We handed over Karma to some local mechanics just after arriving at the lake. Due to shortage of VW parts we ended up having to leave our dear friend behind while going to explore Antigua - Guatemala's primary colonial city. Founded in 1524, this UNESCO World Heritage site has a very different feel to the rest of Guatemala. There was very little sign of Mayan activity around the city compared to the lake, where the majority of women were dressed in beautiful traditional dresses. Antigua is way more beautiful architecturally than the half built concrete shacks in San Pedro by the lake (most houses are built in stages due to a very limited income).
We all booked into the Jungle Party hostel, infamous for its weekly party craze. Antigua had more bars than you could explore in a life time though hardly any clubs - leading to hostels being THE place to be for the uncivilized youth. We enjoyed having all this space and the lack of rain (Lago de Attitlan was very wet). During our two days there we crashed a Guatamalan after party hosted by the leading female tennis player in Guatemala and checking out one of the numerous active volcanoes in the area - the volcano Pacaya, an EPIC experience! Even on a fairly "non-active" day we saw lava flowing out of holes on the face of the volcano. An experience of a life time - made so by the mysterious mist gradually fading away as we climbed, revealing a collection of other volcanoes and hills by the time we reached the top. The essential cooking of marshmellows over the lava obviously took the experience to a whole new level...
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Lago de Attitlan - Our lakeside chapter
Despite Lanquin and the surrounding areas potential for weeks of entertainment we had to move on. Next up was the biggest lake in Guatemala, Lago de Attitlan. We did not make it all the way there in one day due to some HEAVY rainfall which made it necessary to stop for a few hours - heavy enough to make us aquaplane for 10-15 metres. SCARY
We knew there way no way of getting all the way to the lake the same day after our lengthy brake - and discussed our options at some random road side an hour before Guatemala City. After all the shit we heard about Guatemala City our plan was to spread dirt on the registration plates (our shiny Californian plates were screaming for roadside robbers) before speeding through the city at night. Our only stop on the way through the city was a petrol station. It was the first petrol station on the entire trip without anyone serving the pumps - a clear sign of the massive crime problems facing the city. The grim scene of an attendant sitting behind solid metal bars made us speed up a bit more and take off into the hills beyond. Luckily our plan worked like a charm. No one seemed remotely interested in our bus.
We parked by the roadside in the middle of the mountains between the city and the lake and passed out for the night.
Early the next morning a police car pulled up and warned us - saying we had parked in one of the most dangerous areas in Guatemala - quite a feat. Ignorance is bliss... Happy we were still alive we kept on creaping up the hills at slow speed towards the lake. At some point we reached "The Top" and started making our way down the eternal hills towards the lake. Hours of active braking later we are at a flat section of road and feel the brakes hardly work. We pull over and realize the brakes are steaming hot. Luckily we have stopped just by a local primary school where an interested teacher comes up and offers his help. We let him diagnose the brakes and hand him a well deserved Norwegian medal for his hard work. In the background a class of 15 kids are working on their cheerleading moves for PE (later we realize cheerleading is HUGE in Guatemala). Once the brakes are cooled down we move on. The next section of road are continous STEEP hills. Lucky our brakes failed when they did...
Finally we reach the top of a hill surrounding the lake and get a magnificent overview of the lake and small villages. Once we had taken in enough of the view we kept on driving down - even more cautiously than earlier. Fearing the brakes could overheat again we actively used the gears for extra brake power. Half way down the hill we hear a BIG BANG! We quickly realize the problem is clutch related when trying to shift gears. Stuck in 2nd gear we slowly make our way safely to the town of San Pedro La Laguna.
We find a nice spot to park just by the piers on the lake. Once again we arrived a day later than our biking friends and meet up with them on the local hostel strip. On the way to meet them a place named Zoo-Laa distracts us with its claims of "a little piece of paradise". It lives up to its claim and becomes our hang-out for the remainder of the stay.
