua seems gorgeous, but the capital does not seem to have any redeeming features. At all. Tried to do a bit of sight seeing but that failed. The most exciting part was hitching a ride in the back of a truck to our hotel. We had a horrid supper (I do not know how food can start off so nice as ingredients and be turned into disgustingness!) Suppose the most fruitful part of the day was going to the hospital where I got my ears looked at again. A lovely, handsome man (head of finance) translated for me, to tell me that my ears were completely buggered. Luckily the ear drums are intact, but no diving for me at all for at least a month, and no flying anywhere in the short term. Given many more drugs, and instructions not to get cold, change altitude, not to use air con or open a cold fridge (not all of them are here), not to drive with the windows down... Not sure how many of these things I will actually be able to adhere to! But a second opinion was worth it, - certainly for the translation alone.
So we are in our hotel at the moment (nothing else to do), enjoying a rarity: TV! Chilling out watching films and bad American programs/films, which is surprisingly enjoyable. Heading to Tipitapa tomorrow for some hot springs (Haz and J need a hot shower very soon), and then hopefully we can head to Granada the same night. Granada must be nicer than this!
Better go and shower (in a cold shower, not sure what the doctor would say...) Hope everyone's ok,
Muchos love,
Al xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Friday 24 October 2008
More photos of Utila, Honduras
Hello everyone,
It's Alice here again today. Couldn't write the blog yesterday as was so gutted about diving. Had the worst day of the trip, but ended up having the best night. We went out with our friends for a gorgeous supper at Dave's restaurant (very imaginative names here), and then ended up on a bar that was on a jetty over the Caribbean, called Coco Loco. The music was good, the atmosphere brilliant, and just the right amount of people. Stephane and I ended up dancing a lot on the chair and floor while fireworks were exploding overhead from a catamaran moored up near the bar... Absolutely beautiful.
J and Haz got up with me early this morning - they are so kind, - and had a mission to see the doctor, but I got bad news. He looked in my left ear and said I had an infection and couldn't dive for 2-3 days, which was ok. He then looked in my right ear (the bleeding one), and said I couldn't dive for a month as the infection was chronic and apparently very serious. I nearly cried (so proud I didn't break down into body shaking sobs). So am on 2000 mg amoxicillin and another prescription anti inflammatory daily, and will try to do the last 2 dives I need to complete before I'm certified as an Open Water PADI diver somewhere else. I can scuba dive to 12m at the moment (rather than J and Haz's 18m), and I have to go with a professional, but once I do those final 2 dives (with only a couple of skills), I will be certified Open Water as well. At the moment I'm a PADI Scuba Diver. Very gutted, especially as I wanted to do the advanced course. Have to see a doctor on Wednesday next week and probably another one after that to make sure that it's settling.
So not going to start taking the antibiotics til tomorrow (feel fine, luckily no pain at all, just feel kinda faint a lot, like I'm continually drunk... quite fun...) cause we're planning a big one tonight. Haz and J are siesta-ing at the moment, - had better join them. Need to keep the energy levels up!
Planning on moving south on Monday, think the floods are subsiding a little now.
Much love,
Alxxxx
It's Alice here again today. Couldn't write the blog yesterday as was so gutted about diving. Had the worst day of the trip, but ended up having the best night. We went out with our friends for a gorgeous supper at Dave's restaurant (very imaginative names here), and then ended up on a bar that was on a jetty over the Caribbean, called Coco Loco. The music was good, the atmosphere brilliant, and just the right amount of people. Stephane and I ended up dancing a lot on the chair and floor while fireworks were exploding overhead from a catamaran moored up near the bar... Absolutely beautiful.
J and Haz got up with me early this morning - they are so kind, - and had a mission to see the doctor, but I got bad news. He looked in my left ear and said I had an infection and couldn't dive for 2-3 days, which was ok. He then looked in my right ear (the bleeding one), and said I couldn't dive for a month as the infection was chronic and apparently very serious. I nearly cried (so proud I didn't break down into body shaking sobs). So am on 2000 mg amoxicillin and another prescription anti inflammatory daily, and will try to do the last 2 dives I need to complete before I'm certified as an Open Water PADI diver somewhere else. I can scuba dive to 12m at the moment (rather than J and Haz's 18m), and I have to go with a professional, but once I do those final 2 dives (with only a couple of skills), I will be certified Open Water as well. At the moment I'm a PADI Scuba Diver. Very gutted, especially as I wanted to do the advanced course. Have to see a doctor on Wednesday next week and probably another one after that to make sure that it's settling.
So not going to start taking the antibiotics til tomorrow (feel fine, luckily no pain at all, just feel kinda faint a lot, like I'm continually drunk... quite fun...) cause we're planning a big one tonight. Haz and J are siesta-ing at the moment, - had better join them. Need to keep the energy levels up!
Planning on moving south on Monday, think the floods are subsiding a little now.
