0108 Masaya volcano to San Jorge

Woke up at about 7 am, but as the Visitor Centre (and the toilets !) didn’t open till 9 am, and there was a boom across the road preventing us from going up to the Volcano, we had a leisurely breakfast and pack up. By the time the Rangers rolled up at about 10 past 9, followed by a number of school buses packed with school kids on a Saturday excursion, we were glad we had woken up early otherwise our awakenings and breakfast would have been shared with hundreds of locals !!  As we already had our tickets, we went off up the mountain before the hoards had a chance. Evidently the weather was OK, and the volcano had settled down after its eruptive activity the night before. As a side note, once again this visitor’s centre was obviously really nice when it was first built 20 or 30 years ago, but it has since been allowed to fall apart a bit, with the display inside all looking a bit sad, and outside wooden fences rotting, garbage bins full and over flowing, and the picnic area over grown and almost inaccessible.  It is still nice, but with just a little bit of maintenance and TLC, it could be first class.  I liked the pillars which (used to) support the (now rotted) wooden fencing – All built out of rough lava flow rocks.

0107 Esteli to Masaya Volcano

I am pleased to tell you that the loud band stopped playing soon after 9.30 pm last night, and we had a peaceful night !  Bit damp underfoot after lots of rain overnight, but all good.  Can strongly recommend this camp site if you can get in.

We then wound our way on pretty good roads all the way down to a place called Sebaco, where we found ourselves in a traffic jam – Nothing was moving, and people were starting to do U turns etc.  We thought we might try a different route, but when we asked a policeman he said “No problem” and sent us back into the traffic jam ! So I parked the car in a side street, left Janet in the car, and set off down the road to find out what the deal was.  I asked various bus and truck drivers whether it was an accident or what, and after about 4 people speaking very rapid Spanish thought I understood something about Police, and Guns !  My next question was to two well-dressed young guys in their almost new car, and they spoke perfect English and told me that the local towns people had “seized” the bridge and blocked off the road, and that the police were trying to resolve the situation, but it might take several hours !

0106 Danli Honduras to Esteli Nicaragua

Woke up in our hotel room (without windows !) only to find there was no water !!  Janet had been smart enough to have her (warm) shower before going to bed – I like my shower in the morning, and as a result today had to go without !!  Ah well, can’t expect everything to work all the time when the room only costs $25 a night !!  At least the wifi worked well !!

We decided we had given enough money to the hotel last night for our somewhat expensive ($20) seafood dinner, even though it was good.  So we skipped breakfast, just getting a cup of good Honduran coffee to go from the kitchen just before we left. I must admit, even though I am not a big coffee connoisseur, this central American coffee is pretty good.  We then headed down the road, through Danli, for the 35 km run to the border with Nicaragua at Las Manos, with the road winding through the hills and farming country, We had all our paperwork, multiple photocopies, expected exchange rate details etc all prepared by the time we got to the border, and passed all the many trucks parked beside the road for a km or two before the actual border.

0105 Lago de Yojoa to Danli

Have you ever tried to photograph a humming bird ?  Unless you have a very high speed lens (and a steady hand !) I reckon its impossible.  But with them always flying
around at D&D, I had to try - And as least I got a beak in focus !!

Yesterday afternoon, after spending the morning catching up with email etc and chatting to other visitors at D&D, we went off to the Cataracts of Pulhapanzak, about 20 kms away through the nearby village of Pena Blanco (White Rock).  The dirt road was interesting, and to greet us at the falls was a great big lizard !  Seemed friendly enough though !

0104 Copan to Lago de Yohoa

It had rained heavily again during the night (well after all, it is the wet season down here !!), so we slowly got sorted out and packed up, enjoyed our cold shower (hey, I will never underestimate hot water availability again !!), and after the “security gates” were opened by Jimmy, we headed into town for a few quick photos, and then hit the road o the northeast, heading up towards San Pedro Sula.  The road to start with was

ATROCIOUS – Not only enormous potholes (like up to a foot deep !), but whole sections of road just missing !  Thank goodness we are in a vehicle as robust and capable as Troopie, and that I have excellent tyres.  Very country – boys herding sheep and cows beside the road, cowboys galloping down the street on their horses, pigs running around freely, maize spread out on the road drying (what would happen if you drove over it ?), ox carts, and lots of little villages, so fairly interesting to drive through.  We are getting a lot more “looks” from everyone as we drive through than we have previously.  Fairly hilly and mountainous to start with, we eventually came down into a much hotter flat valley where there was more agriculture in the fields. Pot holes in the shadow of trees were particularly hard to spot before you hit them !