Life at the lake mainly consisted of chilling, chilling and more chilling. We paddled, swam and hiked a bit - though chilling was pretty much all we did. The lake also turned out to be a hangout for wannabie hippies and extreme druggies. Some of the oddest characters we have EVER met and seen were tripping on multiple drugs and crazy enough to be fascinating. This scene gave the tranquil lake a grittier feel and we felt like moving on.
We knew there way no way of getting all the way to the lake the same day after our lengthy brake - and discussed our options at some random road side an hour before Guatemala City. After all the shit we heard about Guatemala City our plan was to spread dirt on the registration plates (our shiny Californian plates were screaming for roadside robbers) before speeding through the city at night. Our only stop on the way through the city was a petrol station. It was the first petrol station on the entire trip without anyone serving the pumps - a clear sign of the massive crime problems facing the city. The grim scene of an attendant sitting behind solid metal bars made us speed up a bit more and take off into the hills beyond. Luckily our plan worked like a charm. No one seemed remotely interested in our bus.
We parked by the roadside in the middle of the mountains between the city and the lake and passed out for the night.
Early the next morning a police car pulled up and warned us - saying we had parked in one of the most dangerous areas in Guatemala - quite a feat. Ignorance is bliss... Happy we were still alive we kept on creaping up the hills at slow speed towards the lake. At some point we reached "The Top" and started making our way down the eternal hills towards the lake. Hours of active braking later we are at a flat section of road and feel the brakes hardly work. We pull over and realize the brakes are steaming hot. Luckily we have stopped just by a local primary school where an interested teacher comes up and offers his help. We let him diagnose the brakes and hand him a well deserved Norwegian medal for his hard work. In the background a class of 15 kids are working on their cheerleading moves for PE (later we realize cheerleading is HUGE in Guatemala). Once the brakes are cooled down we move on. The next section of road are continous STEEP hills. Lucky our brakes failed when they did...
Finally we reach the top of a hill surrounding the lake and get a magnificent overview of the lake and small villages. Once we had taken in enough of the view we kept on driving down - even more cautiously than earlier. Fearing the brakes could overheat again we actively used the gears for extra brake power. Half way down the hill we hear a BIG BANG! We quickly realize the problem is clutch related when trying to shift gears. Stuck in 2nd gear we slowly make our way safely to the town of San Pedro La Laguna.
We find a nice spot to park just by the piers on the lake. Once again we arrived a day later than our biking friends and meet up with them on the local hostel strip. On the way to meet them a place named Zoo-Laa distracts us with its claims of "a little piece of paradise". It lives up to its claim and becomes our hang-out for the remainder of the stay.
Life at the lake mainly consisted of chilling, chilling and more chilling. We paddled, swam and hiked a bit - though chilling was pretty much all we did. The lake also turned out to be a hangout for wannabie hippies and extreme druggies. Some of the oddest characters we have EVER met and seen were tripping on multiple drugs and crazy enough to be fascinating. This scene gave the tranquil lake a grittier feel and we felt like moving on.
Friday, 12 June 2009
Semuc Champey
In our trusted and thoroughly tested way, the last hours of our ride to the next destination was made in the pitch dark. By this point our only knowledge about our surroundings were based on what our dim front lights had to show - pretty much nothing at all. We imagined lethal cliffs on both sides making it an unusually intense ride. Two hours from Lanquin, the base for day trips to the aquatic wonder of Chemuc Champey, the roads started to turn into horrendous rocky and rough dirt roads. Having already punctured twice in Guatemala we were not keen on a third so we took it super easy and arrived at our destination well beyond the point of total darkness.
It took some riding around asking for directions and arriving at wrong hostels until we found THE hostel. We parked in a ditch before venturing down a windy path to the place. It seemed very quiet until we reached the restaurant. In the dark we could just about make out a medium sized wooden building set by a river at the base of dramatic lush peaks. Music and loud conversation was blasting out off this tranquil oasis in the highlands. Minutes later we had found Dan and Andy - our fellow motorbiking travel partners who had arrived hours earlier. Being one person on a bike with the same engine power as our dear bus, loaded with five at the time somehow made it up the tough hills way quicker. We spent the evening getting to know a new crowd and discussing the events of the day...
