Guatemala

After crossing the border (usual formalities, usual lack of any difficulties) we drove up to a small bridge, where there was stationed a small police post. These sort of police check points are common in third world countries. These policeman saw a truck load of "rich" westerners and decided to try and make some easy money. They demanded that we pay a toll to cross "their" bridge. We refused and drove on. At the next town, where we did some shopping and changed money, we received some unwanted attention from the local mayor (one of the policeman was a relative of his), but we still refused to pay up.

Tikal

The Tikal national park was our next destination. It was here, amongst these ruins and forests, that some of the scenes in the first Star Wars film were made.

We set up camp on a rather nice grassy area on the edge of the historical site. I, as usual, did not pitch a tent, but found myself a nice spot under a palm leaf thatched lean-to hut. It didn't have walls, but the roof would keep me dry if it decided to rain during the night. After our evening meal and some cold beers (thank goodness for the fridge on the truck), I turned in for the night. At around midnight the wind got up a bit and I was awoken by the noise of the leaves. For some reason this spooked me and I couldn't get back to sleep, so when the alarm (on my watch) rang at 4 am, I'd had very little sleep. The reason for the early rising (it was still dark) was so that we could go to the top of the temple to watch the sun rise.

We trudged through the forest in the dark to the temple, which, thanks to the Star Wars filming, had wooden stairs going up it, making the climb was easy. And there, above the forest canopy, we watched the sun come up.

As we enjoyed this amazing sight, some of the local fauna came to visit. Little coatimundis (like a cross between a monkey and a cat) came sniffing around, attracted by the bananas we were eating as a breakfast snack. They were obviously used to tourists coming up here most mornings and feeding them.

We went straight from our sunrise watching to a tour of some of the temples. But as I was whacked from the last night's lack of sleep, I slipped away after the first half dozen ruins (which was a pity because these were some fine temples). Back at the truck I disturbed Grif and Claire making breakfast for the group. This (the crew cooking) does not happen often, and was worth a photograph.

After catching up on my sleep (I kipped in the back of the truck while we waited for the rest of the group to come back from their tour of the ruins), we set off for Finca Ixobel. This was a truly hippie place. It's a old farm house that has been turned into a sort of camp. There were hammocks to lounge around on, and table tennis, and drinks and food and, well it was just a fun place where backpackers could chill out for a while.

Big Hairy Spider

There were organised trips (horse riding, tubing etc.) but I just kicked back and spent most of my time in a hammock, sipping beer (they had an honesty system whereby you marked everything you used in a book and paid for it at the end) and reading. In the evening my sloth was disturbed by a commotion from the bar area. I went to have a look at what was causing it. A dirty great big spider, probably a tarantula, was wandering across the floor! I stayed as far away from it as I could.

Meanwhile, during a friendly game of volleyball, Prayank managed to hurt his foot or ankle. We bound it the best we could, but he was in obvious pain when he walked.

Our next stop was a boat ride away, the coastal town of Livingstone. This was, until recently, only accessable by boat, which was why it still had very much an afro-Caribbean feel to the place.

Livingstone - hangover cure

The previous night had been one of much drinking and general merriment (but Tom never did get his spanking from Liz et al :-), which made for some really bad hangovers. The weather was very hot and humid (we were 15 miles inland from the Caribbean) and poor Tom couldn't make it. I have never seen someone look so ill from drink. He was sweating, while looking cold and pallid. Wisely he stayed behind with the truck and drank as much fluids as he could.

The boat ride (we split into two groups, each in a powerboat) to and from Livingstone was over a lake, or I suppose more correctly an inlet. Livingstone itself was a small town, with nothing much to commend it save the afro-Caribbean feel (instead of the Latin American feel of the rest of Guatemala).

Once back to the truck, we headed for our final destination on this first part of the trip - Antigua. That is Antigua the city and old capital of Guatemala and not the Caribbean island. This long drive was split at a place called Rio Hondo where we camped next to a beautifully kept, palm tree fringed hotel swimming pool (only Prayank stayed in a room, as his foot was causing him real trouble and a great deal of pain).

Clean it

It was here that we had to do the usual "end of trip clean" , which entailed cleaning the truck and everything in it. After our day's work, we relaxed around the pool, drinking far too much (including a rather nice watermelon punch - take one watermelon, cut a hole in the top, scoop out some of the flesh and fill with alcohol, then leave for a day to mature) and having a good time. Grif revealed his true alter-ego as "Mr Thong". The water slide by the pool didn't really work as the water wasn't on, but it was hilarious to watch people screech and judder their way down into the water.

Overnight it poured down. Really poured down. Not just rain, but bathtubs full of water beating down from the heavens. I was ensconced under a sort of poolside permenant sunshade, which meant that most of me was dry, but my feet (sticking out a bit) got wet. This was nothing to what happened to some of the tents, which became water logged, soaking their occupants and their belongings.

* The group *

The next day dawned bright and dry, and we drove to Antigua. This city is up in the hills above Guatemala city, which means that it was wonderfully cool. Guatemala city itself was one of those awful third world conurbations that you just want to get through and away from. Which is what we did.

Half way

Antigua is a beautiful colonial city that has escaped being developed by its proximity to Guatemala city. We stayed for a few days in a pleasant small hotel, while some of our group flew home (Prayank flew back to the UK, after finding that his ankle had been broken during his volley ball game back at Finca Ixobal), replaced by new members.

After having a "meet and greet meal" we set out for the next leg of this trip. We drove down out of the hills into Panajachel, next to lake Atitla. Here we enjoyed the local markets, while some of the group took boat trips across the lake, while others went diving.

Family night

At Totonicapan, a short drive further on, we stayed with local families for the night. This was interesting, as it allowed us to see how these people lived. The family that I and Jim stayed with comprised of mother, teenage son and 10 year old daughter. Quite where father was, we never found out. That evening the town was having a parade, where marching bands vied with each other. After taking the daughter to watch the parade, we went back to her home and played a local version of Monopoly with her. She won (we let her win. That's my story and I'm sticking to it :-). She told us that when she grew up she wanted to be a doctor. Doctor and teacher seemed to be the only options open to girls wanting to follow a career in this part of the world, which is a pity. So I made sure that when met up with the group the next morning, I showed her the central role that a woman (our leader, Clair) can have, hoping that this might broaden her horizons.

Our drive to the border was a long one, split again at Rio Hondo, where we again stayed by the pool. Again there was much drinking and merriment.

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