Casa de Don Ismael

Hey crew, hope all is well wherever you may be hanging out right now. Yes, right now I am in a crap internet place in Tapachula Mexico. Yes, made it across the last border (except the good ol U S of A) and am in the last stretch of my journey. What this journey was for I may never know but I certainly know that I would feel incomplete not having done it. So the past few days the bros and I have really splashed out in Antigua and Tikal. These are the only places we ended up going in Guatemala even with grand plans to explore Lake Atitlan among other things. Antigua is everything you could want in a Latin America tourist town. The place is great in that it is easy enough for gringos, like myself, who know no Spanish, to get around and find great places to stay, drink, eat, and hang out. The exploring of the markets is great if you are into blankets, bead jewelry, or carved wooden bowls but, to be honest, I really couldn't be bothered to shop for anything. My pack is now lighter than it has ever been and adding stuff to it just seems to be a mistake. That's not to say I didn't look and try to negotiate with the shopkeepers just to see if I could get anything really cheap. After getting in late on the Hedman Alas 312D Mercedes Benz van we walked in circles until we came upon a place where a guy ended up letting us in and giving us a bed for the night. Wasn't cheap so we went in search of a new place the next morning. By we I mean my bros went and I stayed and lazed around the room. We all do the things that we are good at. They found the mother load in Don Ismael. The place was cheaper and far superior. Free brekky, excellent service, cleanliness beyond compare, and forever a friendly helpful attitude. Wow what more could you want for about $6 a night. Hanging out during the day we scored a sweet 15 Quetzale meal including Steve's favorite brown juice. Don't know what this stuff is but it tastes like mud, orange juice, and tomato juice mixed. We shopped around, hung out at a sweet cafe and ate carrot cake and espresso (just to be American) and decided to book a trip to Tikal.

Tikal is a Mayan settlement in northeast Guatemala and I guess one of or the only Mayan ruins in the forest. We did the trip high class and brainlessly getting all of our shuttles, flights, hotels, meals, and tours included. Only problem was getting up at 345a the next day for our 4a shuttle to out 630a flight. Whoa don't know when I have gotten up this early in quite some time. It all worked out and we left our bags at Don Ismael for our return to Antigua. Arriving at Tikal we met Edin our tour guide helper guy and after throwing our stuff in the hotel we started out for a 4 hour tour through the jungle and the life of the Maya. Making into the park after paying an entrance fee (a sore subject with me) we start to see and hear all kinds of wildlife. That day we saw tarantulas, spider monkeys, toucans, turkeys, and all kinds of other birds that I could never name. Quite nice, but more impressive were the ruins themselves. They have excavated about 20 structures I suppose from under trees and dirt that have covered them up over the last 1200 years. These things are amazing and the way you picture ruins to look (they actually shot that scene in Return of the Jedi off of Temple 4 where you see ruins sticking up above the canopy of the forest). The thing that gets you is the fact that these were all standing up painted and there were no trees between them when the city was thriving. We learned a lot about the Maya (including the name Maya actually meaning 'what do you want' in Mayan - stupid conquerors just thought they were introducing themselves) and that they think the end of the current cycle is 2012, so that might be the apocalypse. The modern Maya down here just think it will be a change since they don't want to think about and fear death for the next 7 years. Went back for the sunset that night after a refreshing dip in the hotel pool (one of the flashiest and most expensive places we have stayed) but got a bit lost on the way to the four sided pyramid that we were going to watch it on. We ended up making it in plenty of time to hang out with our lady friends who were on the tour with us and taking Spanish in Antigua. The sunset ended up being quite nice with tons of color but the security guard made us all vamos before the color started showing up. On the way down the steps Steve yelled that it was turning red and almost everyone up there (about 15 people) started running back up to see. The guard's were none too pleased and sent everyone down again. A film crew that was up filming for a documentary told us the next day that it was amazing. Special rights.

We decided that night to make the next morning a 4am morning as well. Had to see the sunrise over the ruins and hear the forest wake up. We got up sluggishly at 415 and headed in the direction of where we knew a tour was to meet. Miguel was giving it and had approached us the night before to see if we were interested. We said no and figured we would follow them in and sneak around with no flashlights in the dark. Not a well thought out plan but a plan nonetheless. So walking toward the meeting spot we see a bunch of lights and they start to head off. We stay about 50m back and just follow. Reaching the first gate a guard with some sort of semi-automatic rifle approaches us and asks what we are doing. We explain we are late for our tour and trying to catch up. He ends up letting us go. First victory. Getting near the group at the second guard station we slow down and end up having to walk up with the group because another group is coming behind us. We pay and walk with the tour people and make it to temple 4 in time to see the sunrise. The sunrise, except in March I hear, is pretty much a hoax. The sun came up but there is so much fog and mist over the forest you cant see anything. Not to say it was a waste though because hearing the animals and seeing the birds and monkeys wake up was quite amazing. Everyone up there was quiet and it was nice just relaxing on my second 4am day in a row. Not to be repeated by the way. Made it back in to look around and then back to Antigua after a grueling 4 hours at the Flores airport.

Back in Antigua our room at the Don Ismael was ready and our bags were still intact. It was good to have a change of clothes after 2 solid days of sweat on the ones we came home in. Next day decided to head it out for Mexico at 11am and had a nice bus ride until getting stuck in Tapachula. Thought we would be able to catch a night bus through to Oaxaca City but we didn't get in till after they had all left. Quite a town around here but don't worry we head out tonight.