Expedition to Mexico, Guatemala and Belize
September 02 2003 to September 19 2003 [Leonard Rawana and Wife]
September, 2nd-Monday-Day 1
Left,Toronto,to,Charlotte then to Cancun.
Landed in Playa Del Carmen at 12:00pm.
Left 6:am and bus it to Valladolid and stayed at Pelicano Inn. We had a nice dinner with a bottle of Mexican wine. Our room
was nice with a balcony, showing s glimpse of the ocean and a hammock strung across it. The streets were the usual
narrow two lane roads with shops with few houses in the downtown area.
September 3rd-Tuesday-Day2
This day I opted for the economical route and bought a nice local beer 6% 975ml at the local beer store for $2.65 (US); Not mainly because it's cheap but to boycott the tourist shops the cater to the Europeans. Me and Fal sat at the mid-night beach amongst the locals, which was cultural rewarding. After a few swims, eating and sitting with tourist, we happily woke up at 5:am on the 5th to watch the 6:00 am bus to Valladolid.
September 4th-Wednesday-Day 3
We changed some U.S currency at the local bank that morning. The 3 hour bus ride passed through the 'old road'. Locals use it to bypass the toll road.
The colourful large road signs West of Cancun direct blissful tourist towards the $18 (U.S) toll road.
However our bus driver and locals all know about the 'old road'. , took us through the towns were amazing, as we interacted with the working adults and school children. Arriving, at Valladolid was a welcoming stop. The streets are lined with small tourist shops that sell items more expensive than back home in Toronto.I was impressed to see how well dressed and clean these kids were, considering the dirty and poor small villages they came from. Their politeness was equally impressive.
September 5th-Thursday-Day4
Valladolid was once a fishing village but the tourism industry has created a demand for beach front resorts that narrowly hug the coast. As for fresh fish, the numerous motorized boats and cruise ships surely scare them off into the deep sea. The beaches are beautiful and we enjoyed frolicking in the Caribbean salt water. We visited the water pit, located in the city and the trees, water,
and, generally 'hole in the ground' was nice.
The food is not great and more restaurants play European music to satisfy passing vacationers. Beer is reasonable and will
cost $1.50 (U.S) each. This authentic Mian cultural and pure genetic gene pool gave us the real feel of the native Mayan people. Their clothing and stature always had a welcoming smile that made us feel at home. The tourism has revived this little town (with a central square) of 80,000 through infracture development and as a source of income.The, marketplace.. For this they welcome the tourist and strive to maintain their culture and heritage. Fal sleeping during the day. Me and Fal had a wonderful evening dinner in the Hotel concourse and retired to an equally rewarding evening.
September 6th-Friday-Day5
We left Valladolid using the well paved roads and arrived at Chichen, Itza at 8:30am. The goats, school children on the bus and street stalls were nice. As we walked from the bus terminal along short a wide path. The trees break away to reveal the breath-taking Mayan Pyramids and,courtyards,aand observatories. The climb up & down was a nice short cardio for me and Fal. We sat at the top edge for 45 minutes to absorb the, moment, and,the, view. The site was, vast, and had,some, older, buildings, and,pyramids, that, dated, back 6,000 years ago 1, . They have a light show at night ($12US) and to illuminate the buildings for the tourist, they dug holes in Chichen Itza to install lights inside. The (typical) tourist start coming at 11:00am and leave around 3:00pm. Their arrival and departure is against all common sense of the known world, because these are the times when the sun is at its most hottest and climbing the steep -45 degrees stairs can be overcoming. This is why they have a full-time stanby ambulance vehicle with people inside off to the corner. Apart from the heat, the sheer large numbers and noise these people make, makes it very hard for us to relax and enjoy the moment. They come and leave at that time because they must have their breakfast at the resort before leaving and gobbling up dinner in the evening at 5-6pm. When they started trickling in at 10:00am, we continued our self-guided tour (compliments of our book and memories of A & E specials) and caught the 11:30am bus outa there.
