Guatemala Part 2

Guatemala Part 2: And the saga continues:

On Wednesday night I returned to Antigua and went to a lecture on Lent, by Elizabeth Bell. She is an American, who has lived in Antigua for 40 years, and has written a couple of books on Antigua. She is also heavily involved in bettering Antigua. She talked about the processions that take place during Lent. Each of the churches in Antigua and the surrounding villages organize a procession on one of the Sundays in Lent. There are about 20. These floats all feature Christ on a float which is carried by the men of the church. The heaviest weighs 7000 lbs, and is carried by a  team of 47 men. They work in teams, and take turns.

Some of the processions last almost 10 hours. What makes Antigua unique is that the people along the route construct "carpets" for the float. These carpets are made out of coloured sawdust. There is a sawdust base, and then the coloured sawdust is used, by using stencils, to construct fantastic patterns. She had some slides, and it was unbelievable. Some of these carpets are made by individuals, but most are group projects. A block might get together, and construct a carpet the length of the block, and the blocks here are long.

There is a procession on Sunday, and I hope to see it.

Thursday morning was another 4 am shuttle to the Guatemala City airport, and a flight to Flores.

From there there was another 1 hr shuttle to Tikal. As soon as we arrived we went on a walking tour of the site. Our guide was very good; he didn't talk so much about data, but culture and sociology. I even learned some Mayan math.

Tikal is a very large site, with many restored temples, pyramids and palaces. The highlight was climbing the 200 stairs to the top of Temple IV. The view was spectacular. You overlook a sea of green , with just the very tops of the two highest temples emerging from this sea of green, like small islands.

I remember, at Montericco, feeling the power of the ocean waves. At Tikal I felt the same power of nature, just as irresistable as the ocean, but here it is slower and green, but just as powerful. The awe I felt at Tikal wasn't so much as what man created, but how temporary we are. The real power is Nature. One bush at a time, one tree at a time the jungle reclaims its own. That sea of green I saw from the temple was truly a memorable sight.

After the tour we had lunch. This was the first full meal I have eaten since last Saturday.

I have had "stomach" problems. That's a genteel way of saying that I never felt safe more than 100 meters from a toilet. I think I could do a walking tour "The toilets of Antigua". Or maybe a travel book "Guatemala, One Toilet At A Time"; or how about "The Volcano Behind Me". Enough,-impressionable youngsters might be reading this.

After lunch I had a shower, and then I returned to the park on my own. As I said Tikal is large. The main city housed several thousand nobles, priests, and wealthy people. There were 25 villages surrounding Tikal, and supporting the elite.

The majority of tourists to Tikal come on day trips, so by the middle of the afternoon it is much more peaceful.

I visited some of the smaller temples and complexes, and just walked through the jungle. I hardly met anyone else. I could really absorb the aromas, sounds, and the atmosphere of the jungle. There is always an orchestra of birds. The most amazing sounds though are the howler monkeys. These are only a couple of feet high, but when I first heard a troop howling I thought it was a herd of elephants trumpeting.

A truly amazing sound.

Because of the density of the canopy it is hard to see any animals and birds. I did see some monkeys cavourting in the branches, but they weren't howlers. It was wonderful walking all alone in the jungle. I felt very insignificant.

When I originally checked into the hotel I switched rooms with a couple from California, Frank and Deborah, because my original room had 2 beds, theirs only one. When I got back from my walk I found out that Deborah had been bitten by a scorpion when she moved her pillow, in what was my original room. According to the maid the local treatment was to rub the wound with the blood of the scorpion. Frank had squashed it, and they actually applied the blood. Didn't do any good.

-Another myth shot to hell.

Her finger was swollen and quite sore.

When I returned to my room I spent quite a few minutes carefully checking every nook and cranny. A small moth made me jump a couple of feet, but no scorpions. Nada- thankfully.

I had dinner with Frank and Deborah. They are from the San Francisco area, and had been part of the hippie generation in the seventies. They drifted apart, but got together again several years ago. She had a great story.

Her only sister died three years ago. Her sister had a hard life, had always wanted to travel, but never could. She asked Deborah to take her ashes, and to spread them around the world, as Deborah travelled. So part of Deborah's purpose for this trip was to spread her sister’s ashes at Tikal.

What a great idea.

Friday morning I was up at 4 am to take part in the Sunrise tour. A major disappointment. You walk, with a flashlight, in otherwise complete darkness, for 45 minutes, climb 200 steps up Temple IV, and wait. There isn't any sunrise, just a lightening of the mist. I was told the magic of the birds and monkeys waking up, but to be honest they didn't sound any different at 5:30 than they had done the day before. This doesn't compare to sitting at the shore of a lake in Algonquin Park, watching the mist slowly lift, and hearing the loons. Now that is Magic!!

I joined another tour for the day, to a site near Tikal. It was interesting, but I have spent the last 4 days climbing up and down temples, in very warm and humid weather.

When I was in China we rated days as 2, 3, or 4 shower days. These last 3 days have been 3 shower days. I"m "templed" out.

The flight back was pleasant, but then we had to take the shuttle back to A. I must tell you the riding a shuttle in Guatemala City. has moved up to number 2 on my list of things to avoid; just behind having my privates gnawed at by a bunch of rabid beavers, and just ahead of eating red-hot barbed wire.

I remember when we arrived in Guatemala City the first day and drove to the coast. There was one intersection where 3 lanes of traffic have to merge into 1, and then try to merge on to a 4 lane road where traffic is zipping by at 60 km/h.

Well we hit that intersection again. Only now it's 6, its dark, and it's rush hour. I think it took 20 minutes.

And then there was the drive back. Our driver looked meek, but he seemed to have some oriental features. I think he was a kamikaze pilot in a previous life. Three times he passed a line of trucks, on the wrong side of a 2-lane highway, with no shoulders, around a blind curve, going uphill, in the dark. And the whole times Salsa music is blasting at full volume. The guy beside me started to pray; I was trying to keep my pants dry. My life flashed before me so many times I had time to pause and rewind the good parts.

Guatemala City gets my vote for "Armpit Of Central America"

But we did survive. I am staying at another new hotel. I have slept in 7 different beds the last 7 nights. Sleeping around is not as much fun as people say it is.

The hotel is the nicest so far. Beautiful room, I even had a HOT shower.

A first.

I phoned my wife Sandy, told her I was still alive, loved her dearly, and hoped to see her again in this life.

Then I bought a bottle of mango juice, for supper, sat on my favourite bench in the park, listened to a brass band, and went to bed at 10.

to be continued (I hope)

PS Thanks to those who have replied. Keep it up.

Ralf