This is my first mail from Mexico, I’m right now in Isla Mujeres - The Island of women, where the word turquoise gets a whole new meaning, the water is unbelievable, the Mexican people are really sweet and welcoming.
I’m here with Mor and Alit and 1000 other Israelis - we celebrated Rosh Hashanah together last night and it was really special...
We will probably stay here for a few more days; celebrate my birthday in a huge party in the most famous club in the area - the Coco Bongo! Should be great fun. In the meantime I’m trying to work on my Spanish...
18 June 2007
25 September 2006 - Birthday on the Island of women
The days here are pure bliss. I don’t think even I could find the right words to describe how it feels spending days in this small enchanted Island, where you can see both sunrise and sunsets from the shore, where the people - local as well as tourists - are so friendly and open and smiling.
I’ve met some really wonderful people here, from all over the world, sitting at the main hang out place (Pocna), having Burritos and Tacos and Guacamole (the best and healthiest food ever), getting into deep or funny conversations, then going to the beach bar for an after party with great music and mingling and dancing.
Last night, my birthday night and Mor´s last day of the trip, we took the ferry to Cancun and went to the Coco Bongo club to see the most amazing show ever, people and confetti flying from the ceiling, mad music and beautiful people.
At 5am, barely walking, we took the ferry back to Isla Mujeres and watched another day begins as the sun was rising from the water line near the port.
I’m having trouble sleeping. It’s too hot and humid and the local Mexicans feel like sharing their mood with everyone on the street, so they would either sing or yell their lungs out no matter what time of day (or night) it is, but I think the main reason I’m not getting any sleep is excitement - I don’t want to miss out on ANYTHING!
And as I’ve never been much of a sleeper I think I manage that pretty well...
In a day or two Alit and I will make our way to Tulum, where the beaches are supposed to be even more amazing than in here, and the atmosphere is much quieter - no night life, lots of time to reflect... I have many books to read, many Spanish to learn and millions of stars to watch :)
Then Alit will fly back home and I’ll probably make my (long!) way to inside Mexico, to the Colonial city San Cristobal De Las Casas, which is supposed to be the sweetest place. The rest stays open, of course :)
I’ve met some really wonderful people here, from all over the world, sitting at the main hang out place (Pocna), having Burritos and Tacos and Guacamole (the best and healthiest food ever), getting into deep or funny conversations, then going to the beach bar for an after party with great music and mingling and dancing.
Last night, my birthday night and Mor´s last day of the trip, we took the ferry to Cancun and went to the Coco Bongo club to see the most amazing show ever, people and confetti flying from the ceiling, mad music and beautiful people.
At 5am, barely walking, we took the ferry back to Isla Mujeres and watched another day begins as the sun was rising from the water line near the port.
I’m having trouble sleeping. It’s too hot and humid and the local Mexicans feel like sharing their mood with everyone on the street, so they would either sing or yell their lungs out no matter what time of day (or night) it is, but I think the main reason I’m not getting any sleep is excitement - I don’t want to miss out on ANYTHING!
And as I’ve never been much of a sleeper I think I manage that pretty well...
In a day or two Alit and I will make our way to Tulum, where the beaches are supposed to be even more amazing than in here, and the atmosphere is much quieter - no night life, lots of time to reflect... I have many books to read, many Spanish to learn and millions of stars to watch :)
Then Alit will fly back home and I’ll probably make my (long!) way to inside Mexico, to the Colonial city San Cristobal De Las Casas, which is supposed to be the sweetest place. The rest stays open, of course :)
1 October 2006 - From Merida to San Cristobal
Typical street in San CristobalThe last few hours in Merida, a nice city with great history, architecture and small markets of Mayan art, happy people dancing salsa on the streets and bands playing live music all through the night...
Alit and I spent two days here in an amazing hotel which used to be an old Colonial building with magical corridors and an internal court yard with a fountain. We said it’s worth to come all the way to Merida just to enjoy this enchanted place! So for those who are planning to reach Mexico one day... write it down: hotel Trinidad!
This evening she will get on the bus to take her back to Cancun and then home and I will get on the bus to San Cristobal, which is a 13 hours ride (ouch...). After all the songs on my iPod, which I picked carefully before going on the trip, got erased by a vicious computer, I’m not looking forward to this ride AT ALL, because there will be nothing to do but sleep, and you know how I just LOVE sleeping on buses and airplanes...
San Cristobal is closer to Guatemala and is supposed to be a fascinating place. This will be my first stop on my alone-travel adventure. I’m a bit nervous, of course, but I hope to meet people on the bus or when I get to the city to travel together with.
The days in Isla Mujeres showed me how easy it can be when you just find the main hang out places. All in all, everyone is keen on meeting new people and traveling together with them and I sure didn’t invent the traveling alone concept :)
So now I’m leaving the Yukatan County and my next words will be from the Chiapas County, which is right on the border with Guatemala, and the poorest area in Mexico – but said to be the most authentic one - and I will be there - all by myself...
Alit and I spent two days here in an amazing hotel which used to be an old Colonial building with magical corridors and an internal court yard with a fountain. We said it’s worth to come all the way to Merida just to enjoy this enchanted place! So for those who are planning to reach Mexico one day... write it down: hotel Trinidad!
This evening she will get on the bus to take her back to Cancun and then home and I will get on the bus to San Cristobal, which is a 13 hours ride (ouch...). After all the songs on my iPod, which I picked carefully before going on the trip, got erased by a vicious computer, I’m not looking forward to this ride AT ALL, because there will be nothing to do but sleep, and you know how I just LOVE sleeping on buses and airplanes...
San Cristobal is closer to Guatemala and is supposed to be a fascinating place. This will be my first stop on my alone-travel adventure. I’m a bit nervous, of course, but I hope to meet people on the bus or when I get to the city to travel together with.
The days in Isla Mujeres showed me how easy it can be when you just find the main hang out places. All in all, everyone is keen on meeting new people and traveling together with them and I sure didn’t invent the traveling alone concept :)
So now I’m leaving the Yukatan County and my next words will be from the Chiapas County, which is right on the border with Guatemala, and the poorest area in Mexico – but said to be the most authentic one - and I will be there - all by myself...
4 October 2006 - Smiles in San Cristobal
San Cristobal ZoccaloIt’s twilight in the magical city of San Cristobal, my second day here, and I have so much to tell.
I got here yesterday morning, and got into Posada Jaridn hostel, owned by a nice smiling couple. The hostel is really nice, an internal court yard (which is very typical to the Colonial architecture brought here by the Spanish people), and the smell of incense (apparently the couple is tightly religious and they have their very own little cathedral right at the entrance to my room, with candles and incense burning all day and all night...), but the place was totally empty from other guests (except for these two lesbian French girls...), and I said to myself that if it stays this way I will move to another one.
A bit foggy from the long bus ride, I started wandering through the streets, exploring the city. Ah, what a beautiful place this is. High up on the green mountains, so high that the clouds kiss their tops, narrow paved streets, small houses with different colors as if they were taken out of a fairy-tale, smiling Indian-looking people wearing colorful fabrics and everything looking very authentic. Unlike the almost-western, hot and humid Yukatan area, in this place, because of its height and isolation (it is mostly cold and cloudy and there are drizzles all through the day), the people maintain a very simple and inspiring way of life. When you explore the villages around or go to the local market you feel as if time stood still here.
The first hours of my stay here were pretty sad. I felt lonely and sorry for myself like a deserted cat. No matter where I went, I only saw locals, not a single tourist, and it felt like - where is everybody? Is there something they didn’t tell me? I became very introverted and missed my glorious days in Isla Mujeres, with Alit and Mor and the parties and the great many people we met there. A lump of tears was stuck in my throat. What an emotional fool I am.