0103 Copan Mayan Ruins

It took a while for us to find the Mayan ruins.  The nearby town itself is called Copan Ruinas – And we thought that that meant “Copan Ruins”.  The little town itself has very narrow, very steep, and cobbled and very rough, streets, so getting around is slow. Every time we asked for directions to “Copan Ruinas” we got these blank looks because, of course, we were already there ! So what on earth were these crazy gringos asking directions for ? !!  Eventually we used our now trusty system of combining Garmin directions (often wrong), with google maps on my mini tablet, and a map in a guidebook, and finally found our way out of town and to the Mayan archaeological site itself !! Since it was only 1 pm, we had time to make a tortilla wrap in the car for lunch and then go on a 2-3 hour guided tour of the ruins – So that is what we did.

0102 Antigua across the Honduran Border, into Copan Ruinas.

We left Antigua this morning (Friday) and headed northeast, planning to cross the Honduran border up near La Frontera.  We have decided to skip San Salvador.  We went through Guatemala City, and spent a couple of hours looking for gas (propane) for our cooking bottle which was now empty, and this turned out to be a two hour adventure in itself !  Suffice it to say we eventually found the right place, and got it all sorted. Our French friends Greg and Estelle had told us of a possible restaurant camp site just short of the border in a town called

Chiquimula, which we found after a couple of wrong turns – And Los Laureles was the most incredible place – A kind of giant ranch resort, with horses, a menagerie of other animals, swimming pool, restaurant, cabins. And a soccer pitch on which we were invited to camp for the night free of charge !  We ate dinner in the restaurant, and then turned in, intending to make an early start to hit the Honduran border before mid morning. 

0101 Antigua, Guatemala (Now Revised !!)

We arrived in Antigua on Wednesday planning to spend one night there, have a quick look at Antigua, and then head to the Honduran border before the busy weekend.  But as always, plans change, and we so enjoyed Antigua we stayed 2 nights, and it is now Saturday morning here and we are just about to cross the border !!

We are in a bit of a hurry so I will write more later, but while we have wifi I just wanted to upload the Antigua pics.

0100 - Fiesta in Panajachel

Monday 15^th.  We get everything sorted and were headed into town by about 9.15 am, not quite sure what to expect.  Initially we were quite disappointed as the streets seemed quite empty, and lots of the shops and roadside stalls closed.  So we decided the Fiesta must have been yesterday, and set off for a cup of coffee.  Just as we were about to g into the coffee shop, we heard a band in the distance, so we followed the sounds up through the town, and caught up with the parade as it made its way up to the top end of town.  We had just arrived a bit late was all, and the parade had already moved on from our part of town !

There were lots of dancing girls, bands, beauty Queens, people in fancy suits, and every where along the road hundreds of people standing on the side of the road watching the passing parade.  They had to stop every 20 metres or so because of the congestion, and it was a riot of bright colour, noise, and smiles and laughter.  Janet and I slowly walked up from the very back of the parade, slowly making our way forwards, taking photos as we went, and just soaking up the wonderful atmosphere.   We also tried to take photos of some of the many campesinos and their families who had evidently come in from the surrounding area to join in the fun and festivity of celebrating their National Day.  It really made for a fun occasion, with everyone smiling and “Buenas Dias’ing”, and even the people on the parade would stop and pose for the camera if they saw you trying to take a photo of them.

We eventually made it through the throngs alongside the road to the football stadium where all the people were headed.  On the way we found the German couple we had just met yesterday, Simone and Jurik, sitting in the back of their truck beside the road, unable to move.  They had been driving around town exploring when the parade started, and had been forced to park where they were for a couple of hours while the parade slowly filed past in the narrow streets !  But they were enjoying the unexpected entertainment as much as everyone else.

After everyone had made it to the stadium for (presumably) speeches etc, we headed home via the supermarket, catching a tuk tuk once we had shopping bags to carry.  Tuk Tuks are 5 quetzales for one person to go anywhere in town – About 75 cents.  If there are two of you it all becomes a bit expensive – A whopping $1.50 in total !   There are so many of them that it is never a problem to get one, and over the rough narrow cobbled streets, they are actually the ideal solution.  

