I'm sorry for not having updated the blog in 4 weeks. But I have NOT been lazy - this program involved working for the diveshop (getting the gear ready for all the dive-students, getting the boat ready, etc), working through 3 books (had to take 8 exams, do 9 knowledge reviews, create an emergency plan), and a bunch of other stuff. I've been getting up at 6 every morning. Work starts at 6.15. Doesn't take you long to get ready though if all you need is swimming shorts and some sun-tan lotion.
So. Now I'm a divemaster. Finished yesterday. So the tradition on the island whenever someone finishes their divemaster, they have to do a snorkel-test: means that in the local "Treetanic"-bar, you instructor/mentor announces that you finished, puts you on a mask and a snorkel - with a water-bottle attached that is then being filled with some nasty alcohol mix. Then you have to drink the stuff through the snorkel, and to finish it all up they fill the mask with bear and you have to demonstrate a proper mask clearing. All went well, and the hangover is not too bad.
I don't recall exactly where the last blog ended. And I still don't have the last Mexico pictures.But here a quick synapses of the past 5 weeks: From Mexico city I took an overnight bus to Tapachula, a town on the border to Guatemala. There I got a ticket for a bus to Guatemala - which I then missed by an hour, since there is a 1-hour time difference in this place that noone had told me about. The lady at the bus terminal suggested taking a cab to the border - and maybe I could still catch the bus there. 2 minutes later I'm siting in a taxi, wondering if I should tell the cab driver to go faster. After 20 minutes we get close to the border. I have to get out and take a Tuc-Tuc - only they are allowed to go directly to the border. As we get close I see the bus - made it!!After a night in Guatemala city I took a 12hr bus to La Ceiba / Honduras, from where I took the Ferry the next morning to Utila. Since then it's all been diving, diving, and more diving.
Tomorrow afternoon I'm leaving the island, and fly to Atlanta on Monday. Actually looking forward to come back. From there I'll head to Knoxville, and then to Detroit where we'll celebrate my Dad's 60th next weekend. I really don't know yet what I'll do after that. I might go to Germany for the summer, and either I'll find a job I really like or I might go to southeast Asia for a while. We'll see.
I hope you enjoyed reading. If I'll head to Southeast Asia, there will be more to follow. Adios.
Here some pics from Utila:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/05fUtilaDMApril#
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Sunday, 04/04/2010 Current location: Tapachula, southern Chiapas, Mx/Guat. border
Time for an update. Since the last blog, I'm been snorkeling, watching wales, and freezing.
A few days ago, I found myself catching horses at midnight on a hill - and riding one (under full moon) half an hour later - without a saddle. And five hours earlier intended to go to bed early. That's what I call an adventure! ;-)
Kate is gone. She left yesterday morning for Quite, Ecuador, from where she will return to Poland on Tuesday. We essentially spend 24/7 together for the past month. It certainly takes some time to readjust. It was great to have a travel-partner; and it taught me a lot about myself. She is a great person.
Zipolite. My last blog, I believe, was written in Huatulco - which is a travel-resort for rich Mexicans on the southern coast of the state of Oaxaca. It's, of course, no place for budget travellers - so we continued that night to Puerto Angel, the second of the three major beach towns in Oaxaca. We were quite tired when we arrived, it was dark, and the town was almost shut down. Some very friendly people that we still found on the streets pointed us to a place where we found a cheap hotel for the night. The next day we went snorkeling.
We had been trying to arrange a scuba-diving trip since Huatulco, but things just didn't seem to work out. The snorkeling trip made up for everything though. Despite getting a decent sunburn, watching dolphins swim with our boat,
and seeing a big whale no more than 30' from our boat made up for everything.
The last bay we went to I skipped the snorkeling (I'm not a big snorkeler, scuba is more my thing). Instead I went to check out the awesome hotel someone had built there, - with $400/night rooms as they told me. The guide warned me - try if you can get in. As I approached there was a big (closed) gate and two guards in a guardhouse. I put on my best 'I'm-important-even-though-I'm-in-a-bathing-suit' look and told the guards I would like to take a look around the hotel. The guard picks up the phone and calls someone. Two minutes later I'm in. Another 3 minutes later someone is with me and shows me the entire compound - which was absolutely amazing! Two-story rooms with private jacuzzi's, a sink where the water is dispensed from a big seashell etc - the whole thing was an incredible work of art. In the restaurant the supposedly "best chef of Mexico" showed me their menu. Sorry - no pictures, couldn't take the camera w/ me from the boat.
We meet some new friends on the boat - an Italian couple, who spend their last two weeks of a 3-months trip here, and a guy from Puebla, whose wife just divorced him. His friends send him down there for 3 days to have a little fun again. He'd been there for a month now. ;-) We spend the next night in the same hotel they were staying in at the beach of Zipolite - 200 pesos got us a room with private bath and a spectacular beach view.
Next day we took off to Oaxaca. On the way we had lunch in the mountains - a primitive stove, a small wooden hut, and basic ingredients can be all you need for a restaurant - and a super-friendly family:
checked out the city at night, spontaneously went dancing at a club full of mid-aged locals, and took off the next morning at noon. Arrived at 2am in the morning in San Miguel de Allende - and it felt like coming home for me again.
On Tuesday afternoon Kate and I were walking around town when we met Josh. Josh is a new-good friend of mine that I met in San Miguel in January - he's been here for 14 years. He has a house in town that he is building on, and a ranch outside town. He has 6 horses on the ranch and give horse-riding tours. So as we meet him, he tells us he just got a 6-person tour for tomorrow. And if we don't feel like coming out to the ranch with him to get the horses ready. We spontaneously say yes. But first he shows us around town some more. We "break" into a house-ruin, go out on the other side on a small path through brushes, until the path runs into a gate. We jump the fence - and are suddenly in the courtyard of some building complex. Two young women look at us from a balcony. We smile and ask if we can get to the street from their courtyard. They laugh, and show us the way. After surviving their Puddle's attack, we finally step through a metal gate back onto the street.
I don't have the pics from here on yet - so I'll pause here and continue once I get to Utila. ....
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03eOaxaca#
Here also some pictures from San Christobal, Cardenas, and the ruins of Jayha from earlier:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/SanChristobal#
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/Cardenas#
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03jJayhaYMonami#
A few days ago, I found myself catching horses at midnight on a hill - and riding one (under full moon) half an hour later - without a saddle. And five hours earlier intended to go to bed early. That's what I call an adventure! ;-)
Kate is gone. She left yesterday morning for Quite, Ecuador, from where she will return to Poland on Tuesday. We essentially spend 24/7 together for the past month. It certainly takes some time to readjust. It was great to have a travel-partner; and it taught me a lot about myself. She is a great person.
Zipolite. My last blog, I believe, was written in Huatulco - which is a travel-resort for rich Mexicans on the southern coast of the state of Oaxaca. It's, of course, no place for budget travellers - so we continued that night to Puerto Angel, the second of the three major beach towns in Oaxaca. We were quite tired when we arrived, it was dark, and the town was almost shut down. Some very friendly people that we still found on the streets pointed us to a place where we found a cheap hotel for the night. The next day we went snorkeling.
We had been trying to arrange a scuba-diving trip since Huatulco, but things just didn't seem to work out. The snorkeling trip made up for everything though. Despite getting a decent sunburn, watching dolphins swim with our boat,
The last bay we went to I skipped the snorkeling (I'm not a big snorkeler, scuba is more my thing). Instead I went to check out the awesome hotel someone had built there, - with $400/night rooms as they told me. The guide warned me - try if you can get in. As I approached there was a big (closed) gate and two guards in a guardhouse. I put on my best 'I'm-important-even-though-I'm-in-a-bathing-suit' look and told the guards I would like to take a look around the hotel. The guard picks up the phone and calls someone. Two minutes later I'm in. Another 3 minutes later someone is with me and shows me the entire compound - which was absolutely amazing! Two-story rooms with private jacuzzi's, a sink where the water is dispensed from a big seashell etc - the whole thing was an incredible work of art. In the restaurant the supposedly "best chef of Mexico" showed me their menu. Sorry - no pictures, couldn't take the camera w/ me from the boat.
We meet some new friends on the boat - an Italian couple, who spend their last two weeks of a 3-months trip here, and a guy from Puebla, whose wife just divorced him. His friends send him down there for 3 days to have a little fun again. He'd been there for a month now. ;-) We spend the next night in the same hotel they were staying in at the beach of Zipolite - 200 pesos got us a room with private bath and a spectacular beach view.
Next day we took off to Oaxaca. On the way we had lunch in the mountains - a primitive stove, a small wooden hut, and basic ingredients can be all you need for a restaurant - and a super-friendly family:
checked out the city at night, spontaneously went dancing at a club full of mid-aged locals, and took off the next morning at noon. Arrived at 2am in the morning in San Miguel de Allende - and it felt like coming home for me again.
On Tuesday afternoon Kate and I were walking around town when we met Josh. Josh is a new-good friend of mine that I met in San Miguel in January - he's been here for 14 years. He has a house in town that he is building on, and a ranch outside town. He has 6 horses on the ranch and give horse-riding tours. So as we meet him, he tells us he just got a 6-person tour for tomorrow. And if we don't feel like coming out to the ranch with him to get the horses ready. We spontaneously say yes. But first he shows us around town some more. We "break" into a house-ruin, go out on the other side on a small path through brushes, until the path runs into a gate. We jump the fence - and are suddenly in the courtyard of some building complex. Two young women look at us from a balcony. We smile and ask if we can get to the street from their courtyard. They laugh, and show us the way. After surviving their Puddle's attack, we finally step through a metal gate back onto the street.
I don't have the pics from here on yet - so I'll pause here and continue once I get to Utila. ....
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03eOaxaca#
Here also some pictures from San Christobal, Cardenas, and the ruins of Jayha from earlier:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/SanChristobal#
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/Cardenas#
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03jJayhaYMonami#
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Thursday, 03/25/2010
Quick update:
On Monday we left Guatemala with the hopes of making it to San Christobal de las Casas, a famous historic city in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. No chance. Too far. We decided to spend the night in the city of Villahermosa. After some frustrating searching we actually found a beautiful hostel with good beds and great prices. Spontaneously we decided a nearby nature reserve the next morning. My highlight: The tiger cage. After the tour was over, I went back. The big yellow-black tiger was lying about 15-20' away from me in the shade. Through the fence I started looking right at him. After about a minute, he got up and come over. He started walking along the fence, alternating left and then turning right again and so on, never moving more than 2 yards away from me. I was kneeling. So I decided to test how the tiger would react to an attack threat - and suddenly quickly stood up behind the fence right as he past by. The tiger - no noise, nothing - right away also jumped up, paws on the fence, ending up in a position slightly taller than me. Thanks fence!! ;-)
Later that day we made it to San Christobal - who I have to say is even better than San Miguel, which I consider my Mexican hometown. Slightly larger, and way more cute walking-only streets lined with shops, cafes, bars, restaurants etc. I do have to say that I believe the atmosphere is better in San Miguel, but of course I'm biased.
After spending the day yesterday exploring (during which I finally bought a hammock, so now I have a bed anywhere in the world where I can find two trees [or something similarly useful] close enough together). It was a nice relaxing day, and - we enjoyed the much better food Mexico has to offer compared to what I've seen of Central America.
This morning we took off for the Pacific Coast - and am sitting in a restaurant in Huatulco, Oaxaca now, trying to figure out what to do next. On the way down here, in some little town, we suddenly encountered a traffic jam in front of a bridge we had to cross. We were able to figure out that some demonstration and a political campaign speech were going on, and the bridge was gonna be closed for a while. A friendly guy close by gave us directions to bypass the bridge (sounded like a little detour). Following the directions, we suddenly noticed how most vehicle (that came from the same place) turned down a little dirt path. We followed. Down dusty roads/paths, the caravan slowly made it's way through the river delta. After crossing two rivers at shallow areas and some more dirt paths we got back on track after ~ 15 minutes - really cool.
Sorry - no pictures yet, have to get on that. They will follow soon.