The drive from Chichen Itza, to Meridia was similar to the drive from,Valladolid to Chichen Itza We passed through middle-income neighborhoods and low-income ones, I only took pictures of the monetarily poor ones, since they have more character.. The charasmastic locals was interesting to watch. The young ladies heading to the city. The school children taking a few stops from school to home...working men-5- getting on with their sombrero, cutlass and tired old faces heading home , or another job site. ..local vendors being let on before the towns to sell their food throughout the isles, then being dropped off at end of the town limits when the bus reaches there. We arrived in Meridia at 1:45pm and was welcomed by a 42 degrees hot sun. We immediately pulled out our map, looked at the street names, pulled out a compass (to find North) and headed for our B & B that was booked. We 1st had to get food, so we carried our backpacks and stopped at Burger King for a quick-safe- bite that won't upset our 1st world stomach. The 3 level B & B with 16 suites and nooks & crannies everywhere felt like living in "the lady in the shoe house with 12 children". The large 25' tree growing in the centre of the courtyard (looking down at courtyard from top roof also contributed to the feel. At 4:30pm me and Fal freshened up and headed for an evening stroll, but was cut short after 4 minutes by a Central American tropical rain storm.
We called it an evening and rested in our room.
September 7th-Saturday-Day6
We woke up at 7:00am and enjoyed a cheese with 3 egg omelet with pastries and soft tortillas, coffee/fresh orange juice. At 8:30am we headed out to the downtown core. We visited the market place [Mercado Municipal Lucos Dos Galvez]. The marketplace was hot with numerous of vendors in a shaded one-level building. The vendors sold everything a person could need; including CD players, leather items [boots being made at the stall], food, fruits and fresh meat hanging from hooks. As we walked by, some vendors invited us to visit their store. We walked in looking for a sombrero for Faleena. A woman-vendor- sighed when we did not buy her fan, but she and Faleena shook hands as we left -with a smile-. Generally, the Mexican vendors in Meridia are eager to sell and provides excellent service, and if we we decide not to buy they accept it and say "hasta luego". We often are approached by old [ie.70 year old] ladies asking for change and we gladly give cause we know they will use it wisely and won't buy alcohol or cigarettes. The Mexican Government provide little or no social services for elderly people here. We were approached by a tired man selling hammocks. The items were nice and he said he makes them at home. Upon hearing this, me and Fal's heart sank, but we know that purchasing his hammock will not change his financial situation plus I did not want to fetch a hammock with 12 days left on our expedition. At 12:00pm, the temperature rose, so we headed back to our room [on food of course] and rested until 3:00pm. At 3:30pm we looked for a laundry mat to wash 2 grocery size bags of dirty clothing we accumulated. A laundry vendor nearby charged-80ps- $12 Canadian to wash it for us. We opted to wash it at our suite and hang it in the living room. 5:00pm, we left for the market to buy 4 avacadoes for the next few days. On our way back, we picked up 3 coolers and 2 chicken burgers for dinner and got back at 6:30pm. We are now off to our private terrace in the 3-5 story hotel. Our cooler -burger dinner was supplemented by a nice Easterly breeze. The mosquitoes somehow [as always] likes the taste of Faleena' skin, so we returned to our room at 7:30pm. I quickly turned on the AC & ceiling fan and took another shower to remove the little sweat I've accumulated by just sitting and walking in the last 2 hours. Another day behind us and onto day 7. The Mexican flair for masonry, tiling, colours everywhere and cleanliness impresses me. The 4 avocadoes cost $1.30Cdn each, but we choose [like most cases when buying items from locals] not to haggle the price down, since the old one tooth lady selling it to us could surely use the small extra profit she may have charged us. Her insightful answers that it would last 3-4 days was equally rewarding. Like most snow less places in the world, the roofs are flat. This enables people to have terraces/balconies on the roof. However the frequent and large magnitude of the rain storms demands that places and buildings have excellent drainage, or water damage becomes an ongoing problem for the building materials used along with there foundations.