Tuesday 16^th Sept. Last day in Pana

In our campsite we now have Aldo from Argentina who is heading home from America by catching local buses, and couch-surfing or camping in his tent, and Jane and Tonyino from Brazil wHo are heading north towards the USA.  So we spent much of the day chatting with them, swapping electrical plugs and maps (we have finished with our USA and Mexican items, and they in turn have finished with their S & central American ones !) and generally discussing the problems and issues encountered along the way. A good mix of Portuguese, Spanish, and English !!

This morning we went into town for coffee and breakfast.  The coffee we found at a small coffee shop called Café Loco, owned and run by a Korean who now lives in Pana, and I have to say it was excellent coffee – Even if a bit expensive for round here at $1.50 each. We then moved down the road and for about $7 in total had really good local omelettes and filter coffee, which filled us up for the morning.  We have obviously been in Pana too long because while sitting in the café beside the road we saw and “hola’d” several people we now know !!   We then set off down the road heading for a local museum we had read about which was located inside the beautiful Posada De Don Rodrigo Hotel, down on the water front.  The museum was OK, but wouldn’t recommend it to anyone else, but the hotel itself is delightful, and very much upper end of the market.  But the view over the Lake to the volcanos and along the waterfront walkway is lovely, and the gardens outside the rooms, each with their own hammock set up for an afternoon siesta os a big change from the smaller less expensive hotels.

Then we wandered up the street doing some souvenir hunting.  (Un)fortunately there is not a lot of spare room in Troopie for “accessories” of any kind, but a few items did find their way into our bags for friends and family at home.  Half of the street vendors see, to recognise us now, so it was quite fun wandering up the street and nosing around in their stalls, or chatting with the street vendors who carry their wares either on their heads or in bags around their necks.   A pleasant morning.

Then it was off back to the camp site to chat to some of the others in the site again, take a few photos of each other, and then slowly try to sort out the van for a departure in the morning.  We are only going to Antigua tomorrow so don’t have to leave early, but after some 10 days here, the normally very organised van is in a bit of disarray inside, so will take time to pack up.

Willie our German friend in another camp site dropped in for a cup of tea, and invited us over tonight for a drink with himself, Simone and Jurik who we met yesterday in town, and a newly arrived French couple who are also headed south.  Whether we make the steep climb over to their site or not remains to be seen – Especially if he gives us as much wine and Schnapps as he did the other night !!

We ran out of cooking gas / propane this week, so one of our chores over the next day or two in “civilisation” is to see if we can get our bottle filled – The problem is that like with electrical plugs, every country has their own sized gas fitting too, so filling bottles is always going to be an adventure!  Luckily we have a small reserve cooker that uses different fuel, but if we are not careful we will run out of that next, and then we will be down to lighting fires to cook our supper !!  We also need to stock up with foods as we have decided to go through Honduras and avoid El Salvador, partly due to their reluctance to let RHD vehicles into the country, and partly because Honduras looks more interesting, so the next couple of days through Antigua and Guatemala City are going to be quite busy.

The good news is that I seem to have found a way to get my photos off my camera and onto the computer without losing them, so I attach some recent ones here.  I have still lost a lot of good ones from earlier in the week – C’est la vie !!

So as we head into Honduras, not sure what wifi we will find, but at this stage, all is well, and we are now looking at moving fairly quickly down through the rest of Central America down to Panama.   We will wait to see what adventures happen along the way !!

 

Finally some photos of the last few days !!  https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/0097Panajachel2?authkey=Gv1sRgCPayyICj39CZ7wE#

0099 Finished school and FIESTA TIME

Sunday 14^th Sept. With much relief we completed our week of Spanish Lessons in Panajachel yesterday, and our heads are now totally over whelmed with all the combinations and exceptions and pronunciations that exist.  Now we just need to let our brains slowly absorb it all, and then slowly build our vocabulary. We now have the pronunciations (well, approximately !!) and have done all the verb declensions (both regular and irregular), and tenses (past and future), so all we need to remember now are all the words needed to make a sentence.  It is all very well knowing how to correctly say “sat”, but if you don’t know the word for “cat” or the one for “mat”, you still can’t say anything !  But we really enjoyed the week, feel proud with what we achieved, and look forward to using it.  At the end we gave our teachers Daniel and Delmy, and the School Director Nicholas, a furry koala and a gold(ish) kangaroo stickpin, which I think they really appreciated – Maybe their student don’s normally give them presents !!