And here some pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/ZipoliteWay#
On Monday we left Guatemala with the hopes of making it to San Christobal de las Casas, a famous historic city in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. No chance. Too far. We decided to spend the night in the city of Villahermosa. After some frustrating searching we actually found a beautiful hostel with good beds and great prices. Spontaneously we decided a nearby nature reserve the next morning. My highlight: The tiger cage. After the tour was over, I went back. The big yellow-black tiger was lying about 15-20' away from me in the shade. Through the fence I started looking right at him. After about a minute, he got up and come over. He started walking along the fence, alternating left and then turning right again and so on, never moving more than 2 yards away from me. I was kneeling. So I decided to test how the tiger would react to an attack threat - and suddenly quickly stood up behind the fence right as he past by. The tiger - no noise, nothing - right away also jumped up, paws on the fence, ending up in a position slightly taller than me. Thanks fence!! ;-)
Later that day we made it to San Christobal - who I have to say is even better than San Miguel, which I consider my Mexican hometown. Slightly larger, and way more cute walking-only streets lined with shops, cafes, bars, restaurants etc. I do have to say that I believe the atmosphere is better in San Miguel, but of course I'm biased.
After spending the day yesterday exploring (during which I finally bought a hammock, so now I have a bed anywhere in the world where I can find two trees [or something similarly useful] close enough together). It was a nice relaxing day, and - we enjoyed the much better food Mexico has to offer compared to what I've seen of Central America.
This morning we took off for the Pacific Coast - and am sitting in a restaurant in Huatulco, Oaxaca now, trying to figure out what to do next. On the way down here, in some little town, we suddenly encountered a traffic jam in front of a bridge we had to cross. We were able to figure out that some demonstration and a political campaign speech were going on, and the bridge was gonna be closed for a while. A friendly guy close by gave us directions to bypass the bridge (sounded like a little detour). Following the directions, we suddenly noticed how most vehicle (that came from the same place) turned down a little dirt path. We followed. Down dusty roads/paths, the caravan slowly made it's way through the river delta. After crossing two rivers at shallow areas and some more dirt paths we got back on track after ~ 15 minutes - really cool.
Sorry - no pictures yet, have to get on that. They will follow soon.
And here some pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/ZipoliteWay#
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Saturday, 03/20/2010
No super-spectacular news this time. But adventurous even so.
A quick follow-up on the execution we witnessed: From what I gather this could be related to two things, 1) rival drug cartel violence or 2) political (Honduras had a military coup recently that resulted in a new leader, whom many of the poor Hondurans are not happy with and are conducting propaganda against). It appears to be an extremely rare event for Honduras.
In the border region between northern Honduras and Guatemala we saw some absolutely fantastic landscapes, and I found a valley that I'd buy in a heartbeat to built a ranch on if I had the money.
We spent a day in Rio Dulce, a small town at the edge of Lake Itzabal where the river Rio Dulce flows out of the lake towards the Caribbean.Taking a boat tour through the river to Livingston (at the coast) supposedly offers spectacular wildlife views, but we decided $30 was too much for the roundtrip fare. We did have a really, really cool hotel though, right in the middle of the jungle (see pics & below):
Leaving Rio Dulce we headed East towards Semuc Champey, a place with some beautiful (even though small) waterfalls where the river has carved out something of a tunnel, providing some great pools in the rocky areas above and fantastic sceneries. The drive certainly showed why the route was NOT recommended – first we drove along Lake Itzabal, enjoying gorgeous views, before the road turned into a rather rough path, passing the occasional village. Road signs were completely absent, as were any signs indicating the names of the places we came through. Every turn we came up to we had to guess which way to go, and ask the next possible person if we were on the right track. We arrived late at night (9pm – late for a mountain area where they have no electricity).
We spent the next day enjoying Semuc Champey and stayed another night – in another hotel – also w/ no electricity. They do provide electricity (via a generator) for a few hours a day if enough guests are there.
After that we headed up to Flores, a little island in Lake Peten Itza in Northern Guatemala. It's a beautiful little island, however, tourism has take it's toll – prices are quite step and any traditional feel has been replaced by souvenir shops and hotels. Lots of Mayan Pyramids around here. We're heading out to see one now, and then we're probably off to Belize. Pictures of this to follow.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03gRioDulce#
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03hSemucChampey#
A quick follow-up on the execution we witnessed: From what I gather this could be related to two things, 1) rival drug cartel violence or 2) political (Honduras had a military coup recently that resulted in a new leader, whom many of the poor Hondurans are not happy with and are conducting propaganda against). It appears to be an extremely rare event for Honduras.
In the border region between northern Honduras and Guatemala we saw some absolutely fantastic landscapes, and I found a valley that I'd buy in a heartbeat to built a ranch on if I had the money.
We spent a day in Rio Dulce, a small town at the edge of Lake Itzabal where the river Rio Dulce flows out of the lake towards the Caribbean.Taking a boat tour through the river to Livingston (at the coast) supposedly offers spectacular wildlife views, but we decided $30 was too much for the roundtrip fare. We did have a really, really cool hotel though, right in the middle of the jungle (see pics & below):
Leaving Rio Dulce we headed East towards Semuc Champey, a place with some beautiful (even though small) waterfalls where the river has carved out something of a tunnel, providing some great pools in the rocky areas above and fantastic sceneries. The drive certainly showed why the route was NOT recommended – first we drove along Lake Itzabal, enjoying gorgeous views, before the road turned into a rather rough path, passing the occasional village. Road signs were completely absent, as were any signs indicating the names of the places we came through. Every turn we came up to we had to guess which way to go, and ask the next possible person if we were on the right track. We arrived late at night (9pm – late for a mountain area where they have no electricity).
We spent the next day enjoying Semuc Champey and stayed another night – in another hotel – also w/ no electricity. They do provide electricity (via a generator) for a few hours a day if enough guests are there.
After that we headed up to Flores, a little island in Lake Peten Itza in Northern Guatemala. It's a beautiful little island, however, tourism has take it's toll – prices are quite step and any traditional feel has been replaced by souvenir shops and hotels. Lots of Mayan Pyramids around here. We're heading out to see one now, and then we're probably off to Belize. Pictures of this to follow.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03gRioDulce#
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03hSemucChampey#
Monday, March 15, 2010
Monday, 03/15/2010 Rio Dulce, Guatemala
First off - I'm sorry I didn't update the blog for more than a week. Weak or no internet access as well as loosing my camera didn't help.
Yesterday I saw three guys get killed on the side of the road - certainly one of the less pleasant sides of the trip. More about that later.
Utila:
I finished my Advanced Open Water Diver and my Rescue Diver certification, which now enables me to start a Divemaster-intership - which I'm planning to do in 2-3 weeks. However, I don't see myself as a future scuba-diving instructor, so getting an instructor license afterwards is not on the agenda. Below - our dive boat:
Other than that there is not that much more to report. Kate and I had some cool walk-the-island excursions. We tried to go see the wreck of a drug-plane, which went down a few weeks ago. Those guys use Utila on their route from South America to the US as a refueling point at night. Apparently a few weeks ago they were blocked from landing, ran out of fuel and crashed into the jungle adjacent to the airfield. Officials found $250 million worth in cocaine, which they told us was later publicly burned. (Airport below)
We, however, despite following precise directions, could not locate it - and ended up in the middle of the jungle at nightfall came. We headed back on some mysterious route that probably no man has walked before (we at some point ended up in someone's backyard and had to jump their fence to get back out on the road), but saw some really cool wildlife while walking back.
I decided to travel for a few weeks with Kate after my courses, since it's so much more fun to travel together and it's much more economical. The day before we wanted to leave Utila, Kate walks into this restaurant (where they have a better internet connection). I follow her about an hour later, and find her talking to some guy - Art - who offered us a free sail-trip to the island of Roatan (the Honduras "Bay Islands" consist of three major islands: Utila, Roatan (the largest and prettiest), and Guanaja). Art is fairly new to sailing, and felt more comfortable taking some "extra hands" along. His buddy Dave, who's been sailing for a long time, was coming along on his own boat (a little bit of comfort for me) ;-)
I spontaneously said yes, and after clearing up some of the details we were ready to go. At 6am the next morning Art picked us up at the dock, and at about 7am we took of to Roatan. While I was steering, we suddenly ran into some hefty winds, and I almost thought the boat would capsize (not even close as I learned later).
Once there, we visited Fantasy Island (a small island right next to Roatan). There is a big dive-shop and a hotel-resort there. We saw some cool white-face monkeys (pictures to follow) and just before leaving I met Jami - who owns a Live Aboard (bigger dive-ship that goes out for multiple days and has cabins in which the divers stay), and also trains diver masters as well as scuba instructors. Long story short - now I have a second option where I could do my divemaster. And this one is more economical (free room and board) and Roatan is a much nicer place. Have to do some thinking now.
La Ceiba - Harbour-city and connection point to Utila & Roatan:
We left Roatan the following day and met "Tony" on the ferry - he's an American engineer who grew up in Honduras and heads a non-profit over here. He recommended us to "Omega Tours", a hotel in the middle of the jungle (one of the biggest cloud-jungles in Central America).
We met up with him there that night, and had a small, spontaneous party - before white water rafting the next morning.
After white water rafting the next morning, we headed off for San Pedro Sula - an ugly, and somewhat unsafe city. It is a large industrial town, and somehow all the roads of Honduras seem to converge there. After we passed the city of Tela, which is about halfway, I suddenly here something like firecrackers. The traffic slows in front of me. I notice there is no car coming at me, but there is a Nissan truck kind of parked on the side of the road about 20 yards ahead. As we pass, I suddenly realize that there is a shooting going on, - or, to be more precise, an execution. I will save you further details. After passing, I view what's going on in the rear view mirror, and stop the car ~ 100 yards behind the scene as I see the truck with the killers take off. I ask Kate to hand me my first aid kit, and tell her to stay in the car - then I run off to check if I can still help anyone. I arrive at the same time with a few women from the houses around, which cry hysterically. It is right away apparent any help is too late.
Not a bright and sunny story. And no - not a common occurrence - this morning we told the story to Steve, who has lived in Honduras for 13 years - and has never witnessed anything like this. But to witness this in brought daylight has certainly left a mark. From what I hear these kind of crimes are all drug related. It still seems surreal. Time to take a moment and be glad to be alive.
So far for now. Crossed into Guatemala today. Gonna spend some time in the northern part, then on to Belize and then Yucatan.
New pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/05dUtila2#
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/05eRoatan#
Yesterday I saw three guys get killed on the side of the road - certainly one of the less pleasant sides of the trip. More about that later.
Utila:
I finished my Advanced Open Water Diver and my Rescue Diver certification, which now enables me to start a Divemaster-intership - which I'm planning to do in 2-3 weeks. However, I don't see myself as a future scuba-diving instructor, so getting an instructor license afterwards is not on the agenda. Below - our dive boat:
Other than that there is not that much more to report. Kate and I had some cool walk-the-island excursions. We tried to go see the wreck of a drug-plane, which went down a few weeks ago. Those guys use Utila on their route from South America to the US as a refueling point at night. Apparently a few weeks ago they were blocked from landing, ran out of fuel and crashed into the jungle adjacent to the airfield. Officials found $250 million worth in cocaine, which they told us was later publicly burned. (Airport below)
We, however, despite following precise directions, could not locate it - and ended up in the middle of the jungle at nightfall came. We headed back on some mysterious route that probably no man has walked before (we at some point ended up in someone's backyard and had to jump their fence to get back out on the road), but saw some really cool wildlife while walking back.
I decided to travel for a few weeks with Kate after my courses, since it's so much more fun to travel together and it's much more economical. The day before we wanted to leave Utila, Kate walks into this restaurant (where they have a better internet connection). I follow her about an hour later, and find her talking to some guy - Art - who offered us a free sail-trip to the island of Roatan (the Honduras "Bay Islands" consist of three major islands: Utila, Roatan (the largest and prettiest), and Guanaja). Art is fairly new to sailing, and felt more comfortable taking some "extra hands" along. His buddy Dave, who's been sailing for a long time, was coming along on his own boat (a little bit of comfort for me) ;-)
I spontaneously said yes, and after clearing up some of the details we were ready to go. At 6am the next morning Art picked us up at the dock, and at about 7am we took of to Roatan. While I was steering, we suddenly ran into some hefty winds, and I almost thought the boat would capsize (not even close as I learned later).
Once there, we visited Fantasy Island (a small island right next to Roatan). There is a big dive-shop and a hotel-resort there. We saw some cool white-face monkeys (pictures to follow) and just before leaving I met Jami - who owns a Live Aboard (bigger dive-ship that goes out for multiple days and has cabins in which the divers stay), and also trains diver masters as well as scuba instructors. Long story short - now I have a second option where I could do my divemaster. And this one is more economical (free room and board) and Roatan is a much nicer place. Have to do some thinking now.