Much love,
Alxxxx
Thursday 23 October 2008
Today was our final day of our open water diving course, but things didnt go exactly according to plan. Firstly we went out and got alittle drunky last night and J and i didnt get in untill 3am. so we werent feeling the healthiest this morning when alice (who actually was much more sensible and went to bed alittle earlier) announced she had blood coming out of her ear! Not ideal when your diving down to 18metres that day. She felt fine tho, so we headed off for our final dives thinking it was nothing serious. Just before we were about to head out on the boat, alice mentioned to our instructor about her manking ear (which is no longer bleeding) and he said she wasnt allowed to dive today. Was really rubbish as she had to just wait on the boat whilst we did our 2 final dives at 18 metres. She was alittle sad, but was cheered up by taking pics of us looking stupid under water. she also managed to snorkel and take some pics of some fishes.
J and I are now certified open water divers, but it wasnt the same without alice down there with us. We did have someone following us round, both before during and after our dives, with a videocamera, so we will have video evidence of our new skills. Alice also managed to leave her mark on the video by uploading all her photos of today to be used as the credits which is really cool! So we are heading for the doctors tomorrow, to get the verdict on the ear. we are going to stay here untill alice gets the ok to get back in the water, as she just needs to do 2 more dives to be certified. Utila is pretty cool place so happy to hang around here for a while. in fact we may never leave at this rate. we are rapidly becoming addicted exploring the underwater world, and are contemplating using all our money to become diving instructors.
anyway, hopefully tomorrow we will have a better idea of our future plans, but it looks as tho we will be here at least untill early next week. by then the floods on the mainland (which have been declared a national disaster) will hopefully have cleared so our journey across land may be alittle easier. We will keep you posted.
muchos love H x
J and I are now certified open water divers, but it wasnt the same without alice down there with us. We did have someone following us round, both before during and after our dives, with a videocamera, so we will have video evidence of our new skills. Alice also managed to leave her mark on the video by uploading all her photos of today to be used as the credits which is really cool! So we are heading for the doctors tomorrow, to get the verdict on the ear. we are going to stay here untill alice gets the ok to get back in the water, as she just needs to do 2 more dives to be certified. Utila is pretty cool place so happy to hang around here for a while. in fact we may never leave at this rate. we are rapidly becoming addicted exploring the underwater world, and are contemplating using all our money to become diving instructors.
anyway, hopefully tomorrow we will have a better idea of our future plans, but it looks as tho we will be here at least untill early next week. by then the floods on the mainland (which have been declared a national disaster) will hopefully have cleared so our journey across land may be alittle easier. We will keep you posted.
muchos love H x
Wednesday 22 October 2008
Photos
Oh also a few more pictures have gone up - not many as only from one camera - will do the others soon.
Al xxxxxx
Al xxxxxx
Diving!
Well we all lived through our first dive in the sea. It was touch and go for a while - even my instructor buddy said afterwards he didn't think I'd make it down! So proud... think am conquering my fear of things in the sea coming and ripping my limbs off slowly, inch by inch, flesh hanging between their teeth....
It was absolutely beautiful down there. Another whole new world, it's really difficult to describe. Photos and videos just don't come close. Absolutely terrifying, but beautiful too. J had a few problems with forgetting to breathe properly - she nearly drowned haha - and Haz managed to do everything spot on nearly every time. I had a few issues with my weighting, so ended up floating away sometimes and had to be pulled back down again - very dangerous with lung overexpansion etc. Then I ended up on my arse - only I could end up on my bum in the sea! Few issues with taking weight belt off at the surface of the water - unfortunately I put it in the wrong place, so it was under me, I was floating on the surface but being pulled down, and my snorkel wasn't working as it was filled with water. Only thrashed around a little bit...
But we made it, and I think we all enjoyed it. Went to a salsa class last night with instructors from the dive school and our dive class - Haz has a magic twinkle in her eye which meant that she was continually pulled up to dance with various men - literally, Stephane carried her off her chair and dragged her onto the dancefloor. Haz did put up a good fight, but she wasn't strong enough. And J and I didn't help her as we found it far too funny. So after sweating a lot, we realised that we could kind of dance enough to have fun. Really good night, although we're aching today! And need more coffee...
Anyway gotta sunbathe to catch a few unusual rays of sun in Honduras's rainy season. Starting diving again in 50 minutes... going fish spotting today and then more skills. Should be kind of cool, but not impressed that I've learnt the hand signal for 'barracuda'... There is no way I want to see one!
Lots of love, missing you all loads,
Al xxxxxx
It was absolutely beautiful down there. Another whole new world, it's really difficult to describe. Photos and videos just don't come close. Absolutely terrifying, but beautiful too. J had a few problems with forgetting to breathe properly - she nearly drowned haha - and Haz managed to do everything spot on nearly every time. I had a few issues with my weighting, so ended up floating away sometimes and had to be pulled back down again - very dangerous with lung overexpansion etc. Then I ended up on my arse - only I could end up on my bum in the sea! Few issues with taking weight belt off at the surface of the water - unfortunately I put it in the wrong place, so it was under me, I was floating on the surface but being pulled down, and my snorkel wasn't working as it was filled with water. Only thrashed around a little bit...
