August 26- Time for This All to End

Well, all good things must come to an end. Today's exciting activities included packing, traveling to the airport, trying to get through customs, 2 plane flights, and finally unpacking. It is sad to have the trip end, but I have many great memories, and many journal notes and photos to organize. (Note: I am finally getting around to this job 3 months later.) Thanks for traveling with me!

August 25- Ruined again-Lamanai, Our Last Ruins to Visit

The drive to OrangeWalk was nice, and we got on a boat to travel the river to Lamanai, the last Mayan ruins of the trip. We stopped many times to view the wildlife along the shores of the river, such as bats, onhuinga, storks, 'Jesus' birds, and crocodiles. We also passed a Mennonite community along the way.

Lamanai, or 'submerged crocodile', had about 700 temples and pyramids in its heyday. It was one of the longest occupied Mayan cities. One of its nicest temples is the Jaguar temple with jaguar heads, where incense was burned in the statue's ears. The temples in most Mayan cities were like onions, with layers and layers, of new building over the old. Many stela which were nicely carved, do not remain standing, as later rulers used them for building materials of their newer temples. Under one stela, they found 5 skeletons of children, but no one is sure of the purpose of those.Under a round stone in the ball court, they found liquid mercury and cinnabar-also, purpose unknown. The high temple can only be climbed using a rope to help pull yourself up. From the top you can see 20 miles to Mexico. On the mask temple, they found Olmec carved heads (the Olmec were much earlier people who did huge stone carvings) as part of the building. These were added later, but their origin is a mystery as the Olmec did their carvings near Vera Cruz, Mexico. We saw a gumbolimbo tree whose resin is medicinal, and it is also called the 'tourist tree' as its bark peels like sunburned tourists.

August 24- On the Road Again (to Belize)

Our last overland trip would be to the last country on our Central American itinerary; Belize. First we stopped nearby Tikal to visit another Maya ruin named Yaxha. The television show Survivor: Guatemala was filmed here. They closed the park for 3 months for the filming. Yaxha has a number of smaller, but impressive pyramids, many used for astrological purposes of equinoxes, solstices, and calendar planning. In 557AD, enemies came through and ruined much of the town. More evidence of thatch structures were found here, in conjunction with the pyramids. It has an unusual ball court with no hoops and barely slanting sides.

Upon leaving Yaxha, we headed for Belize. The border crossing was much quicker, but we did have to leave the bus and walk across the border. Just past the border, we passed Xunantunich ruins that Kathy and I visited this summer on a shore excursion with our cruise. The countryside of northern Belize is much different from most of Guatemala-very flat and some areas swampy. This is the only country in Central America where English is the official language. We also left the modern Mayan culture behind.

When we arrived in Belize City, we had a local guide who gave us much information about the country. Belize was former called British Honduras. It is only 184 miles N-S and 69 miles E-W, with the smallest population in C.A. It has been an independent country since 1981, but Guatemala is still trying to annex it back. It also includes 200 islands, and the largest barrier reef in the Americas. Pirates came here first, but the Spanish ignored it, calling it The Mosquito Coast. There is a large Creole population, as well as Garifuna (black natives). The country prides itself on being multiethnic, multicultural, and multilinguistic. Belize City is below sea level. There are only 11 stop lights in the entire country. The local wildlife includes iguanas (called bamboo chicken for its taste), agouti (or gibnut, or Royal Rat, since it was served to Queen Elizabeth), and the coatimundi. The are no venomous snakes. We stayed at the BW Belize Biltmore Plaza, which was a mediocre motel along the highway.

August 23- Climbing temples

Today, we spent the entire day at Tikal, although to see it all would take 3-4 days. It is tremendous. If you are not into ancient Mayas and ruins, this might get a bit boring, but to me it is fascinating, so I will try to compromise. Tikal was discovered in 1848 and was completely covered by earth and vegetation. At first people thought they were mountains. It was declared the first National Park in Central America in 1955, and most excavation began then. It has been named a UNESCO site, but still has only been 22% excavated. They don't want to excavate more than they can safely maintain. Much damage happened in 1902 when a photographer used slask and burn to get good photos.

The first settlers came to Tikal about 1100BC. Temples were built in 600BC, and by 700 AD it was the largest city in the Mayan world. It began its decline about 900AD with an extended drought and no fresh water in the vicinity. Temple 7, at 70 meters, is the tallest in the Mayan world, and the area was used as a setting in the first Star Wars movie. There are various complexes, such as Complex Q with twin pyramids at the east and west, an auditorium on the south, and administration building on the north, and a plaza inbetween. Many tall stela and altars have been excavated with hieroglyphics on their sides.Some temples are for royal burials, and some are used to allign the equinox, or used as ritual sites. 9 terrace pyramids show the 9 levels of Xibalba (the Underworld). 3 level temples show the Underworld, Earth, and the Upper sky world. It was interesting to see some modern Maya performing a cleansing ritual in the middle of one of the plazas.

In addition to the Mayan ruins, there is also much wildlife noticed on the grounds of Tikal. Ceiba trees are tall and impressive. Allspice trees can be found, as well as chikle trees, with their strong wood, and sap used to make gum. We also saw spider monkeys, howler monkeys, toucans, tarantulas, and oscillated turkeys. (Note: the locals claim that spider monkey tastes like pork and howler monkey tastes like beef but neither compare to armadillo meat.)