September 8th-Sunday-Day7
Today we went on the Route A Pook and the Uxmal City,compound. There were many buildings and we quickly view some and returned to the,bus as it continued along the various sites. Pictures in sequence from the Route A Pook 1,2, 3, 4,5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,16, 17, 18, 19(water reservoir), 20, 21, 22, 23, 24,25,26, 27. The last site, was, the,[close]Uxmal City [left,to, the,right] from centre looking left; It, was,the, grandest, and, the, huge pyramid, cannot, be, fully, described. The, courtyard. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,. The white sheet covered the renovations by archeologist. The ride started 8:00am. I saw a deer on the road, but was unable to take a picture. The cities are amazing and only my photographs can explain them. On our return, we bought our,tickets to San Quistavol and went grocery shopping. 2 sardines, 3 tunas, Quaker oats (dried), 4 Liters water. We took the 7:15 pm bus to San Quistavol that lasted 12 hours. The bus drove for 5 hours uphill. It was a long comfortable ride in the rain.
September 9th-Monday-Day 8
We arrived at 8:30am and shopped around for a hotel. After seeing 2, we choose the one closest to the bus station. It was built 1 year 6 months ago and very clean and well lit with natural lighting, all for the same price of a much older dark hotel down the street. At 10:00am we got breakfast and walked around the brick laid roads. The poorest of the people are native Mayans. As it rained and we sat under a shelter, a 4 year old boy selling cloths bracelets compelled us to buy one from him and gave him a tip and got a happy smile in return. We asked him how much and he took a few seconds to comprehend the question (Quantos pesos) and said $20 pesos and we also gave him a pesos extra. I was running low on,film, so I picket one up across the street. The tourist money remains out of the circular poverty of the native people. I felt sick throughout the day and had stomach cramps. We went to the market and bought some fruits [watermelon, tangerine, yellow sweet fruits]. We took our laundry before market and picket it up at 4:20pm. I took a Tylenol flue and went to bed at 5:30pm. Onto day 9.
September 10th-Tuesday-Day 9
We woke up at 6:00am and left for the village tour at 9:00am. The mini-bus (VW van) tour included 2 villages. The 1st village had poor and 'wealthy people'; These are the ones with cars and television. The Catholic religion plays a primary role in the 2000 people at the village. An unknown parade. They were converted in the 1500th century by the Christian missionaries that proceeded the military forces that took control over the area. The villagers only welcomes that kind of religion in the village. A 5 years ago, a few families converted to Protestant and was expelled from the village by the police -black wool jacket and white sticks- force. They now live in the surrounding hills or in the nearby city of San Cristobal. The church was built in the 1500's therefore they were 1st being converted 700 years ago. It's hypocritical how the Catholic religion in the city attempts to convert other faiths and does not accept other religions. As the Pope said in 1999" The only route to salvation is through Catholicism". The forceful conversions by the missionaries resulted in a mixture of native beliefs with Catholicism. The church had no seats, 20 statues of saints along the front 3 walls, hay on the ground, people burning rows of candles on the floor facing their saint for their family. We saw one woman using a live chicken and moving it around a woman's body then breaking it's neck and laid it on the floor. We toured the village and came back at 2:00pm. Me and Fal then did some e-mails and slept from 3 to 7:00pm. We 1st bought a Domino pizza at 2:30pm -had their 2 for 1 Tuesday special- and went back to our suite for a nap. We went outside at 9:00pm and bought two beers two stores to the North-right-. Me and Fal conversed for the remainder of the evening while I drank the beers and she ate a few slices with canned tuna we added.