But we made it, and I think we all enjoyed it. Went to a salsa class last night with instructors from the dive school and our dive class - Haz has a magic twinkle in her eye which meant that she was continually pulled up to dance with various men - literally, Stephane carried her off her chair and dragged her onto the dancefloor. Haz did put up a good fight, but she wasn't strong enough. And J and I didn't help her as we found it far too funny. So after sweating a lot, we realised that we could kind of dance enough to have fun. Really good night, although we're aching today! And need more coffee...
Anyway gotta sunbathe to catch a few unusual rays of sun in Honduras's rainy season. Starting diving again in 50 minutes... going fish spotting today and then more skills. Should be kind of cool, but not impressed that I've learnt the hand signal for 'barracuda'... There is no way I want to see one!
Lots of love, missing you all loads,
Al xxxxxx
Monday 20 October 2008
Today we dived!!!
well when i say dived, we actually just knelt on the floor of a swimming pool, but we breathed underwater for a whole 45mins! was so cool. Alice had alittle trouble kneeling on the bottom and was either sat on her bum with her legs in the air, or floating to the top! Our instructor, whos name is Dick, had to weigh her down more to keep her still. This seemed to work, and we went through a number of skills, including clearing and emptying masks, sharing air supplies and having our air tanks turned OFF! On wed we are going to go down to 12metres in the sea! so lots of fish spotting, which will be entertaining as alice is frightened of fish!
hopefully by friday we will be certified open water divers, license and everything!
Tomorrow night we are going salsa dancing with the instructors........ hopefully our turn to laugh at them.
anyway, we have diving stuff to learn, missing you all muchly, Hayley and Jxxxx
well when i say dived, we actually just knelt on the floor of a swimming pool, but we breathed underwater for a whole 45mins! was so cool. Alice had alittle trouble kneeling on the bottom and was either sat on her bum with her legs in the air, or floating to the top! Our instructor, whos name is Dick, had to weigh her down more to keep her still. This seemed to work, and we went through a number of skills, including clearing and emptying masks, sharing air supplies and having our air tanks turned OFF! On wed we are going to go down to 12metres in the sea! so lots of fish spotting, which will be entertaining as alice is frightened of fish!
hopefully by friday we will be certified open water divers, license and everything!
Tomorrow night we are going salsa dancing with the instructors........ hopefully our turn to laugh at them.
anyway, we have diving stuff to learn, missing you all muchly, Hayley and Jxxxx
Sunday 19 October 2008
Utila, Bay Islands, HONDURAS
Hi all,
Hello from Honduras! We loved spending the time in Antigua in Guatemala (not the island Antiga, but Antigua the landlocked city). There was a small earthquake that we felt in Antigua on Thursday at lunchtime: Haz had banged her head on a window (I know, pretty silly but luckily not much concussion), and thought it was her head playing tricks on her: however it turned out to be an earthquake - pretty cool! We then decided to climb an active volcano to say hello to the lava at the Pacaya volcano (probably not the best idea straight after an earthquake...)
It was one of the most difficult things I have done. I don´t think that Haz and J had such a difficult time because they abandoned me and lept up the volcano! We first of all started at a place called San Francisco at 1,800 m - to reach the top we needed to walk 4 km and up another 500m. We walked the first half in a forest environment, slippery after the rain (actually it was still raining), which was hard going but ok. We then reached the ash which was exactly like walking uphill on very coarse sand. Half way up I wanted to stop and cry it was so difficult! We were walking on old lava - Haz misjudged and fell through - her foot stopped a couple of inches away from molten lava - no health and safety here! Luckily she wasn´t scorched alive. Really disconcerting walking on top of old lava with molten lava showing through the gaps. The lava was really sharp in places, and melted the soles of shoes if we weren´t careful. I think most of us ended up with bruised bottoms and small cuts and grazes after falling over.
Eventually after 90 mins made it to the top. Nearly got blown off the top as the wind was so strong! But it was absolutely beautiful. We could see lava coming out from a hole and running in 2 streams all the way down the side of the volcano. One guy was toasting a marshmallow at the top - another one had lit a joint from the lava! Only in Guatemala... When we were walking back again (in the dark), we could see the orange lava flowing down the side as well, absolutely stunning.
Will put the photos on the internet when it´s possible to.
Spent a horrible day on Friday travelling for over 17 hours - one very uncomfortable bus, another 2 lovely buses, to arrive in La Ceiba in Honduras. Stayed overnight there, and in the morning yesterday we took an hour ferry to the Bay Island of Utila. The ferry was so bouncy, not felt anything like that before. Quite an adventure!
We are staying at the Mango Inn in Utila, where the accommodation is free as we are going our diving PADI Open Water qualification with the Utila Dive Centre. Has a swimming pool and everything! Absolutely lovely, really spoilt here. We spent a lot of time with one of the instructors, Johan yesterday, and went round to his house to chill out and watch films with him last night. Wonderful to relax after all the travelling. Also bought some more flip flops - have managed to break 3 pairs in 3 weeks!
Had breakfast out today - massive portions - when we bumped into 3 guys that we met in Flores. Stephane had been great looking after me when I was ill, buying me drugs, and his 2 friends - one dutch and one Irish - were travelling with him. They changed their plans due to bad weather in Belize and Guatemala, and it was such a surprise to see them in the cafe, but a welcome one. So think tonight may have a few drinks (think Stephane wants to work his magic with Haz) as not diving deep tomorrow.
