8-12

Another day, another border crossing. Although Seth and I started the day in Coban, Guatemala (deep in the central highlands of the country) we are ending it in Ahuachapan, El Salvador (some 16km south of the Guatemala border). Today has, once again, been a travel day, albeit an unsual one. Along the way we returned to Guatemala City (making it the second city in Central America I´ve been too twice), ostensibly so we could change busses but also so
Seth could see the National Palace and Cathedral.
Heck, even I was happy to be back, to go one last time to a restaurant I already knew (not Wendy´s!) and even take the Palace Tour again. Say what you will about Central American capitals, but I genuinely like this one.

PS What I like less are lengthy bus trips through the hinterland, but what´s done is done and now, at long last, I have all of El Salvador to explore.

8-11

Semuc Champey. Ah Semuc Champey. What can I say about Semuc Champey? Although it literally means ¨the river that flows beneath the ground¨ and it is ¨simply¨ a sumidero (underground and then resurfacing) waterway, its unofficial title as ¨eighth wonder of the world¨ is well deserved. Situated in the middle of the rain-fed brown waters of the Rio Cahabon sit a series of startlingly blue mountain steam-filled pools, each one lower, more tranquil, and more picture perfect than the last. As the name suggests, the Cahabon travels undisturbed beneath all of this, leaving this pristine ecosystem in effect suspended above the raging torrent beneath it. Even now, as I write this, as I describe it, I still find it difficult to grasp. Indeed, more unbelievable still, after so many beautiful rivers, valleys, and lakes, Semuc Champey truly unique unto itself.

8-10

Yesterday was uneventful, unfortunately, and largely consumed by transferring from Flores to Lanquin in the Guatemalan highlands.* We´re here to see Semuc Champey, a self-proclaimed ¨Wonder of the World,¨ but that isn´t until tomorrow. Instead, today was taken up by the wonders of our hostel, El Retiro. Sublime and perfectly described by Lonely Planet, it and the surrounding countryside, are, in my humble opìnion, heaven on earth. The Rio Cahabon winds through the region (even El Retiro) carving valleys and canyons that were made for hiking. So we did for a fair bit of the day, and nothing makes for a good hike like beginning and ending it with a dip in the aforementioned icy river.
I know I say this a lot, but God really does love this country. The landscape here isn´t the only charming thing, though: so too are its residents. Indeed, for most of our hike were were accompanied and dareIsay protected by an amiable stray dog we took to naming San Perro. (The people we met along the way were likewise friendly, if decidedly less loyal.) It seems to have even rubbed on on foreigners. The first night we met two wonderful Israelis - fitting, considering how Seth and I met) and spent this afternoon with another wonderful Dutch couple, Victorine and Nico.
With the two of them in tow, in fact, Seth and I went (on my friend German-cum-Nicaraguan friend Daniela´s half rememembered advice) to the nearby caves of Lanquin at sundown to see what can only be described as a bat exodus. It´s impossible to describe and I am still sans-pictures but know this: nothing compares to the feeling of thousands upon thousands of bats at once wizzing by your head as you and your companions cry out in every language they know!

* The ride wasn´t all a waste, however - the six-hour ride was easily made bearable by making the acquaintance of Hilda and Joris, a lovely Dutch couple who Seth and I inadvertantly introduced to the crudities of American humor... but that´s another story for another day.

8-8

Yesterday was D-Day, as in ¨How Delight I am that Seth Finally Arrived¨ Day. (You can see why I abbreviate that.) Our complicated rendezvous went off without a hitch* and now our travels together begin in earnest.
The eight-hour bus ride from Guatemala City to Flores was unpleasant is uneventful (no sleep for us!) and even proceeded ahead of schedule. In fact, although Tikal is fully 77km from Flores, where we are staying the night, we were at the park well before 9am. And what a park it is! Although I have been fortunate enough to see at least half a dozen major Major ruins (amazing, that) Tikal is itself a world apart. Hidden deep in the jungle like Palenque but with the monumental architecture like Chitzen Itza and under visited like El Tajin, it has hands down become my favorite. We spent seven hours there, tired as we were from our overnight travel, and climbed as many of the great temples as we were allowed, but still did not see everything. Amazing, truly amazing.
This evening once again finds me (now us) in Flores, the first and thus far only city in Central America I´ve visited twice. It´s nice, I have to say, to be able to show Seth my ¨favorite swimming hole¨ or to point out a good restaurant, but its also strange. Fortunately tomorrow were off to more uncharted territory: Lanquin and Semuc Champey!

* Oh, and while waiting as the bys station I had the unusual pleasure of meeting an American expat who plays for the Belizean national soccer team. What a strange world!

8-7

What a strange day. On a whim I decided to give myself a day in Guatemala City and I´m glad I did - but perhaps for all the wrong reasons! Guatemala City, to me, is what I once, long ago, expected Mexico City to be like (it was, instead, entirely diferrent and far better than I could have ever hoped), and by far the most cosmopolitan place I´ve been in ages. All that is besides the point, however. As Central America´s largest city it is also at the forefront of U.S. Globalization efforts. So, in addition to seeing the National Palace (which, being green, is I´m told, adorably nicknamed the ¨Great Guacamole¨ by locals) and passing by my first U.S. Embassy - seeing the eagle crest for the first time in six months made me feel intensely patriotic - I also went to a Wendy´s. In fact, I am there now, enjoying one of the best (and most expensive) meals I´ve had in weeks. Who knew my stomach was homesick for Chili and a Frosty?