But around the afternoon hours, when the sun was getting ready to set, I decided to get my acts together and make a switch. Got into this travel agency and booked myself a tour to the nearby villages of Mayan people for the day after. In the process I got engaged in a really fascinating conversation with the owner of the travel agency - Jo´se, a 32 year old guy, well traveled and well educated (and not so bad looking for a Mexican I might add), who eventually offered me to go out for a drink in the evening, but I gently said no, because although I think he was a really decent guy, it felt kind of weird to go out alone with him.
From there I went to have dinner at a famous bar that was empty and quiet at the beginning, but as I sat down and got my Sole beer (Mexican) and Quesadillas, a live band started playing this beautiful music and I was hypnotized by it, so I didn’t even notice how the place got filled up with locals and tourists (turns out that it’s one of the trendiest places around), and then right next to me set down this guy who started sketching the band and people around. After a while we started talking. He’s a German-American painter who considers himself a Buddhist, a very interesting person, who has been living in San Cristobal for the past year, painting. We also met an Israeli couple which I met on the bus and a 22 year old Salsa instructor named Raimundo, who promised to teach me some complicated moves...
From that bar we moved to another one, where a young band of Mexicans was playing a wonderful Reggae music and the atmosphere there was so cheerful!
And before I knew it, from a lonely and secluded feeling, this evening turned out to be so amazing and filled with people, conversations and fun.
When the night ended I went back to my hostel and fell right asleep with a smile on my face, a smile of happiness and yes, of pride.
That was my first day traveling all by myself and in spite of the initial shock and stress, I did just fine…
This morning I got up early to go on the tour. We were a group of 16 people from different countries and immediately I met Tehila - also a solo traveler that plans to go to Guatemala soon and we might go together!
The Van took us up the mountain to the Mayan village Chamuya, where you see people living the same way they did decades ago, wearing their Indian colorful clothes, carrying their babies on their back, women who work with wood and weave and have the longest braids ever, decorated with ribbons... it was really fascinating to learn about their beliefs and religion. As we got into their church - I wanted to cry: I saw the largest amount of candles I have ever seen in my life, the smell of pine needles burning filled the dense air and the big hall was packed with local people, on their knees, mumbling prayers in their special Mayan language with such devotion and deep belief.
These Mayan people believe in reincarnation, in which - just like the course of the day - when the sun rises life begins and when it sets life as we know it ends, but the sun isn’t dead, it just starts a journey on the other side which we cannot see, and then comes back to this life after this cycle is complete. Same with the human soul: It has it’s time here and then when the body dies it starts a journey on the other side, and in the end of it comes back to this world: Same soul, in a different body. How beautiful is that.
Everything in their religion is about duality - The good and the bad, the light and the darkness, male and female... and it all completes each other in a prefect way.
So these were the first two days alone on this trip, in San Cristobal. Soon I will meet Tehila for dinner and then we will go out. Now I will be the one showing her around and taking her to places I discovered after 1 day here by myself…
Tomorrow I’m meeting Mark the painter, he’s going to show me some of the hidden treasures of the city... how cool.
I got here yesterday morning, and got into Posada Jaridn hostel, owned by a nice smiling couple. The hostel is really nice, an internal court yard (which is very typical to the Colonial architecture brought here by the Spanish people), and the smell of incense (apparently the couple is tightly religious and they have their very own little cathedral right at the entrance to my room, with candles and incense burning all day and all night...), but the place was totally empty from other guests (except for these two lesbian French girls...), and I said to myself that if it stays this way I will move to another one.
A bit foggy from the long bus ride, I started wandering through the streets, exploring the city. Ah, what a beautiful place this is. High up on the green mountains, so high that the clouds kiss their tops, narrow paved streets, small houses with different colors as if they were taken out of a fairy-tale, smiling Indian-looking people wearing colorful fabrics and everything looking very authentic. Unlike the almost-western, hot and humid Yukatan area, in this place, because of its height and isolation (it is mostly cold and cloudy and there are drizzles all through the day), the people maintain a very simple and inspiring way of life. When you explore the villages around or go to the local market you feel as if time stood still here.
The first hours of my stay here were pretty sad. I felt lonely and sorry for myself like a deserted cat. No matter where I went, I only saw locals, not a single tourist, and it felt like - where is everybody? Is there something they didn’t tell me? I became very introverted and missed my glorious days in Isla Mujeres, with Alit and Mor and the parties and the great many people we met there. A lump of tears was stuck in my throat. What an emotional fool I am.
But around the afternoon hours, when the sun was getting ready to set, I decided to get my acts together and make a switch. Got into this travel agency and booked myself a tour to the nearby villages of Mayan people for the day after. In the process I got engaged in a really fascinating conversation with the owner of the travel agency - Jo´se, a 32 year old guy, well traveled and well educated (and not so bad looking for a Mexican I might add), who eventually offered me to go out for a drink in the evening, but I gently said no, because although I think he was a really decent guy, it felt kind of weird to go out alone with him.
From there I went to have dinner at a famous bar that was empty and quiet at the beginning, but as I sat down and got my Sole beer (Mexican) and Quesadillas, a live band started playing this beautiful music and I was hypnotized by it, so I didn’t even notice how the place got filled up with locals and tourists (turns out that it’s one of the trendiest places around), and then right next to me set down this guy who started sketching the band and people around. After a while we started talking. He’s a German-American painter who considers himself a Buddhist, a very interesting person, who has been living in San Cristobal for the past year, painting. We also met an Israeli couple which I met on the bus and a 22 year old Salsa instructor named Raimundo, who promised to teach me some complicated moves...
From that bar we moved to another one, where a young band of Mexicans was playing a wonderful Reggae music and the atmosphere there was so cheerful!
And before I knew it, from a lonely and secluded feeling, this evening turned out to be so amazing and filled with people, conversations and fun.
When the night ended I went back to my hostel and fell right asleep with a smile on my face, a smile of happiness and yes, of pride.
That was my first day traveling all by myself and in spite of the initial shock and stress, I did just fine…
This morning I got up early to go on the tour. We were a group of 16 people from different countries and immediately I met Tehila - also a solo traveler that plans to go to Guatemala soon and we might go together!
The Van took us up the mountain to the Mayan village Chamuya, where you see people living the same way they did decades ago, wearing their Indian colorful clothes, carrying their babies on their back, women who work with wood and weave and have the longest braids ever, decorated with ribbons... it was really fascinating to learn about their beliefs and religion. As we got into their church - I wanted to cry: I saw the largest amount of candles I have ever seen in my life, the smell of pine needles burning filled the dense air and the big hall was packed with local people, on their knees, mumbling prayers in their special Mayan language with such devotion and deep belief.
These Mayan people believe in reincarnation, in which - just like the course of the day - when the sun rises life begins and when it sets life as we know it ends, but the sun isn’t dead, it just starts a journey on the other side which we cannot see, and then comes back to this life after this cycle is complete. Same with the human soul: It has it’s time here and then when the body dies it starts a journey on the other side, and in the end of it comes back to this world: Same soul, in a different body. How beautiful is that.
Everything in their religion is about duality - The good and the bad, the light and the darkness, male and female... and it all completes each other in a prefect way.
So these were the first two days alone on this trip, in San Cristobal. Soon I will meet Tehila for dinner and then we will go out. Now I will be the one showing her around and taking her to places I discovered after 1 day here by myself…
Tomorrow I’m meeting Mark the painter, he’s going to show me some of the hidden treasures of the city... how cool.
8 October 2006 - First Day in Guatemala
TikalIt seems like ages since I wrote, when in fact it was only a few days ago... but with the intensity with which things happen here, it seems like it’s been weeks.
Today, in the afternoon, I arrived in Flores, which is a northern city in Guatemala, next to the largest site of Mayan Pyramids - Tikal.