Being Rayners last day before returning to Costa Rica we made the most of the following day. A packed shuttle bus took us up through some wonderful mountain scapes on the way to the falls of Semuc Champey. Just about half way along the road we passed our dear Chupacapra Hunter crew with their caravan - having struggled for hours and hours making their way along roads we would hardly consider taking our Karma on. We wished them good luck and kept on riding.
Once at our destination we realized there was more to the place than just waterfalls. The base camp for the day was just by a big river set in dense jungle. We found a swing and threw ourselves Tarzan style into the river from about 5 metres. Ohh yeah... Following this little adrenaline rush the group of about fifteen were each handed candles. They would be our only source of light for a few hours making our way through a maze of caves in one of the hillsides. The candles made for a very atmospheric walk and encouraged Thomas to test his EVIL laughter. Wading through water up to our necks in pitch dark caves hardly illuminated by candles made for quite the scary setting. Especially with a Frankensteinish laughter accompaning it. More people joined in along the way and provided a couple of hours of good entertainment.
Finally making our way out of the ice cold caves we were ready to check out the highlight of the day - the beautiful natural pools and falls of Semuc Champey. An hour of strenous walking (four months of driving a car makes for useless leg muscles) took us to the place. It was in no way hyped up. The pools were a blessing on this hot and humid day. We chilled around the aquatic paradise for the rest of the day. Back at the hostel the vibe was more energetic than the previous day and made for an intense night of partying. The FUNK was provided all night by our very own DJ-DAN and the essential balloon shaping was provided by some odd Austrian handing out one sensational balloon figure after the other all night long. Nice
It took some riding around asking for directions and arriving at wrong hostels until we found THE hostel. We parked in a ditch before venturing down a windy path to the place. It seemed very quiet until we reached the restaurant. In the dark we could just about make out a medium sized wooden building set by a river at the base of dramatic lush peaks. Music and loud conversation was blasting out off this tranquil oasis in the highlands. Minutes later we had found Dan and Andy - our fellow motorbiking travel partners who had arrived hours earlier. Being one person on a bike with the same engine power as our dear bus, loaded with five at the time somehow made it up the tough hills way quicker. We spent the evening getting to know a new crowd and discussing the events of the day...
Being Rayners last day before returning to Costa Rica we made the most of the following day. A packed shuttle bus took us up through some wonderful mountain scapes on the way to the falls of Semuc Champey. Just about half way along the road we passed our dear Chupacapra Hunter crew with their caravan - having struggled for hours and hours making their way along roads we would hardly consider taking our Karma on. We wished them good luck and kept on riding.
Once at our destination we realized there was more to the place than just waterfalls. The base camp for the day was just by a big river set in dense jungle. We found a swing and threw ourselves Tarzan style into the river from about 5 metres. Ohh yeah... Following this little adrenaline rush the group of about fifteen were each handed candles. They would be our only source of light for a few hours making our way through a maze of caves in one of the hillsides. The candles made for a very atmospheric walk and encouraged Thomas to test his EVIL laughter. Wading through water up to our necks in pitch dark caves hardly illuminated by candles made for quite the scary setting. Especially with a Frankensteinish laughter accompaning it. More people joined in along the way and provided a couple of hours of good entertainment.
Finally making our way out of the ice cold caves we were ready to check out the highlight of the day - the beautiful natural pools and falls of Semuc Champey. An hour of strenous walking (four months of driving a car makes for useless leg muscles) took us to the place. It was in no way hyped up. The pools were a blessing on this hot and humid day. We chilled around the aquatic paradise for the rest of the day. Back at the hostel the vibe was more energetic than the previous day and made for an intense night of partying. The FUNK was provided all night by our very own DJ-DAN and the essential balloon shaping was provided by some odd Austrian handing out one sensational balloon figure after the other all night long. Nice
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
rolling down the river...