La Ceiba - Harbour-city and connection point to Utila & Roatan:
We left Roatan the following day and met "Tony" on the ferry - he's an American engineer who grew up in Honduras and heads a non-profit over here. He recommended us to "Omega Tours", a hotel in the middle of the jungle (one of the biggest cloud-jungles in Central America).
We met up with him there that night, and had a small, spontaneous party - before white water rafting the next morning.
After white water rafting the next morning, we headed off for San Pedro Sula - an ugly, and somewhat unsafe city. It is a large industrial town, and somehow all the roads of Honduras seem to converge there. After we passed the city of Tela, which is about halfway, I suddenly here something like firecrackers. The traffic slows in front of me. I notice there is no car coming at me, but there is a Nissan truck kind of parked on the side of the road about 20 yards ahead. As we pass, I suddenly realize that there is a shooting going on, - or, to be more precise, an execution. I will save you further details. After passing, I view what's going on in the rear view mirror, and stop the car ~ 100 yards behind the scene as I see the truck with the killers take off. I ask Kate to hand me my first aid kit, and tell her to stay in the car - then I run off to check if I can still help anyone. I arrive at the same time with a few women from the houses around, which cry hysterically. It is right away apparent any help is too late.
Not a bright and sunny story. And no - not a common occurrence - this morning we told the story to Steve, who has lived in Honduras for 13 years - and has never witnessed anything like this. But to witness this in brought daylight has certainly left a mark. From what I hear these kind of crimes are all drug related. It still seems surreal. Time to take a moment and be glad to be alive.
So far for now. Crossed into Guatemala today. Gonna spend some time in the northern part, then on to Belize and then Yucatan.
New pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/05dUtila2#
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/05eRoatan#
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Saturday, 03/06/2010 Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras
I almost stole another boat yesterday. But then the owner gave us a ride.
However, I could not resist a house break-in.
So on Wednesday morning it was time to leave Lago Joyoa. I'm supposed to give Ari (an Israeli who is just finishing med school in East Tennessee) a ride to La Ceiba (from here the ferry to Utila leaves), and Dillenger and Ana (both Americans who travel all the time) a ride to Tela (city on the ocean straight north from here). Dillenger, who is (kind of) the nephew of the owner Bob (of D&D brewery, the place we are staying at), has essentially been running the place for the past 6 months. I was told he and Ana were going on vacation for 3 days in Tela, but this morning I suddenly figure out that he is leaving for good - I'm shocked - things change fast down here. So well. The drive goes very smooth - thanks to excellent directions we got. We get to see some interesting horse-transport methods -
but Ari and I arrive in La Ceiba too late to catch the last ferry. Since I've heard that prices in Utila for food (and drinks) are fairly high, and I'm - as always - a frugal bastard - I buy a 1 liter bottle of rum this evening. Ari does the same. The cool thing about traveling like this is that most 3rd world travelers are similarly price-conscious, and hardly anyone goes by that "I don't care what it costs, I'm on vacation"-mentality.
Next morning - this is our ferry:
the fact that is entirely enclosed is a little concerning. It's very rough sees - after the first three minutes I start feeling like I actually might get sick - and I usually never get seasick. But after a few minutes things calm down a little bit and I feel better again, even though it remains a bumpy ride.
Arrived in Utila I fight my way past all the guys that want to convince you that their hotel / dive center is the best. I make way way up the street along the bay to check out dive shops. Over here you typically get free accommodation if you do a course, and since I'm planning to do 2 courses there is no need for a hotel. Despite a good impression at Cross Creek I decide to go with Underwater Vision - they just have an awesome ambience in their complex.
After a refresher dive on day one, and my first two dives of my course yesterday morning, I went for lunch with Kate, a girl from Poland, yesterday. After lunch, we continued walking until we reached the other side of town. There is a lagoon on the inland that runs parallel to the bay, and we wondered if it was connected to the ocean. We saw a little motor-boat anchored, and since I now have experience in boat-stealing I was in the process of convincing Kate that we should steal the boat and go find out - as the rightful owner suddenly comes driving up in a small golf-cart. He has a body in one of these strap-ons in front of him, a 5-gallon container of water and a box of groceries with him. I ask him if the lagoon is connected, and he says yes - and invites us to come with him since this is his way. His house is right where the two meet, so we can walk back from there. We agree, and help him get the water and groceries in the boat (not the easiest tasks to do on your own if you have a baby strapped in front of you). It turns out he is from Corsica, his wife is from Quebec, Canada, and they bought a sailboat in Guatemala - which is where their son was born. They sailed down here, but now his wife is pregnant again and they decided to stay for a few years. As we arrive, I take out his water and groceries and then we say good-bye.
On our way back, we saw this really cool wood-home that was under construction, standing on steltz. I thought this was worth checking out, and made Kate into my partner in crime. After stepping on construction material that covered swampy-underground, we made it to the stairs. The door was open, and we get to check out the place.
Beautiful. I would have opted for a different layout, but other than that I loved it. To the back they had a nice view of the lagoon, and to the front of the ocean. The night ended calm – I was tired from only sleeping four hours the night before (I got up at 5am to read about my upcoming dives), so I went to bed at 9.30pm.
This morning I got up at 6am and read some more for my dives today. After a wreck dive and an underwater navigation dive this morning, it's time for a siesta now. I'll have a night-dive tonight, after which I'll be an “Advanced Open Water Diver”. I'll take the camera on the boat tonight and try to take some pictures. Adios ….
I've been battling with the damn uploading now for about 2 hours. The system is super slow, I just had all the pics in the blog that I wanted, and then the damn system gives me some html error. Whatever. Check out the pics on the picasa link. I'll put them in once I have a decent connection again.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/05cUtila#
However, I could not resist a house break-in.
So on Wednesday morning it was time to leave Lago Joyoa. I'm supposed to give Ari (an Israeli who is just finishing med school in East Tennessee) a ride to La Ceiba (from here the ferry to Utila leaves), and Dillenger and Ana (both Americans who travel all the time) a ride to Tela (city on the ocean straight north from here). Dillenger, who is (kind of) the nephew of the owner Bob (of D&D brewery, the place we are staying at), has essentially been running the place for the past 6 months. I was told he and Ana were going on vacation for 3 days in Tela, but this morning I suddenly figure out that he is leaving for good - I'm shocked - things change fast down here. So well. The drive goes very smooth - thanks to excellent directions we got. We get to see some interesting horse-transport methods -
but Ari and I arrive in La Ceiba too late to catch the last ferry. Since I've heard that prices in Utila for food (and drinks) are fairly high, and I'm - as always - a frugal bastard - I buy a 1 liter bottle of rum this evening. Ari does the same. The cool thing about traveling like this is that most 3rd world travelers are similarly price-conscious, and hardly anyone goes by that "I don't care what it costs, I'm on vacation"-mentality.
Next morning - this is our ferry:
the fact that is entirely enclosed is a little concerning. It's very rough sees - after the first three minutes I start feeling like I actually might get sick - and I usually never get seasick. But after a few minutes things calm down a little bit and I feel better again, even though it remains a bumpy ride.
Arrived in Utila I fight my way past all the guys that want to convince you that their hotel / dive center is the best. I make way way up the street along the bay to check out dive shops. Over here you typically get free accommodation if you do a course, and since I'm planning to do 2 courses there is no need for a hotel. Despite a good impression at Cross Creek I decide to go with Underwater Vision - they just have an awesome ambience in their complex.
After a refresher dive on day one, and my first two dives of my course yesterday morning, I went for lunch with Kate, a girl from Poland, yesterday. After lunch, we continued walking until we reached the other side of town. There is a lagoon on the inland that runs parallel to the bay, and we wondered if it was connected to the ocean. We saw a little motor-boat anchored, and since I now have experience in boat-stealing I was in the process of convincing Kate that we should steal the boat and go find out - as the rightful owner suddenly comes driving up in a small golf-cart. He has a body in one of these strap-ons in front of him, a 5-gallon container of water and a box of groceries with him. I ask him if the lagoon is connected, and he says yes - and invites us to come with him since this is his way. His house is right where the two meet, so we can walk back from there. We agree, and help him get the water and groceries in the boat (not the easiest tasks to do on your own if you have a baby strapped in front of you). It turns out he is from Corsica, his wife is from Quebec, Canada, and they bought a sailboat in Guatemala - which is where their son was born. They sailed down here, but now his wife is pregnant again and they decided to stay for a few years. As we arrive, I take out his water and groceries and then we say good-bye.
On our way back, we saw this really cool wood-home that was under construction, standing on steltz. I thought this was worth checking out, and made Kate into my partner in crime. After stepping on construction material that covered swampy-underground, we made it to the stairs. The door was open, and we get to check out the place.
Beautiful. I would have opted for a different layout, but other than that I loved it. To the back they had a nice view of the lagoon, and to the front of the ocean. The night ended calm – I was tired from only sleeping four hours the night before (I got up at 5am to read about my upcoming dives), so I went to bed at 9.30pm.
This morning I got up at 6am and read some more for my dives today. After a wreck dive and an underwater navigation dive this morning, it's time for a siesta now. I'll have a night-dive tonight, after which I'll be an “Advanced Open Water Diver”. I'll take the camera on the boat tonight and try to take some pictures. Adios ….
I've been battling with the damn uploading now for about 2 hours. The system is super slow, I just had all the pics in the blog that I wanted, and then the damn system gives me some html error. Whatever. Check out the pics on the picasa link. I'll put them in once I have a decent connection again.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/05cUtila#
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Tuesday, 03/02/2010 Lago Joyoa, Honduras
Two days ago I stole a boat. We did return it later. We also met the rightful owner on the lake.
So after updating the blog on Friday afternoon, I went back to the hotel and overheard how the guy from the hotel wanted to rip of three American girls that needed a ride to San Pedro Sula (1.5hrs away) that night - he wanted $150. So I told them I was heading there that evening and could give them a ride. They gave me $40 for gas, and after Lise and I checked into a hotel I took them to the airport.
The next day Lise and I headed down to Lago Joyoa and got a room in D&D Brewery. Bob, the owner, used to be a civil engineer in the US but got tired of live over there about 14 years ago - and opened his microbrewery/hotel over here. Relaxing was on schedule for the rest of the day ...
On Sunday morning we went on a little tour around the neighborhood. Fidel, a neighbor who has a huge garden, invites us in and shows us around - he grows red beans right now. But it changes frequently - they have four harvest cycles over here.
As we walk on, we come by Doug's house - an American who used to live in Belize working on boats. A few months ago he came down here, bought an overgrown property and has been cleaning it up. We got to enjoy some great fauna and flora as well as got to see some great (hanging) bird's nest afterwards.
In the afternoon two German girls arrived at the hotel - Lena and Susanne. I go for a walk w/ them to get a view of the lake. The view from shore sucks! We keep going on some little path, and end up at a small canal. There are two little boats lying around. We decided to "borrow" one - which of course is stealing, even though we are planning to bring it back.
As I'm trying to figure out the rowing, we're slowly making our way to the lake. We finally get our views - even though it's overcast today. After about 10 mins we decide to head back. Approaching the canal entrance, another boat approaches us. The guys tells us he's the owner of our boat. First we're a little in shock - how upset is he going to be?? But then he just tells us we need to change boats and return the other one soon. After we switched, we noticed why - our boat had been filling a little with water - and he brought a bucket, so he can get it out. Our new boat seems to be watertight. We eat Chinese that night - huge portions, not cheap, and poor service - common over here as we find out.
The next day the three of us head off to the waterfalls. They are 43m (140ft) high and the main attraction of the area. After taking a look around, we decide to do the ziplining before the behind-the-falls tour - no reason to be wet for ziplining. They have five lines, that last one of which takes you right across in front of the falls - awesome feeling.
Then a guide takes us behind the falls. First we have to climb quite a bit a narrow path to get to the side of the falls. Then we actually make our way through the water to get behind and check out some of the caves there. There are some smaller waterfalls on the side which we also explore. At the end, the guide and I also jump off a cliff about 20' high into the water. The girls bail on this one. They are missing out - it's great.
After a relaxing afternoon we finish the night of with some (mediocre) pizza. Back to local food next time.
