What a Mala!

I have now been across Guatemala and am on a Caribbean island of Belize (Caye Caulker) - essentially having travelled from the Pacific to the Atlantic side of central America. It's been a while since I posted - mostly because I've been unwell (as those on Facebook would already know by my pathetic whimpers for sympathy!).

So let me present the facts a bit more positively here.

Firstly, the toe isn't broken (RETRO EDIT - it was, I was just in denial!).

It did turn many shades of blue, purple, and black, but I am still upright, so I am going to assume bruising, albeit badly (and beds really shouldn't have legs half way along them that are concealed by bedspreads for tired and weary travellers).

Secondly, Gastro Stop is a Godsend.

Especially as I suspect this was the same tummy bug from Argentina that resurfaced briefly in Peru, but was much worse after one meal in Guatemala (a very tasty meal which I can't fault, although I will choose to stare suspiciously and poke with disdain at all refried beans from now on!). In fact, the Guatemalan food is quite tasty, and I am sorry I missed some of the better looking dishes over the couple of days I couldn't eat.

Finally the Noise Nazi (my assigned room-mate) probably has a stellar career ahead of her in some variant of a Librarian's role (Does this career still exist? Do they still shush people?) or failing that, I think she was pretty good at sleep deprivation torture 101... after no sleep from an overnight flight, I folded after two nights with her and am just paying for my own rooms (in central America this actually works out cheaper than paying the single supplement). After all, it's only money and I don't think sleep deprivation would have held up in court at my inevitable murder trial...

So. What this all means is I don't have either many photos or tales/memories for my first port of call in Guatemala - the lovely colonial town of Antigua. Prior to the toe incident that seemed to indicate this turn in karma, I did manage a little wander through the town.Check out the Blog Gallery to see the church on the main square (there were heaps of churches). This is such a picturesque town with its cobbled streets, situated in a valley surrounded by three (active) volcanoes. We saw one of them smoking on the second day (when we left).

I particularly liked the buses in Guatemala (we called them chicken buses, although in truth I don't think I saw anyone on them holding a chicken...). They were always fantastic colours and would drive along with their lights flashing away like a portable disco.

I was barely 5 minutes out of the hotel when I was picked up by a couple of local women. The elder one was a Spanish teacher at the local language school. I'm not sure if the younger one was her daughter. Once they discovered I could speak a little Spanish they latched on to me and insisted they wanted to show me around their town and let me practice my Spanish (how kind!). I was searching for an ATM and some water only, so they insisted on guiding me to these two locations, then wanted to have coffee with me (I suspected I would be buying at this point...).

It's terrible to be so distrusting, but they were genuinely looking for a sit down and a chat, and took me to the loveliest of courtyard coffee shops (ironically we had breakfast there the next morning). Maybe others offer to buy them lunch also, I don't know (I ordered a sandwich for myself), if I'd been in town for more than 5 minutes (without being jetlagged) I might have been better able to judge the situation. Perhaps I could have been a little more magnanimous? Anyway, after I'd finished my sandwich, and written my postal address for Maria, the younger woman, who insisted she wanted a pen-pal and that I have to send her a postcard from Australia (this will be highly dependent on whether she remembers to include her address when she writes, as I didn't ask for it!), the older woman pulled out an official US Government letter and declared that my Spanish was good enough that I should be able to translate it for her.

It seems she was a widow of a US veteran who served in Guatemala in the late 1940's, and had been receiving a widow's pension that had now stopped being paid (she needed to spend a calendar month on US soil apparently to resume payments). The letter explained all the details, and I am grateful that one of my skills is an ability to simplify ideas, in order for my Spanish to cope. I felt quite uncomfortable being asked to read such personal mail - and this wasn't helped by Maria occasionally having a conversation with the empty chair next to me (she would explain in Spanish some of my more witty comments to her invisible compatriot).

As we left, I said that I was very tired and really wanted to be alone to quietly enjoy the town. They promptly wished me all the best of luck, made me promise to write, and kissed me goodbye. I felt like quite a heel at this point, but I was relieved to just get on and do what I needed - Oh, I've just realised that it was at this point that I returned, hit the toe, got sick, couldn't sleep... maybe we really do cause our own karma?

Anyway, it's a pity, as the next day was a visit to a coffee plantation and co-op. We walked up the mountain to the farmer's crop (yes, I did this with a broken toe and surly disposition!!) as he explained how they grow the coffee bushes, and then roasted and drank some of their coffee at his house (except my stomach was too sore, so I only took one sip - what a tragedy for a coffee lover!).

We then headed back to Guatemala City airport to fly then drive to the island on a lake in the jungle that is Flores. A very pretty little place, and I was feeling so much better the next day as I walked around, explored, and took some pictures. Check out the photo gallery for the main plaza, up on a hill in the centre of the island with church, city hall, and so on. There is also a cute little island off the island - I think it was a museum.

Our last day in Guatemala was spent at Tikal, a large Mayan ruin a little further inland, in the heart of the jungle. I'll post separately about the Mayan temples - and hopefully a lot sooner than this post has taken from the last ones.

Until then - Aveline. :-)