Dan, a mad Englishman and Katrina, a Luxembourgian stoner joined our day trip down the river to Livingston - Guatemala's Caribbean escape. The trip along the river was more tranquil than the actual destination which was in a different league to our previous Caribbean fix in Belize - yet fascinating in its own way.
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
Rio Dulce
No more than half an hour before reaching Rio Dulce we had our SECOND puncture! Bad Karma... This time we had no spare and had to send Andy off on his motor bike to fetch a new one. While waiting Ben went hunting Chupacabras in the surrounding woodlands, Reyner went to fetch a few coconuts while the rest mostly lazed around the car.
We arrived in Rio Dulce in the late afternoon - taking a well deserved brake on the huge bridge crossing the river. The village of Rio Dulce sits beautifully by the river leading out to the Guatemalan Caribbean. We parked by a hostel on the river and chilled out while the sun was setting. NICE
We arrived in Rio Dulce in the late afternoon - taking a well deserved brake on the huge bridge crossing the river. The village of Rio Dulce sits beautifully by the river leading out to the Guatemalan Caribbean. We parked by a hostel on the river and chilled out while the sun was setting. NICE
Monday, 8 June 2009
Flores
Back in Flores the Chupacabra hunters had arrived and were busy stirring things up! We joined the party and recruited three fellow "Tiburones" (tiburon = shark in Spanish - indicating our "Karma´s" sweet smile). Even Ben, one of the main hunters decided to join us to our next destination - Rio Dulce.
T I K A L
Tikal, one of THE major Mayan ruins were explored the morning after arriving to Flores. This spectacular ancient city sits in the middle of a massive jungle filled with monkeys, birds and jaguars - and no modern cities or towns in sight. We spent a whole day wondering from one fantastic temple to the other. Lovely...
Sunday, 7 June 2009
more of Belize - yah man!
On the boat ride back to Belize City we were joined by Danny and Jessica - both keen on cruising with us to San Ignacio by the Guatemalan border. We all found a great camp spot where we cooked up a huge communal dinner followed by chilling in the hammocks - thinking back at life in paradise.
The next day we went for a aquatic jungle paradise hunt - and found one. This hidden spot consisted of a small waterfall and pool where we spent most of our day. We even managed to time a joint jump into the pool - making one of the better photos of the trip. The same evening Andy joined us across the border to Flores, Guatemala. Crossing the border was slightly more complex than into Belize and required an "auto check" where the inspector was more int erested in our surf boards than the car...
Less than an hour into Guatemala (on terrible roads) we had our FIRST PUNCTURE! We had heard many stories of roadside robberies and feared we might be next as it was approaching dark. Not quite two minutes into our tire change a red pickup pulls up - three guys jump out and... offer their assistance. Easy. Another five minutes and we were ready to hit the road again. God bless Guatemalan hospitality!
We arrived to Flores at night to the fanatic screams of Reyner (a Costa Rican dude we met on Caye Caulker) making us pull over for dinner. Reyner later became a fellow "Karma" rider.
The next day we went for a aquatic jungle paradise hunt - and found one. This hidden spot consisted of a small waterfall and pool where we spent most of our day. We even managed to time a joint jump into the pool - making one of the better photos of the trip. The same evening Andy joined us across the border to Flores, Guatemala. Crossing the border was slightly more complex than into Belize and required an "auto check" where the inspector was more int erested in our surf boards than the car...
Less than an hour into Guatemala (on terrible roads) we had our FIRST PUNCTURE! We had heard many stories of roadside robberies and feared we might be next as it was approaching dark. Not quite two minutes into our tire change a red pickup pulls up - three guys jump out and... offer their assistance. Easy. Another five minutes and we were ready to hit the road again. God bless Guatemalan hospitality!
We arrived to Flores at night to the fanatic screams of Reyner (a Costa Rican dude we met on Caye Caulker) making us pull over for dinner. Reyner later became a fellow "Karma" rider.
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