After we said our good byes, we made our way to a Uruguayan restaurant we had had our eyes on to try for a while – And although a tad expensive at $20 total for two enormous lunches and beer etc, it was very good.  Mostly chicken  (one eats a lot of chicken and fish in this part of the world, as the meat can be a bit suss!), barbecued, and we could (should) probably have shared one plate between us !  The customary lunch time rain storm rolled through while we were eating, but by the time we were finished, so was the storm, and I set off to wander home with a fat tummy for a well earned siesta. Janet still felt adventurous, so she prepared to take off for a wander round town.

However, as so often happens in these countries, something unexpected happens to change ones plans.  In this instance it was lots of Chicken buses and smaller vans filled with mostly school kids (as far as we could work out) all try to go through the middle (read “tiny streets and cross roads”) of Panajachel, accompanied by much whistle blowing, shouting, hooting, people leaning out of windows and others up on the rooves – Normal stuff !!  So we had to watch all that, and enjoy the spectacle and take lots of photos – This was all part of the National Day celebrations for tomorrow – We presume all the local schools from the area had been competing against each other as there seemed to be a lot of cat calling between buses, and even water bombing and using water bottles to squirt everyone with water, including by standers like us !!   Great fun.  After that, Janet set off on her wander while I waddles home – Only to get caught up once again with all the buses which couldn’t get out of town due to the sharp corners on the narrow streets – Many 20 point turns were made – While rival buses continued to water bomb and soak the stationary vehicles.  Even some kind of running relay set of up the hill (after being water bombed), carrying kind of Olympic torches, albeit made from what looked like chair or table legs with a tin can nailed on the end, and then filled with a kerosene soaked rag to provide the fire !!  But they all seemed to be having a great time, and everyone was extremely friendly and waving.

On the way into my camp site I saw a US style truck camper with German number plates parked near the office.  Turned out to be another German couple who have just arrived and are also heading south to SA.   They have been on the road for 3 years already, and they also knew Willie who we have met here, so when Willie suddenly rode in on his motorbike, it turned out to be a bit of a get together and chat about our respective journeys !

I eventually made it home for my siesta, and Janet arrived home not long after having seen much of the same activity as I had.

Soon after she returned, the rain set in a bit, so we ended up having a lazy evening “at home”, and went to bed early.  But all evening and night there were sporadic very loud bangs as the locals set of “bombas” (big fireworks) to remind everyone that it is Fiesta time.  We are looking forward to tomorrow – NO Spanish lessons AND a Fiesta – How good is that ?

On a final note, I seem to be having problems either with my computer or my camera, and I cannot download photos into my computer – They just delete themselves.  So I have lost a lot of photos over the last few days, and until I manage to resolve the problem, I am not going to even try to download the photos in case I lose them all.  So apologies for the lack of photos – One of those things……And no corner store computer shop to run down to for help in Guatemala !!

0098 Yo Hablo Espanol - Un poco !!

Well, today (Wed 10^th) Janet and I went back to school !  And I think we survived !  We were up before 6 am, and after showering and breakfast headed off to school with our backpacks and pencils like good little bunnies so we could be there by the appointed time of 8 am.  We had one-on-one tuition and Janet’s teacher is called Delmy, while mine is 27 yr old Daniel, a Mayan originally from a village up in the mountains.  Our classroom was under the trees in the delightful little garden of the escuela, and in the morning sunshine we got to work.

Having not done this kind of thing (work !) for a while, I found the whole process fascinating, with Daniel asking me questions in Spanish about myself and my life, apparently in order to determine how to proceed for the rest of the week.  Obviously I didn’t do too well as we soon seemed to be just declining verbs – Something I HATED in my youth, whether it was Latin, French, or even English !!  (I always preferred to be out on the rugby pitch kicking a ball !!)  “Yo amo, Tu amas, Ella ama, Nosotros amamos……”   Bloody amo, amas, amat, of Latin classes all over again, 55 years later !  And that was the last time I had to have one on one tuition as well – Latin O level, and one-on-one means you have NOWHERE to hide – You have to pay attention ALL the time, and answer EVERY question. Hmmmmm………

Anyway, cut a long story short, by mediodia (mid day) when we finished, and after I had wiped the perspiration (from non stop concentration) from my weary brow, I actually realised I had not only learned something, but really enjoyed it !  I am still finding that French words seem to be on the tip of my tongue instead of Spanish ones, especially when the words are similar, but I think the Spanish words and pronunciations are starting to come more readily.  I just need more words in my mental armoury ! My homework tonight is to learn some of the verbs we declined today, so I will be working on that later. 

