The sea is like a sheet of mirrored glass which was shaken as it cooled so that the liquid glass set and hardened - the ripples, waves and seacrests all frozen above the silvered surface. The sun blinds you as it shines relentlessly on the splendor.
The palms stand sentinel. The breeze just brushes the fronds with nary a backward glance. Just a breath and gone, but another breath follows and another, so that the palm moves, always in motion as it stands still.
The streets are hot and dusty here in Monterrico. A step along the back street raises a little puff of dark volcanic sand, and a dog fight which has dogged our steps the length of the street causes a dust cloud to engulf the snarling, snapping animals which bare their teeth, bark at each other defiantly, then pull away back to their indolent life in the dirt, stretched out, barely alive in the enervating heat.
In the tienda up by the mangrove lagoon we stop for a cold drink and ask the tiny old woman "¿Como estas?" "How are you doing?" "Como un pescado, como un pescado", she replies. "Like a fish" as she waves her hand in and out as if she was swimming through a stand of reeds. "Como un pescado!" - A fish alive and leaping in the humid air of Monterrico. She is grey-haired, tiny and wrinkled - her thin arms reaching for the cool bottle of Coke in the non-freezing freezer.
I see her skipping effortlessly through the limpid waters through the mangrove roots, two eyes looking down to watch the bottom, two looking up for hungry birds. So a fish she dreams as she sits in the heat and humidity of another day while the palms stand sentinel and the mirrored sea gleams in an impossible light.
Showing posts with label guatemala. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guatemala. Show all posts
Friday, January 16, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Monterrico Lifestyle
I think we are growing used to the life in Monterrico. For the first day or two, this was just a dusty little place, with nothing happening, and no life. Now though the people are appearing - it´s as if we´ve just begun to notice them. Of course it´s because we have wandered off the beaten path and are exploring the side streets where the people actually live as opposed to seeing the area where the tourists like us hang out.
Yesterday we went on our lagoon tour through the mangroves - but we cheated. We took a sunset cruise instead of a sunrise cruise. There were still lots of birds and it was so very tranquil hanging out on a boat on our little plastic chairs while we were poled along the edges of the red mangroves. The young man with whom we had booked our tour passed us over to Rubén who was quite taciturn, but gently talked while he poled us around about the life of the mangroves. His Spanish was a little beyond me sometimes, so I just nodded, but often he was able to explain the wildlife we saw.
There were lots of tall white cranes (garzas blancas) treading carefully in the water, eyeing the area for fish to swallow. We even caught one catching a fish - an exciting moment. There were gray cranes too, and some small dark herons which sit hunched in the trees with their eyes on the water too. And there were some funny little birds, all dark, black and rufous coloured feathers who surprised as they flew with their bright yellow underwings which flashed like the wings of a grasshopper as they skipped from lily pad to grass at the edges of the mangroves. Overhead were kingfishers on the electrical wires, which made me ask myself how you put up electrical poles in amongst mangroves, which are in fact floating islands of trees which make their own land by dropping their leaves amongst their trailing roots. Not too secure for walking on, that´s for sure.
We also wandered out into a wider expanse of water, lake like in its tranquility, where we had a fine view of the two volcanoes, Agua and Pacaya. Pacaya wasn´t smoking at this time, but it´s a common occurence because it´s a very active volcano along with Fuego. Both erupt all the time, with Pacaya the one where one can climb to see the lava flow by at your feet as our Australian friends did. We know we are not in shape to climb up a lava slope with the shifting sands beneath our feet.
This morning we went out to Johnny´s Place for breakfast and had huevos rancheros - the Guatemalan version of a Mexican favorite. The difference is that the Guatemalan one is not one bit spicy. After breakfast we wandered over to their hammocks to lie in the shade under the palapas. Because of the gentle slope upwards of the beach, we could see only a long wide strip of dark sand (black sand is really dark grey) a thin strip of brilliant blue where the water stretches across the horizon and then the pale blue sky sweeping up and over us like a canopy of watered silk. Peaceful and exactly what we wanted to do right then.
As we were readying ourselves to leave three young women introduced themselves, by asking where we were from. They turned out to be from Victoria. As an aside, it´s amazing how many people think that Victoria is on Victoria Island, instead of Vancouver Island. I guess we need to do a little more tourist promotion as we go. I met a man yesterday as I was lying in the hammock at our place who told me he had been to Victoria Island and it happened just two days ago too. The man I met yesterday was Japanese, and was spending two months in Guatemala. He had already spent a month studying Spanish and insisted on speaking to me in that language, which was very good for both of us becuase we seemed to be in sync with our level of language. He was doing well, although I don´t think he once used the past tense - that´s the tense I think Spanish teachers should start with - really, we talk about what we did far more than what we are doing.