Anyway need to go and read my PADI book - got homework already! Hope everyone´s ok, chat again soon.
Much love,
Al, Haz and J xxx
Hello from Honduras! We loved spending the time in Antigua in Guatemala (not the island Antiga, but Antigua the landlocked city). There was a small earthquake that we felt in Antigua on Thursday at lunchtime: Haz had banged her head on a window (I know, pretty silly but luckily not much concussion), and thought it was her head playing tricks on her: however it turned out to be an earthquake - pretty cool! We then decided to climb an active volcano to say hello to the lava at the Pacaya volcano (probably not the best idea straight after an earthquake...)
It was one of the most difficult things I have done. I don´t think that Haz and J had such a difficult time because they abandoned me and lept up the volcano! We first of all started at a place called San Francisco at 1,800 m - to reach the top we needed to walk 4 km and up another 500m. We walked the first half in a forest environment, slippery after the rain (actually it was still raining), which was hard going but ok. We then reached the ash which was exactly like walking uphill on very coarse sand. Half way up I wanted to stop and cry it was so difficult! We were walking on old lava - Haz misjudged and fell through - her foot stopped a couple of inches away from molten lava - no health and safety here! Luckily she wasn´t scorched alive. Really disconcerting walking on top of old lava with molten lava showing through the gaps. The lava was really sharp in places, and melted the soles of shoes if we weren´t careful. I think most of us ended up with bruised bottoms and small cuts and grazes after falling over.
Eventually after 90 mins made it to the top. Nearly got blown off the top as the wind was so strong! But it was absolutely beautiful. We could see lava coming out from a hole and running in 2 streams all the way down the side of the volcano. One guy was toasting a marshmallow at the top - another one had lit a joint from the lava! Only in Guatemala... When we were walking back again (in the dark), we could see the orange lava flowing down the side as well, absolutely stunning.
Will put the photos on the internet when it´s possible to.
Spent a horrible day on Friday travelling for over 17 hours - one very uncomfortable bus, another 2 lovely buses, to arrive in La Ceiba in Honduras. Stayed overnight there, and in the morning yesterday we took an hour ferry to the Bay Island of Utila. The ferry was so bouncy, not felt anything like that before. Quite an adventure!
We are staying at the Mango Inn in Utila, where the accommodation is free as we are going our diving PADI Open Water qualification with the Utila Dive Centre. Has a swimming pool and everything! Absolutely lovely, really spoilt here. We spent a lot of time with one of the instructors, Johan yesterday, and went round to his house to chill out and watch films with him last night. Wonderful to relax after all the travelling. Also bought some more flip flops - have managed to break 3 pairs in 3 weeks!
Had breakfast out today - massive portions - when we bumped into 3 guys that we met in Flores. Stephane had been great looking after me when I was ill, buying me drugs, and his 2 friends - one dutch and one Irish - were travelling with him. They changed their plans due to bad weather in Belize and Guatemala, and it was such a surprise to see them in the cafe, but a welcome one. So think tonight may have a few drinks (think Stephane wants to work his magic with Haz) as not diving deep tomorrow.
Anyway need to go and read my PADI book - got homework already! Hope everyone´s ok, chat again soon.
Much love,
Al, Haz and J xxx
Thursday 16 October 2008
Photos!
Just a quickie to let you know that you can see the photos I've just uploaded onto the internet of Mexico and a bit of Guatemala at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/milliemoo73
You can also access this website by clicking on the black and white photo of me in the Sahara on the left hand side of the blog. Hope you enjoy the photos! (I think J and Haz might lynch me for some of them...!)
Love Alice xxx
http://picasaweb.google.com/milliemoo73
You can also access this website by clicking on the black and white photo of me in the Sahara on the left hand side of the blog. Hope you enjoy the photos! (I think J and Haz might lynch me for some of them...!)
Love Alice xxx
Tuesday 14 October 2008
Antigua, Guatemala
Dear all,
Thanks for all your messages, it's lovely to hear from you. Just a quickie to say that we left Flores last night and travelled on an overnight bus to Antigua. Antigua is very picturesque, surrounded by volcanoes and has really pretty buildings, painted gorgeous colours.
I've had a temperature the last few days so not been feeling very perky, apparently it's a 'superior airway infection' - I think that means basically a sore throat, but with a lot of paracetamol it feels much better (but Haz and J think I've gone slightly crazy)... so nothing serious to worry about, but basically not done anything the last 2 days because I've been asleep!
Tomorrow we're going to see a gorgeous lake, and then the following day we're going to climb a volcano. Pretty cool!
Chat again soon,
Muchos love, Al, Haz and J xxx
Thanks for all your messages, it's lovely to hear from you. Just a quickie to say that we left Flores last night and travelled on an overnight bus to Antigua. Antigua is very picturesque, surrounded by volcanoes and has really pretty buildings, painted gorgeous colours.
I've had a temperature the last few days so not been feeling very perky, apparently it's a 'superior airway infection' - I think that means basically a sore throat, but with a lot of paracetamol it feels much better (but Haz and J think I've gone slightly crazy)... so nothing serious to worry about, but basically not done anything the last 2 days because I've been asleep!