Janet apparently had a more “informal” lesson with Delmy , and after we had finished we went to a local restaurant for lunch (a whole $10 in total for both of us, including beer and coffee !) in order to discuss our lessons, and it seems that, unlike Daniel, Delmy speaks very little English, and also seems to pronounce words differently, so at the moment we seem to be learning two different languages !!  Anyway, we both enjoyed it, both learned a lot of basics, and are looking forward to part 2 manana !!  

Yesterday we met Willie, a German travelling south in similar fashion to us in a Mercedes motorhome, so we are going out for dinner with him tonight.  Willi also knows Peter and Christa, the German couple I spent some time with in Mexico in Del Carmen a few weeks ago – Small world.  Looking forward to sharing our stories over a cerveza tonight !

Sabedo 13^th Sept.   3 more days have passed and we now have just one more Spanish lesson to go tomorrow.  We have survived the week, but are finding that our brains are just not absorbing new information as fast as they used to. Our teachers have been patient (as have we when declining verbs !!), and we have so many words and verbs and phrases written in our school books – If only we could get them to stick in our minds as well !  We have also realised that one week is as long as we need or can stand at this stage – We now need time on the road, using what words we have already and trying to get them into our brain so they are ready for use when we are talking instead of having to refer to the book every 5 seconds !  Maybe by the time we get to Costa Rica or similar we will be ready to do another week, but right now we just need to consolidate what we already have.  But it has been lots of fun doing it and I feel a lot more confident for the next few months ahead.

Our school finishes at noon, and we have found a little restaurant that does really good food for a very reasonable price, and while we have had a couple of surprises, it has generally been excellent.  And a pleasant way to unwind after 4 hours of intense school work before going back to the van for a siesta during the regular afternoon rain showers. 

On Wednesday we met with Willie our German friend for dinner in Pana and had a very pleasant meal of grilled fish and a couple of cervezas, before moving up the street to a little “German” café for a coffee before heading back to the van.  Like many others, he has been on the road for more than a year already, and is now only half way through his trip – He travels more slowly than us ! He also has a motorbike on the back of his van, so he can go exploring once his van is parked.   Last night (Friday) we went to Willie’s van for drinks, and although his van is only about 1 km from us as the crow flies around the Lake, to walk we had to go up the steep road out of town and then down the steep driveway into his hotel / camp site, so it was more like 3 kms for us !  And we seemed to keep talking and drinking wine and then schnapps (?) for a long time, until it was time to try to get home in the pitch dark (forgot my torch !!). Well, we wobbled home over the hill, trying to avoid both the ditch and pot holes as best we could, and the next thing we knew it was time to go to school again – Today has been a difficult day, to put it mildly !!

We have decided we will leave Pana this Wednesday morning and have one night in Antigua before heading south through San Salvador.  We are reading books about the next area and there is not a lot we really want to spend time seeing.  The apparently excellent beaches along the pacific coast of Central America do not really hold an attraction for us, and the “old” buildings of Salvador and Honduras and San Salvador are not that old due to many major earthquakes and other “upheavals” over the years, so we have decided to head on south, enjoying the magnificent countryside, until we get to Costa Rica.  After that we will head to Panama and get down to Columbia and South America, which is the part of this trip we are really looking forward to, and where we would like to spend our time. 

So I post this now just so you all know we are OK and having fun.  This weekend, and Monday in particular, is Guatemala’s national day, so a big fiesta is planned in town over this weekend, with lots of bombas going off all the time (big fireworks), and bands and markets, so it promises to be a fun last weekend for us in Panajachel.  And we will be able to celebrate the end of our week of Spanish School !!  Olé  !

 

No photos due to camera problems !!  Sorry. 

0097 Guatemala City and back to Panajachel

Janet’s entry into Guatemala was a lot less traumatic than mine !   She arrived with no hassles from customs or immigration, and apart from being tired after a long series of flights from Brisbane to Guatemala via LA and Dallas, was in good shape !

By the time we got back to the hotel we were both quite hungry, so we went down the road to a Spanish restaurant and had an excellent meal before Janet crashed for the night.

