on to the Rio Dulce and Livingston

We are leaving Flores today. The last two days we went to go see some Mayan ruin sites in, La Blanca, Yaxha, and Tikal. Tikal was awesome, the others were interesting as well but much of what was there is still buried under vegetation so you pretty much have to imagine what it looked like. Tikal´s temples were huge and we got to climb up a few of them. We also got to see some spider monkeys, howler monkeys and a few Tucans. We have now had our fill of ancient history for a bit and we are going down south east, to the carribean coast, to a place called Livingston. Livingston is populated with Garifuna´s which are basically descendants of a slave ship that wrecked somewhere long ago and they have since spread down the coast. There is also a river that you have to travel on to get to the town that is called Rio Dulce which is supposed to be very beautiful. Most likely next we will be heading to Honduras to become certified SCUBA divers, that is going to be really fun. Other than that, we have done most of what we wanted to do in the area so who knows what happens after that. We are having a good time still though so, we are not worried about getting bored quite yet. Over and out.

Flores

So we have now made it to Flores, after another extremely uncomfortable 8 to 10 hour bus ride. Semuc Champey was extremely beautiful, we got to go swimming on the crystal blue water, we went into a cave with a candle and had to swim through many parts, jumped off a bridge (everyone else did it), and hiked up a huge hill. Also the night before we went to a different cave called the ¨Bat Cave¨and explored around there. At around six all of the bats came pouring out of the entrance and we stood there in the middle of it. Also the hostal that we stayed at was really fun and we met some people from San Jose and hung out with them, they are actually here in Flores now too so we don't have to make new friends just yet. I have been looking forward to the Maya ruins for a long time and I am almost done with my book, so on Monday we will go. The bugs are getting much bigger as well as we move closer to the jungle, we have been awoken in the middle of the night more than a few times by a cockroach, or more often unsettlingly large spiders. But, although its a bit scary, they are pretty cool once you are a safe distance away. Tikal is also known for huge tarantulas and other bugs so i´m sure we will see some amazing stuff there. Hasta luego.

TIKAL

We made it to Lanquin!

As you can tell from the title we are now in Lanquin about 10km west of Semuc Champey. Since the last entry we have been at la iguana perdida. For claire's boirthday we went to a hotel called casa del mundo in jabalito which is the next town over from santa cruz, it was very beautiful and hopefully someday we can go back. They sang happy birthday to claire, in english and spanish. It was very nice.
Also every saturday at la iguana perdida they have a coss dressing party every saturday, which we attended. They also have a "walk off" competition, which I attended, and took second place. Im pretty sure I deserved frist place, but maybe it was too much.
We had a lot of fun there and met some really cool people. Its wierd to keep meeting people, becoming friends, and then just as you get to know them, you leave. But, every place that we have gone we have met people to hang out with so at least there are replacements. I have updated our map as well which shows where we have gone so far. If you click on the different pins there is a litlle blurb there as well. Claire got a bit of a stomach problem, but we got some medicine today so hopefully that is in its last throes. The bus ride to Lanquin, 10 hours, was a little nerve racking because of the never ending shakeing and jostling, as well as very very few bathroom breaks, if you know what i mean. Anyways, we made it and this place looks eally cool as well. We are both getting more comfortable and knowledgeable about travelling. We are both really excited about Semuc Chapey and Tikal soon after that. Miss you all and talk to you soon.

la iguana perdida

so now we are in a town called santa cruz la laguna, still on lake atitlan, just a couple of towns over. we are staying at a resort type place called la iguana perdida, and its pretty nice. we got a really nice private room with a view (and shared bathrooms) for only about $7 for the both of us. that includes free access to pool tables, darts, and this place, which is a little isolated from the rest of the town, has family style dinners everynight at seven, a bar on sight, and a dock to swim at.

yesterday we had a really interesting day, we went to yoga, then to this area in san marcos where there are several rocks you can jump off and really nice clear water. we went with our housemates, it was really nice. then, we walked up into the mountains to visit one of our new friends´ friend, an american named pat who just opened a posh clinic with a lakeview and who bases the clinic on the teachings of a doctor namer Max Gerson. its basically set up for terminal patients or chronically ill ones (rich ones), and they get a regimen of supplements and juice ten times a day along with other various therapies and coffee enemas (!) fivwe times a day. it was so crazy, we got a full tour and got to learn all about the gerson technique. no, we did not get coffee enemas.

we really enjoyed our time in san marcos, we got a nice break from the craziness and met some really great fun people. there aren´t really any bars in san marcos (one or two wine bars), so we got o get really healthy. we´ll stay here at this place in santa cruz for maybe a night or two, then may go off to semuc chapay and then tikal (the ruins) . . . oh and it will take too long to write about it now, but i can´t wait to tell everyone about the creepy family that lived nextdoor to our hotel in san marcos... wow... some good stories coming up!! xoxo

Santa Cruz..the other one

We have left the chilling mecca and moved on around the lake to a town a little bit closer to Panajachel. It is right on the lake and looks like it is a great place to go swimming. Yesterday we did some cliff jumping in San Marcos and got some good pics, some underwater too. We are in the process of planning our transportation to a place called Semuc Champey (pictured above).
It was sad to leave San Marcos because we met some good friends there and we all hung out for a few nights. But, cest la vie. There seem to be resorts and nice houses being built all over the shoreline of this lake and im sure that in a few years it is going to be a big tourist spot. I think we caught it at a good time though and I would reccomend San Marcos to anyone for a place to go relax. But it is now time for us to move on to a more adventurous location which will be interesting im sure. Hasta Luego.

Here is a link to our new hotels website if you are curious.