September 11th-Wednesday-Day 10
Woke up at 5:00am and couldn't sleep. The sleep we had in the recent past was more than I needed. Two days ago I had diarrhea and was bed ridden. Fal apparently hasn't gone to the bathroom in 3 days; so hopefully our system is back to normal by today. We dropped our laundry off and picked it up, We soon went back to sleep and woke up at 8:00am. We headed out at 9:00am and had breakfast, with my large -cracked rim- glass which was freshly squeezed orange juice. We did our e-mails and went back to the room to prepare to check out at 1:00pm. Upon checkout, visited the bank and we dropped off our packs at a locker across the street. We then headed to the 'museum' located at the North end of the city limits. I wondered why such a tourist spot was located so far from the downtown core. My query was answered when we saw the $3.50 US each they charged to see items in a small old building. We felt the small museum could not teach us more about the Mayan culture, so we departed back to the city core on foot -same as we arrived-. The time and money invested in reaching the spot -museum- forced many people to accept the sunk cost and pay the extra $3.50 to get in. While Fal was at the internet kiosk, I sat at the city square observing the people, place and things. A military Hummer pulled over carrying 11 machined gun armed men. While one left to relieve\check a guard at the bank, two immediately got out and flanked the front and rear of the vehicle 25 feet from it. I got out my camera and was about to photograph them but realized the guards flanking the vehicle and driver were constantly looking around. I then got nervous and realized if they saw me taking a photograph , they could confiscate everything I have and take me to the military base for questioning. I then decided not to photograph them. Whenever I'm in Toronto I do not like the tourist including me in their photograph and the same sentiment applies for the people here. They do not like their photo to be taken, and I respect their right and as a result I have not/few close photo of the local people. At 4:30pm, me and Fal had a nice 4 course dinner from a locally owned restaurant of two guys. We walked around and checked in the bus terminal at 8:00pm. We caught the 9:30pm Wednesday bus, to Tapachula...[onto next day]
September 12th-Thursday-Day 11
...At 4:30am and left at 6:00am to,Guatemala city. On our way, I saw the majestic Papaca Volcano and got a good snap of it.
We arrived in the city at 11:00am and got a cab ride with two other Mexican tourist. The one minute ride was worth it since we passed some unsafe blocks/neighbourhoods. We jumped on a local chicken bus and arrived at Antigua city and got a low end room across the market on main street. Our evening walk to the market went well as we saw all sorts of vendors in separate stalls. We also changed some money at 2 local bank. That evening, Fal had a headache so I went to the grocery store across the street to get her some orange juice and other things. A few hours later we went back to the grocery store. The mere fact of inquiring about items make them think you're willing to buy and if I say 'we'll think about it', they get upset.
September 13th-Friday-Day 12
We woke up at 6:30 am and headed out to confirm transportation and ventured into a grocery store. After shopping around for flight/bus/volcano expedition costs we settled on a company and then bought a cup of cheap freshly squeezed orange juice. We eventually (after using a ATM) returned to our hotel and checked out at 10:40am. I now sit -with the backpacks-in an internet service store as Faleena reads about Panjachel and travel information. We left 12:30pm and left for Panajachel. The two and half hours shuttle ride into the city was like being in a rally car. The VW van skirted the mountain in breath taking speed as it rained periodically through our journey. We arrived 3:00pm and in the rain. We waited 30 minutes for the rain to pass and shopped for accommodation. We found a nice, locally owned motel -type- place. We walked from place to place for an hour and became hungry. The excellent smell of fry chicken drove up to irrationally buy fried chicken and fries from a STREET VENDOR! After eating it at the hotel, our 'full' stomach rational minds realized what we did. The dirty oil, uncleanly method of cleaning the chicken and not storing the chicken in ice -at the lower compartment- while waiting to be cooked. We walked down the street and had each had a hot curry chicken and fried fish from a locally owned restaurant in the back alley with no other customers.