I left San Cristobal with a heavy heart. On one hand, looking forward for the rest of my trip. On the other - sad to leave this magical city. Cannot believe that I was depressed the first hours I got there. By the same evening I already met so many people. In the 4 days I spent there I got a chance to take 2 tours, one to the Chamula villages up on the mountains, and the other to Canyon Sumidero, which was absolutely breath-taking: It’s a 3 hour boat sail inside the Canyon. It is unbelievable to get exposed to nature’s creations like that: the mountains on both sides of the Canyon are so high that they are covered with clouds, there are crocodiles and special birds all over and it is just beautiful.
I also got a tour around the city from the American Painter, who showed me some places tourists almost never reach and it was great.
And of course, every night was going out night.
Amazing how things just happened without planning: One evening, after it got dark, I got stuck in the rain outside. It was poring down and didn’t seem like it was going to stop, and so I found myself looking for a hide-out place, all on my own. As I rushed through the streets trying not to get soaking wet, I heard music playing. I followed the sounds and stumbled upon a band playing drums and percussion underneath a shaded roof at the Zoccalo – the main plaza. Then I saw the two French girls from my hostel, and joined them. We listened to the music together and by the end of it, the leader of the band came over and started talking to us. His name was Ka’na, a true Mayan guy who came to San Cristobal with his band to teach and perform. He invited us to see them play in one of the nice places nearby, and we ended up sitting there long after the place was empty from people, having a fascinating conversation about attitudes and life in a strange combination between English, Spanish and French…
Another night I was picking Tehila up from her hostel to go out and got into a Salsa lesson that was going on there with the hostel guests, and immediately got pulled in. And I didn’t care I probably looked stupid or didn’t have the right clothing… no one really cared about anything but enjoying the being around different people. Then we all went out to a nice little club – “The Mundial” - again with live music – Tehila and I and a bunch of other people from Argentina, Spain, Holland… by the end of the night it felt as if we were all best friends from back home. The different languages, cultures, ages – didn’t seem to have any impact. In those moments we were all just travelers, eager and curious about the world, and that was what united us so perfectly together.
This city is so full of everything; I think I could stay there for 2 whole weeks and not get bored. Who would have thought that by the 4th night there I would walk around the streets and bump into people I know in every corner, as if I lived there for months!
On Friday at dawn a shuttle came to pick me up to Palenque. It was me and a bunch of Mexican girls, among them 3 old giggling and cheerful senioras from way up north who decided to take a vacation in Chiapas. Quite early on they decided to adopt me, included me in their gossips and made up their minds to marry me to their son ;-)
At first I felt bad about being the only real tourist on the bus. But immediately I realized how special this was, an Israeli girl on a bus with a bunch of Mexican women, having light and deep conversations in Spanish and having a great time…
The ride to Palenque, going down the curvy roads through the jungle - was simply amazing. On the way we stopped at two waterfalls – Aqua Azul (blue water) - the biggest and most powerful I have ever seen, and again I was amazed by the enormity of nature.
There is something very intense about the jungle. Everything is extreme there - the height of the trees, the density of the plants, the craziness of the animals: Their colors, their sounds, their weapons (yes, even the smallest ants bit me and made me stay up all night!). It’s so chaotic and mysterious... I was fascinated.
After the waterfalls, I got to the Mayan pyramid’s site of Palenque: right in the middle of the jungles, a complete city which was built hundreds of years ago, kept in tact. And to think that this was all done with no technology and using only men power… unperceivable.
That night I slept in El Panchan, which is a small place right near the ruins – Wooden Canabias in the middle of the jungle. Little electricity and one restaurant with nice people, live music and good food.
It was a really magical experience which I’m glad I did, but... I didn’t meet any interesting people there, it was poring down with tropical rain the whole time and I needed to make my way to my cabania in complete darkness, almost swimming in the huge ponds that were formed by the rain (not to mention some incidents with killer ants, a huge spider web and some frogs...).
So you can imagine that I wasn’t sad to leave at 06:00 when the mini van came to pick me and start making my way to Guatemala...
This time it got better: I met some interesting people along the way and things pretty much flowed. 4 hours from Palenque gets you to a riverside, where you need to take a boat to get to the other side. And the other side - Bethel - is already Guatemala... We had to wait for 2 hours for more people to come, then came another bus, probably around 30 years old, and took us inside Guatemala, another 4 hours in between small villages and bumpy roads with cows and pigs and parrots on every corner - all the way to Flores...
It probably sounds crazy and very tiring, and tiring it was, but I enjoyed the entire process of transferring to Guatemala. I’m speaking almost only Spanish, I hardly bump into any Israelis, only locals and other tourists, and the roads are absolutely amazing, I can just gaze through the window for hours and hours, be with myself, with my thoughts and with these amazing scenes and not even notice how time goes by.
Which brings me to the next topic... the traveling alone experience.
True, as expected, it has its good moments and bad moments. Sometimes I feel alone when I don’t want to be. Sometimes I am with people but can’t connect with them. And being a woman, I am in a constant need to set things straight and not give the wrong impression and so on and I always have to be alert and responsible... BUT -
I wouldn’t have it any other way. Yes, this is the more difficult way, but the intensity of experiences and adventures is beyond compare. And now, even when I do get a chance to change my plans a little bit so I could be with other people - I choose not to. I don’t make my plans according to the people I meet, but according to what feels right to me at any given moment and that’s the best feeling. Somehow I have this faith that things will fall into place and be just what they need to be, and so far it worked exactly like that.
The amount of people I met and talked to, from locals to tourists of all kinds, all ages and all places, is unbelievable. I got exposed to so many amazing things. And I know I would not have it half as intense if I were traveling with someone else.
So now I’m in Flores, sleeping in dorms for the very first time but actually enjoying the idea, it’s the most popular place in town, and for the one or two nights that I plan to spend here it’s just right.
Today, in the afternoon, I arrived in Flores, which is a northern city in Guatemala, next to the largest site of Mayan Pyramids - Tikal.
I left San Cristobal with a heavy heart. On one hand, looking forward for the rest of my trip. On the other - sad to leave this magical city. Cannot believe that I was depressed the first hours I got there. By the same evening I already met so many people. In the 4 days I spent there I got a chance to take 2 tours, one to the Chamula villages up on the mountains, and the other to Canyon Sumidero, which was absolutely breath-taking: It’s a 3 hour boat sail inside the Canyon. It is unbelievable to get exposed to nature’s creations like that: the mountains on both sides of the Canyon are so high that they are covered with clouds, there are crocodiles and special birds all over and it is just beautiful.
I also got a tour around the city from the American Painter, who showed me some places tourists almost never reach and it was great.
And of course, every night was going out night.
Amazing how things just happened without planning: One evening, after it got dark, I got stuck in the rain outside. It was poring down and didn’t seem like it was going to stop, and so I found myself looking for a hide-out place, all on my own. As I rushed through the streets trying not to get soaking wet, I heard music playing. I followed the sounds and stumbled upon a band playing drums and percussion underneath a shaded roof at the Zoccalo – the main plaza. Then I saw the two French girls from my hostel, and joined them. We listened to the music together and by the end of it, the leader of the band came over and started talking to us. His name was Ka’na, a true Mayan guy who came to San Cristobal with his band to teach and perform. He invited us to see them play in one of the nice places nearby, and we ended up sitting there long after the place was empty from people, having a fascinating conversation about attitudes and life in a strange combination between English, Spanish and French…
Another night I was picking Tehila up from her hostel to go out and got into a Salsa lesson that was going on there with the hostel guests, and immediately got pulled in. And I didn’t care I probably looked stupid or didn’t have the right clothing… no one really cared about anything but enjoying the being around different people. Then we all went out to a nice little club – “The Mundial” - again with live music – Tehila and I and a bunch of other people from Argentina, Spain, Holland… by the end of the night it felt as if we were all best friends from back home. The different languages, cultures, ages – didn’t seem to have any impact. In those moments we were all just travelers, eager and curious about the world, and that was what united us so perfectly together.