Today is Tuesday. Lena and Susanne had to leave this morning to pick up a friend in the capitol. I'm planning to head north towards the beach tomorrow with Dillenger (the owners nephew who helps run the place) and Anna (his friend who worked with him in Alaska). I'll drop them off in Tela, a city on the ocean straight north of here, while I'll continue to La Ceiba, from where I'll take a ferry to the island of Utila to do some scuba diving. So far for now.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/05bLagoJoyoa02#
So after updating the blog on Friday afternoon, I went back to the hotel and overheard how the guy from the hotel wanted to rip of three American girls that needed a ride to San Pedro Sula (1.5hrs away) that night - he wanted $150. So I told them I was heading there that evening and could give them a ride. They gave me $40 for gas, and after Lise and I checked into a hotel I took them to the airport.
The next day Lise and I headed down to Lago Joyoa and got a room in D&D Brewery. Bob, the owner, used to be a civil engineer in the US but got tired of live over there about 14 years ago - and opened his microbrewery/hotel over here. Relaxing was on schedule for the rest of the day ...
On Sunday morning we went on a little tour around the neighborhood. Fidel, a neighbor who has a huge garden, invites us in and shows us around - he grows red beans right now. But it changes frequently - they have four harvest cycles over here.
As we walk on, we come by Doug's house - an American who used to live in Belize working on boats. A few months ago he came down here, bought an overgrown property and has been cleaning it up. We got to enjoy some great fauna and flora as well as got to see some great (hanging) bird's nest afterwards.
In the afternoon two German girls arrived at the hotel - Lena and Susanne. I go for a walk w/ them to get a view of the lake. The view from shore sucks! We keep going on some little path, and end up at a small canal. There are two little boats lying around. We decided to "borrow" one - which of course is stealing, even though we are planning to bring it back.
As I'm trying to figure out the rowing, we're slowly making our way to the lake. We finally get our views - even though it's overcast today. After about 10 mins we decide to head back. Approaching the canal entrance, another boat approaches us. The guys tells us he's the owner of our boat. First we're a little in shock - how upset is he going to be?? But then he just tells us we need to change boats and return the other one soon. After we switched, we noticed why - our boat had been filling a little with water - and he brought a bucket, so he can get it out. Our new boat seems to be watertight. We eat Chinese that night - huge portions, not cheap, and poor service - common over here as we find out.
The next day the three of us head off to the waterfalls. They are 43m (140ft) high and the main attraction of the area. After taking a look around, we decide to do the ziplining before the behind-the-falls tour - no reason to be wet for ziplining. They have five lines, that last one of which takes you right across in front of the falls - awesome feeling.
Then a guide takes us behind the falls. First we have to climb quite a bit a narrow path to get to the side of the falls. Then we actually make our way through the water to get behind and check out some of the caves there. There are some smaller waterfalls on the side which we also explore. At the end, the guide and I also jump off a cliff about 20' high into the water. The girls bail on this one. They are missing out - it's great.
After a relaxing afternoon we finish the night of with some (mediocre) pizza. Back to local food next time.
Today is Tuesday. Lena and Susanne had to leave this morning to pick up a friend in the capitol. I'm planning to head north towards the beach tomorrow with Dillenger (the owners nephew who helps run the place) and Anna (his friend who worked with him in Alaska). I'll drop them off in Tela, a city on the ocean straight north of here, while I'll continue to La Ceiba, from where I'll take a ferry to the island of Utila to do some scuba diving. So far for now.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/05bLagoJoyoa02#
Friday, February 26, 2010
Friday, 02/26/2010 Copan Ruinas, Honduras
Yesterday I sat there playing with Erica - who could look into the others eyes longest w/out starting to laugh. Erica is nine years old and lives in the mountains around Copas Ruinas.
So on Wednesday at 12, after saying goodbye to Emma and Leona (the Irish girls - no women), Luise and I headed off to San Salvador. There we picked up Eddie from Ohio whom we meet the day before in the hotel. Then off to Honduras. It's a small road, we pass many villages. I often wonder if we are still going the right way, and locals assure us that we are when we stop and ask.
The we get to the border. It takes me twenty minutes with some guy from El Salvador, who just ends up making a copy of my car permit. Then we drive over to Honduras. A guy with a golden belt knuckle and golden sunglasses takes us to a room for our visas. Any other circumstance I would have sworn he is a drug-dealer. After almost an hour this is done. Then I have to head off by foot to another building to get the car imported. The guy takes 20 minutes to fill out a damn form. Then he tries to enter the same info into the computer system. Things don't seem to work as he wants them to. He starts sweating. Stares at the screen. Gets a cell phone call. This all goes on for about half an hour - so almost an hour total. I'm so pissed at this point I'm ready to shot people. Or take the authority to perform any border-immigration matters from the country of Honduras. I've waited in a lot of lines at borders, to which there are reasonable explanations. This was just dumb incompetence. The guy finally asks another, younger guy - the paperwork comes out of the printer 5 minutes later. I have to pay $35 - that's outrages. I control my temper, but do tell him that this was ridiculous. After walking with some random woman to get copies of the paperwork, we can head off - two hours later.
Later on we drive through the mountains - and encounter the worst fog/clouds I have ever driven through. For a short while I have a Texas truck in front of me that I can follow (sooo much easier), but most of the 35-min ordeal we have to master ourselves - desperately looking for the grass on the side of the road or the centerline. Finally, after many hours of driving (and some great street food in Santa Rosa de Copan) we arrive in Copan Ruinas. It's a small but beautiful town close by the Mayan Ruins of Copan. These are the 2nd most visited Mayan ruins, famous not for their size but for the excellent Mayan artwork that has survived in them.
Yesterday (Thursday) we slept long and used the rest of the day to go to some hot springs.
So on Wednesday at 12, after saying goodbye to Emma and Leona (the Irish girls - no women), Luise and I headed off to San Salvador. There we picked up Eddie from Ohio whom we meet the day before in the hotel. Then off to Honduras. It's a small road, we pass many villages. I often wonder if we are still going the right way, and locals assure us that we are when we stop and ask.
The we get to the border. It takes me twenty minutes with some guy from El Salvador, who just ends up making a copy of my car permit. Then we drive over to Honduras. A guy with a golden belt knuckle and golden sunglasses takes us to a room for our visas. Any other circumstance I would have sworn he is a drug-dealer. After almost an hour this is done. Then I have to head off by foot to another building to get the car imported. The guy takes 20 minutes to fill out a damn form. Then he tries to enter the same info into the computer system. Things don't seem to work as he wants them to. He starts sweating. Stares at the screen. Gets a cell phone call. This all goes on for about half an hour - so almost an hour total. I'm so pissed at this point I'm ready to shot people. Or take the authority to perform any border-immigration matters from the country of Honduras. I've waited in a lot of lines at borders, to which there are reasonable explanations. This was just dumb incompetence. The guy finally asks another, younger guy - the paperwork comes out of the printer 5 minutes later. I have to pay $35 - that's outrages. I control my temper, but do tell him that this was ridiculous. After walking with some random woman to get copies of the paperwork, we can head off - two hours later.
Later on we drive through the mountains - and encounter the worst fog/clouds I have ever driven through. For a short while I have a Texas truck in front of me that I can follow (sooo much easier), but most of the 35-min ordeal we have to master ourselves - desperately looking for the grass on the side of the road or the centerline. Finally, after many hours of driving (and some great street food in Santa Rosa de Copan) we arrive in Copan Ruinas. It's a small but beautiful town close by the Mayan Ruins of Copan. These are the 2nd most visited Mayan ruins, famous not for their size but for the excellent Mayan artwork that has survived in them.
Yesterday (Thursday) we slept long and used the rest of the day to go to some hot springs.
We relax for hours in tubs with different temperatures. At the end, Eddie and I go down to the river where (really) hot water comes down via a waterfall and mixes with the cold river water. We sit in a naturally formed pond that gets water from both - so it has a nice temperature. We start talking to them. They live out here. The place is about 21 kilometers (~13 miles) out of town. For the most part, that means they go to school until 5th grade and then start working. There are three young guys and two girls with us in there. The older girls is allowed to go to school longer - than typically means that all her siblings have to work as soon as they get out of 5th grade to help the family. She is taking care of the younger girl, Erica, who is nine. And will turn 10 next year in January. It amazes me how responsible those kids already are at this young age, while maintaining that spark of youthfullness and childishness. I wash myself in the river using their soap, and leave with the deepest respect for those people - who have so little, yet seem so happy. I'm sad I didn't get a picture of Erica - but I will keep her in my mind.
This morning I went to the Ruins. Very interesting - but not that much more to say - watch the pictures. We are heading out tonight (Lise and I). Eddie is leaving earlier by bus. I'm giving three American girls a ride to San Pedro - their plane leaves at 2.30am tomorrow morning. Any help with gas money is always good.
I also learned that Dr. Tom Mentzer from the Marketing & Logistics Department, and one of the most highly regarded profs at UT, has passed away this morning after a two-year long battle with cancer. I learn that until a couple of weeks ago he was still doing research - it makes me happy that he had found his passion in life and could do it until his last day. My thoughts are with his family, friends and all those that cared about him today. Joe
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/04dCopanRuinas#
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Tuesday, 02/23/2010 Playa del Tunco, El Salvador
Last Friday we did a pool day - a nice local hotel allows you to use their pool and facilities for $3.75 / day.
Saturday the owner of our hotel, Blanca, offers us along with some other guests to take us to some small town of the beaten path where we also can swim a little. It turns out quite interesting. The town isn't very exciting, - but the drive is. We see modern transportation methods (sorry about the picture quality),
along with idyllic landscapes close to a remote village where we go for a swim with some locals.
To see the radical differences in these countries is amazing. On one hand you find internet cafes on every corner even in the smallest towns, while on the other we pass small, one-room houses built of clay brick and ochs-wagons that make you think you are set back at least a century. Even though for the most of us are aware that most of these people are very poor, it becomes a different pictures when you find out that normal families can't afford any kind of stove/oven or a fridge. They cook over open fires in the one-room houses, and hence many of them have respiratory problems (a lot of aid organizations build stoves in countries down here to fight this problem). Most kids only go to school up to 4th grade, then most have to start working to help support the family. I can't really say that I was that surprised by this. But what really surprised me is how those kids switch between acting their age (like in the picture above) and being quite responsible employees / part-time-mothers & fathers of their siblings. Being down here also reminds me how little we actually "need". I guess in the end happiness is rarely achieved by material things - and maybe those act often as an inhibitor.
Sunday morning comes along. Lise and I intend to head off to Copan, Honduras today. Lise already mentioned last night that maybe we should head south with Emma and Leona to the beach in El Salvador. I remember that many of the border stations close early on Sunday, so possibly I won't even be able to enter Honduras today. We decide to stick around today and all head down south tomorrow.
Monday. After another relaxing pool day, we are ready to hit the road today. I get up at eight in order to get an oil change. It's 3,300 miles since I left Knoxille, so it's time. After a little bit of asking around I find a place. They want $3 for the oil change. Then he tells me that we need to go buy the oil. It's not the kind of shop that has oil on storage. And not the kind of shop where I'd get an oil change under any other kind of circumstances. Enough of the pessimism. I have to call Jason in Knoxville from an internet cafe to confirm that I can use 20W50 in the car - it never get's cold down here, they don't use 10W30 etc. They do the job and everything is fine. After breakfast and saying goodbye to our host Blanca we head down south.
The first surprise: We come by a place called Playa del Sol. For miles and miles there are walls with gates to our right - it appears El Salvador's elite has bought up the entire beach front. Cheap, decent hotels are impossible to find. We stop by a "Comfort Inn" where they let us hang out at the beach for a while, which was very nice.
The beach is beautiful. But all the locals we meet are fairly unfriendly. We notice that nobody smiles around here. The (very) few budget hotels that we encounter all have lots of little sheds between them and the beach where all the fishermen hang up their nets when they come in. Where else could they do it. Essentially the locals access to the beach has been almost completely eliminated. I'd be pissed, too.
We head up to Playa del Tunca, about 90 minutes northwest. It's a surfertown. Cheap. And - as we encounter - great seafood. We end up in a nice little hotel with pool:
A room is $25 for two people - $12.50 a person, expensive for our standards - so this is a treat. The pool is beautiful, down here it's quite warm already. (yeah, picture that while you're shoveling snow next time ;-) ).
Tomorrow it's off to Honduras, the Copan Ruins. On the way we'll pick up Eddie, who I met here this morning in the hotel, in San Salvador - fellow travelers bring down my gas costs, and it's more fun to travel together. Nos vemos ...
