First 7 days in Guatemala have passed in the blink of an eye. Woooow, I have to say... :-0 Such an absorbing country it is. I couldnt update on the trip as there was either 1) no time to do it as the electricity in one of the hostels was working only until 10pm or 2) I was knackered and dozing off early after doing things I had never done in my life lol. But this week has showed how diverse Guatemala actually is. Going from one place to another (only a few hours trip) you can think you have crossed the border and ended up in a different country, not only because of the landscape and climate but also because of the people who live there ( Im talking about the Garifuna and soon Ill explain what I mean).
The last post was before I was off to see Tikal, the best known Mayan ruins in El Peten, north of the country. We got there by a funny vehicle called Tuk Tuk that looks like this http://photos.igougo.com/images/p164602-Flores-tuk_tuk.jpg
and then in a mini bus through the jungle. I remember the torrential rain and the fact that the driver was rarely using the brakes. A quick look to the left and I found something to console myself..: in Spanish it said 'God bless this bus and all its passengers'... :) After passing through several small hamlets at a supersonic speed we got to Tikal, a 16 square km complex of ruins. A quick decision without no ones denial - and our hammocks and mosquito nets were ready. Ill never forget that night, falling asleep and listening to the sounds of the rainforest...
One of the rangers told us that over the last 20 years 60% of the forest in El Peten area has been chopped down because of its valuable wood.. There are also runways for the planes hidden in the jungle so that the mafia can drop drug parcels that come from Colombia. Sad but true.
As for Tikal, a view from the top of the temple IV where you can see all the rainforest in front of you with other ruins sticking out of it is marvellous. The forest is pulsating with life, and my eyes have never witnessed so intensive green colour and probably will never do again..
Tikal was an important stop on the way, and Id like to go back there one day, but with more knowledge about the Maya culture, so that I can imagine their life how it really was back in the day.
After Tikal there was a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong bus ride to Rio Dulce, where we slept and the following day we continued to Puerto Barrios from where we took a motorboat to Livingston on the Caribbean coast of Guatemala. It is a place accessible only by boat and it makes it even more special. The Garifuna community who inhabit the island-like town over the years have maintained their cultural independence there and even though I knew I was in Guatemala, it felt like a typical Caribbean island, with black community speaking creole (but they also speak Spanish and English), living in a slower, much more relaxed way. Unlike other black Caribbeans, the Garifuna do not come from Africa but, according to themselves, from Venezuela. Now the Garifuna communities can be found, apart from Guatemala, in Belize and Honduras.
Ironically:), the hostel we found looked like a typical Moroccan palace. Later we were told it used to belong to a Muslim person who used to live there.
Garifuna are proud of their creole food, and the thing that everyone should try while in Livingston is 'tapado' - a seafood soup with coconut and plantain (similar but bigger than our banana). It is exactly the kind of food I love. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm:) We will try to cook in in England one day, if we cook it well and 'with love' it might work..:)
On the same day, walking around the town we stopped in a tiny shop for a beer ( in Guatemala so far Iv tried two - Gallo and Brahva and both of them are sound). While we were sitting on a bench and watching the Garifunas daily activities, a small boy appeared and told us he would draw us. Soon after that, before he finished his work, the woman from the shop changed the tune and started playing some 'punta', the music of the Garifuna, from her sound system. Its a extremely quick Caribbean dance in which I dont really excel.... :D But Juan Diego that 9 year old boy took Pamela and started dancing with her on a sidewalk. A few seconds later there were 4 of us dancing together on a little street party:)
Livingston has not got good beaches itself. They are very narrow and a bit dirty to be fair. If you want to see a real postcardlike beach, you have to go to Playa Blanca just before the Belizean border. The only way to get there - a motorboat again:) We decided to spend the whole next day there and do nothing more than lying on the beach, resting and also jumping from the waterfall to a crystal clear water in Siete Altares near the Playa Blanca.
We said goodbye to that lovely little town with the beat of the Garifuna drum and with a taste of Cocoloco in the mouth. People here have so little but they seem to be much happier than me and you..
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