This city is so full of everything; I think I could stay there for 2 whole weeks and not get bored. Who would have thought that by the 4th night there I would walk around the streets and bump into people I know in every corner, as if I lived there for months!
On Friday at dawn a shuttle came to pick me up to Palenque. It was me and a bunch of Mexican girls, among them 3 old giggling and cheerful senioras from way up north who decided to take a vacation in Chiapas. Quite early on they decided to adopt me, included me in their gossips and made up their minds to marry me to their son ;-)
At first I felt bad about being the only real tourist on the bus. But immediately I realized how special this was, an Israeli girl on a bus with a bunch of Mexican women, having light and deep conversations in Spanish and having a great time…
The ride to Palenque, going down the curvy roads through the jungle - was simply amazing. On the way we stopped at two waterfalls – Aqua Azul (blue water) - the biggest and most powerful I have ever seen, and again I was amazed by the enormity of nature.
There is something very intense about the jungle. Everything is extreme there - the height of the trees, the density of the plants, the craziness of the animals: Their colors, their sounds, their weapons (yes, even the smallest ants bit me and made me stay up all night!). It’s so chaotic and mysterious... I was fascinated.
After the waterfalls, I got to the Mayan pyramid’s site of Palenque: right in the middle of the jungles, a complete city which was built hundreds of years ago, kept in tact. And to think that this was all done with no technology and using only men power… unperceivable.
That night I slept in El Panchan, which is a small place right near the ruins – Wooden Canabias in the middle of the jungle. Little electricity and one restaurant with nice people, live music and good food.
It was a really magical experience which I’m glad I did, but... I didn’t meet any interesting people there, it was poring down with tropical rain the whole time and I needed to make my way to my cabania in complete darkness, almost swimming in the huge ponds that were formed by the rain (not to mention some incidents with killer ants, a huge spider web and some frogs...).
So you can imagine that I wasn’t sad to leave at 06:00 when the mini van came to pick me and start making my way to Guatemala...
This time it got better: I met some interesting people along the way and things pretty much flowed. 4 hours from Palenque gets you to a riverside, where you need to take a boat to get to the other side. And the other side - Bethel - is already Guatemala... We had to wait for 2 hours for more people to come, then came another bus, probably around 30 years old, and took us inside Guatemala, another 4 hours in between small villages and bumpy roads with cows and pigs and parrots on every corner - all the way to Flores...
It probably sounds crazy and very tiring, and tiring it was, but I enjoyed the entire process of transferring to Guatemala. I’m speaking almost only Spanish, I hardly bump into any Israelis, only locals and other tourists, and the roads are absolutely amazing, I can just gaze through the window for hours and hours, be with myself, with my thoughts and with these amazing scenes and not even notice how time goes by.
Which brings me to the next topic... the traveling alone experience.
True, as expected, it has its good moments and bad moments. Sometimes I feel alone when I don’t want to be. Sometimes I am with people but can’t connect with them. And being a woman, I am in a constant need to set things straight and not give the wrong impression and so on and I always have to be alert and responsible... BUT -
I wouldn’t have it any other way. Yes, this is the more difficult way, but the intensity of experiences and adventures is beyond compare. And now, even when I do get a chance to change my plans a little bit so I could be with other people - I choose not to. I don’t make my plans according to the people I meet, but according to what feels right to me at any given moment and that’s the best feeling. Somehow I have this faith that things will fall into place and be just what they need to be, and so far it worked exactly like that.
The amount of people I met and talked to, from locals to tourists of all kinds, all ages and all places, is unbelievable. I got exposed to so many amazing things. And I know I would not have it half as intense if I were traveling with someone else.
So now I’m in Flores, sleeping in dorms for the very first time but actually enjoying the idea, it’s the most popular place in town, and for the one or two nights that I plan to spend here it’s just right.
10 October 2006 - Touching heaven and connecting with earth
El Retiro, LankinI am sitting in the most beautiful place ever.This morning I arrived to a small green farm right by the river, called El Retiro, which is right next to the village Lankin. Oh, the tranquility and peace and quiet of this place... Butterflies with all colors fly everywhere, the sounds of cool water flowing from the river, hammocks under every shaded tree, small wooden cabanias, a nice restaurant and bar down by the riverside, music playing, nice smiling people...
I feel like trying to capture all that I have been through in the past few days in Guatemala is close to impossible, but yet those moments have been far too special to not be described. In Flores I took the sunrise tour to see the amazing site in Tikal - the most famous Mayan city, right in the midst of the jungle. The tour was lead by Cesar, a very passionate Guatemalan who lived a few years in New York, so speaks perfect English. Yes, the jungle, the night-to-sunrise experience and the pyramids have all been breath-taking, but what made this tour much more vivid and fascinating was Cesar’s enthusiasm from the jungle and all the surprises that are waiting there – as if it was the first time he was guiding this tour.
We left at 03.30 in the morning, when it was pitch black outside, and started to walk inside the jungle, between the trees and muddy trails, in complete silence. Then we got to a place where we needed to climb up very long, steep and slippery wooden stairs - it was a hard one, but well worth it – as we got to the top of one of the Mayan pyramids right when the sun was about to rise and the jungle to wake into life. We sat there, again, in complete silence, and watched the fog slowly fade away. VERY slowly. At first you couldn’t see a thing. Then gradually, you started to see the shades of the enormous jungle trees right beneath you. And then, all of a sudden, as the foggy clouds scattered a little more, the gigantic Mayan Pyramids were revealed, rising above and between the trees. Oh, it was breath-taking. The most magical sight I have ever seen in my entire life. I just stared with amazement and couldn't say a word. In parallel, you could hear the jungle waking up - Monkeys and dozens of birds, frogs and all kind of creatures... singing, calling, squeaking, screaming - in a beautiful harmony.When the sun came up completely, we started our tour. Cesar chased monkeys and birds so that we could spot and follow them, we climbed a few VERY high pyramids and watched the entire area from there, we heard from him the wonderful stories about how Tikal was discovered in 1842 and how the reason the Mayan people deserted these cities and disappeared is still an enigma.We came back at noon, exhausted, but very fulfilled...After a few nights of hardly any sleep, I decided to hang one more day in Flores, just to relax and unwind. The entire day I spent reading books, strolling around the lake and chatting to people (not to mention drinking lots of Liquidos and eating great food).Then, on the morning after, I woke up very early (lucky I am a morning person after all!), waiting for the shuttle to take me to Koban. Koban is a main city, more to the south of Guatemala, from which you can easily get a bus to anywhere you need.
I was kind of surprised when a taxi driver in a beaten car came to pick me up instead of the usual shuttle mini-van, but said to myself, oh well, maybe we'll pick some more people along the way. But no. The guy took me to the regular bus station and pointed at the oldest bus I have ever seen in my life. I immediately recognized this as the famous "chicken bus" - the normal way Guatemalans ride (These are very old school buses that were donated from the US to Guatemala, very decorated on the outside, but extremely crummy on the inside).
You would have been very proud of the way I started arguing with him that if this is a normal bus, then I want the money I paid for the shuttle back! Of course I eventually got what I wanted, but... it still meant having to spend 6 hours on a chicken bus all the way to Koban...Very quickly I realized that the name "chicken bus" is not only a metaphor... It started with the fact that it stopped in every corner of every little village, while the man standing at the door shouting: "Koban Koban Koban!!!" and people just hopping on the bus while it's still in motion!
Then a woman sat next to me with her little baby, unbuttoned her shirt and started breastfeeding. I played with the baby all along and kind of enjoyed it. But then she got off, and an older lady came and sat next to me. She carried a bag on her lap that made strange noises... after a few minutes the mystery was unveiled: A young chic peeped from it!