Tomorrow we're going to see a gorgeous lake, and then the following day we're going to climb a volcano. Pretty cool!
Chat again soon,
Muchos love, Al, Haz and J xxx
Sunday 12 October 2008
Still at Flores...
Hi all,
The hostel where we are staying is fantastic. We watched a really strange documentary about a homosexual farmer in the American Midwest last night (yes it was pretty weird...!) before heading for an early night.
We got up at 2.30am to get a bus for 1 1/4 hours to Tikal, which is another Mayan ruin. We walked up a temple and were so high that we were higher than the trees in the surrounding rainforest. We listened to the forest wake up with the howler monkeys roaring away, and then watched the sun rise over the forest. It was absolutely stunning. I will put some photographs up when I am able!
We trekked around the ruins at Tikal, (we heard an ant screaming!) with a very strange ´monkey guide`, Àble Canable`, who summoned us with his monkey roar. Even though the trek lasted a few hours and was quite exhausting (plus I fell over and managed to land in poo, especially to entertain the others... J laughed hysterically - I will get my revenge!) it was still very good fun, and interesting to have a guide for a change around the ruins.
Didn´t realise that today is the celebration of Christopher Columbus landing in America - or if you´re Mayan, then it´s a celebration day of being Mayan. At about 9am this morning when we were finishing our trek, literally hundreds of Mayans came flooding up the ruins for a day of partying and celebrations. Don´t think they´re going to sacrifice victims this time though. They are such beautiful people (so short too!) and the kids are stunning. Apparently though there has been some bad press in the past about Western women coming to Guatemala and ádopting´ local children, though luckily this is getting better.
Have just been pottering about this afternoon, but it has been very humid and now the heavens have opened! Trust us to travel to Guatemala in the rainy season... When we were walking about town, it was so unbearably hot, J started discussing rain dances. When we realised that we didn´t know how to do them, she then decided it was a good idea to sacrifice either Haz or myself. As we had come down off the ruins she decided that the bridge would have to do. Luckily have avoided that so far!
Anyway need to go and clean myself, hope all´s well in Europe,
Love Al, Haz and J xxxxx
The hostel where we are staying is fantastic. We watched a really strange documentary about a homosexual farmer in the American Midwest last night (yes it was pretty weird...!) before heading for an early night.
We got up at 2.30am to get a bus for 1 1/4 hours to Tikal, which is another Mayan ruin. We walked up a temple and were so high that we were higher than the trees in the surrounding rainforest. We listened to the forest wake up with the howler monkeys roaring away, and then watched the sun rise over the forest. It was absolutely stunning. I will put some photographs up when I am able!
We trekked around the ruins at Tikal, (we heard an ant screaming!) with a very strange ´monkey guide`, Àble Canable`, who summoned us with his monkey roar. Even though the trek lasted a few hours and was quite exhausting (plus I fell over and managed to land in poo, especially to entertain the others... J laughed hysterically - I will get my revenge!) it was still very good fun, and interesting to have a guide for a change around the ruins.
Didn´t realise that today is the celebration of Christopher Columbus landing in America - or if you´re Mayan, then it´s a celebration day of being Mayan. At about 9am this morning when we were finishing our trek, literally hundreds of Mayans came flooding up the ruins for a day of partying and celebrations. Don´t think they´re going to sacrifice victims this time though. They are such beautiful people (so short too!) and the kids are stunning. Apparently though there has been some bad press in the past about Western women coming to Guatemala and ádopting´ local children, though luckily this is getting better.
Have just been pottering about this afternoon, but it has been very humid and now the heavens have opened! Trust us to travel to Guatemala in the rainy season... When we were walking about town, it was so unbearably hot, J started discussing rain dances. When we realised that we didn´t know how to do them, she then decided it was a good idea to sacrifice either Haz or myself. As we had come down off the ruins she decided that the bridge would have to do. Luckily have avoided that so far!
Anyway need to go and clean myself, hope all´s well in Europe,
Love Al, Haz and J xxxxx
Saturday 11 October 2008
Flores, GUATEMALA (via Belize)
Dear all,
What a hectic few days! We loved Tulum by the Caribbean sea, however we didn´t like the thunderstorms or the mosquitos. But that didn´t stop us from sunbathing.... very British of course. Still managed to get burnt on our backs (J has some very interesting bow patterns) in the 20 minutes the sun shone... However the rustic accomodation we were staying in (grass huts) made us chuckle when we saw couples paying extortionate amounts for plus hotels on the beach front, when it was raining all the time!
Anyway, on Friday morning we left for Chetumal, a big city by the Belizean border, then crossed over the border (Hayley nearly got us arrested by saying we were smuggling mangoes in, however we also nearly didn´t get in when we said we were only passing through... they wanted us to stay for longer!) into Belize. Then Belize city to San Ignaciao...
We literally travelled on the bus all day until we could go no further. San Ignaciao was the last town in Belize where we could stay the night before the border crossing, which is dangerous in the dark, as no buses go through, you have to walk instead.