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/04cOnTheBeach#
(also added more pictures to the Suchitoto album).
Saturday the owner of our hotel, Blanca, offers us along with some other guests to take us to some small town of the beaten path where we also can swim a little. It turns out quite interesting. The town isn't very exciting, - but the drive is. We see modern transportation methods (sorry about the picture quality),
Sunday morning comes along. Lise and I intend to head off to Copan, Honduras today. Lise already mentioned last night that maybe we should head south with Emma and Leona to the beach in El Salvador. I remember that many of the border stations close early on Sunday, so possibly I won't even be able to enter Honduras today. We decide to stick around today and all head down south tomorrow.
Monday. After another relaxing pool day, we are ready to hit the road today. I get up at eight in order to get an oil change. It's 3,300 miles since I left Knoxille, so it's time. After a little bit of asking around I find a place. They want $3 for the oil change. Then he tells me that we need to go buy the oil. It's not the kind of shop that has oil on storage. And not the kind of shop where I'd get an oil change under any other kind of circumstances. Enough of the pessimism. I have to call Jason in Knoxville from an internet cafe to confirm that I can use 20W50 in the car - it never get's cold down here, they don't use 10W30 etc. They do the job and everything is fine. After breakfast and saying goodbye to our host Blanca we head down south.
The first surprise: We come by a place called Playa del Sol. For miles and miles there are walls with gates to our right - it appears El Salvador's elite has bought up the entire beach front. Cheap, decent hotels are impossible to find. We stop by a "Comfort Inn" where they let us hang out at the beach for a while, which was very nice.
We head up to Playa del Tunca, about 90 minutes northwest. It's a surfertown. Cheap. And - as we encounter - great seafood. We end up in a nice little hotel with pool:
Tomorrow it's off to Honduras, the Copan Ruins. On the way we'll pick up Eddie, who I met here this morning in the hotel, in San Salvador - fellow travelers bring down my gas costs, and it's more fun to travel together. Nos vemos ...
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/04cOnTheBeach#
(also added more pictures to the Suchitoto album).
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Thursday, 02/18/2010
Quick update:
Hung out with the two ladies in my hotel Tuesday night - getting to know those El Salvadorians a little. Nice;
My car window got fixed (but up to 4 guys) on Wednesday morning.After that I decide to head out, and figure it's time to go to the beach. Want to go up to Honduras.
I miss the proper exit by like half an hour. Who cares - it's a absolutely beautiful drive on this stretch along the Pan-American Highway. I turn around, half dinner at a nice little restaurant along the highway, and decide to head to Suchitoto, El Salvador. Old, colonial town by a lake, not touristy like San Miguel and Antigua. (Picitures to follow, camera fell into water this afternoon). I meet four girls in the hostell, two Irish girls and two Canadians. We went to some waterfalls today - with a (tourist-) police escort. Really cool. Gonna stay a few more days up here, then head on to Honduras.
Pictures will come later, ... praying the camera gets in shape again.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/04bSuchitotoElSalvador#
Hung out with the two ladies in my hotel Tuesday night - getting to know those El Salvadorians a little. Nice;
My car window got fixed (but up to 4 guys) on Wednesday morning.After that I decide to head out, and figure it's time to go to the beach. Want to go up to Honduras.
I miss the proper exit by like half an hour. Who cares - it's a absolutely beautiful drive on this stretch along the Pan-American Highway. I turn around, half dinner at a nice little restaurant along the highway, and decide to head to Suchitoto, El Salvador. Old, colonial town by a lake, not touristy like San Miguel and Antigua. (Picitures to follow, camera fell into water this afternoon). I meet four girls in the hostell, two Irish girls and two Canadians. We went to some waterfalls today - with a (tourist-) police escort. Really cool. Gonna stay a few more days up here, then head on to Honduras.
Pictures will come later, ... praying the camera gets in shape again.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/04bSuchitotoElSalvador#
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Tuesday, 02/16/2010 - San Salvador, El Salvador
The past few days have truly been "exciting". But that doesn't mean they were pure enjoyment. Probably most people would be pissed to a certain degree now. But life is too short. And I WILL remember these days.
Read through some of the comments earlier (btw, please write - I really enjoy reading the responses) and will post some pictures again within the text - even though google takes forever to upload them.
Saturday - hiked up volcano Pacay - saw life lava-flow!
I met four Germans in Antigua - Wiebke, Karoline, Florian (Karoline's husband), and Johannes (Karline's brother). We apparently had talked Friday night while partying, of which I remembered little on Saturday morning. They had gone up Pacaya before, so I tagged along with them.
We hired a local guide, Domingo, to take us up there. The walk up was interesting. Along the way there are lot's of guys with horses for the people who suddenly figure out that they are not in good-enough shape to make it up there. Whenever you pass on of those guys they ask you if you want a horse. To which I typically answered some dumbass comment ("you want me to carry it up there"? ...).
There is a point passed which the horses can't go. Then the walk over the dried-up lava starts.
Then it get's cold and you need to put on a sweater/jacket. Then you get onto the warm lava and you get this really cool feeling of getting heated up from below.
Seeing the lava life really was worth the trip. Amazing. You've seen this so many times in movies, and then suddenly this super-hot, reddish substance is flowing right in front of you. As you move close to take a picture, you truly get to understand how hot the stuff is. I three in a small stick which started burning up immediately.
My four fellow Germans head off on Sunday morning after breakfast. Karoline and Wiebke both teach in San Salvador (the capital of El Salvador) at a German School. Florian is looking for a job there, too, and comes off and on. Johannes was here to visit. I spent the rest of the day wondering the city, encountered some really cool ruins and a fantastic 5-star hotel:
It's built on/around the ruins of an old monetary. Some of the ruins are part of a museum, the rest you can wonder around inside the hotel compound. There is a pool, great hangout areas lined with palm trees from which parrots occasionally greet you. I decide that I like the city so much, I'll ask the owner of the hostel on Monday morning if they give me free lodging/food for a few days to do some maintenance work for them.
Then everything came different. Monday morning I'm woken up by the night-hotel-guard - the police is outside, someone has broken into my car on Sunday night. This is an 180-degree turn from Xela, where the police never showed up. These (four!) guys want to know everything, they probably would have called in forensics if they had something like that down here. Two pairs of sneakers, my air mattress + pump and - my electrician tools are missing. I scratch all plans. The side window was broken. I figure out that the only place to repair it would be Guatemala city. No desire to spend any time there.
So I just take off for El Salvador. It take me an hour to cross the border - even more than the typical (excessive) bureaucracy, but I find the people very friendly and I don't have to pay for any of that stuff. In the office hangs a poster with a number to call - in case anyone accepts a bribe. El Salvador fighting bribery.
I can't get a hold of my friends in San Salvador. I loved it so far - driving here was so much better than in Guatemala. Now I'm in this big city, don't know where to go or where to get the window fixed. I'm feeling helpless!
So what! This is what it's all about. This is what I'll remember for the rest of my life. I look at my guide book and find myself a hostel. Head over there. They have free wifi - thank God! I get a list of autoglass places in the city and the address of Subaru San Salvador.
This morning - Tuesday. I'm on a mission to get this done. I try calling autoglass places via skype - nothing. Seems like calling via skype isn't working here. Frustration! I ask the women from the hotel for help. They appeared somewhat cold last night, so my expectations are low. I was soo wrong!
After three calls to Subaru it turns out they have the window. After after much heated arguing with Sonja and Carina from the hostel with the Subaru reception lady I have directions.
Now I'm sitting on a beautiful terrace.
After getting to Subaru and scheduling the window-install for tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, I drove to the German school and asked for Karoline. Happened she was just between classes, and called up her husband who then gave me directions to their house. I'm hoping to leave the car here and then head down towards Panama by bus. If I get the chance, I'd even sell the car here. But I'm not sure how the formalities work here and I'd have to figure out how to get some of my stuff back.
So far so good. I think I'm ready for a nap in the hammock.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/04aHeadingToSanSalvador#
Read through some of the comments earlier (btw, please write - I really enjoy reading the responses) and will post some pictures again within the text - even though google takes forever to upload them.
Saturday - hiked up volcano Pacay - saw life lava-flow!
I met four Germans in Antigua - Wiebke, Karoline, Florian (Karoline's husband), and Johannes (Karline's brother). We apparently had talked Friday night while partying, of which I remembered little on Saturday morning. They had gone up Pacaya before, so I tagged along with them.
We hired a local guide, Domingo, to take us up there. The walk up was interesting. Along the way there are lot's of guys with horses for the people who suddenly figure out that they are not in good-enough shape to make it up there. Whenever you pass on of those guys they ask you if you want a horse. To which I typically answered some dumbass comment ("you want me to carry it up there"? ...).
There is a point passed which the horses can't go. Then the walk over the dried-up lava starts.
Then it get's cold and you need to put on a sweater/jacket. Then you get onto the warm lava and you get this really cool feeling of getting heated up from below.
Seeing the lava life really was worth the trip. Amazing. You've seen this so many times in movies, and then suddenly this super-hot, reddish substance is flowing right in front of you. As you move close to take a picture, you truly get to understand how hot the stuff is. I three in a small stick which started burning up immediately.
My four fellow Germans head off on Sunday morning after breakfast. Karoline and Wiebke both teach in San Salvador (the capital of El Salvador) at a German School. Florian is looking for a job there, too, and comes off and on. Johannes was here to visit. I spent the rest of the day wondering the city, encountered some really cool ruins and a fantastic 5-star hotel:
It's built on/around the ruins of an old monetary. Some of the ruins are part of a museum, the rest you can wonder around inside the hotel compound. There is a pool, great hangout areas lined with palm trees from which parrots occasionally greet you. I decide that I like the city so much, I'll ask the owner of the hostel on Monday morning if they give me free lodging/food for a few days to do some maintenance work for them.
Then everything came different. Monday morning I'm woken up by the night-hotel-guard - the police is outside, someone has broken into my car on Sunday night. This is an 180-degree turn from Xela, where the police never showed up. These (four!) guys want to know everything, they probably would have called in forensics if they had something like that down here. Two pairs of sneakers, my air mattress + pump and - my electrician tools are missing. I scratch all plans. The side window was broken. I figure out that the only place to repair it would be Guatemala city. No desire to spend any time there.
So I just take off for El Salvador. It take me an hour to cross the border - even more than the typical (excessive) bureaucracy, but I find the people very friendly and I don't have to pay for any of that stuff. In the office hangs a poster with a number to call - in case anyone accepts a bribe. El Salvador fighting bribery.
I can't get a hold of my friends in San Salvador. I loved it so far - driving here was so much better than in Guatemala. Now I'm in this big city, don't know where to go or where to get the window fixed. I'm feeling helpless!
So what! This is what it's all about. This is what I'll remember for the rest of my life. I look at my guide book and find myself a hostel. Head over there. They have free wifi - thank God! I get a list of autoglass places in the city and the address of Subaru San Salvador.
This morning - Tuesday. I'm on a mission to get this done. I try calling autoglass places via skype - nothing. Seems like calling via skype isn't working here. Frustration! I ask the women from the hotel for help. They appeared somewhat cold last night, so my expectations are low. I was soo wrong!
After three calls to Subaru it turns out they have the window. After after much heated arguing with Sonja and Carina from the hostel with the Subaru reception lady I have directions.
Now I'm sitting on a beautiful terrace.
After getting to Subaru and scheduling the window-install for tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, I drove to the German school and asked for Karoline. Happened she was just between classes, and called up her husband who then gave me directions to their house. I'm hoping to leave the car here and then head down towards Panama by bus. If I get the chance, I'd even sell the car here. But I'm not sure how the formalities work here and I'd have to figure out how to get some of my stuff back.
So far so good. I think I'm ready for a nap in the hammock.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/04aHeadingToSanSalvador#
Saturday, February 13, 2010
02/13/2010 Antigua
So after almost three hours of driving I arrived in Antigua yesterday afternoon - and already survived my first party here.
As I got up yesterday morning, I somehow felt that I didn't want to stay in San Pedro any longer, so I packed my stuff and, after saying goodbye to my Mayan girls from the hotel, headed out. Driving down the Pan-American Highway is an adventure. It snakes it's way through the mountains, so I tested the suspension of the Subaru while enjoying the view. As it get's less mountainous, the road gets worse, and at times isn't even paved any more. I also saw a head-on collision between a small truck and a semi, but luckily it looked like noone got seriously injured. It makes you aware again that driving here can be quite dangerous.