Six hours like that, in the heat and humidity, with people still jumping inside the bus even when I thought there is no way they can squeeze anyone else, with the sour smell of sweat (most of these people hop on the bus straight from the fields, smelling of tangerine, corn, soil and heavy sweat…) - and I was about done with the "true Guatemalan experience" – at least for that day. I got to Koban exhausted and decided not to continue directly to Lankin (another 2 hours on a chicken bus), but spend the night there in this rainy and gray town, which proved itself as one of the wisest decisions, cause I got a room with a private bath and hot water (gracias a dios!) for very little money and the lady cooked me the best dinner ever (rice with vegetables, salad, chicken... yes, the chicken was tasty for me even after the bus experience! I guess I'm on the verge of becoming a local ;-)).
As the day was about to fade, and I was clean and revived again, I thought to myself: you can't get to a country and expect to see all its treasures and beautiful places without experiencing the earthly sides of it, like how the locals live and work and behave. I feel like I am really blending in everything - the beautiful and the ugly, the clean and the dirty, and at least to me that is the true experience of traveling.
This morning I took the bus to Lankin. Once again I was the only tourist and for a long while the only woman on the bus, but I have to say impressively that I did not get harassed even once, on the contrary - people were extremely nice and helpful. Everyday I learn how important this is to try and speak their language - even if you suck at it, they appreciate it, and somehow understand you, and you don’t seem to them just like another condescending tourist...Anyway, again this bus was packed with people, mostly farmers and workers who came right from the field with their children and huge muchita's. There was one kid who sat on the floor right next to me, who puked in the middle of the ride... Now, normally, seeing this, I would immediately vomit myself – a kind of automatic reaction. But this time I somehow managed to treat it differently. I looked in his eyes, and he was so lost, sitting there on the floor with all the people looking at him, that I reached inside my bag and handed him a few candies that I had with me. At first he had suspicion in his eyes. Only when I told him that it's sweet, his lips stretched into a little shy smile - I cannot remember whenever a smile had made me so happy.And now I'm here... feeling healthy and relaxed and happy as I have ever been.Tomorrow I am supposed to meet Dudu here - he is a traveler I started emailing with from Israel, because we thought we might meet along the way, but we did a somewhat different (opposite) route, but tomorrow he'll get here as well. And I already met some nice people here. This place has one huge dinner for everyone together, for which you need to sign up in advance and I’m looking forward to it.
I feel like trying to capture all that I have been through in the past few days in Guatemala is close to impossible, but yet those moments have been far too special to not be described. In Flores I took the sunrise tour to see the amazing site in Tikal - the most famous Mayan city, right in the midst of the jungle. The tour was lead by Cesar, a very passionate Guatemalan who lived a few years in New York, so speaks perfect English. Yes, the jungle, the night-to-sunrise experience and the pyramids have all been breath-taking, but what made this tour much more vivid and fascinating was Cesar’s enthusiasm from the jungle and all the surprises that are waiting there – as if it was the first time he was guiding this tour.
We left at 03.30 in the morning, when it was pitch black outside, and started to walk inside the jungle, between the trees and muddy trails, in complete silence. Then we got to a place where we needed to climb up very long, steep and slippery wooden stairs - it was a hard one, but well worth it – as we got to the top of one of the Mayan pyramids right when the sun was about to rise and the jungle to wake into life. We sat there, again, in complete silence, and watched the fog slowly fade away. VERY slowly. At first you couldn’t see a thing. Then gradually, you started to see the shades of the enormous jungle trees right beneath you. And then, all of a sudden, as the foggy clouds scattered a little more, the gigantic Mayan Pyramids were revealed, rising above and between the trees. Oh, it was breath-taking. The most magical sight I have ever seen in my entire life. I just stared with amazement and couldn't say a word. In parallel, you could hear the jungle waking up - Monkeys and dozens of birds, frogs and all kind of creatures... singing, calling, squeaking, screaming - in a beautiful harmony.When the sun came up completely, we started our tour. Cesar chased monkeys and birds so that we could spot and follow them, we climbed a few VERY high pyramids and watched the entire area from there, we heard from him the wonderful stories about how Tikal was discovered in 1842 and how the reason the Mayan people deserted these cities and disappeared is still an enigma.We came back at noon, exhausted, but very fulfilled...After a few nights of hardly any sleep, I decided to hang one more day in Flores, just to relax and unwind. The entire day I spent reading books, strolling around the lake and chatting to people (not to mention drinking lots of Liquidos and eating great food).Then, on the morning after, I woke up very early (lucky I am a morning person after all!), waiting for the shuttle to take me to Koban. Koban is a main city, more to the south of Guatemala, from which you can easily get a bus to anywhere you need.
I was kind of surprised when a taxi driver in a beaten car came to pick me up instead of the usual shuttle mini-van, but said to myself, oh well, maybe we'll pick some more people along the way. But no. The guy took me to the regular bus station and pointed at the oldest bus I have ever seen in my life. I immediately recognized this as the famous "chicken bus" - the normal way Guatemalans ride (These are very old school buses that were donated from the US to Guatemala, very decorated on the outside, but extremely crummy on the inside).
You would have been very proud of the way I started arguing with him that if this is a normal bus, then I want the money I paid for the shuttle back! Of course I eventually got what I wanted, but... it still meant having to spend 6 hours on a chicken bus all the way to Koban...Very quickly I realized that the name "chicken bus" is not only a metaphor... It started with the fact that it stopped in every corner of every little village, while the man standing at the door shouting: "Koban Koban Koban!!!" and people just hopping on the bus while it's still in motion!
Then a woman sat next to me with her little baby, unbuttoned her shirt and started breastfeeding. I played with the baby all along and kind of enjoyed it. But then she got off, and an older lady came and sat next to me. She carried a bag on her lap that made strange noises... after a few minutes the mystery was unveiled: A young chic peeped from it!
Six hours like that, in the heat and humidity, with people still jumping inside the bus even when I thought there is no way they can squeeze anyone else, with the sour smell of sweat (most of these people hop on the bus straight from the fields, smelling of tangerine, corn, soil and heavy sweat…) - and I was about done with the "true Guatemalan experience" – at least for that day. I got to Koban exhausted and decided not to continue directly to Lankin (another 2 hours on a chicken bus), but spend the night there in this rainy and gray town, which proved itself as one of the wisest decisions, cause I got a room with a private bath and hot water (gracias a dios!) for very little money and the lady cooked me the best dinner ever (rice with vegetables, salad, chicken... yes, the chicken was tasty for me even after the bus experience! I guess I'm on the verge of becoming a local ;-)).
As the day was about to fade, and I was clean and revived again, I thought to myself: you can't get to a country and expect to see all its treasures and beautiful places without experiencing the earthly sides of it, like how the locals live and work and behave. I feel like I am really blending in everything - the beautiful and the ugly, the clean and the dirty, and at least to me that is the true experience of traveling.
This morning I took the bus to Lankin. Once again I was the only tourist and for a long while the only woman on the bus, but I have to say impressively that I did not get harassed even once, on the contrary - people were extremely nice and helpful. Everyday I learn how important this is to try and speak their language - even if you suck at it, they appreciate it, and somehow understand you, and you don’t seem to them just like another condescending tourist...Anyway, again this bus was packed with people, mostly farmers and workers who came right from the field with their children and huge muchita's. There was one kid who sat on the floor right next to me, who puked in the middle of the ride... Now, normally, seeing this, I would immediately vomit myself – a kind of automatic reaction. But this time I somehow managed to treat it differently. I looked in his eyes, and he was so lost, sitting there on the floor with all the people looking at him, that I reached inside my bag and handed him a few candies that I had with me. At first he had suspicion in his eyes. Only when I told him that it's sweet, his lips stretched into a little shy smile - I cannot remember whenever a smile had made me so happy.And now I'm here... feeling healthy and relaxed and happy as I have ever been.Tomorrow I am supposed to meet Dudu here - he is a traveler I started emailing with from Israel, because we thought we might meet along the way, but we did a somewhat different (opposite) route, but tomorrow he'll get here as well. And I already met some nice people here. This place has one huge dinner for everyone together, for which you need to sign up in advance and I’m looking forward to it.