Belize is beautiful. We were all shocked at how lovely the people were, how friendly and helpful, and how different they were from Mexico. Some of the population are Creoles (descendents of British and Spanish invaders and the original population), some are Caribbean (and very dark skinned) and some are Mayan (look like Mexicans/Tibetans). It is an incredible hotch potch of cultures and indigeneous people, and utterly wonderful.
We stayed in a lovely little hotel called Elvira´s in San Ignaciao - well it was lovely until Haz and J started screaming when cockroaches appeared. I came out of the bathroom for the biggest cockroach I have ever seen to run over my foot. We decided to drink instead. Found a lovely Chinese restaurant (cheap and brilliant after endless cheese sandwiches in Mexico for Haz and J, ham and cheese sandwiches for me). The locals kept us entertained with conversation, in a really strange English dialect. Part Caribbean, part English, and part incomprehensible. But so lovely, and it was great to relax after our hectic journey!
This morning we travelled over the border to Flores in Guatemala. Flores is an island in a lake in northern Guatemala. It is absolutely stunning, and the sun is shining. The buildings are painted beautiful colours, and the people are so beautiful and friendly (the bus driver drove the bus up tiny cobbled roads to take us to the hostel). Although we were using a ´chicken bus´ - I think Haz and J were a bit bemused when many people clambered into the minivan. The potholes weren´t very soothing either...
But we arrived safe and sound at a wonderful hostel, Hostel Los Amigos, http://www.amigoshostel.com/contact.htm
and have spent the afternoon wandering around the island. It is incredibly cheap here, and they do fantastic Italian food... I know we should be eating the local cuisine, but after mainly tedious food in Mexico, this is a welcome relief!
I think we are going to walk up a Mayan ruin tomorrow morning to watch the sunrise over the jungle, and to hear the jungle wake up, then on Monday evening / Tuesday morning, we are heading to Antigua to walk the volcano.
Anyway, hope that all is well in the UK,
Loads of love from us all,
Al, Haz and J xxxxxx
What a hectic few days! We loved Tulum by the Caribbean sea, however we didn´t like the thunderstorms or the mosquitos. But that didn´t stop us from sunbathing.... very British of course. Still managed to get burnt on our backs (J has some very interesting bow patterns) in the 20 minutes the sun shone... However the rustic accomodation we were staying in (grass huts) made us chuckle when we saw couples paying extortionate amounts for plus hotels on the beach front, when it was raining all the time!
Anyway, on Friday morning we left for Chetumal, a big city by the Belizean border, then crossed over the border (Hayley nearly got us arrested by saying we were smuggling mangoes in, however we also nearly didn´t get in when we said we were only passing through... they wanted us to stay for longer!) into Belize. Then Belize city to San Ignaciao...
We literally travelled on the bus all day until we could go no further. San Ignaciao was the last town in Belize where we could stay the night before the border crossing, which is dangerous in the dark, as no buses go through, you have to walk instead.
Belize is beautiful. We were all shocked at how lovely the people were, how friendly and helpful, and how different they were from Mexico. Some of the population are Creoles (descendents of British and Spanish invaders and the original population), some are Caribbean (and very dark skinned) and some are Mayan (look like Mexicans/Tibetans). It is an incredible hotch potch of cultures and indigeneous people, and utterly wonderful.
We stayed in a lovely little hotel called Elvira´s in San Ignaciao - well it was lovely until Haz and J started screaming when cockroaches appeared. I came out of the bathroom for the biggest cockroach I have ever seen to run over my foot. We decided to drink instead. Found a lovely Chinese restaurant (cheap and brilliant after endless cheese sandwiches in Mexico for Haz and J, ham and cheese sandwiches for me). The locals kept us entertained with conversation, in a really strange English dialect. Part Caribbean, part English, and part incomprehensible. But so lovely, and it was great to relax after our hectic journey!
This morning we travelled over the border to Flores in Guatemala. Flores is an island in a lake in northern Guatemala. It is absolutely stunning, and the sun is shining. The buildings are painted beautiful colours, and the people are so beautiful and friendly (the bus driver drove the bus up tiny cobbled roads to take us to the hostel). Although we were using a ´chicken bus´ - I think Haz and J were a bit bemused when many people clambered into the minivan. The potholes weren´t very soothing either...
But we arrived safe and sound at a wonderful hostel, Hostel Los Amigos, http://www.amigoshostel.com/contact.htm
and have spent the afternoon wandering around the island. It is incredibly cheap here, and they do fantastic Italian food... I know we should be eating the local cuisine, but after mainly tedious food in Mexico, this is a welcome relief!
I think we are going to walk up a Mayan ruin tomorrow morning to watch the sunrise over the jungle, and to hear the jungle wake up, then on Monday evening / Tuesday morning, we are heading to Antigua to walk the volcano.
Anyway, hope that all is well in the UK,
Loads of love from us all,
Al, Haz and J xxxxxx
Thursday 9 October 2008
San Cristobal de Las Cases to Tulum
Hi Everyone,
Sorry that it´s been a while since my last post... things have been very hectic here! We spent a few days in the sun in Puerto Escondido. On our last day we took a boat out with a lovely guy called Roberto, and saw dolphins. We swam with a sea turtle that we named ´Simon´, and went fishing. I managed to catch a yellow fin tuna (massive!) - about 2 1/2 foot long - and ate him for my lunch on the beach. He tasted absolutely delicious.
