Long Live The Sar

Although our Guatemala adventure is nearly over, our last few days have been filled with enough activity to warrant their own post. Three days ago, we sadly left El Tortugal and Rio Dulce (but not before partaking in a farewell daquiri and an hour of fishing) for the jungles of northern Guatemala. We elected to take the nice bus, which was great but for the fact that we arrived in Flores in the middle of a rainstorm at night and our hotel was in El Remate, a 40 minute cab ride away. Luckily there were cabs waiting for the bus and one driver agreed to take us for a relatively expensive fee. We arrived at Hotel Mon Ami where we were greeted by the french expat hotel owner. He was very business-like until Liz began speaking French with him and then his eyes shone and a smile appeared. Of course such genial treatment didn´t extend to me (I didn´t want to offend him with my butchering of his romantic language), but Liz´s bi(tri?)-lingual skills served us well. The next morning, we wer

I have been too busy to write for the past few days. Swimming, reading, fishing, sunbathing, itching mosquito bites, kayaking, and eating are just some of the many leisurely activities that have filled the past three days here on the Rio Dulce. This little slice of heaven is the stretch of river between Lake Izabal and the Caribbean; we are staying at El Tortugal , where they ask you what size your boat is when you reserve a room. Rio Dulce is supposedly the safest place for boats in the Caribbean during hurricane season, however the entrance to the river is only 5.5 ft deep in some places and so larger boats have to be tipped onto their sides to make it through (and this only works during the two extra high tides each month). Our hotel consists of an open dining room over the water, docks running off to either side filled with 30-60' sailboats, and raised walking platforms winding through mangrove swamps to the cabins which have tall ceilings with roofs made of thatched banan

Since my last post on Friday, we have left Lake Atitlan (after visiting two more towns around the lake, cross-dressing for our hostel´s weekly drag party, and spending the night in a room that strongly resembled a jail cell with its only ventilation coming from the men´s bathroom next door) for Semuc Champey. Our 8-hr bus ride yesterday ended at El Retiro Lodge, a rustic hostel on the outskirts of Lanquin. We were given the room next door to our friends from Iguana Perdida which was nice and then had a nice meal prepared by the local women who work at the lodge - note to all readers and everyone else: never watch your food get prepared in Guatemala...ever. It is not a pretty picture that involves many unwashed hands, silverware used for raw meat, cooked meat, vegetables, oil, and garlic, and in our case, child labor (probably holds true elsewhere but I have seen it here with my own two eyes) Our room was perfectly habitable after I exterminated the alien-esque creature that resembl

Yesterday morning, Liz and I sadly said goodbye to Antigua (for now) and struck off on the next leg of our adventure, ending in Lake Atitlan . The lake is ringed by volcanic peaks and has stunning scenery . I can't do it justice, so I'm linking to photos of it on Flikr . In a nutshell, the mountains basically project vertically from the lake shore, with "fields" of corn stretching from top to bottom on slopes so steep that I'm sure even mountain goats would tumble to their doom. The ride into Panajachel, the main town, was treacherous to say the least. The roads are steep, have hairpin 179-degree turns, and oh, crazy drivers speeding up straight at you, at speeds only seen on the Autobahn. But we made it and after a short lancha (boat taxi) ride to our hostel, we relaxed for a bit reading in the hammocks, visited a nearby town, and enjoyed a fun Tequila Thursday. But today was truly incredible. Liz and I started the day with delicous eggs and toast outside

Sorry I didn´t write for a few days, but we have been über busy and having a blast. Here are just some of the highlights from the past few days: Pastores For starters, I hate shopping. More than almost anything. I´d rather drive rusty fish hooks under my fingernails than spend a day doling out money for things I didn´t want in the first place and that Liz didn´t know she wanted until she saw them. On that note however, I LOVE Pastores. This quaint little town (i.e. two street village) 7 km from Antigua is awesome. The main drag hosts 20+ leather stores in a 500 yard stretch. By leather stores, I mean handcrafted boots, bags, belts, cowboy hats, and overstuffed taxidermied animals. Liz and I did some serious damage by Guatemalan standards, but by American standards, we made out like bandits with four pairs of handmade boots, crafted and molded to fit our feet in the back of the store, and two belts, all for less than my one pair of cowboy boots back home. Needless to say that I

After blogging about two trips to Africa, I figure this blog could use a little spicing* up, so today´s entry begins my Guatemala adventure. Before starting med/dental school, Liz and I decided to travel to Guatemala. This of course was before we knew about its minor crime problem (only in Guatemala City).  But seriously, we arrived yesterday and our driver brought us straight to our homestay family in Antigua. The town is nestled between multiple volcanoes and nearly all the buildings are one story because of the area´s proclivity for earthquakes. But I digress... The town of Antigua is a sleepy town of 50,000 Guatemalans that plays host to hundreds of Spanish language schools and many gringos here for vacation, study, and/or volunteer work. The buildings are painted in bright colors, Mayan women walk the streets in traditional garb, all the roads are cobblestone , and it is incredibly safe. Liz and I are staying with a fantastic homestay family, Jaime and Sylvia Gordilla. They