14 October 2006 - Out of the jungle, onto Antigua
Semuc Champei from El MiradorIt seems as though only when I get to a new place I am able to write about the adventures of the one that I left behind. I arrived this afternoon in Antigua, a beautiful city with a village-type atmosphere, right in the heart of Guatemala. Some decades ago it used to be the capital city, but due to an earthquake which destroyed most of it, it’s now just a very small friendly city... Very different than the current capital – Guatemala City, which is big, busy, hectic, and full of crime and violence. I only passed through it while on the shuttle to Antigua and judging by what I had seen, I didn’t miss out on much J
This is also the first time that I am back to being on my own in the past few days.
The days at El Retiro have been amazing more than words can describe... and again I find that I don’t even know where to begin!
On the first evening I met Dudu (the virtual co-traveler), and he turned out to be a great person, just the way I thought he would be, and more. And what do you know - he appears to be writing a book and scripts himself!
Along with him I met Moshiko and Daniel, two 22 year old boys who are traveling together, very not typical for their age, very intelligent and deep and just fun to be with.
We had the most amazing chemistry between us 4, so we spent most of the time together, playing card games, making jokes, dinning & drinking... for the first time since I started traveling on my own I got the feeling of being around true friends, a sort of a warm fuzzy feeling, almost like being home while you’re actually away…
The next day we took a tour together to Ka`anbana cave and Semuc Champey...
I’m so glad I did this tour with those three guys, because it was a challenging one, and they took REALLY good care of me, and we couldn’t stop laughing our lungs out the whole time!
The first part - you walk / swim inside an enormous cave filled with cool water and dripstones, completely dark and filled with bats... but unbelievable. We each held a candle in our hand and helped each other out with the slippery rocks and climbing and all... it was like a team mission (a true “Survival” episode), a really beautiful and challenging one, and after an hour and a half we got out of there, back to daylight, we were ecstatic at least as if we just conquered the Everest!
After the cave we went to the nature reservation of Semuc Champey - First, you climb 1400 meters, a VERY steep climb through the moist jungle thicket, to the “Mirador”- the observation point. All the rocks are wet and slippery and you can hardly breathe from the humidity. You try to hang in to this bowls that might not carry your weight or might be already hosting a huge spider or some other unfamiliar insect, so it’s a true struggle, but then, almost when you feel like you cannot continue one step up - you get to heaven.
From 1400m high you see, framed by rocks covered with moss, 7 natural pools of sweet waters, which are changing from green to turquoise to blue - according to the depth.
We stood there staring with amazement and couldn’t even speak. To see something like that, especially after you’ve worked so hard to get there... it’s ten times more rewarding.
And then came the fun part -
We had to go all the way down (which is not so much easier than climbing) - to the pools!
I basically ran there while I was tossing my backpack and clothes, remaining only with my bikini, jumping into the coolest, softest, sweetest water ever.... I felt like I am on top of the world.
We came back from the tour exhausted and starving in the afternoon. Good thing there was a BBQ feast at the main restaurant that very evening! We sat together with everyone after showering and reviving, eating like pigs and having a blast...
The morning after, the two kiddos left and Dudu and I decided to spend one more day there at the farm, just chilling. Except for visiting the kids’ craft market at noon, we didn’t do a thing except for lying in the hammocks, reading books, drinking fresh Liquidos and talking.
That evening we also met a few more interesting people: A documentaries film director, whose film was broadcast in Channel 2 the very same day (he was depressed for not being in Israel and nervous about the critics so we tried to cheer him up), And an American guy named Lucas who spent two years in Honduras volunteering for the peace corps and working with children there. Now he’s traveling with his younger brother, Jessie. We all had dinner together with fascinating conversations and then moved on to the bar to drink Cuba Libre and continue our conversation that didn’t seem to dry out of topics…
The next morning we (Dudu, Lucas, Jessie and me) took the bus back to Koban. From there they were supposed to continue to Tikal (where I came from) and me to Antigua. But we decided to split the long trip and spend a night in Koban. And what a wise decision that turned out to be! We got into ¨Casa Luna¨- the best hostel I’ve been to since the trip began! Beautiful. clean, not too expensive, the best bed ever, the best shower ever, and the best food ever, all managed by a charming lady called Magda, who is like a true mom, doing it all from the heart and taking care of her guests as if they were her family.
In the evening we hooked up with a funny but strange Aussie couple, bought a HUGE bottle of rum and coke, and sat at the garden of the hostel, with music playing, and drank ourselves to stupidity... what a hilarious evening that was!
This morning I said goodbye to my guys, as they got on the bus to Flores and I continued to Antigua. I will probably meet Lucas again as he will make his way to Antigua in a few days.
I felt sad to say goodbye, but not in a bad kind of way. Just very over-emotional by the intensity of connections I find here and how enriching they are, meetings and partings and going through such amazing experiences together, which very quickly create a sense of bonding and intimacy that you never find so quickly in normal life.
And the more mind-blowing the experience and the connection is, the harder it is when the time comes (and with trips... it always comes) to say goodbye and move on. But there is also something so amazingly beautiful in it - for the days that we spent together, we were the closest ever, and that was the only thing that existed. But then you move on to the next place, and it’s a bran new reality with adventures that quickly sweep you away and don’t allow you to think too much... Some connections, the more unique of them, will remain – despite the distance and the flow of adventures.
This is also the first time that I am back to being on my own in the past few days.
The days at El Retiro have been amazing more than words can describe... and again I find that I don’t even know where to begin!
On the first evening I met Dudu (the virtual co-traveler), and he turned out to be a great person, just the way I thought he would be, and more. And what do you know - he appears to be writing a book and scripts himself!
Along with him I met Moshiko and Daniel, two 22 year old boys who are traveling together, very not typical for their age, very intelligent and deep and just fun to be with.
We had the most amazing chemistry between us 4, so we spent most of the time together, playing card games, making jokes, dinning & drinking... for the first time since I started traveling on my own I got the feeling of being around true friends, a sort of a warm fuzzy feeling, almost like being home while you’re actually away…
The next day we took a tour together to Ka`anbana cave and Semuc Champey...
I’m so glad I did this tour with those three guys, because it was a challenging one, and they took REALLY good care of me, and we couldn’t stop laughing our lungs out the whole time!
The first part - you walk / swim inside an enormous cave filled with cool water and dripstones, completely dark and filled with bats... but unbelievable. We each held a candle in our hand and helped each other out with the slippery rocks and climbing and all... it was like a team mission (a true “Survival” episode), a really beautiful and challenging one, and after an hour and a half we got out of there, back to daylight, we were ecstatic at least as if we just conquered the Everest!
After the cave we went to the nature reservation of Semuc Champey - First, you climb 1400 meters, a VERY steep climb through the moist jungle thicket, to the “Mirador”- the observation point. All the rocks are wet and slippery and you can hardly breathe from the humidity. You try to hang in to this bowls that might not carry your weight or might be already hosting a huge spider or some other unfamiliar insect, so it’s a true struggle, but then, almost when you feel like you cannot continue one step up - you get to heaven.
From 1400m high you see, framed by rocks covered with moss, 7 natural pools of sweet waters, which are changing from green to turquoise to blue - according to the depth.
We stood there staring with amazement and couldn’t even speak. To see something like that, especially after you’ve worked so hard to get there... it’s ten times more rewarding.
And then came the fun part -
We had to go all the way down (which is not so much easier than climbing) - to the pools!
I basically ran there while I was tossing my backpack and clothes, remaining only with my bikini, jumping into the coolest, softest, sweetest water ever.... I felt like I am on top of the world.
We came back from the tour exhausted and starving in the afternoon. Good thing there was a BBQ feast at the main restaurant that very evening! We sat together with everyone after showering and reviving, eating like pigs and having a blast...