After our sojourn under the shade we went off to check out the turtle, caiman, iguana sanctuary. It´s a little ramshackle but they are doing their bit to protect the sea turtles, by digging up their eggs as soon as they are laid and taking them back to be buried in a safer spot. We are not sure how things are going though because as we looked at the pool where some of the hatched turtles are living it was obvious that some of the tiny creatures were quite dead and others were struggling. But last night apparently we missed an event because people who ate at Johnny´s Beach side restaurant saw a turtle come in to lay its eggs. Two groups told us about this - perhaps tonight we should go over there for a beer on the off chance.
Further back in the sanctuary we wandered through concrete enclosures with some very languid and indolent looking caimans slumbered in the heat. They are suck prehistoric looking animals, these alligators. Thy are not huge, maybe only 5 or 6 feet long, but they look like they would love to take bite out of a leg or two. In another enclosure were some big iguanas, also basking in the heat, while a third enclosure held a whole crew of green lizards, all one atop another in a great pile of green.
Last night we had dinner at a really good restaurant, where the food was not only tasty but also quite well priced. We ate with our friends from Mendocino county and enjoyed good story telling. They have recommended a place on Lake Atitlan where we are going to reserve a place. It sound quite idyllic, as it climbs the cliff above the lake with gorgeous views and even an opportunity to swim in the lake which is 1000 feet deep (yes, there are three zeroes in that number).
Tonight we will probably ate at the same place we ate last night but will go over for that goodnight drink at Johnny´s and hope for turtles. And if not we can still have a nice Cuba Libre (rum and coke) or a shot of ílegal mescal, three varieties available at higher and higher prices.
We are off tomorrow back to Antigua and another night at our lovely hotel there and then we will make our way to Lago de Atitlan. We have to figure out if we can get our ticket changed to the lake from Guatemala City which we had booked already. If not, I guess we suck that up too. We will take the opportunity to get more money, although I think we can use our bank card in Panajachel, the gringo town from which everything on the lake is accessible.
Yesterday we went on our lagoon tour through the mangroves - but we cheated. We took a sunset cruise instead of a sunrise cruise. There were still lots of birds and it was so very tranquil hanging out on a boat on our little plastic chairs while we were poled along the edges of the red mangroves. The young man with whom we had booked our tour passed us over to Rubén who was quite taciturn, but gently talked while he poled us around about the life of the mangroves. His Spanish was a little beyond me sometimes, so I just nodded, but often he was able to explain the wildlife we saw.
There were lots of tall white cranes (garzas blancas) treading carefully in the water, eyeing the area for fish to swallow. We even caught one catching a fish - an exciting moment. There were gray cranes too, and some small dark herons which sit hunched in the trees with their eyes on the water too. And there were some funny little birds, all dark, black and rufous coloured feathers who surprised as they flew with their bright yellow underwings which flashed like the wings of a grasshopper as they skipped from lily pad to grass at the edges of the mangroves. Overhead were kingfishers on the electrical wires, which made me ask myself how you put up electrical poles in amongst mangroves, which are in fact floating islands of trees which make their own land by dropping their leaves amongst their trailing roots. Not too secure for walking on, that´s for sure.
We also wandered out into a wider expanse of water, lake like in its tranquility, where we had a fine view of the two volcanoes, Agua and Pacaya. Pacaya wasn´t smoking at this time, but it´s a common occurence because it´s a very active volcano along with Fuego. Both erupt all the time, with Pacaya the one where one can climb to see the lava flow by at your feet as our Australian friends did. We know we are not in shape to climb up a lava slope with the shifting sands beneath our feet.
This morning we went out to Johnny´s Place for breakfast and had huevos rancheros - the Guatemalan version of a Mexican favorite. The difference is that the Guatemalan one is not one bit spicy. After breakfast we wandered over to their hammocks to lie in the shade under the palapas. Because of the gentle slope upwards of the beach, we could see only a long wide strip of dark sand (black sand is really dark grey) a thin strip of brilliant blue where the water stretches across the horizon and then the pale blue sky sweeping up and over us like a canopy of watered silk. Peaceful and exactly what we wanted to do right then.
As we were readying ourselves to leave three young women introduced themselves, by asking where we were from. They turned out to be from Victoria. As an aside, it´s amazing how many people think that Victoria is on Victoria Island, instead of Vancouver Island. I guess we need to do a little more tourist promotion as we go. I met a man yesterday as I was lying in the hammock at our place who told me he had been to Victoria Island and it happened just two days ago too. The man I met yesterday was Japanese, and was spending two months in Guatemala. He had already spent a month studying Spanish and insisted on speaking to me in that language, which was very good for both of us becuase we seemed to be in sync with our level of language. He was doing well, although I don´t think he once used the past tense - that´s the tense I think Spanish teachers should start with - really, we talk about what we did far more than what we are doing.