The next morning was slow, and it was obvious Janet didn’t really want to head out into the country side and camp straight away, so we booked another night in the hotel.  This allowed us to spend some time in Guatemala City while Janet slowly got her internal clock a bit more organized, and got over her jet lag.  Guatemala City is divided into numbered Zones, with Zone 1 being the older original part of the city, which is now of questionable reputation safety wise.  Other zones vary in their safety, especially at night, with Zone 10 being regarded as one of the safest, and having most of the “western” hotels, a lot of restaurants and shopping centres, and also quite a lot of the night life.  And as our Hotel was in Zone 10, we were in good shape !!  So after a slow morning while I searched on line for the locations of things to do, and also shops, in the city, we ended up wandering around the area and finding our feet a little.  We determined that there really wasn’t a lot sightseeing-wise that we wanted to do or see in the City – Other areas like Antigua were far more attractive and interesting.  We also decided that we would spend a week or two learning some Spanish as soon as possible – The City was no good because there was no camping available, and also because it is so expensive compared to the country areas.  Antigua might be nice, but again there is limited camping available there – The only known spot is the car park of the local Tourist Police Office – Acceptable for maybe a night or two, but not for a 2 week stay !!   I did not want to go back to the city of Quetzaanango to the west, so we settled on Panajachel, where I had spent the last week.  I wanted to bring Janet back here as it is so peaceful and beautiful, and so the decision was made – We would head back to Pana, check out Antigua on the way, and learn our Spanish in Pana, where there was good safe camping, and it was only a 5 minute walk to the Spanish school.

Wandering around Guatemala City was fine, but it really is nothing at all like the countryside.  In the City are fancy shops and restaurants and supermarkets not found anywhere else in the country, and I couldn’t believe how many Porsches and BMW’s I saw driving around.  But it was interesting to see – Especially when we found a great little German style sausage bar with all the trimmings including German beer !! So that was our late lunch taken care of !  We wandered round several shopping centres – And one useful thing we found was an Opticians, where I was able to get a nose piece that had broken off my reading glasses replaced for $6, making it a great deal more comfortable to read than it had been for the past few weeks !

That evening we went to an Argentinian style restaurant and had some excellent steak – By now not only was my stomach starting to revolt at all this rich food I was suddenly eating after several weeks of slumming it, but also Janet was starting to think that this is what Guatemala was going to be like all over !!  Must be time to leave !!  So the next morning, after a final cooked breakfast in the hotel (couldn’t miss out on one last one !!), we headed out.  We planned to visit a large supermarket on the way out of town for a quick stock up on supplies before going to Antigua for a quick look, and then on to Panajachel at Lago de Atitlan before 5 pm.   As usual in this part of the world, plans took a back seat to the traffic, and it was a while before we even got to the supermarket, and after the supermarket it was another couple of hours of traffic jams (on a Saturday !) before we headed into the country.  There was now insufficient time to allow us to go into Antigua and still reach Pana before dark – Just no way I would ever want to drive here in the dark – So we kept going, through Solola, up over 2600 metres, and then dropping into Panajachel by about 4.30 pm. 

We set up camp where I had been before, and crashed – Driving even 200 kms on these roads and in this traffic sure takes it out of you !!  The next day, Sunday, was very wet, and apart from a quick walk into Pana, most of the day was spent in the van, or close to it.  We also met Marco, from Argentina, who was camping near us and has ridden his motorbike up from Argentina, en route to Alaska. I think he was a bit surprised when I told him he couldn't really ride in Alaska till about May next year !!  Monday morning saw us in town early and looking into the Spanish Schools. We met a young chap on the street who asked us if we wanted a boat ride or a taxi, and when we said we were looking for the Spanish Language school, he took us there – Down these very twisty narrow alleyways which had us looking at each other with raised eyebrows as we went deeper and deeper into the heart of Pana !!  Suddenly it opened into this beautiful and peaceful garden – Jardin de Americas Spanish Language School.  The person there that day was not the official so could only give us a brochure for us to consider – We said we would return I the morning to confirm.

We then wandered into town and found a delightful little coffee shop where we tarried a while and chatted to a couple of long term expats, before looking for some lunch.  Right next door we found a great little place, ordered “Soup of the Day” and ended up with the most amazing meal of soup plus an enormous plate of meat and veggies each, plus a beer, for $15 !!  This also included a ham and cheese sandwich and chips that I ordered by mistake when I thought I was only getting a bowl of soup – So we left the table well stuffed for the day !!

