Tikal National Park

Today was a super long and tiring day but it was worth it! I went to Tikal which is one of the major sites of the Mayan civilization. According to some sources the Mayans settled in Tikal around 900 BC and most of the temples were constructed around the 8th century AD. Eventually the monuments and temples were abandoned and there is no exact reason as to why that was although there is speculation that wars and famine might have caused it.

To get to Tikal you have to pass through Flores which is the capital city of the department of Peten in Guatemala. Traveling from Antigua to Flores takes about 8 hours on the bus as opposed driving to the capital and taking a 45 minute flight. There is no guessing which option I took! I left Antigua very early in the morning and there was no traffic whatsoever so the ride to the airport was pretty fast.

From Flores I had to take a bus to get to Tikal and the ride was about an hour and a half, I slept through most of it anyway since I had woken up so early without having had much sleep. When I finally got to Tikal I realized it was going to be a long day because of the intensity of the sun and as the day progressed, it got so hot I just wanted to dip myself in cold water. We ended up walking a lot within the tour group I was in because there was a lot of ground to cover and many steps to be climbed at the ruins. I could literally feel those calories just sizzling away!

When you try so hard to smile but the hot scorching sun just won't let you be great so your smile ends up looking like a grimace up close. Gotta love that zoom button.

Beautiful view right? trust me! to get to it was not a joke, had to climb a lot of stairs to get to enjoy this view. It was worth it at least.

After we left Tikal our tour guide took us back to Flores and since we had some time to spare, he decided to show us a bit of the city before heading back to Antigua. I was so tired, sweaty, dusty and thoroughly sunburnt but I soldered on and wandered around the city for like an hour or so before heading to the airport.

That's it folks, it was once again a very long and tiring day but I did enjoy myself. I have been on the go since I landed in Guatemala and I hope I don't get burnt out soon. Tomorrow is also another full day of adventure but a bit more relaxed so I will see how that goes. Tune in for an update.

Random Thoughts of The Day:

When I was at the airport waiting for my flight back to Guatemala city from Flores, I couldn't help but notice how everyone else around me still looked so fresh despite having spent the whole day touring Tikal.  What is the secret people?! I personally just felt to dirty and in need of a shower so maybe I was just a bit more conscious.

While waiting for our flight to Flores I noticed people kept standing up and position themselves near the entry gate to the plane and I was at first baffled. I mean we will all get a seat on the plane why the desperate rush? turns out the planes to and from Flores are really tiny and there are no designated seats, you seat wherever you can. You should have seen folks bum rushing the gate attendant just so they could get through and grab the best seats, it was kind of funny.

I have to say Guatemalans are really friendly! at least the ones I have encountered so far. Whether its stopping to ask someone for directions or to take your photos, they just seem really nice and warm.

At this point I think a good chunk of Venezuelans occupy every Latin American country because of the sad state of affairs in their country. I never fail to meet a bunch of them during my travels and the story is always the same, they are escaping the hardships in Venezuela. Met some today who told me they live in Guatemala and there is a good number of Venezuelans who actually moved here to escape the craziness in Venezuela. A lot of the ones I have met are very well educated.

Speaking of Venezuela, a lot of them are also moving to the Dominican Republic. It was on the news a lot when I was there and you should have observed some of the sensationalism that was going on, too hilarious! Dominican women complaining about how the Venezuelan women are coming to seduce and steal their men while Dominican men getting a kick out of it saying that they can't wait to welcome the beautiful Venezuelan women. Too funny!!  

A Year Older In Lago de Atitlan

Today is my birthday and in following with my personal tradition here, I decided to spend my 37th birthday in Lago Atitlan which is a volcanic lake here in Guatemala, I had read from various sources that its considered one of the most beautiful lakes in the world so I figured there was no better way to celebrate my birthday than be at a beautiful place with gorgeous scenery.

I booked a tour with the help of the family I am staying with here in Antigua and I got picked up at 5:30 am so you can imagine how tired I was by the end of the day. I am not complaining though because I had a wonderful time. We were ten people within the tour group and I met some interesting characters that made the whole tour so much fun and hilarious.