After our sojourn under the shade we went off to check out the turtle, caiman, iguana sanctuary. It´s a little ramshackle but they are doing their bit to protect the sea turtles, by digging up their eggs as soon as they are laid and taking them back to be buried in a safer spot. We are not sure how things are going though because as we looked at the pool where some of the hatched turtles are living it was obvious that some of the tiny creatures were quite dead and others were struggling. But last night apparently we missed an event because people who ate at Johnny´s Beach side restaurant saw a turtle come in to lay its eggs. Two groups told us about this - perhaps tonight we should go over there for a beer on the off chance.
Further back in the sanctuary we wandered through concrete enclosures with some very languid and indolent looking caimans slumbered in the heat. They are suck prehistoric looking animals, these alligators. Thy are not huge, maybe only 5 or 6 feet long, but they look like they would love to take bite out of a leg or two. In another enclosure were some big iguanas, also basking in the heat, while a third enclosure held a whole crew of green lizards, all one atop another in a great pile of green.
Last night we had dinner at a really good restaurant, where the food was not only tasty but also quite well priced. We ate with our friends from Mendocino county and enjoyed good story telling. They have recommended a place on Lake Atitlan where we are going to reserve a place. It sound quite idyllic, as it climbs the cliff above the lake with gorgeous views and even an opportunity to swim in the lake which is 1000 feet deep (yes, there are three zeroes in that number).
Tonight we will probably ate at the same place we ate last night but will go over for that goodnight drink at Johnny´s and hope for turtles. And if not we can still have a nice Cuba Libre (rum and coke) or a shot of ílegal mescal, three varieties available at higher and higher prices.
We are off tomorrow back to Antigua and another night at our lovely hotel there and then we will make our way to Lago de Atitlan. We have to figure out if we can get our ticket changed to the lake from Guatemala City which we had booked already. If not, I guess we suck that up too. We will take the opportunity to get more money, although I think we can use our bank card in Panajachel, the gringo town from which everything on the lake is accessible.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Monterrico
Yesterday we made our journey to Monterrico on our shuttle bus. It was quite new, and roomy with only six of us in all on the bus. The driver did chat a little as he drove at 100 km an hour down the highway. I remarked to Geordie that 100 km an hour here is similar to 30 km an hour on a highway in India. Not quite as scary, come to think of it.
And yes, Monterrico is hot! The thermometer on our clock only shows 30 celcius, so it´s not as bad as I thought it might be, but it´s plenty hot enough. The people here wear shorts and tshirts - they are not formal as they appear to be in Antigua - where only the tourists wear shorts. The town has one long paved street which runs from the Pacific Ocean to the lagoon on the other side of the peninsula. At that side there are barges lined up waiting for vehicles to get over to the highway on the other side. While we were there, a truck pulled up, pulled onto the barge and then sailed majestically up the lagoon, with a little outboard motor providing the power.
When we arrived at our hotel, we were greeted by a guy who wanted to offer us a morning tour of the lagoon - which would start at 5:30 am. Hmmm! It would last about two hours and the guide would be poling the boat so as not to disturb the wild life, which includes plenty of birds and even a four-eyed fish. We have not yet decided whether we want to be knocked up at that early hour - this morning I hauled myself out of bed at 9:00 am - which felt a little early.
Our hotel is similar to a motel, with little buildings parallel, facing eachother across a pool. To get our view we have to head up to the restaurant where there is a palapa roof, some nice breeze, a row of hammocks on either side of the table area, and of course some ranchero music playing constantly. The room is very basic, as you might imagine, with two beds, four walls, a thin plywood ceiling with a palapa roof above it, and a fan which creates a major strobe effect with the light which has been installed above it. It was impossible to read with that strobing so Geordie sent me out to ask for a stand up fan which I got. English is not well spoken in this area, so we are lucky that we know enough Spanish to get around.
We met a couple from Mendocino County in the USA on the bus and had dinner with them last night. They had planned to study Spanish for a week here in Monterrico, but when they went to the school, it had no record of them and no teacher available. So scratch the idea of taking a week of classes impromptu, which had been one of our options.
We also did a wander of the beachside restaurants yesterday. The sand is black here and thick so it´s not easy to walk on in the heat. We stumbled down the beach until we couldn´t take it anymore, then went inland to the sandy road, which is almost, but not quite, as hard to walk on.
We are staying here four nights in all - I imagine it will be all about where we will eat, how much time we will stay in the pool, how much we will read, and how much we will sleep. Pretty basic stuff. We have discovered that noone around here takes Mastercard or Amex, only Visa - the card we left at home. And there is no bank machine either, so we will have to ration our money. We were able to use MC last night at the Swiss-Guatemalan restaurant after about 10 minutes of them on the phone to get the right confirmations. But it worked so we may eat there again soon.