We took an overnight bus to San Cristobal de Las Cases, where we met up with someone that J had got on very well with, called Helgi (from Iceland) with his two lady friends. San Cristobal is surrounded by mountains, and because the roads are on a grid system, every direction we turned, we could see the mountains. It was absolutely beautiful, plus the houses were painted lovely bright colours. The town has a collection of indigeneous people (due to social, cultural and political upheaval) and the ladies in particular were beautiful. The children were very cute, selling us friendship bracelets. The females wore strange skirts which we think were probably made from buffalo skin at a guess. I don´t know who looked at each other more! They were so friendly, although we always have to ask before taking photos, as some believe that if you take their photograph, you take their spirit.
We really enjoyed our time there, bought a few bits and bobs (mainly light stuff that we can wear, apart from J´s rug...) but the weather was very cold so we left the following day. We took a 5 hr coach to Palenque, where we saw beautiful Maya ruins in a rainforest and waterfalls, (with Helgi et. al), then spent the afternoon and evening sweating huge amounts in the humidity. The town was nice enough, but the people were very kind and welcoming.
We then took an 8 hr overnight bus to Merida, another city, before changing buses and going onto Chichen Itza (another 2 hours) which is the site of the most impressive Maya ruins in Mexico. The Mayas were around from 250 - 900 AD, and the site is very beautiful. The buildings were originally bright primary colours, but this has of course gone. Visitors could climb up the biggest pyramid until George Bush fell off it a year or two ago. I say no more. Despite this, we enjoyed walking around, making fun of American tourists (one asked J whether the cash point gave Mexican pesos or American dollars) and sweltering in the sun. Again, too hot, so we moved on, saying goodbye to Helgi, who is going to Cuba but meeting us in Peru.
Another 2 hour bus ride later (the same day), we arrived at Tulum, which is where we are now, on the east coast of Mexico. The Caribbean is crystal clear and turquoise, the beaches are white, and the hostel is... empty. Very unusual! But I suppose it is still the rainy season here. We were going to stay here until Sunday, but we all have itchy feet now, and as the weather is bad (didn´t stop us swimming though!) we are moving on tomorrow.
Tomorrow we are going to Chetumal (4-5 hours away) to pick up a bus that will take us through Belize into Guatamala. We´re all very excited about this, however we will definitely need a rest when we get to Antigua! We are heading for Flores in Guatamala, but it might take a day or two to get there. Flores is a small island in a lake and meant to be very pretty. Following that, we will be basing ourselves in Antigua, for us to do day trips to see the Pacaya volcano - an active volcano. Occasionally it erupts again, fingers crossed we are lucky! We can walk up to the lava there and toast marshmallows on it (although the sulphur makes it quite nasty to eat!) and we have been warned to wear good shoes, as the soles often melt....Very excited!
So going to sign off - J is checking Facebook, Haz is writing her journal -
Lots of love from us all,
Alice xxx
Sorry that it´s been a while since my last post... things have been very hectic here! We spent a few days in the sun in Puerto Escondido. On our last day we took a boat out with a lovely guy called Roberto, and saw dolphins. We swam with a sea turtle that we named ´Simon´, and went fishing. I managed to catch a yellow fin tuna (massive!) - about 2 1/2 foot long - and ate him for my lunch on the beach. He tasted absolutely delicious.
We took an overnight bus to San Cristobal de Las Cases, where we met up with someone that J had got on very well with, called Helgi (from Iceland) with his two lady friends. San Cristobal is surrounded by mountains, and because the roads are on a grid system, every direction we turned, we could see the mountains. It was absolutely beautiful, plus the houses were painted lovely bright colours. The town has a collection of indigeneous people (due to social, cultural and political upheaval) and the ladies in particular were beautiful. The children were very cute, selling us friendship bracelets. The females wore strange skirts which we think were probably made from buffalo skin at a guess. I don´t know who looked at each other more! They were so friendly, although we always have to ask before taking photos, as some believe that if you take their photograph, you take their spirit.
We really enjoyed our time there, bought a few bits and bobs (mainly light stuff that we can wear, apart from J´s rug...) but the weather was very cold so we left the following day. We took a 5 hr coach to Palenque, where we saw beautiful Maya ruins in a rainforest and waterfalls, (with Helgi et. al), then spent the afternoon and evening sweating huge amounts in the humidity. The town was nice enough, but the people were very kind and welcoming.
We then took an 8 hr overnight bus to Merida, another city, before changing buses and going onto Chichen Itza (another 2 hours) which is the site of the most impressive Maya ruins in Mexico. The Mayas were around from 250 - 900 AD, and the site is very beautiful. The buildings were originally bright primary colours, but this has of course gone. Visitors could climb up the biggest pyramid until George Bush fell off it a year or two ago. I say no more. Despite this, we enjoyed walking around, making fun of American tourists (one asked J whether the cash point gave Mexican pesos or American dollars) and sweltering in the sun. Again, too hot, so we moved on, saying goodbye to Helgi, who is going to Cuba but meeting us in Peru.