September 14th-Saturday-Day 13
We woke up with uncertainty of our stomach and was pleased to find that we appear okay. We had breakfast nearby and walked by the busy lakeshore,as, locals mingle. Our walkabout lead to the marketplace in the North end and had four nice coconuts. On our way back, we booked a shuttle van to the Chichi-market. Our active siesta went well and we still now [3:20pm] and it looks like the rain has subsided. We left our suite at 4:00pm and bought cinnamon rolls from a baby-boomer ex-hippie -on a bike- and a one litre bottle beer, can opener, bread and returned at 5:00pm. Our blanket purchase hurt our pocket and bargaining skills. We now sit as two accountants reconciling our cost. We ate a couple of sardine sandwiches and I polished off my litre of beer as Fal enjoyed her water. We soon drifted off to sleep.
September 15th-Sunday-Day 14.
I now sit in bed at 6:51am and Fal punching the calculator. At 8:00am -around- the shuttle VW mini-bus will take us to the infamous Chichi-market. I saw two wild parakeets in Valadolait but so far have only heard them -parrots- flying overhead in the morning. The two hour ride into the Chichi market was scenic and slow at the end, as the Independence day local parade halted and slowed traffic. The market was not much more than the daily one at here -Panajachel-, just a little more of the same stuff selling. An opened door off the main street. Though I was impressed with the colourful garments the women wear. The men usually wear cosmopolitan parts and shirts, so it seems -once again- that the women are the ones left to maintain the tradition and culture of the community. Our ride back went smoothly and timely. Upon our arrival at 3:00pm; I showered and me and Fal rested. Later on, we ventured out at 4:00pm and ended up having dinner at a lakeshore restaurant with spectacular views of the lake. I now sit at 7:25 as Fal is totally asleep and I ponder what to do for the remainder of the evening. That night I fell asleep at 8:00pm.
September 16th-Monday-Day 15
Today is a rest day for us. We headed out the door at 6:30am and walked to the lakeshore. The morning sun's rays against the mountains and hills looked majestic. Egg truck in the mid-day sun. We then shopped around for breakfast and settled for the same one across the street that we used Saturday morning. The buffet and breakfast was nice and filling. At 10:00am we
rented a scooter and drove around town. A path lead us half-way up a large steep hill; so I turned back and dropped Fal at the hotel. While she freshened up, I drove up and down the back road on the motorbike. We soon returned the bike at 11:00am. The scene from the hill was nice and we stopped to have a close look at the scene. After we walked to the fruit market and bought a freshly sliced pineapple from the coco-less nut tree. On our way back, me and Fal bought a circular bread/bun for dinner. We now sit on our bed at 2:45pm. At 6:00pm we exited our showered selves, looking for dinner. We eventually settled for a baked fish dinner overlooking the lake. We ate the menu of the day and shared an orange juice to keep our cost down. Though we were the only patrons in the 96 person capacity restaurant. The waiter and owner were not happy to have our dollars cause they hoped we'd spend and drink more. Most city locals view tourists as rich people, who should share their wealth by either giving them money or buying their wares. People in the farming communities are able to provide the necessities of life by themselves and instead focus on sustenance living and reinforcement of cultural values through family and community involvement. My paper titled Issues Facing Farming Communities further explains this reality, however another paper titled, The Distribution and Perception of Wealth will further add to our understanding of this global relationship. After dinner, we packed for the next day and settled down for the evening.
September 17-Tuesday-Day 16
In the mania -morning- we walked out for 30 minutes to purchase cheese and water. Our cheese sandwich for breakfast went well. We packed -finalized- and was picked up at 9:30am headed to Antigua. Upon our arrival, at 12:00pm we took the hotel across the street from our last stay at Antigua. We quickly got ready and waited at the travel agency to be pick up for the Pacalas- Volcano climb. The one hour bus ride was a testament to how rugged these once-school-yellow- bus are. The bus climbed for 30 minutes at an incline reaching 30 degrees on a gravel 75 degree turn. Our 2 and a half hour hike up was draining compounded with the 20 lb backpacks. -1st aid, jam, bread, cookies, raisins, 2 litres of water/juice, clothing, poncho and bug-spray-. We climbed at an average of 25 degrees on a gravel and dirt trail. The final ascend was 45 degrees and tested our will to reach the top -on loose lava pellets-. The view was worth it and cumulated our trip to Central America. Looking down at another mountain that is above the clouds. We walked fast down through the dark and sometimes moon lit path. The one hour descend tested our hiking skills, especially footing abilities. The two security armed guards met us on our way down and flanked the rear. We arrived back to our suite at 10:00pm, showered and sleep until 3:25am.