Arriving in Antigua, I got a dorm-bed in the "Black Cat", a really cool, relaxed hotel, with a hangout area/bar downstairs and a nice terrace on top. One of the buys in my room is an Australian who has worked here for the past few months, but is moving on now - so we had a good-bye party for him last night. This place has such a communal feel that I've already met almost everyone who is staying here. I also met four Germans, with whom I'm gonna go up the Volcano Pacaya later today. Caroline and Wiebke both teach in San Salvador, Caroline's husband and her brother are here to visit.
I really like the town so far. Ken, who I met in San Miguel weeks earlier, told me he thinks Antigua is much better than San Miguel. So I came here with high expectations. I really like how Antigua, despite many tourist, has maintained a more natural feel, and the park in the center is just an amazing place to hang out. When I visit the cathedral, of which only a small part has been reconstructed after it was destroyed by an earthquake, I wonder how imposing a structure this once must have been.
They have a central gas-powered hot-water heating system here - so I had my first real warm shower in almost two weeks. It felt awesome. So far for now.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03eAntigua#
Also updated some more pics from Lago Atitlan.
As I got up yesterday morning, I somehow felt that I didn't want to stay in San Pedro any longer, so I packed my stuff and, after saying goodbye to my Mayan girls from the hotel, headed out. Driving down the Pan-American Highway is an adventure. It snakes it's way through the mountains, so I tested the suspension of the Subaru while enjoying the view. As it get's less mountainous, the road gets worse, and at times isn't even paved any more. I also saw a head-on collision between a small truck and a semi, but luckily it looked like noone got seriously injured. It makes you aware again that driving here can be quite dangerous.
Arriving in Antigua, I got a dorm-bed in the "Black Cat", a really cool, relaxed hotel, with a hangout area/bar downstairs and a nice terrace on top. One of the buys in my room is an Australian who has worked here for the past few months, but is moving on now - so we had a good-bye party for him last night. This place has such a communal feel that I've already met almost everyone who is staying here. I also met four Germans, with whom I'm gonna go up the Volcano Pacaya later today. Caroline and Wiebke both teach in San Salvador, Caroline's husband and her brother are here to visit.
I really like the town so far. Ken, who I met in San Miguel weeks earlier, told me he thinks Antigua is much better than San Miguel. So I came here with high expectations. I really like how Antigua, despite many tourist, has maintained a more natural feel, and the park in the center is just an amazing place to hang out. When I visit the cathedral, of which only a small part has been reconstructed after it was destroyed by an earthquake, I wonder how imposing a structure this once must have been.
They have a central gas-powered hot-water heating system here - so I had my first real warm shower in almost two weeks. It felt awesome. So far for now.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03eAntigua#
Also updated some more pics from Lago Atitlan.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
02/11/2010 San Pedro de Laguna, Guatemala
So I have very mixed feelings about this place.
For the past two days, the weather has been beautiful and I finally got to enjoy the beauty of this place. Yet two days ago I talked to some locals, and got the understand some of the negative consequences tourism has on this place.
On Tuesday morning I went for a run, pretty much all through the village. The village essentially exists of two parts, the "local" part up the hill, and the tourist part at the bottom. At the edge of town there is construction going on. I talked to one of the guys directing traffic, and he explains to me that they are working on widening the access road to town (which is not even entirely paved right now). Talking to him, once again reinforces my perception of how nice and friendly the local people here are. I don't think I've ever been to a place where I encountered such friendliness from the overall population. After my run I decide to fix my rear bumper. A few hours and two trips up the hill later, I took care of the dents in the bumper and it is solidly attached again. Afterwards I decide to talk to the two girls a little that manage the hotel "office", clean, and take care of the restaurant to practice my Spanish. It will turn out to be a very interesting conversation.
I had been trying to figure out the tourist crowd here, there was something that struck me as odd. I noticed that there was an amount of blond rasta-hair people with Che Guevara T-shirts that was way beyond a normal distribution. As it turns out, there are lots of heavy drug-user tourists here. Not that I have a problem with tourists smoking their occasional joint. But the girls tell me that last week a tourist overdosed in town, and that that is not a single occurrence. What really gets me mad though is that there are enough people like that that they really changed the culture in the town. According to the girls, about 50% of the locals are now drug users, and the local kids are starting to do drugs at the age of 12 or 13. The police is obviously bought by the tourist establishments (owned mostly by expats), since I haven't seen a single one of them in the lower part of town. It makes me mad as hell.
Yesterday I took a boat to Panajachel, the main town on the lake. The last ten minutes of the trip the guy was hauling ass, and there were quite some waves on the lake. It felt like getting spanked on the bud for ten minutes straight - by a BOAT! It's been a long time since I wanted to punch someone in the face so bad. As I walked down a street in town towards the lake, I finally realized why people like this place so much. The view was simply astounding. I took a little video clip, even though it doesn't do the real thing justice. I hung out on the lakefront, talking to two young Austrians, for the next two hours. However, the way back on the boat topped it all. There were hardly any waves, the the ride was really smooth, and I could enjoy the sunset over the mountain-ridge in front of me. It more than made up for the unpleasant ride earlier in the day.
So here I am - enjoying the relaxing, amazing atmosphere of the lake, while at times getting really aggregated about the influences of tourism on the locals here. Interesting scenario. But that is what this trip is all about - the unexpected.
I posted more picture under the "Lago Atitlan" link. J
For the past two days, the weather has been beautiful and I finally got to enjoy the beauty of this place. Yet two days ago I talked to some locals, and got the understand some of the negative consequences tourism has on this place.
On Tuesday morning I went for a run, pretty much all through the village. The village essentially exists of two parts, the "local" part up the hill, and the tourist part at the bottom. At the edge of town there is construction going on. I talked to one of the guys directing traffic, and he explains to me that they are working on widening the access road to town (which is not even entirely paved right now). Talking to him, once again reinforces my perception of how nice and friendly the local people here are. I don't think I've ever been to a place where I encountered such friendliness from the overall population. After my run I decide to fix my rear bumper. A few hours and two trips up the hill later, I took care of the dents in the bumper and it is solidly attached again. Afterwards I decide to talk to the two girls a little that manage the hotel "office", clean, and take care of the restaurant to practice my Spanish. It will turn out to be a very interesting conversation.
I had been trying to figure out the tourist crowd here, there was something that struck me as odd. I noticed that there was an amount of blond rasta-hair people with Che Guevara T-shirts that was way beyond a normal distribution. As it turns out, there are lots of heavy drug-user tourists here. Not that I have a problem with tourists smoking their occasional joint. But the girls tell me that last week a tourist overdosed in town, and that that is not a single occurrence. What really gets me mad though is that there are enough people like that that they really changed the culture in the town. According to the girls, about 50% of the locals are now drug users, and the local kids are starting to do drugs at the age of 12 or 13. The police is obviously bought by the tourist establishments (owned mostly by expats), since I haven't seen a single one of them in the lower part of town. It makes me mad as hell.
Yesterday I took a boat to Panajachel, the main town on the lake. The last ten minutes of the trip the guy was hauling ass, and there were quite some waves on the lake. It felt like getting spanked on the bud for ten minutes straight - by a BOAT! It's been a long time since I wanted to punch someone in the face so bad. As I walked down a street in town towards the lake, I finally realized why people like this place so much. The view was simply astounding. I took a little video clip, even though it doesn't do the real thing justice. I hung out on the lakefront, talking to two young Austrians, for the next two hours. However, the way back on the boat topped it all. There were hardly any waves, the the ride was really smooth, and I could enjoy the sunset over the mountain-ridge in front of me. It more than made up for the unpleasant ride earlier in the day.
So here I am - enjoying the relaxing, amazing atmosphere of the lake, while at times getting really aggregated about the influences of tourism on the locals here. Interesting scenario. But that is what this trip is all about - the unexpected.
I posted more picture under the "Lago Atitlan" link. J
Monday, February 8, 2010
Monday, 02/08/2010 - San Pedro, Lago de Atitlan
Aldous Huxley (Beyond the Mexique Bay (1934)) called Lago Atitlan one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, comparing it with Lago Como in Northern Italy. As I drove down the mountains yesterday, and, coming around a turn, I finally got my first glimpse of it: The sun had just come out from between the coulds, and down below I could see an ocean of beautiful blue, surrounded by little bays and lagunas on each side, and appearing to continue forever straightforward. I see some towns at the bottom of the hills on each side by the lake, and wonder what they will look like. I shall find out soon.
But first I'm gonna step back in time a little bit. I was lazy on Friday and Saturday, spending my last two days in Xela just hanging out, and getting to know fellow travelers better. On Saturday morning I went with Lilian to get my first, most likely also last, manicure. My main reason for going was that I strongly assumed that they gonna have comfortable couches/love seats, which turned out to be correctly. So after getting a good rest in one of those, I got my own manicure. I can't say it made a big improvement in the looks of my hands/nails, but at least my hands smelled damn good all day.
In the afternoon Lenka (the Czech girl) and I took off to "Chichi", a small sleepy town in the mountains in which every Sunday one of the biggest (or the biggest) market in Central America erupts. We got some great local food on Saturday night and Sunday morning in the market. An amazing amount of stuff. Anything you can think of and more. Western clothes (mostly T-shirts), Mayan clothes, cloth, jewelry, spices, dried fish, tools (used and new), Mayan artwork (souvenirs), and much much more. The streets and plazas have turned into a maze of rows of stands and little stores. You fight your way through the crowd, which is sometimes more dense then at others. You bump into people carrying supplies, women carrying baskets on their heads, men carrying heavy bags on their bag, attached to a leather strap around their forehead. Even though I don't like big crowds, it's an amazing experience. And despite all the hastle, haggling, and so on, the people are super friendly.
At around twelve I decide to head off, saying fare well to Lenka, who is staying for another night before heading north. I'm heading south to Lago Atitlan. The main town on the lake, Panachel, I've been told has gotten incredibly touristy. Hence I decided to go to "San Pedro de Laguna", a smaller town on the other side of the lake. I spent about 2 hours looking at hotels/hostals yesterday, and ended up at the one Verena recommeded: Hotel Paraiso, where I take the cheapest room (communal bath) for 25 Quetzales (about $3) a night - including parking in their courtyard). Strolling around town last night, I discovered a "Buddhist bar" (or something like that, it's their moto), where I meet some people with which I head to a super-bowl party in a sports bar later. Great game. Happy for the people of New Orleans. Sad for Manning. I think it's pretty clear the Colts are the better team, but I don't think they played with a lot of heart. Wonder what last night was like at Bourbon Street.
Now I'm sitting at "Zoola", a hip hotel focused on providing a really relaxing / hang out atmosphere. They were full yesterday. Today they only have a dorm bet or a room with private bath ($12, way too expensive). So I decide to stay in my place, and just hang out here.
I've been thinking a lot about finishing the PhD lately. Even though I am pretty much certain I don't want to work in academia later, it would give me a degree in the logistics / supply chain field, which is where I think I want to work in. I will probably soon formulate an email to Dan, our PhD program director, asking if it would be okay to return with those intentions. One of the main motivations for faculty to work with PhD students is the potential for joint future publishing - which would be voided in my scenario. So we'll see.
I think I'm gonna explore the bay a little this afternoon, and all the things you can do around here.
More pics to follow.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03cChici#
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03dLagoAtitlan#
But first I'm gonna step back in time a little bit. I was lazy on Friday and Saturday, spending my last two days in Xela just hanging out, and getting to know fellow travelers better. On Saturday morning I went with Lilian to get my first, most likely also last, manicure. My main reason for going was that I strongly assumed that they gonna have comfortable couches/love seats, which turned out to be correctly. So after getting a good rest in one of those, I got my own manicure. I can't say it made a big improvement in the looks of my hands/nails, but at least my hands smelled damn good all day.
In the afternoon Lenka (the Czech girl) and I took off to "Chichi", a small sleepy town in the mountains in which every Sunday one of the biggest (or the biggest) market in Central America erupts. We got some great local food on Saturday night and Sunday morning in the market. An amazing amount of stuff. Anything you can think of and more. Western clothes (mostly T-shirts), Mayan clothes, cloth, jewelry, spices, dried fish, tools (used and new), Mayan artwork (souvenirs), and much much more. The streets and plazas have turned into a maze of rows of stands and little stores. You fight your way through the crowd, which is sometimes more dense then at others. You bump into people carrying supplies, women carrying baskets on their heads, men carrying heavy bags on their bag, attached to a leather strap around their forehead. Even though I don't like big crowds, it's an amazing experience. And despite all the hastle, haggling, and so on, the people are super friendly.