To get to Atitlan we drove to a town called Panajachel which is a good entry point to the lake. Atitlan is surrounded by various small towns and each town has its own charm to it but the guide told us we were only going to visit three towns which are more well known and have more to offer in terms of what to see and experience. The towns were: San Juan, San Pedro and Santiago. We had to take a boat to visit each town and we got to see some really nice views thanks to the surrounding volcanic mountains.........none of which are active, thank goodness! 

I will go ahead and post the pictures I took and try to explain some of them, if I sound really rushed its because I am super tired and tomorrow I have to get up really early for another long day.

Panajachel, the town we first stopped at before getting on the boat to Atitlan. The town looks very vibrant with lost of commercial activities

Lake Atitlan

This was my tour group which had a mixture of Colombians, Costa Ricans, Panamanians and yours truly, J the Kenyan.

We stopped by one of the artisanal shops and saw some pretty cute paintings, I noticed that a lot of the paintings of women featured their backs a lot so I asked how come. Turns out that when the Spanish came along and enslaved the indigenous population they made each tribe wear a distinct color to identify them. Some of the tribes added their own traditional patterns to distinguish themselves and some added patterns that represented their gods and believed that by wearing those patterns they would get protection from their gods against the violation they endured during the Spanish conquest. Sad! so back to why the paintings only show their backs, its to identify the tribes as each tribe has its own pattern and colors and the best way to show this off is from the back. I have seen so many of these paintings around Antigua so I am glad that I got to learn some history behind them.

Colors and more colors, love it!

This was our guide Eduardo, such a sweet man and great painter too! he showed me some of his work  on his phone and I was impressed!

How cute is this Tuk Tuk? they are used as taxis within the towns around the lake and you will see a lot of them parked close to the docks waiting to pick up or drop off passengers. Some of the streets in the town were really narrow so I can see how convenient having one of these is.

This is what happens when the sun is out in full force and there is just too much light and you can't have a re-do because by the time you viewed the pictures it was already too late. Ooh! well, perfection is overrated anyway.

We went to another store to be shown how the indigenous people make their textile, it reminded me so much of Peru by how similar their traditions are. Trust me spinning that cotton into slender thread was not easy, it sure did look easy when the lady was doing it and when she asked for volunteers I decided to give it a try.............yeah! total fail! but on a positive note, look how full my afro puff is. Cute isn't it?

Enjoying the panoramic view of the city below, pictures really don't do it justice. I guess some things really do need to be seen in person to appreciate their beauty.

Thats it folks! my 37th birthday went very well and I am glad I had the opportunity to spend it at Lake Atitlan. I can't believe I have 3 more years until my 40th birthday! I actually know exactly where I want to go for my 40th and I can't wait, I just hope my plans work out as I wish because you never know.........even the best laid plans do sometimes fail. Ooh! well, why am I even thinking about my 40th now? I still have a couple of years until then so I better just chill out.

Happy 37th birthday to me!! and on that note, peace out!

Random Thoughts of The Day:

Who am I kidding? I am too tired to formulate any more thoughts. Time to call it a night! 

Antigua, Guatemala

Hola! I am currently in Antigua, Guatemala and I am loving it! I got here last night landing at Guatemala City which is the capital, before transferring to Antigua. The city is pretty and very tranquil and its actually been designated as a UNESCO world Heritage Site. Many tourists who come to Guatemala base their stay in Antigua rather than the capital city Guatemala, then travel to other areas within the country. Antigua used to be the capital city but because of an earthquake that caused destruction, the capital got moved and is now Guatemala City. I had heard very good things about Antigua so that's why I decided to base my stay here and travel to other cities within the country. I am glad I made that choice because so far I am liking this place a lot!