The morning after, the two kiddos left and Dudu and I decided to spend one more day there at the farm, just chilling. Except for visiting the kids’ craft market at noon, we didn’t do a thing except for lying in the hammocks, reading books, drinking fresh Liquidos and talking.
That evening we also met a few more interesting people: A documentaries film director, whose film was broadcast in Channel 2 the very same day (he was depressed for not being in Israel and nervous about the critics so we tried to cheer him up), And an American guy named Lucas who spent two years in Honduras volunteering for the peace corps and working with children there. Now he’s traveling with his younger brother, Jessie. We all had dinner together with fascinating conversations and then moved on to the bar to drink Cuba Libre and continue our conversation that didn’t seem to dry out of topics…
The next morning we (Dudu, Lucas, Jessie and me) took the bus back to Koban. From there they were supposed to continue to Tikal (where I came from) and me to Antigua. But we decided to split the long trip and spend a night in Koban. And what a wise decision that turned out to be! We got into ¨Casa Luna¨- the best hostel I’ve been to since the trip began! Beautiful. clean, not too expensive, the best bed ever, the best shower ever, and the best food ever, all managed by a charming lady called Magda, who is like a true mom, doing it all from the heart and taking care of her guests as if they were her family.
In the evening we hooked up with a funny but strange Aussie couple, bought a HUGE bottle of rum and coke, and sat at the garden of the hostel, with music playing, and drank ourselves to stupidity... what a hilarious evening that was!
This morning I said goodbye to my guys, as they got on the bus to Flores and I continued to Antigua. I will probably meet Lucas again as he will make his way to Antigua in a few days.
I felt sad to say goodbye, but not in a bad kind of way. Just very over-emotional by the intensity of connections I find here and how enriching they are, meetings and partings and going through such amazing experiences together, which very quickly create a sense of bonding and intimacy that you never find so quickly in normal life.
And the more mind-blowing the experience and the connection is, the harder it is when the time comes (and with trips... it always comes) to say goodbye and move on. But there is also something so amazingly beautiful in it - for the days that we spent together, we were the closest ever, and that was the only thing that existed. But then you move on to the next place, and it’s a bran new reality with adventures that quickly sweep you away and don’t allow you to think too much... Some connections, the more unique of them, will remain – despite the distance and the flow of adventures.
18 October 2006 - Refelctions on Lago De Atitlan
Antigua Arch
Antigua marketHere comes the relaxed and reflective part of my trip in Guatemala.
Two days ago I arrived to this tinny village called San Pedro, on Lago de Atitlan. Atitlan is a huge lake in the middle of Guatemala. It actually is a volcano which collapsed, and now what you have is clear, deep blue water surrounded by green mountains and small authentic villages, each with its own magic.
San Pedro is filled with narrow muddy allies, a few bars and chill out places, but mostly filled with tranquility and smiling people who will never walk by you without saying: ¨Hola amiga!¨or ¨Buenas Tardes!¨.
Ah, and of course, how can I neglect the tinny old Mayan women who walk around in their authentic clothes and a huge basket on their heads, selling special types of breads: ¨Pan de banana, pan de chocolate, pan de pinia....¨
I wish I could take one of them home with me ;-)
I plan to stay here for over a week, write a lot, read a lot, take Spanish lessons (4 hours every day... pretty intense, but after that I would be able to call myself a Spanish speaker for sure!), get a good massage, visit the other villages nearby, such as San Markus, which is a spiritual place, where you could have yoga, meditation, learn about your future and stuff like that, or Chichi - where they have a huge market on Sundays and you can practice your negotiation skills really well...
The last time I wrote, I just arrived to Antigua. After spending a few good days in the middle of the jungle, with no hot water and little electricity, going on tracks and climbing steep mountains, I was kind of looking towards having a big city kind of atmosphere for a change.
But, once again I realized how true this is, that it’s the people who turn a certain place from nice to magical and memorable. It can be a small hut in the middle of nowhere, far away from civilization, or a huge metropolitan city - at the end of the day, it’s the people you meet and the type of experiences you go through with them, that bring the soul into a place.
Such was El Retiro for me. Sure, the place was breath taking, but it was mostly the amazing people I met there that made this so unique. So when I came to Antigua all on my own again, there was this huge void to fill.
And Antigua wasn’t able to fill that void for me. I stayed at the Black Cat hostel, in dorms, which were quite claustrophobic. The whole atmosphere there was too suffocating for me - A small dark place packed with travelers, mostly young and too-enthusiastic ones... For some reason it is considered the most favorite place for muchileros... I guess not my type of muchileros though... I probably should have looked for another place, but I was tired from all the travels and a night of no sleep, and just wanted to crash somewhere instead of carrying myself with my baggage through the city streets.
Having said that, Antigua is a beautiful place. A little bit like San Cristobal, it has the nice combination between a city with everything you would expect - clubs, bars, cafes, tons of hang out places and shops, and at the same time narrow streets, short buildings with all colors and smiling people who don’t seem to be in any rush.
I met two sweet girls - Torna, a 22 year old fragile aussie, and Julie, a 26 South African. Us three explored the city together, went shopping, climbed a steep hill to a point where you can have a beautiful view of the city spread beneath you and the three volcanoes that surround it, and on the second night we did the Pakaya track - climbing up an active volcano!
That was an awesome experience. You start climbing after it gets dark (if you choose the night tour of course, which is more recommended as it is more unique and you get to see the lava much better), something like 1.5 hours, holding a flashlight. Every now and then you stop, to catch your breath, but mostly to gaze at the zillions of starts that seem as if they follow you to light your way, the lights from the villages down below that remind you just how high up you are, and the fog that surrounds you, because you are actually walking inside a cloud...
After you feel like, man, this is hard, when do we get there... you lift your head, and see this magical red halo on the top of the mountain... it’s only then that you start realizing you’re actually walking on an active volcano.
And then you reach the lava itself - sticky, freaky looking rocks, like huge burning coals, almost whispering… Standing there, so close to it, with the foggy night wrapping you, you actually feel like you’re in a fantasy-film in a lost country ruled by mad dragons and vicious wizards.
We sat there, gazing at the lava, in the middle of the night, trying to engrave this moment in our hearts.
On the way down, which is not much easier than climbing, because you really need to work hard to keep your balance and thread carefully so that you don’t slip and fall, I was listening to a conversation of the young Israelis that came with us on the tour and had to really stop myself from bursting into laughter... they shared these insights they had with each other, certain that these are the deepest most meaningful thoughts anyone could ever have. There was something nice about it, being a part of a large group and still on my own, sometimes belong and connect, and sometimes take a step back and look at everything and everyone from aside.
The next morning Torna and I made our plans to go to Panahachel, which is the main village on Lago de Atitlan, and from there take the boat to San Pedro. That was the first time for me actually going with someone from one place to the next. And what a first time that was!
The first thing Torna told me when we met was that she started traveling with two guys but a week ago they split and now she’s on her own and thinking of cutting her trip short because she doesn’t handle it very well.
I guess she picked the wrong person to say this to... I started telling her that she shouldn’t give up so soon, that it’s true that traveling alone has its down moments but that things can change in a split second and turn amazing before she knows it and and and...
I really think she tried to get herself together and have a good time in Antigua with us.
But when we were half way to Panahachel, she started changing colors, and told me that she can’t breathe or swallow and that she feels her lips and fingertips getting numb.
Feeling helpless and not knowing how to help her, I talked with the driver and told him that we needed to go see a doctor right away. He was a good guy but explained that the first doctor nearby is only in Pana... Finally, after a very stressful two hours, we got there, when I keep checking up on Torna making sue she doesn’t faint or anything. I already imagined myself going with her to the doctor and trying to explain to him what the problem is and translate it somehow back to her... but eventually the driver said that in Pana there are only small clinics, and that if Torna can handle the ride back, then it’s best if she gets back to Antigua and go to the private hospital there, which was what she decided to do, and that’s where we said goodbye.