At around twelve I decide to head off, saying fare well to Lenka, who is staying for another night before heading north. I'm heading south to Lago Atitlan. The main town on the lake, Panachel, I've been told has gotten incredibly touristy. Hence I decided to go to "San Pedro de Laguna", a smaller town on the other side of the lake. I spent about 2 hours looking at hotels/hostals yesterday, and ended up at the one Verena recommeded: Hotel Paraiso, where I take the cheapest room (communal bath) for 25 Quetzales (about $3) a night - including parking in their courtyard). Strolling around town last night, I discovered a "Buddhist bar" (or something like that, it's their moto), where I meet some people with which I head to a super-bowl party in a sports bar later. Great game. Happy for the people of New Orleans. Sad for Manning. I think it's pretty clear the Colts are the better team, but I don't think they played with a lot of heart. Wonder what last night was like at Bourbon Street.
Now I'm sitting at "Zoola", a hip hotel focused on providing a really relaxing / hang out atmosphere. They were full yesterday. Today they only have a dorm bet or a room with private bath ($12, way too expensive). So I decide to stay in my place, and just hang out here.
I've been thinking a lot about finishing the PhD lately. Even though I am pretty much certain I don't want to work in academia later, it would give me a degree in the logistics / supply chain field, which is where I think I want to work in. I will probably soon formulate an email to Dan, our PhD program director, asking if it would be okay to return with those intentions. One of the main motivations for faculty to work with PhD students is the potential for joint future publishing - which would be voided in my scenario. So we'll see.
I think I'm gonna explore the bay a little this afternoon, and all the things you can do around here.
More pics to follow.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03cChici#
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03dLagoAtitlan#
Friday, February 5, 2010
Friday, 02/05/2010
So someone hit my car last night. It was parked on the side of the road, no other car behind it, and some guy came and bumped into the passenger side rear bumper. It's a little dent in and deformed, but overall very little damage. The other guy, who took off afterwards, definitely had more damage. I hope he broke his hand for just taking off. But anyhow, as soon as I saw there was no serious damage, I decided there is no point in being mad about it. To the contrary, there was a positive and a hilarious aspect:
Neighbors who observed it were waiting outside until the hotel guy got me, and were telling me all the info they could - it was a green Toyota Yaris, and his driver side front end was pretty badly damaged. They even wanted to go through the neighborhood w/ me to look for it. I thought that was great.
Hilarious - so I decided we should call the police - who, despite two calls, never showed. That's what the hotel guy told me from the start. So this is a pretty serious law enforcement agency. The hotel guy even told me that they once were robbed, and he ran down to el centro to get the cops. The cops told him they'd just turn around and come right with him - but never showed from 'turning around'.
I tried to link picasa photoalbums to the blog, but it won't let me. Surprisingly google did a crapy job at this - not userfriendly at all. So here the links:
San Miguel de Allende, MX:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/02aSanMiguelMexico#
Mexico City:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/02bMexicoCity#
Way to Guatemala:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03aHeadingToGuatemala#
Xela (Queztaltenango, Guatemala):
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03bXela#
Planning to leave here tomorrow afternoon, and take it easy until then. Adios ...
Neighbors who observed it were waiting outside until the hotel guy got me, and were telling me all the info they could - it was a green Toyota Yaris, and his driver side front end was pretty badly damaged. They even wanted to go through the neighborhood w/ me to look for it. I thought that was great.
Hilarious - so I decided we should call the police - who, despite two calls, never showed. That's what the hotel guy told me from the start. So this is a pretty serious law enforcement agency. The hotel guy even told me that they once were robbed, and he ran down to el centro to get the cops. The cops told him they'd just turn around and come right with him - but never showed from 'turning around'.
I tried to link picasa photoalbums to the blog, but it won't let me. Surprisingly google did a crapy job at this - not userfriendly at all. So here the links:
San Miguel de Allende, MX:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/02aSanMiguelMexico#
Mexico City:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/02bMexicoCity#
Way to Guatemala:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03aHeadingToGuatemala#
Xela (Queztaltenango, Guatemala):
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03bXela#
Planning to leave here tomorrow afternoon, and take it easy until then. Adios ...
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Thursday, 2/4/2010 Xela
This is getting better as the week is progressing.
On Monday I just hung out here, checked out the city and got comfortable in the hostel.
On Tuesday, I went with Lilian, a Guatemalian-born girl from Cali to Volcany Chikabal. We took the "Chicken Bus" (old US school buses they use for public transport over here) to a city close by. Then we hired someone to take us up to "La Laguna Seca", the official starting point to walk up there. The ride up was quite an adventure. We were sitting in the back of the pick up, enjoying a great view of the valley down below. The valley is full of steep fields on which they grow vegetables. It's a rough dirt road, and we get thrown around a bit. When the truck drops us off, we start the 40 minute hike up to the viewing platform. We get a brief view of nearby Volcano Santa Maria and the crater lake, just before they disappear in clouds for the rest of the day.
That evening I meet Lenka, a Czech traveller, who is asking me lots of questions in order to "perfect" her travel itinery. I'm trying to arrange for her to go up to the same place, volcany Chikabal, the next day with Verena, the German girl that is married to Lari, a Guatemala who grew up here. They have a 2-year old son, Arjumi, and travel around the country selling jewelry at artisan markets. The trip doesn't happen, but we all go have breakfast together the next morning. Lari and Verena take us to some place I would have never found on my own, and I get to try some new local drink: It's yellow, made of corn, and tastes like vanilla pudding.
Since their plans got canceled, I later went with Lenka to sulfuric hot baths called "Fuentes Georginas". We take the chicken bus, and then again hire a truck to take us up the mountain. This time I stand on the back, and enjoy absolutely fantastic views. As we get close, I already see smoke coming up from rocks by the road. The baths are super-relaxing, and a 5 our driver is waiting for us outside again to take us down. He stops after about 100 yards, next to some rock cliff going steep up to our right, which then turns into woods. He asks us if we can wait for 10 minutes, his wife is up there getting wood and he needs to help her carry it down. I'm a little shocked at first - this is super steep. Turns out, his wife was up there WITH his little daughter - and I was quite worried about her making it down there safe. But it all worked out well, and wife and daughter rode down in the back of the truck with me.
Today - Thursday - was a really cool day:
- Left hostel at 6am to go the Volcano Chikabal again with Lenka, Lari Verena and Arjumi (in car)
- Pushed the Subaru to it's limits on the dirt road up the Volcano (we tried to go all the way up - had to surrender half a mile before the top)
- Were the first people up there - and arrived just in time to witness (smoke) erruption of nearby volcano "Santiaguito" - which has small eruptions (smoke, some ash) almost every hour (see pictures)
- Got invited by some Maya people (they speak a language called Mam, some spoke Spanish) to eat beef stew
- Made it safely back home, sweaty, nasty, - and the water in the hostel was out again. Who cares, it's Guatemala ...
On Monday I just hung out here, checked out the city and got comfortable in the hostel.
On Tuesday, I went with Lilian, a Guatemalian-born girl from Cali to Volcany Chikabal. We took the "Chicken Bus" (old US school buses they use for public transport over here) to a city close by. Then we hired someone to take us up to "La Laguna Seca", the official starting point to walk up there. The ride up was quite an adventure. We were sitting in the back of the pick up, enjoying a great view of the valley down below. The valley is full of steep fields on which they grow vegetables. It's a rough dirt road, and we get thrown around a bit. When the truck drops us off, we start the 40 minute hike up to the viewing platform. We get a brief view of nearby Volcano Santa Maria and the crater lake, just before they disappear in clouds for the rest of the day.
That evening I meet Lenka, a Czech traveller, who is asking me lots of questions in order to "perfect" her travel itinery. I'm trying to arrange for her to go up to the same place, volcany Chikabal, the next day with Verena, the German girl that is married to Lari, a Guatemala who grew up here. They have a 2-year old son, Arjumi, and travel around the country selling jewelry at artisan markets. The trip doesn't happen, but we all go have breakfast together the next morning. Lari and Verena take us to some place I would have never found on my own, and I get to try some new local drink: It's yellow, made of corn, and tastes like vanilla pudding.
Since their plans got canceled, I later went with Lenka to sulfuric hot baths called "Fuentes Georginas". We take the chicken bus, and then again hire a truck to take us up the mountain. This time I stand on the back, and enjoy absolutely fantastic views. As we get close, I already see smoke coming up from rocks by the road. The baths are super-relaxing, and a 5 our driver is waiting for us outside again to take us down. He stops after about 100 yards, next to some rock cliff going steep up to our right, which then turns into woods. He asks us if we can wait for 10 minutes, his wife is up there getting wood and he needs to help her carry it down. I'm a little shocked at first - this is super steep. Turns out, his wife was up there WITH his little daughter - and I was quite worried about her making it down there safe. But it all worked out well, and wife and daughter rode down in the back of the truck with me.
Today - Thursday - was a really cool day:
- Left hostel at 6am to go the Volcano Chikabal again with Lenka, Lari Verena and Arjumi (in car)
- Pushed the Subaru to it's limits on the dirt road up the Volcano (we tried to go all the way up - had to surrender half a mile before the top)
- Were the first people up there - and arrived just in time to witness (smoke) erruption of nearby volcano "Santiaguito" - which has small eruptions (smoke, some ash) almost every hour (see pictures)
- Got invited by some Maya people (they speak a language called Mam, some spoke Spanish) to eat beef stew
- Made it safely back home, sweaty, nasty, - and the water in the hostel was out again. Who cares, it's Guatemala ...
Monday, February 1, 2010
02/01/2010 The border Crossing
So last Saturday morning I took off from Mexico City. After fighting (almost literally) my way out of the city, I passed by Puebla and the Volkswagen plant, then Oaxaca. Even though Oaxaca is a beautiful town, I decided not to stop since it RAINED (and most of you know how I love rain). So I continued on driving through the Oaxaca mountains - very pleasant in parts, see below:
I headed down to some town called "Arriage" - expecting some form of nightlife since they had signs for the town 120 km away. Complete disappointment. Instead I saw an accident happen right in front of me in some remote little village when I got lost for a bit. One of those little Tuc-Tuc's suddenly swurved on the road right in front of me and flipped on it's side. I stopped and went over there. There were actually four people in there. After heaving the driver and two girls out of there, I wanted to help the last guy out. Turns out his leg was stuck underneath the thing. A group of guys came buy just then, and with combined forces we lifted the thing back up. Not sure if his leg was hurt or not, but there were at least no open fractures or obvious broken bones. So I headed on my way. Sorry - took a pic, but didn't turn out.
After sleeping in the car at a gas station, I headed into Chiapas the next morning. Very nice drive. I have amazing moutains, partly covered in clouds on top, to my far left. The immediate landscape around me starts to look a lot more jungle-like. Small, primitive settlements and individual "ranchos" appear continuously on both sides on the road. I'm a little sad I don't get to see any of the ocean.
About an hour before the border, at one of these semi-checkpoints, a young guys waves me down. He wears a "Aduana" (Customs) shirt and an "Aduana" ID. He appears to explain to me that if I want to cross the border, he needs to come with me to help me w/ all the paper work. I'm not sure if he's official or not. So I take him along, but tell him clearly that I won't pay for anything but what I have to pay the officials. Even though I'm feeling a little strange about this, he turns out to be a good guide: pointing out the endless banana plantations that start appearing to our left and right, as well as Mango-tree plantations. At the border it turns out he is not an official, and is trying to help out for a tip (I was warned about this).
First thing as you enter Guatemala by car, the fumigate the car. This cost 18 Queztales, which my buddy pays for me since I didn't change any money yet. After reimbursing him with pesos, and giving him a small tip, I tell him I don't need him anymore. The rest of the crossing goes fairly smooth, even though I had to run into town to get copies made to get the car imported. People appear really nice so far.
The drive through Guatemala turns out to be great. For a large part of the way, it looks like someone built a road into the jungle, and while going through the mountains towards Queztaltenango, I have some fantastic views to my left:
I've gotten a room (shared bath) in a hostel for $7 a night - might not live up to everyone's standards, but I really like it. I've meet lots of other (mostly) long-term travelers. Decided to spend a week here - and hopefully won't get shocked in the shower - they have a little different idea of hot-water heating over here:
So far for now. Time to get get some food. And some beer. Buena noche ....