Today being my first full day here I decided to walk around the city and explore my surroundings before embarking on other adventures elsewhere. It was surprisingly a bit cold and gloomy and the family I am staying with was mentioning that the weather has been really strange of late as the current condition isn't what is normally expected during this time of the year......Global Warming is real! anyway, this city is not very big and you can actually cover a good chunk of it very easily. The roads are made of cobblestone which I find pretty, you just have to be very practical with the shoes you wear. The sun did manage to come out for a little bit and this brightened up everything so I took advantage and took several pictures......enjoy!

This is how the roads look, they do add character to the city but if you love wearing high heels, then it can get a bit tricky.

How cute is this car??!! and the surrounding colors.

There is no shortage of ruins in this city, beautiful ruins that is........

Do you want to know where old American school buses go to retire? look no further than the public transportation in Antigua.

Never a shortage of the cutest spaces such as this.

I am staying with a local family that I found through airbnb and their hospitality has just been amazing. The house is pretty, I get three meals a day, my own private room, hot shower, towel and the chance to interact with a Guatemalan family. All these for $13 a night! I mean, c'mon what's not to like about my current arrangement? I love it! let me take you on a short tour of my current living situation.

This is the entrance to the house.

The courtyard

The hallway to my room

Right outside my room

My room, the bed is super comfortable and everything smells fresh as in you can tell the beddings were recently washed and not only the sheets but the cover as well.......trust me, I have had nasty experiences with this before that's why I am very picky with beddings.

That's it folks, my first full day was well spent and tomorrow being my birthday I have a full day planned to celebrate in my own special way. Stay tuned!

Random Thoughts of The Day:

In as much as I am enjoying this trip on my own, I really do miss my husband terribly and I am actually looking forward to the day I go back home to be with him.

I have heard Antigua is really safe so that puts me at ease. Guatemala City is another story, everyone is telling me its not safe especially if you don't know your way around. The family I am staying with connected me with a guide who will show me around Guatemala City, I am just curious to see what the city has to offer and perhaps compare it to Antigua.

I have to say the roads from the airport in Guatemala City to Antigua were very smooth, I don't know what I was expecting and why this stood out so much to me but all through my ride from the airport I just kept thinking, "these roads sure are smooth!"

So I was chatting with Maria the mother of the house who she is actually from El Salvador but moved to Guatemala after meeting Manuel her husband who is Guatemalan. Anyway, she used to work as a nurse and as we got to chatting the topic moved to gender issues. She was saying how the poorest families are the ones she observed had the most kids despite not being able to feed themselves let alone the kids. I asked her could it be that they were too poor to afford contraceptives and she said that the government did provide means for them to get contraceptives for free even but machismo is super strong in poorer families so men feel like using contraceptives will emasculate them and they force their women not to use them either. The women being so scared just go with the flow even if they don't want any more kids. No matter how much the nurses tried to educate them they just couldn't get through.

I am amazed at the ease at which I can move around and interact with people without restraint. This is of course due to my Spanish which by the way has garnered a few compliments here and there. Today as I stopped at the local bank to conduct a transaction and at the local pharmacy to get some medicine (all these conducted in Spanish), I had a moment where I thought, "'Oh my goodness! I have come from far, from the days when I was too scared to go to a restaurant to order food or buy something from a shop because my Spanish sucked to now, when I can speak Spanish with a fluency that I never imagined possible." I am super impressed with my self.  I swear drop me in any Latin American city (that is safe) and I will find my way out easily.

My husband is currently learning English and is going through the same frustrations I did when I first started learning Spanish, I always remind him of my situation to show him that at first it may seem impossible but with time you will get it. I am a good example of this.

Did I ever mention how much I love airbnb? I feel too old for hostels and hotels tend to be a bit more pricier for me who likes to save a buck when I can. Airbnb gives me so many options and I have actually made several friends that I still keep in touch with, through the site.

Saying Farewell To Mexico

My trip to Mexico came to an end a couple of days ago and I am already back in the US. Looking back at this trip I must say it exceeded my expectations in every way possible, I really did enjoy the trip and the people I met especially my host family. They were very open and welcoming and made me feel totally at home, honestly I felt like we had known each other for such a long time. I guess sometimes you just meet people that you click with and at times you don't get so lucky. In this case I got lucky. Although my stay wasn't that long, there are certain things I will miss or think back to fondly. Without further ado I will share some of them here.

