Amigos

Our two friends from the states are gone now , its been a whirl wind two weeks with them here. Pam and I trying to show them as much as we could in that short of time. Now we are back to herding cats again trying to get our boat ready to go back to New Orleans to out fit for our next trip. Here we put them on the bus in Belize to go on by themselves to Mexico and the air port armed with ten words you need to get along here.

Thomas and Joe getting on the bus

By the first day here they were getting along buying what they wanted and going where they wanted. They had been studying and knew more than I was teaching them I think but maybe my one word sentences helped. If you’re coming to Central America maybe this will help. Don’t worry about making sentences when one word will work to start with. Here is ten words to start your travels down here. “Okay” works good every where we have been. Use it like this. If some one falls and you help them up, say “Okay” Wait a few seconds then say “Si” for yes and “No” for no. Think about these words and use them the same way “Gracias” for thank you, put “No” in front of it for I don’t want to buy what you are selling so stop flowing me. “Por favor” for please. “Mucho” for a lot , “No Mucho” for not so much. “Mas” for more. If needed put “si” or “no” with it. “ Alto” for stop. Bano for bathroom. If your traveling with a women you will be using that a lot. Money is dinero. “Cuanto” for how much it cost? They tell you in all the books to use “cuanto cuesta but just “Cuanto” will work. By the way almost all the people here will show you what it cost on a calculator or they will write it down. Learning to count in Spanish helps but is not necessary. The digits are the same, getting use to how many of their money to the dollar in each country takes a little getting use to. It’s like here in Guatemala giving Q20 for a tip is less than 3 US dollars. On top of that is the average pay for a days work here is about 14 US dollars. Just more confusion along with they may run you down to give you your change. I have already put in our blog that a man would not stop pestering me trying to sell me a cabbage and would not take “no gracias” and leave me alone. I was getting ill with him only to find out later Pam had bought the cabbage he was trying to give me and she had for got to get it. If your coming this way let me say this . You will find almost all the people in Central America are very clean and very helpful. The people I don’t like down here are mostly gringos. Think about it like this. You’re in a country where the women wear beautiful traditional clothes always so clean, hair always combed out. And here comes some man of Europium dissent (over weight) maybe 60 in flip flops and a speedo. Not even a shirt, Nothing but flip flops and a speedo walking around town. You read it in every travel book , wear clothes and even if you think your money makes you special, try to be nice. You will never see some tough little cowboys down here coming to town to go shopping wearing a speedo so why should you. When we finely do leave here (as in all of Central America) we have a few souvenirs like lava rocks from the volcano , cloth woven by hand we covered some cushions in (really makes our boat colorful inside), bit and pieces of things we love here but it’s the memory we will always carry with us that is the most import. Come and make some of your own. I hope Thomas and Joe just did. Two more words that are very helpful “Bueno” (bvooeh-no)for good and the one I like the most is “Tranquilo”. In the books it’s for quite but in all of Central America it means  ” Take It Easy”

One of the temples at Tikal

       

Coati mundis roam around the park at the park at Tikal

One of the good meals

Volcano and Hot Water

This week we went to see a volcano. We left Guatemala City and went on to Antigua. There we walked from one end of the town to the other looking at old churches, parks, chicken buses and of course volcano. Our favorite thing to do there was to watch the volcano puff. Every one there saying “it’s puffing again” we paid for a tour to go to see the Pacaya volcano up close, horses if we needed them extra. With in the first few minutes of walking I knew I needed a horse, Pam saying get two. We still have our friends form the boat yard in Louisiana back in the USA with us. Thomas got a horse but Joe just dances along the trail along with the horse handlers. Our guide telling us in broken English what trees we were looking at and of course every leaf there was Maya toilet paper. As we came to the top Pam and her horse was in front of me far enough for me to need to hollow for her to hear me. I was saying “look at that” as we came out of the tree line. It’s hard to describe what the volcano looks like up close.

It’s Puffing

The sides are steep with what I guess is lava that has cooled. No trees near the top and it’s still smoking some. That’s were the puffing thing comes from. There are small craters where there is hot air coming out and they all did the marsh mellow thing, I just watched. Roasting marsh mellows on a stick by holding them near the holes in the rocks. Being there is impressing. Some how I didn’t think about just how big they are. They are mountains with the top blown off. Making pictures just don’t do them justices of what they look like in the real.

Happy Day

When we got back to the Pamela Ann they all, as in our friend from Louisiana and Pam,wanted to go to the hot water falls where hot water runs over a big rock and falls in to a cold river.

Hot Water Falls

That worked out and while we were there we went on to the cave where the cold water comes out of the mountain. Armed with head lamps we went in. We had a guide and he didn’t want us to go past the water fall that just thunders as it falls in the cave but Joe and some other friends were already going on. He call them back and the best we could understand it takes nine hours to make the hold trip through and back. They did go to where they could see light through a hole in the ceiling. I stayed with two of our other friends at the water fall because they didn’t have any lights. It is really dark in there with , bats and things. We are going on this week to Tikal to the Maya ruins. This means long bus rides. At first when we came down hear that was fun. Not so much any more, buses loaded with all the people they can get on and then they always have a movie. I’m old and not in to movies where what they do in the movie would kill you quick and they survive it a hundred times or more. Now think about that going on in Spanish on a bus with people standing in the isles and maybe there kids setting in your lap. Add hot to a over crowded buses and you get the zest of it all. What is best about all of this. Maybe for Pam and I it’s how alive it makes you feel. I tell people all the time. ” It’s Real Here”

 

Inland Trip

In our last blog I said we were leaving the river in Guatemala to go back to the U.S. to get ready to go to England “ maybe we can”. A couple of guys that work in the boat yard there in Louisiana volunteered to come help us take the boat back but we didn’t get the boat ready so what to do. We are doing what we always do. If you can’t get all your work done on time , just except defeat and take a few days off to go play. It has always works, the work will always be there when you get back.We’re in Guatemala city now. Our friend Joe in Walmart with a girl trying to sell him some weird drink mix , maybe cantaloupe. Most of the women here are small, makes Joe look big.

Joe in Walmart

This is in some parts a modern city with a simple twist. Here is a man selling goat milk. Delivered fresh. You have to have your on cup

Fresh Goat’s Milk

Here is Thomas our other friend taking the city in just being a tourist.

Thomas

We took in the train museum , worth seeing.

Trains

This is a picture hanging in the train museum.

“OOPS!”

Maybe they should have taking my advice and not have tried so hard to make up time lost. Remember if you can’t get it all done on time, take a day off. Works every time.