After sleeping in the car at a gas station, I headed into Chiapas the next morning. Very nice drive. I have amazing moutains, partly covered in clouds on top, to my far left. The immediate landscape around me starts to look a lot more jungle-like. Small, primitive settlements and individual "ranchos" appear continuously on both sides on the road. I'm a little sad I don't get to see any of the ocean.
About an hour before the border, at one of these semi-checkpoints, a young guys waves me down. He wears a "Aduana" (Customs) shirt and an "Aduana" ID. He appears to explain to me that if I want to cross the border, he needs to come with me to help me w/ all the paper work. I'm not sure if he's official or not. So I take him along, but tell him clearly that I won't pay for anything but what I have to pay the officials. Even though I'm feeling a little strange about this, he turns out to be a good guide: pointing out the endless banana plantations that start appearing to our left and right, as well as Mango-tree plantations. At the border it turns out he is not an official, and is trying to help out for a tip (I was warned about this).
First thing as you enter Guatemala by car, the fumigate the car. This cost 18 Queztales, which my buddy pays for me since I didn't change any money yet. After reimbursing him with pesos, and giving him a small tip, I tell him I don't need him anymore. The rest of the crossing goes fairly smooth, even though I had to run into town to get copies made to get the car imported. People appear really nice so far.
The drive through Guatemala turns out to be great. For a large part of the way, it looks like someone built a road into the jungle, and while going through the mountains towards Queztaltenango, I have some fantastic views to my left:
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Mexico City
So initially the plan was to arrive in Mexico City on Friday night at like 10.30, and go have dinner with my good old friend Jose and his wife Tesha. But - wrong turn once - took me an hour to get back on track - that's Mexico City for you! So I arrived at 12a, had drinks with Jose until like 2.30pm, and decided to spend another day. I ended up spending two more days, and it was sooo worth it. On day one, Jose picked me up at his place at noon, and then took me along all day to their factory (see below),
Then we went to a couple meetings etc. and dinner. Amazing insight into Jose's daily life. That's what I could deal with. Eight hours in an office every day - NO. The next morning we first went and had breakfast with the kids, then dropped them off at school. For those of you who've seen "Man on Fire" (w/ Denzel Washington), you know that there is a high emphasis on security at Mexican private schools. Even though they know Jose, they first checked the trunk before letting us into this gate:
Then Jose had a business-breakfast, in which they pre-negoticated the new wages and conditions for the workers with the union. For the rest of the day, we headed for Toluca, a small city on the outskirts that is slowly becoming part of Mexico City (which now has about 30 million people). While Jose and a coworker went to some event, I went to explore the city: Very nice, relaxed, beautiful city square, a botanical garden inside a building done with beautiful glasswork (see foto).
In the evening, we went to Jose's in-laws and they took me along to a traditional Sabbath-dinner (on Friday night, start of Sabbath). Great experience, great time.
As always, things that happen unexpectedly are the best. I'm in Guatemala now, I'll write more about the travel here later. First I need to go and get a hotel. My sincerest thank you to Jose and his family. Hasta luge ...
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Thursday, 01/28/2010
Finlanda, Pulque, & leaving San Miguel - things are getting exciting!
So on Monday night, after doing some "work" in Starbucks, I was walking towards my car to drop off my bag and go have a beer in Casa Payo (sportsbar). As I walk by the church and pass two western-looking girls, they ask me if I know a cheap place to eat. I told them "follow me". The two girls are Susanna, originally from Finnland (but who lived in the US since she was 9), and Michelle, her American friend. What can I say. First there was beer. Then there came Tequilla. When Casa Payo shut down at 1am, we went over to "La Cucaracha" - a well-renown whole-in-the-wall. More beer. More Tequilla. We finally leave at 2.30pm.
Susanna and Michelle invite me to a party at Susanna's parents house (where they are staying) for the following night.
Well, first off, buying a bottle of wine in San Miguel is not as easy as it seems. But after asking about 3 people for an appropriate "tienda", that is solved. Finding the party-house turns out to be much more of a challenge. It's in a little "colonia" outside town, reachable via dirt road. Ok, getting to the colonia I only got lost once. But they happen to not believe in street signs over there. So after asking about 5-6 people I finally find it - and the search was well worth it. My hosts provided fantastic Mexican food, excellent Margeritas, and I met various very interesting people that night. Pictures to follow.
BTW, on the way to the party, there was a power outage in San Miguel - that's what it looked like:
They are currently in the process of putting all the electric, cable TV and phone wires under ground. I've never seen them working at night before, why they were working so late that night I have no idea.
Pulque
So on Monday night, after doing some "work" in Starbucks, I was walking towards my car to drop off my bag and go have a beer in Casa Payo (sportsbar). As I walk by the church and pass two western-looking girls, they ask me if I know a cheap place to eat. I told them "follow me". The two girls are Susanna, originally from Finnland (but who lived in the US since she was 9), and Michelle, her American friend. What can I say. First there was beer. Then there came Tequilla. When Casa Payo shut down at 1am, we went over to "La Cucaracha" - a well-renown whole-in-the-wall. More beer. More Tequilla. We finally leave at 2.30pm.
Susanna and Michelle invite me to a party at Susanna's parents house (where they are staying) for the following night.
Well, first off, buying a bottle of wine in San Miguel is not as easy as it seems. But after asking about 3 people for an appropriate "tienda", that is solved. Finding the party-house turns out to be much more of a challenge. It's in a little "colonia" outside town, reachable via dirt road. Ok, getting to the colonia I only got lost once. But they happen to not believe in street signs over there. So after asking about 5-6 people I finally find it - and the search was well worth it. My hosts provided fantastic Mexican food, excellent Margeritas, and I met various very interesting people that night. Pictures to follow.
BTW, on the way to the party, there was a power outage in San Miguel - that's what it looked like:
On the way back from the party, at 12.30am, I encountered this:
They are currently in the process of putting all the electric, cable TV and phone wires under ground. I've never seen them working at night before, why they were working so late that night I have no idea.Pulque
So I went to say good-bye to Josh on Wednesday afternoon - who greated me in his Egyptian bed-rope that he got when he lived there for a few months 10 years ago. Despite the serious face on the picture, he is the happiest and easiest-going buy you can imagine. We we are drinking is called "Pulque". He's given it to me various times before, always pouring it out of this porcellan jar. Comes from some fermented plant. But how does it get into the jar I wanted to know? Since I've never seen this stuff sold anywhere. Well, there is a guy on a burro (donkey) coming by every few days, and he buys it directly from the guy.
Well, the crown got finished yesterday. Before that I went to lunch with Adriana to say good-bye - really cute place, with "Torrero-ambiance" and an older man playing the guitar. I invited my dentist for dinner - which turned out to be a great conversation, and finally I got to practice my Spanish more extensively.
Arriving in Mexico city turned out to be quite a challenge, but after a small one-hour detour I finally got to my friend Jose's place - which is the, by FAR, most modern living space I have ever encountered in Mexico. Really cool. I'll post some pictures later.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Monday, 1/25/2010
I got sick on Saturday. Lay in bed all night with stomach cramps - not how I envisioned my last Saturday night here. Got the cramps under control Sunday afternoon w/ 2 Tylenol. I also met a guy last night in a bar (Kirk) who spent 2 years in Guatemala with the peace corps. He's lived for four years down here, and work in - online marketing (Phil, if you need someone for your sample ...). He gave me some awesome tips, for example that the pacific coast is fairly laim until you reach Costa Rica, and that the eastern part of Guatemala is the pretty part. So I think I'll adjust my travel schedule based on that.
I also discovered, to my big disappointment, that the Mexican K-12 education system is not nearly as good as I thought it was. I tutored my friend Adriana's son for the math part of their university entrance exam here. Even though he is a bright kid and seems to be catching on quickly, I cannot forgive their school system that a graduating senior is barely familiar with the sine, cosine and tangent functions. So far for that.
Yesterday I went with my new buddy Josh to "El Ring" - a dance club that, to be politically correct, does not cater to the upper class, and in which we were the only two gringos. It got exciting, too: first a bunch of guys started a fight, and ten minutes later two girls started a fight on the dance floor. I loved it! ;-)
By for now. Next blog might come from Guatemala.
Joe
(Sorry - no new pictures - forgot the camera in the car)
I also discovered, to my big disappointment, that the Mexican K-12 education system is not nearly as good as I thought it was. I tutored my friend Adriana's son for the math part of their university entrance exam here. Even though he is a bright kid and seems to be catching on quickly, I cannot forgive their school system that a graduating senior is barely familiar with the sine, cosine and tangent functions. So far for that.
Yesterday I went with my new buddy Josh to "El Ring" - a dance club that, to be politically correct, does not cater to the upper class, and in which we were the only two gringos. It got exciting, too: first a bunch of guys started a fight, and ten minutes later two girls started a fight on the dance floor. I loved it! ;-)
By for now. Next blog might come from Guatemala.
Joe
(Sorry - no new pictures - forgot the camera in the car)
Friday, January 22, 2010
Friday, 01/22/2010
So I suddenly find myself in this quite interesting conversation about Herman Hesse, the German author that lived around the time of WWII. After helping Josh with some interesting concrete pouring yesterday (see pictures below), an older friend of his came by who we took to a little "Ranchito" outside town where Josh introduced him to a concrete artist. Afterwards we all went to a drink in town, catching a glimpse of the fireworks in honor of the 200th birthday of the name patron of the city - Senor Allende.
As it turns out, both Josh and David (the older Gentlemen) are avid fans of Herman Hesse, all of whom's books they read in their early twenties. So I find myself listening to them, and recognizing how much those readings had affected their respective lives. So I'm wondering - how much do the more rebellious books, that we sometimes (rather randomly) stumble across, influence the way we think and live our lives?
I'm gonna leave you that question for a piece of though. Below some pics. And off I am to English tutoring. ;-)
For all the Toyota lovers: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100122/OEM/100129949/1117
As it turns out, both Josh and David (the older Gentlemen) are avid fans of Herman Hesse, all of whom's books they read in their early twenties. So I find myself listening to them, and recognizing how much those readings had affected their respective lives. So I'm wondering - how much do the more rebellious books, that we sometimes (rather randomly) stumble across, influence the way we think and live our lives?
For all the Toyota lovers: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100122/OEM/100129949/1117
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Thursday, 01/21/2010
I'm going to help pour concrete today at 3. The Mexican way. Yep, you heard right. I met Josh, an Alaskan who's been living here off and on for the past 14 years, two nights ago at my friends Adriana and Greg's house. He's building/renovating a house here - been ongoing for the past 6 years. I went to check it out yesterday, just about spent the entire afternoon there. It's more of an work of art than just a house - which explains why this has been going on for so long. They pour over here without a form/mold, so I'm excited to see how that'll go.
Went running yesterday morning and found a shortcut to el centro. I also discovered some really cool little streets with amazing buildings and astonishing views of the valley. I also found a place where local women still do laundry by hand in the mornings (see above). I also saw the first military presence in town.
I think a gun like that would look great on my Subaru as well, but it might create some suspicion at my future border crossings to come.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Monday, 1/16
To the right a picture of the street I live on. There is a kindergarden down on the left, and a high school a little farther down on the right. I wanted to get a job at the kindergarden, but they thought with my mild and friendly face the kids would run all over me.
I went for a run this morning, and figured out that if I walk 20 yards up the road from my place I have a fantastic view over a huge valley behind the city. Guess I need to put the running shoes on more often.
This was breakfast this morning. The plastic bag is a juice "to go" from another store - strawberries, honey and milk mixed in the blender.Since I went for a run earlier, I was hungry and had four tacos. One with mushrooms only, to honor Lane who is now back in the business world busting his bud while I'm enduring the hardship of the developing world. ;-)
Fruit juice: 20 pesos;
4 Tacos: 28 pesos; Don't think that's cheap - the pinche gringos have jacked up the prices here like crazy in the past few years. The juice used to be 12 pesos.
By the way - I found my "ideal workplace". In Starbucks of all places. But they have free wifi, power outlets all over the place, and this beautiful worktable (see picture). BTW - work right now means studying up on places in Central America and organizing all the info in OneNote - best software by far Microsoft has ever invented.
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