I will miss Ana's mum's attitude, she is hilarious! she could care less about saying things that would make others uncomfortable and she doesn't do it intentionally, I think it's just in her nature. I was telling Ana how her mum makes me laugh with her attitude and she just shook her head laughing before proceeding to share with me some of her mum's antics.

When Ana was at work or school I would hang out with her mum and she would show me around the neighborhood, take me to the local mercado to buy what I needed or accompany me wharever I was going. She was really good company.

I will miss Ana and her daughter Valentina (Vale) they have such a beautiful relationship and Valentina is one of the happiest and most energetic kid I have ever met. The three of us hang out together and went on many outings which were always fun. Ana actually travelled through South America with her daughter and she had some very interesting stories about their adventures.

Every time we picked up Valentina from school to go somewhere she would get so excited and start singing "que no pare la fiesta" (don't stop the party) it was the cutest thing ever! she has this little purse that she loved carrying around and in it was her little lipstick, a toy phone, monopoly money and a mirror. You should have seen her acting all grown up putting on her lipstick and counting her monopoly money, this kid is just too adorable. One day when I grow up I want my own little Valentina!

I will miss walking around the lively colorful neighborhood where I stayed with Ana's family, its a very pretty and family friendly neighborhood. The local park was always full of kids playing after school, senior citizens taking Tai Chi classes in the morning, adults taking zumba classes in the evening or playing soccer at an adjacent court. Over the weekend a small artisan market is set up and of course food stands are present all over. I would not mind living in that neighborhood at all.

The ever present colorful buildings and houses, so pretty!

Speaking of color, Ana's family house had these really cute paintings that she had done on some of the walls, this was one of my favorites.

Ana's mum really wanted to show me the church she goes to so I accompanied her to church one morning. It is a small and very pretty church both inside and outside, the picture below doesn't do it justice.

 I will miss the local mercado full of all the goodies imaginable. Every time I saw food that wasn't familiar to me I would ask Ana's mum what it was and she would explain then walk over to the vendor and tell them, "this is my friend visiting Mexico and she is from Kenya, she has never eaten this type of food before. Can you let her taste it?" I swear I would get so embarrassed but everyone was always friendly and would gladly give me little samples to taste. I told you Ana's mum is quite the character.

That's it folks! I am glad I picked Mexico to celebrate my 36th birthday, I had a good time and will definitely be back to explore more of the country as it has so much to offer and I barely scratched the surface but I am glad I got a taste of it.

Random Thoughts of The Day:

Ana was telling me that when she was traveling through Peru with Valentina, she got stopped a lot by cops while boarding buses and she had to provide paperwork indicating that Valentina was indeed her daughter. Apparently kids are abducted a lot in Peru and used as drug mules, very scary to think about.

The day of the dead is a big celebration in Mexico and skulls are featured everywhere so it's common to see porcelain skulls being sold at markets. You would think they would look morbid but these skulls are painted so brightly and beautifully that you don't even associate them with death. I actually ended up buying one, a tiny cute one that so happens to be a fridge magnet.

I finally had a dream in Spanish!!!!!! I was so excited when this happened because I remember talking to a couple of people who told me that the day they dreamt in English is the day they realized that the language was fully ingrained in their brain (both were Spanish and French native speakers). I kept waiting to dream in Spanish (silly as it may sound) but it never happened........until that one glorious morning when I woke up and I remembered that I had just had a dream where I was having a full blown conversation in Spanish. You should have seen me all excited and waking up my poor husband only to tell him, "I finally dreamt in Spanish!" poor guy thought it was an urgent matter.

What can I say? I always wanted to learn Spanish and I am very glad to say that I sure did. Now when I converse in Spanish I don't even stop to think and translate words in my mind, they just come out without effort. I have come a long way! all thanks to the classes I took while in South America and of course my husband who continues to play a big role.