 We just got home before the regular afternoon storm blew in across the lake, and had a lazy siesta-ish afternoon reading and snoozing by the lake side.  We decided to go ahead with that Spanish School – The other school in Pana is at the other end of town and would be too far for us to walk, or even catch a Tuk Tuk – Much easier to go to the Jardin one which is just a 5 minute stroll from our camp site.  So this morning (today is Tuesday 9^th) we went to the school and signed up for a one week course of 4 hours a day, starting tomorrow morning. They offer 5 and 6 hours a day, and up to 4 weeks, but it is full on, one-on-one, so we are not sure quite how much our old and feeble brains can take in, so we decided 4 hours would be enough to start with, and at the end of the first week we can decide whether we want / need to do more here in Pana, or whether we feel we then have enough Spanish to keep heading south and if we then feel we want to learn some more, we can always stop and do another course in Costa Rica or similar.  Lots of choices – Lets see how we go over the next week.

Next weekend is apparently Guatemala’s National Day, so it is a good time to be sitting still in one place and not trying to drive around the countryside !  We understand a big Fiesta is planned for Pana, so I am sure we will find quite enough to keep us occupied here for the next week or so.

After signing on for the school, we wandered into town and found a great little upstairs café overlooking the local primary school, and had local coffee and a light breakfast, meanwhile watching all the kids, some in national costume, in the school yard.  After a very leisurely hour or so watching all the activity in the street below us, we then headed up through town towards the local church and then the markets, as we were in need of some fruit and veggies.  The church is amazing – I need to check on the internet but my understanding is that it is several hundred years old (Later - 16th Century) and one of the few buildings that survived the major earthquakes in the 1700’s – I will check it out when I get on the internet and let you know.  Then it was up to the markets where we wandered around looking at everything – They are mostly so friendly here, wherever you go – Always a Bondia or Hola and a smile. Bought our veggies, avoided buying anything in the meat section (very similar to the wet markets in Singapore or Thailand), and then headed back down towards our camp site, visiting the chemist (need more Immodium !!) and the Panaderia for some fresh rolls for lunch.

Once again a lazy siesta afternoon, during which I found that all my photos I have taken over the last few days have somehow got corrupted – The SD card just reads “Card Error” when you try to boot it up.  So you don’t get any pics today, I am afraid.  The camera is OK, and I have another SD Card, so it is just the last few days of photos that I have lost.  

Bugger…………………….!!

Anyway, we are safe and sound, and having a lovely time sitting beside the Lake in Panajachel, and by this time next week will hopefully be fully fluent in Spanish !!! 

0096 3rd Sept - Pana to Guatemala City

After some really heavy rain and thunder last night, this morning (Wed 3^rd Sept) turned out to be one of the nicest mornings weather-wise for several days. Clear, cool, and all sorts of things going on around me.

First I spied one of the local fishermen coming over in his little boat to check his lines which they lay through the reeds right in front of my camping spot.  The colour of his boat was such that I was seriously looking for an owl and a pussycat to be in there with him too !!

Then some early morning taxis came into view speeding over from San Pedro La Laguna, the town on the other side of the lake, so for a moment I had the fishermen in their boats, and the taxis, all outlined in the morning sun in front of the San Pedro Volcano.  Just a perfect scene as I cooked up my scrambled eggs I had bought from the little shop yesterday (I think the chickens round here are all free range because the colour of the yolk and their taste is just delicious.  Hmm, I wonder what they eat…..?!)

0095 - A little more Panajachel

Well, it is now the 2^nd Sept, and I have successfully relaxed and enjoyed myself here for a week ! It is a quiet little town – Most of the time !  But weekends is fiesta time around here, so for most of the weekend there are lots of fireworks going off, and streets are often blocked to traffic due to market stalls being set up in the roads, so travelling at weekends is not always the easiest or quickest way to travel ! (remember what I said in an earlier post about the main roads always seeming to go right through the middle of the towns and villages !)

I have (finally, after carting it to the arctic circle twice !) been using my bike a bit, as it is an excellent way to get around, and this afternoon I went out for a bike ride into town to get some supplies Right outside the hotel gates I find the police, and the traffic out of town all backed up, and no one coming down the hill into town. (The road drops sharply into Panajachel from about 2500 metres down to the town at about 1500 m.  The end of the steep hill is right at the entrance to my hotel / camp site.)  I presume there has been an accident somewhere on the road coming into town, so after asking the police if I can pass (“Si, Si, no problema, senor”)  I pedal through the throngs of people (most of them out of the cars and chicken buses that are lined up in town waiting to leave) and go off and do my shopping.