We are now considering our next move. Originally our plan was to go back to Antigua, take a shuttle to Guatemala City then a bus to Rio Dulce. But after tallking to Joanna and her husband, and considering the heat here, we are thinking maybe we don´t want to spend more time in the heat and humidity filled lowlands, so we just might to to Lake Atitlan, which is higher so will be cooler at night even though it is still quite warm during the day. There are many villages around the lake where one can visit and stay, so we are weighing our options right now. We´ll see.
One thing I must say about Guatemala. The people are really so very charming. In the restaurants you are welcomed the moment you enter and the service is always with a great smile. And the phrase "at your service" sounds so very genuine. On the streets people greet one with a smile, a buenas dias, or buenas noches, and everone seems genuinely pleased to meet you. We love that part of Guatemala, and the incredible scenery makes it that much more desirable to travel in.
And yes, Monterrico is hot! The thermometer on our clock only shows 30 celcius, so it´s not as bad as I thought it might be, but it´s plenty hot enough. The people here wear shorts and tshirts - they are not formal as they appear to be in Antigua - where only the tourists wear shorts. The town has one long paved street which runs from the Pacific Ocean to the lagoon on the other side of the peninsula. At that side there are barges lined up waiting for vehicles to get over to the highway on the other side. While we were there, a truck pulled up, pulled onto the barge and then sailed majestically up the lagoon, with a little outboard motor providing the power.
When we arrived at our hotel, we were greeted by a guy who wanted to offer us a morning tour of the lagoon - which would start at 5:30 am. Hmmm! It would last about two hours and the guide would be poling the boat so as not to disturb the wild life, which includes plenty of birds and even a four-eyed fish. We have not yet decided whether we want to be knocked up at that early hour - this morning I hauled myself out of bed at 9:00 am - which felt a little early.
Our hotel is similar to a motel, with little buildings parallel, facing eachother across a pool. To get our view we have to head up to the restaurant where there is a palapa roof, some nice breeze, a row of hammocks on either side of the table area, and of course some ranchero music playing constantly. The room is very basic, as you might imagine, with two beds, four walls, a thin plywood ceiling with a palapa roof above it, and a fan which creates a major strobe effect with the light which has been installed above it. It was impossible to read with that strobing so Geordie sent me out to ask for a stand up fan which I got. English is not well spoken in this area, so we are lucky that we know enough Spanish to get around.
We met a couple from Mendocino County in the USA on the bus and had dinner with them last night. They had planned to study Spanish for a week here in Monterrico, but when they went to the school, it had no record of them and no teacher available. So scratch the idea of taking a week of classes impromptu, which had been one of our options.
We also did a wander of the beachside restaurants yesterday. The sand is black here and thick so it´s not easy to walk on in the heat. We stumbled down the beach until we couldn´t take it anymore, then went inland to the sandy road, which is almost, but not quite, as hard to walk on.
We are staying here four nights in all - I imagine it will be all about where we will eat, how much time we will stay in the pool, how much we will read, and how much we will sleep. Pretty basic stuff. We have discovered that noone around here takes Mastercard or Amex, only Visa - the card we left at home. And there is no bank machine either, so we will have to ration our money. We were able to use MC last night at the Swiss-Guatemalan restaurant after about 10 minutes of them on the phone to get the right confirmations. But it worked so we may eat there again soon.
We are now considering our next move. Originally our plan was to go back to Antigua, take a shuttle to Guatemala City then a bus to Rio Dulce. But after tallking to Joanna and her husband, and considering the heat here, we are thinking maybe we don´t want to spend more time in the heat and humidity filled lowlands, so we just might to to Lake Atitlan, which is higher so will be cooler at night even though it is still quite warm during the day. There are many villages around the lake where one can visit and stay, so we are weighing our options right now. We´ll see.
One thing I must say about Guatemala. The people are really so very charming. In the restaurants you are welcomed the moment you enter and the service is always with a great smile. And the phrase "at your service" sounds so very genuine. On the streets people greet one with a smile, a buenas dias, or buenas noches, and everone seems genuinely pleased to meet you. We love that part of Guatemala, and the incredible scenery makes it that much more desirable to travel in.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Antigua
This morning we stepped out of our ancient house/posada and at the end of the street there was a very tall volcano. I guess we're not in Kansas (Vancouver) any more. All our flights were on time and arrived early. Our private driver appeared with his wife outside the Guatemala City airport and we were off through the night. Thirty minutes later we arrived at our posada in the ancient town of Antigua. To bed and slept for 9 hours. Sitting on planes and 5 hours in Houston was tiring. Had a great breakfast at Dona Luisa's - juice, coffee and eggs with black beans and little home made buns. So good. Next is more coffee and sitting in the main square to watch the world go by. I love it down here.
More to come once we have done something.
More to come once we have done something.
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