PS Later there was Taco Bell and, I kid you not, it was the best taco I´ve had since leaving Mexico.

8-5

If I´ve been keeping a poorer record than usual, it´s not entirely my fault. After all, in the last few days both my paper journal and writing pen have gone missing - so you see it couldn´t be helped. (I am, scandalously, even going so far as to write this all-important first draft in pencil!) Aside from these losses, the last few days have found me on the move again, from Antigua to Lake Atitlan opposing shores and the towns of Panajachel and San Pedro la Laguna. Both were lovely, in their ways, but as is often the case, as different as night and day. Panajachel, the traditional point-of-entry for Atitlan tourists is simultaneously a tourist hub and commercial port in miniscule, and I hended only one day to decide its dolí frantic pace wasn´t for me. I hended a bit more time in San Pedro to discover the same thing. Almost too tranquil, San Pedro is two towns in one: tradicional highland village (of shorts) and, entirely separate from that, a backpacker haven. In both cases its the kind of place where time stands still and people get stuck. Lord knows I almost did – tose Norweigan girls can be bewitching.* Others were less (more?) fortunate. Still, both were an interesting slice of life, and like so much of Guatemala, achingly beautiful. Indeed, there is a campaign afoot in both communities to have Lake Atitlan declare one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World and they certainly have my vote.

PS Oh, and this bears repeating: every form of transportation I´ve used in Central America has officially broken down at least once, most recently (and notably) the tiny launcha I took across Lake Atitlan. No worries, though, all´s well that ends well and I love it here all the more for it!

* I´m looking at you here, Julie. :)

Movin´ On Up [to a deluxe apartment in the sky]

How lovely it is to be traveling with people again! It seems misery loves company,* and six of us stranded in Copan Ruinas decided to try our hand for the greener pastures of Antigua – which is about as far removed from Honduras you can be in Central America. True, not every country can be a Mexico or a Guatemala, but Antigua is truly a world apart: unstuck in time, it is a gem of a city which, if overly touristic, is so with good reason. Indeed, here in the middle of Western Guatemala I am reminded not of Florida but of Florence. Better yet, it has the only Irish Pub in Guatemala and as two of my new traveling companions are [Northern] Irish, tonight is a night for Guinness.
In the event that I do not survive, remember me with a pint.

* How much worse I feel for those few who showed up as we were leaving!

A Swimmer’s Life for Me

Ah, so where were we? Three days later, the homesickness has abated slightly and the cold considerable, thanks in no small part to some of the most exquisite swimming holes Guatemala has to offer. Get this: day 1 was off the dock of my waterfront hostel* in the aforementioned late Izabal, day 2 was in the shadow of a seventeenth-century Spanish Castillo De San Felipe, and day 3 – the crème de la crème, I think – was of the junction of a [bitterly cold ]mountain stream and a hot-waterfall. All we amazing but the last was simply one of a kind, so when I get the chance I’ll upload the photos. In the meantime, I am water-logged and well-rested, and ready for anything. Which is good, because tomorrow I set out for Honduras.

* Which ran only $2.75 a night, I might add

The irony of this kills me. Well, almost - my cold is doing the rest.

After more than four months in Mexico, four weeks of travel and midway through my self-imposed odyssey, I find myself in a place that reminds me so much of Doctor’s Inlet, of home, that it’s almost overwhelming. Let me explain: after two lovely, if uneventful, days of moderately successful ¨water therapy¨ in Flores, I decided today to relocate south, to the largest of Guatemala’s lakes, Lago Izabal. Which is all well and good, but what I didn’t know before I arrived is that Lago Izabal has an outlet on the Caribbean Sea and is therefore the safest place in the region for boaters to wait out hurricane season. Thus, as I sit here, thousands of kilometers from home, I am nevertheless reminded intensely of it, surrounded as I am by [largely American] boaters of all stripes (and even jet skis!) and enjoying a view not unlike that of my dock at home. So, given all that, and given my cold, which has steadily worsened,* as well as a long-delayed bout of homesickness that has set in with Kim and Kristen gone, I have to say, as sad as it is, today I miss home more than ever.

* More water therapy is clearly needed.

¡Bienvenidos a Guatemala!

With my Belizean master plan in ruins and what feels like a cold coming on,* I have decided to flee the country for [Guatemala’s] greener pastures. The plan is as follows: two weeks of ¨immersion therapy¨ by way of puddle jumping through Guatemala’s greatest lakes. After three months in the desert and a bathing suit that is simply crying out to be used, I have to say the idea sounds wonderful to me.

First stop: Flores and Lago Petén Itzá!

* How bizarre that, the kindness of its people not withstanding, three days in Belize seems to set to do what four months in Mexico could not: get me sick.