There are lots of little stores everywhere, and while the farmacias and bread shops are obviously selling only their respective things, the little “general store” type of shops sell all sorts of different things, and you have to go into all of them (well, lots of them) to see what each has.   So initially there is lots of “Solo estoy mirando” (I’m just looking), and they are happy with that.  Over the week I have settled on one little store run by a couple of Senoras who are not only very friendly but also seem to have a better stock of vino and beer than all the others.  Chilean Merlots are the obvious tipple round here, and vary from $5 per bottle to $20.  Naturally I stay at the lower end of the market due to my wasted taste buds, so between that and a quite palatable dark Guatemalan lager that they stock, I am more than happy.  They also supply me with my huevos for my breakfast, and a few other staples (You really have to inspect every shelf to see what they have !!).  And now I have been back a couple of times they greet me with a big smile, which is nice (Maybe they see the gringo coming ?)  But today 6 fresh eggs were under $1, so I was fine with that.  But all power was off in town, so the transaction was done by candlelight !!  (Wifi also therefore off !)

Then it was off up the hill (hard work on a bike at altitude – I seem to use low-1^st (aka grandad gear) a lot nowadays, even on the flat ! And downhill you don’t want to go too fast in case a chicken or tuk tuk unexpectedly jumps out in front of you !) ) to the local markets which I only found the other day, right at the top of the town.  You can’t buy fresh veggies or fruit in shops round here – Just at the market. So I wandered round, found some lovely tomatoes and bananas, but couldn’t find any potatoes today.  I think my bananas and tomatoes cost me about $0.50 in total for 4 of each.  They have great pineapples and mangoes and papaya and rambutans etc, but it is a bit of a waste for just one as I would never finish a whole one before it went off.  I am sure Janet will help me eat them once she gets here !!

With my grocery shopping done it was off back to the van – weaving through the traffic that was still backed up on the main street.  When I got to the front this time I asked the police if it was OK to pass again, and lots of the guys sitting on the side of the road waiting laughingly said “Si Si” and made as if to tell me to ride up the hill out of town (about 5 miles of 1 in 3 hill).  So while they all laughed and clapped, I pretended to go up the hill – veering off into the hotel at the last minute, much to their dismay.  They really are fun and friendly people.

Coming out of the hotel was the gardener who I have “chatted to” a bit over the last few days, and I asked him what was going on – “Accidente ?” I asked.  “No, no, - esta manifestacion” he said.   Hmm – Having not seen a manifestation for a while, it was back to the dictionary – Aha - “A Demonstration”.  So from what I understand it is a bit like the one which I drove into the middle of and where I was “fined” 100 pesos in the Chiapas mountains in Mexico last week – The local villagers somewhere up in the hills decide they want something changed, so they block the road, and then everyone waits while they sort it out.  Hopefully the manifestation will be over by tomorrow morning when I intend to drive to Guatemala City (only one road !). 

I managed to sneak a couple of pics of the traffic jam down the main street, but as I say, I don’t really like doing that very much.

A few other pics included looking down the more touristy streets of Panajachel – LOTS of restaurants of every kind – How they make money I do not know because most of them are empty, and the rest only have half a dozen people in – There must be two restaurants for every inhabitant in town !  And the rest are selling brightly coloured cloth and dresses and wallets and belts and all the usual paraphernalia.  I would love to get the cushions in the back of Troopie recovered in a bright Central American material – Maybe I should just buy the material and have them recovered when I get home ?  Hmm – Food for thought. 

Anyway, that is my restful week in Panajachel. Didn’t really do a lot – As I have said before, doing things (kayaking on lake, or going for cruises) on my own is just not really that exciting.   I am off to Guatemala City tomorrow (manifestacions permitting), and will stay in a hotel near the airport. Janet arrives (from Brisbane via Dalles, Texas) at 7 pm on the 4^th, so once she is in and has  and has  and has her head a little straight, we will desice where we want to go and whether we will stop in Antigua (the Guatemalan City !!) for 2 or 3 weeks to learn a bit more Spanish, or whether we shall wander south.  Choices, choices.

I would be quite happy to come back to Panajachel for a few more days – It is a very peaceful little town – Fiestas and manifestacions aside !!!

The pics of the old Land Rover in the campsite are for Dean at Australian 4 WD on the Gold Coast, who prepared Troopie for me, and who is shipping his own old 1950's Land Rover to England in 2017, and then driving it back to Australia.  I thought you would enjoy these pics, Dean !! Roll on 2017 !!
 

Some pics here https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/0095ALittleMorePanajachel?authkey=Gv1sRgCIqhsemMrui3XQ#