Another 2 hour bus ride later (the same day), we arrived at Tulum, which is where we are now, on the east coast of Mexico. The Caribbean is crystal clear and turquoise, the beaches are white, and the hostel is... empty. Very unusual! But I suppose it is still the rainy season here. We were going to stay here until Sunday, but we all have itchy feet now, and as the weather is bad (didn´t stop us swimming though!) we are moving on tomorrow.
Tomorrow we are going to Chetumal (4-5 hours away) to pick up a bus that will take us through Belize into Guatamala. We´re all very excited about this, however we will definitely need a rest when we get to Antigua! We are heading for Flores in Guatamala, but it might take a day or two to get there. Flores is a small island in a lake and meant to be very pretty. Following that, we will be basing ourselves in Antigua, for us to do day trips to see the Pacaya volcano - an active volcano. Occasionally it erupts again, fingers crossed we are lucky! We can walk up to the lava there and toast marshmallows on it (although the sulphur makes it quite nasty to eat!) and we have been warned to wear good shoes, as the soles often melt....Very excited!
So going to sign off - J is checking Facebook, Haz is writing her journal -
Lots of love from us all,
Alice xxx
Saturday 4 October 2008
Puerto Escondido
Dear all,
Just to let you know that after our mammoth 14 hour bus journey (the comfiest bus I have ever been on with reclining seats!) we arrived and were accosted by a crazy English man called Steve. We ended up at the Tower Bridge hostel and have met some lovely people in Puerto Escondido.
It is a 15 minute walk to the beach where the water is beautiful and the waves are exciting enough to swim in, but not too dangerously so. On another part of the beach further by town the waves are as tall as houses (no swimming there!) but watching the surfing is cool. We have been chilling by the water and watching the sun set over the waves. It is so pretty here.
We are heading to San Cristabel de Cases tomorrow night on an overnight bus (another 14 hours) to save time and money on accommodation. At the moment Haz and J are being taught Hip jewellery making by another crazy dude called Crash (because he travels around and crashes on peoples sofas) so are happily entertained!
Still recovering after the tequila night but the sun, sea and sand is certainly helping!
Chat soon,
Love Al, Haz and J xxxx
Just to let you know that after our mammoth 14 hour bus journey (the comfiest bus I have ever been on with reclining seats!) we arrived and were accosted by a crazy English man called Steve. We ended up at the Tower Bridge hostel and have met some lovely people in Puerto Escondido.
It is a 15 minute walk to the beach where the water is beautiful and the waves are exciting enough to swim in, but not too dangerously so. On another part of the beach further by town the waves are as tall as houses (no swimming there!) but watching the surfing is cool. We have been chilling by the water and watching the sun set over the waves. It is so pretty here.
We are heading to San Cristabel de Cases tomorrow night on an overnight bus (another 14 hours) to save time and money on accommodation. At the moment Haz and J are being taught Hip jewellery making by another crazy dude called Crash (because he travels around and crashes on peoples sofas) so are happily entertained!
Still recovering after the tequila night but the sun, sea and sand is certainly helping!
Chat soon,
Love Al, Haz and J xxxx
Thursday 2 October 2008
Puebla
Mexico City was incredible. There are no words to explain just how big it was, so I´m not even going to try! We braved the metro and saw Frida Kahlo´s Blue house and Trotsky´s house too (complete with bullet holes over the headboard). On Tuesday night we decided to drink tequila: I´m not going to say any more about that because I´m feeling sick again! Suffice to say, yesterday was a write-off for me (unfortunately), but Haz and J managed to see the pyramids and their pictures look amazing.
We managed to get to Puebla (after a slight delay after one of us -not mentioning any names - managed to leave her passport at the hostel so we had to return to get it) which is 2 hours away from Mexico City. Puebla has a huge Spanish influence and is called the ´City of Angels´due to its 70 churches. We arrived at 10pm and came to the hostel which turned out to be wonderful. Very Moroccan with its tiles and courtyard, and very peaceful. just what we needed after frantic Mexico City! We´ve met 2 guys here who are great fun, and we´re going to go and watch one of them eat grasshoppers this morning.... a speciality of here apparently!
Tonight: a 14 hour bus ride to Puerto Escondido - a gorgeous place on the Pacific Coast.
Gotta go and eat grasshoppers, chat soon!
Love Al (and Haz and J) xxx
We managed to get to Puebla (after a slight delay after one of us -not mentioning any names - managed to leave her passport at the hostel so we had to return to get it) which is 2 hours away from Mexico City. Puebla has a huge Spanish influence and is called the ´City of Angels´due to its 70 churches. We arrived at 10pm and came to the hostel which turned out to be wonderful. Very Moroccan with its tiles and courtyard, and very peaceful. just what we needed after frantic Mexico City! We´ve met 2 guys here who are great fun, and we´re going to go and watch one of them eat grasshoppers this morning.... a speciality of here apparently!
Tonight: a 14 hour bus ride to Puerto Escondido - a gorgeous place on the Pacific Coast.
Gotta go and eat grasshoppers, chat soon!
Love Al (and Haz and J) xxx
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