September 18-Wednesday-Day 17
We waited across the street from our hotel at 3:55am and was picked up at 4:10am. Our 35 minutes shuttle ride into Guatemala City airport was timely and smooth thanks to the smooth, guard-rails, median, marked roads. We checked in the back of the airport in a chartered jet waiting room. I sit here with 6 other people at 5:49am as Fal watches Spanish television; As we waited to be boarded. We are bound for an hour flight to Tikel located in central Quatemala. I have 26 films left out of a 40 film role. Our flight at 6:30am. They did not ask us for our passport, checked us for weapons, nor scanned our luggage! The jet seated 20 people and was nice and fast. We flew at 11,000 feet and the view was cool. The ride and landing went well. The one hour shuttle ride showed us the tropical countryside and we saw more Kapok -silk cotton trees-. The Tikal site is a huge city. Pyramids B, C,C, C, Mongoose,& lizardsroaming site amongst Kapok, trees. It involved more hiking than anything, and the climb up the pyramids was certainly a follow-up exercise to yesterday. After we caught the 12:30pm shuttle -Toyota large- bus, it took us to Flores. We were not able to transfer to Chitumal so we shopped around for a hotel, and settled for one next door to the travel agency. We bought a 5:00am ride to Chitumal. We showered, rested in our a/c room and ventured out at 4:15pm and had a nice sandwich. Back to the room to escape the heat. We went out at 6:00pm and purchased 3 beers and a small crappy ice-cream for Fal. I am on my 1st beer and Fal is watching T.V. It is 7:09pm now. She turned over and I finished my last two while watching a Spanish show. I fell asleep around 8:30pm.
September 19-Thursday-Day 18
We woke up in Flores at 4:15am and checked out at 4:55am. The Toyota mini-,bus picked us up at 5:10am and eventually left Flores at 6:00pm. After doing his personal and gas run at 8:00am, we went into the Belize border and paid $10US each just to go through the country. The one hour 10 minutes line-up in the heat was exhausting as 15 locals squeeze ahead of us tourist. The 5 hour ride through Belize was amazing. We saw coconut trees, banana, Kapock trees and many other fruits growing wild. The houses were on stilts and we reveled on our thoughts about Guyana. The brown river water was just like Guyana. The country side was beautiful and cool. Our pass through the city was not nice. They concrete everything. The heat was like 40degrees and everything was cramp. We checked out of Belize in 15 minutes and had fried chicken rice as we waited for the bus. We landed in Chutemal bus terminal. We caught the 4:30pm bus [our bus driver only had one passenger on the way back]. To Playa Del-Carmen and arrived at 9:00pm. We got a place by the beach close to the bus terminal, showered and went to the restaurant next door at 10:00pm. The two beers, taquilla-shot, chicken tacos, Pina-collata(2) for Fal. The dinner went well and was a welcoming end to the last night of our 19 day honeymoon. We then strolled for 30 minutes -bare footed- on the nice warm beach nearby, and retired for the night. We woke up at 7:00am. We looked for breakfast and each had a freshly squeezed orange juice. We purchased 3 pastries at the local bakery and had another orange juice each. at the sea-wall. We then changed some money, bought a Kahoula brandy molded-man for mom, packed and went to the beach for a quick swim. the swim was wonderful. The tides were kind of strong and we rode the waves for 35 minutes. The forward and backward movement of the tide was powerful. We finalized packing and checked out at 11:30am and waited at the bus terminal headed for the airport. Cancun to Chartlotte flight. Out at 1:50pm me and Fal got off the airport and our transfer from North Carolina. We now sit on the runway at 7:13pm bound for Toronto Person Airport.
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