August 22- To the Dump and Beyond

A number of changes in planned activities today made it the most memorable of the trip. After leaving Antigua, we headed back to Guatemala City for an afternoon flight to Flores in Peten province, which is in northern Guatemala. Our first stop was in the neighborhood of the Guatemala city dump. This is a huge dump, the size of 3 football fields and over 90 meters from high to low point, with a stream running through it. It is the only dump in the entire country for all human waste and sewage. Methane fires and land/garbage slides are common. Everyday, 900 trucks make 3 deliveries each. In this dump, and in the neighborhood surrounding, is a huge subculture. 100,000 people make their livelihood by picking garbage. When a truck enters the yard, people place their hands on the truck to say 'dibs' on the contents. These pickings are taken home, sorted, and sold. It is a bare subsistence living for a family. An American NGO, Safe Passage, has been working to provide schooling to some of the children, and to provide education and job skills to some of the parents here. The school is very nice, with 650 current students, but many more children are on waiting lists-they can only take the most needy and only some from each family. They provide meals to the children which are the best they get. They also have social enterprises with 50-100 women in business training and adult literacy. The women do sewing, or make beautiful jewelry out of recycled magazines. Grand Circle Foundation has decided to switch their support from the Antigua school (which has become self-supporting), to this one, so we had the opportunity to be the first group to visit here. It was a very emotional and eye-opening experience. I have since sent a donation to help support this enterprise.

After the emotional visit of the morning, we did a bus tour through the city on the way to the airport. We flew on a small (80 passenger) propellered plane to Santa Elena Flores in Peten. The biggest shock was the climate change from 75 degrees, to a hot, humid 95 degrees upon arrival. We arrived at La Casona del Lago Hotel, which was beautiful, and right on the lake. The air conditioning in the rooms was welcomed. For our last surprise of the day, Carlos (our trip leader), invited all 16 of us to his house, where his wife had spent 2 days preparing tamales for the group. We got to meet his son and daughter, as well as other family members. A great time was had by all. It was a great experience.

August 21- Exploring Antigua

Today began with a formal tour of Antigua. It started with visits to its many churches with their ruins. Some of these churches date from 1532. The city has been destroyed by 16 earthquakes over the years, thus the ruins, but they just built the new church next to the old one. St. Francis of Asisi (San Francisco Grande) Church was built in 1725, and became a school and hospital. Some rich Spanish were buried in churches, but no natives or people of color. Candles are burnt by parisioners, with the colors symbolic of their requests. As we were visiting a church, a man walked by with his goats. Carlos had him milk a goat, and I tried some fresh milk-tasty, although still warm.

Antigua was the Guatemala capitol in 1543 after the previous capital was buried in a mudslide.There are 22 surrounding villages. 32% of the buildings are owned by foreigners, and no buildings are allowed with more than 1 story. The town is surrounded by 3 volcanoes: Acatenango, Fuego, and Agua. Many doctors come here to do surgeries, and there is much teenage pregnancy. They say the classes are rich/high poor/middle poor/poor poor/misery.

We toured St. Dominick's Monastery, which is now a 5-star hotel and beautiful museum and wedding chapel. This was also where the poor and disabled were buried. Finally, we visited a jade factory and store, and learned about its processing.cutting, and polishing. When we were given free time in the afternoon, I walked to the local marketplace and just wandered, looking at the many good, and engaging in my favorite past-time, people watching. I am enjoying the tour aspects of the stops and the included tours, but the hardest part of a tour is being with your tour-mates everyday. Some you hit it off with very well, but when there is someone who decides to bully others, drink too much, or get boisterous, it is hard to take. I like to try to blend in with local people and customs and not stick out an an 'ugly American'. We finished the day with dinner accompanied by a marimba band and traditional dancers.

August 20- Village Adventures

The day began with some time to visit some of the churches and ruins. The ruins are beautiful with eroded walls overgrown with plant material. The colors, shapes, and shadows make fascinating photos. I could easily spend days just wandering here. Our next stop was the marketplace. We were divided into small groups and given a shopping list to find on our own. With limited Spanish skills, and much pointing, we took our purchases and boarded a local chicken bus for the trip to the village of Santa Catarina Barahona. We were asked to sit by ourselves, to be able to interact with the locals. A couple of the adventurous sat on top of the bus with the packages. (Chicken buses are old US school buses which have been rejuvenated and repainted with bright colors. They are called chicken buses as they pack in people like chickens in a crate-and, they sometimes have chickens in cages on the top!)

We visited the Kindergarten School (ages 1-6) and the Primary School in the village. This school is well-stocked, as it is sponsored by the Grand Circle Foundation. It was fun to see the students excited to show us their work. At noon, we were taken in 2 groups to homes of selected students. My student was Genesis (pronounced Hennessee). The home was very intriguing, with a small walkway to enter, with caged birds and a squirrel. The kitchen was open-aired and covered with a tin roof. There were two small bedrooms and a tiny back yard with their pet/guard dog. The lunch was a local specialty, pepian, which is a stew made from chilis and tomatillos, with veggies and rice to add on your own. It was delicious, and a special treat for the family also. After lunch, Genesis shared pictures and her dancing.

After lunch, we left the village and made our way back to Antigua. Along the way, we stopped at Valhalla Macadamia Nut Plantation, where we saw the processing procedure, tasted some delicacies, and tried some macadamia butter products. As we arrived back in Antigua, we stopped at an overlook which gave a full look at the city, with the volcano in the background, although still cloud covered.