I still don’t know what happened eventually and how is she doing, and she is on my mind a lot. This whole episode made me wonder - maybe, just maybe, traveling alone is not right for everyone, at every stage in life. Maybe for some it can do more harm than good. And perhaps some fears we have are there for a reason, and we should be listening to them - perhaps some fears should be left unfaced - at least so long that we are not strong enough or have the right tools to deal with them and come out of the experience stronger rather than wicker.
Ah, so many lessons learned...
With each person I meet and every experience I have, I learn something new - about people, about human nature, but mostly about myself. That’s the thing with traveling I guess: you are completely out of your comfort zone, away from your home, your family and friends, your country and culture. So every little experience is bran new, and you find yourself facing situations you’ve never faced before on a very intense level. And with each new person that you meet you see a somewhat different reflection of yourself in their eyes, so your understanding deepens and gets more angles and realizations, and I am here trying to capture all this, make sure I don’t let anything pass me by without taking the learning with me for the rest of the journey and basically for the rest of my life...
Two days ago I arrived to this tinny village called San Pedro, on Lago de Atitlan. Atitlan is a huge lake in the middle of Guatemala. It actually is a volcano which collapsed, and now what you have is clear, deep blue water surrounded by green mountains and small authentic villages, each with its own magic.
San Pedro is filled with narrow muddy allies, a few bars and chill out places, but mostly filled with tranquility and smiling people who will never walk by you without saying: ¨Hola amiga!¨or ¨Buenas Tardes!¨.
Ah, and of course, how can I neglect the tinny old Mayan women who walk around in their authentic clothes and a huge basket on their heads, selling special types of breads: ¨Pan de banana, pan de chocolate, pan de pinia....¨
I wish I could take one of them home with me ;-)
I plan to stay here for over a week, write a lot, read a lot, take Spanish lessons (4 hours every day... pretty intense, but after that I would be able to call myself a Spanish speaker for sure!), get a good massage, visit the other villages nearby, such as San Markus, which is a spiritual place, where you could have yoga, meditation, learn about your future and stuff like that, or Chichi - where they have a huge market on Sundays and you can practice your negotiation skills really well...
The last time I wrote, I just arrived to Antigua. After spending a few good days in the middle of the jungle, with no hot water and little electricity, going on tracks and climbing steep mountains, I was kind of looking towards having a big city kind of atmosphere for a change.
But, once again I realized how true this is, that it’s the people who turn a certain place from nice to magical and memorable. It can be a small hut in the middle of nowhere, far away from civilization, or a huge metropolitan city - at the end of the day, it’s the people you meet and the type of experiences you go through with them, that bring the soul into a place.
Such was El Retiro for me. Sure, the place was breath taking, but it was mostly the amazing people I met there that made this so unique. So when I came to Antigua all on my own again, there was this huge void to fill.
And Antigua wasn’t able to fill that void for me. I stayed at the Black Cat hostel, in dorms, which were quite claustrophobic. The whole atmosphere there was too suffocating for me - A small dark place packed with travelers, mostly young and too-enthusiastic ones... For some reason it is considered the most favorite place for muchileros... I guess not my type of muchileros though... I probably should have looked for another place, but I was tired from all the travels and a night of no sleep, and just wanted to crash somewhere instead of carrying myself with my baggage through the city streets.
Having said that, Antigua is a beautiful place. A little bit like San Cristobal, it has the nice combination between a city with everything you would expect - clubs, bars, cafes, tons of hang out places and shops, and at the same time narrow streets, short buildings with all colors and smiling people who don’t seem to be in any rush.
I met two sweet girls - Torna, a 22 year old fragile aussie, and Julie, a 26 South African. Us three explored the city together, went shopping, climbed a steep hill to a point where you can have a beautiful view of the city spread beneath you and the three volcanoes that surround it, and on the second night we did the Pakaya track - climbing up an active volcano!
That was an awesome experience. You start climbing after it gets dark (if you choose the night tour of course, which is more recommended as it is more unique and you get to see the lava much better), something like 1.5 hours, holding a flashlight. Every now and then you stop, to catch your breath, but mostly to gaze at the zillions of starts that seem as if they follow you to light your way, the lights from the villages down below that remind you just how high up you are, and the fog that surrounds you, because you are actually walking inside a cloud...
After you feel like, man, this is hard, when do we get there... you lift your head, and see this magical red halo on the top of the mountain... it’s only then that you start realizing you’re actually walking on an active volcano.
And then you reach the lava itself - sticky, freaky looking rocks, like huge burning coals, almost whispering… Standing there, so close to it, with the foggy night wrapping you, you actually feel like you’re in a fantasy-film in a lost country ruled by mad dragons and vicious wizards.
We sat there, gazing at the lava, in the middle of the night, trying to engrave this moment in our hearts.
On the way down, which is not much easier than climbing, because you really need to work hard to keep your balance and thread carefully so that you don’t slip and fall, I was listening to a conversation of the young Israelis that came with us on the tour and had to really stop myself from bursting into laughter... they shared these insights they had with each other, certain that these are the deepest most meaningful thoughts anyone could ever have. There was something nice about it, being a part of a large group and still on my own, sometimes belong and connect, and sometimes take a step back and look at everything and everyone from aside.
The next morning Torna and I made our plans to go to Panahachel, which is the main village on Lago de Atitlan, and from there take the boat to San Pedro. That was the first time for me actually going with someone from one place to the next. And what a first time that was!
The first thing Torna told me when we met was that she started traveling with two guys but a week ago they split and now she’s on her own and thinking of cutting her trip short because she doesn’t handle it very well.
I guess she picked the wrong person to say this to... I started telling her that she shouldn’t give up so soon, that it’s true that traveling alone has its down moments but that things can change in a split second and turn amazing before she knows it and and and...
I really think she tried to get herself together and have a good time in Antigua with us.
But when we were half way to Panahachel, she started changing colors, and told me that she can’t breathe or swallow and that she feels her lips and fingertips getting numb.
Feeling helpless and not knowing how to help her, I talked with the driver and told him that we needed to go see a doctor right away. He was a good guy but explained that the first doctor nearby is only in Pana... Finally, after a very stressful two hours, we got there, when I keep checking up on Torna making sue she doesn’t faint or anything. I already imagined myself going with her to the doctor and trying to explain to him what the problem is and translate it somehow back to her... but eventually the driver said that in Pana there are only small clinics, and that if Torna can handle the ride back, then it’s best if she gets back to Antigua and go to the private hospital there, which was what she decided to do, and that’s where we said goodbye.
I still don’t know what happened eventually and how is she doing, and she is on my mind a lot. This whole episode made me wonder - maybe, just maybe, traveling alone is not right for everyone, at every stage in life. Maybe for some it can do more harm than good. And perhaps some fears we have are there for a reason, and we should be listening to them - perhaps some fears should be left unfaced - at least so long that we are not strong enough or have the right tools to deal with them and come out of the experience stronger rather than wicker.
Ah, so many lessons learned...
With each person I meet and every experience I have, I learn something new - about people, about human nature, but mostly about myself. That’s the thing with traveling I guess: you are completely out of your comfort zone, away from your home, your family and friends, your country and culture. So every little experience is bran new, and you find yourself facing situations you’ve never faced before on a very intense level. And with each new person that you meet you see a somewhat different reflection of yourself in their eyes, so your understanding deepens and gets more angles and realizations, and I am here trying to capture all this, make sure I don’t let anything pass me by without taking the learning with me for the rest of the journey and basically for the rest of my life...
23 October 2006 - Mystical San Pedro
Lago de Atitlan - view from PanahachelIt is a week now since I got to Lago de Atitlan and the village San Pedro La Laguna.
I discovered that when you stay in one place, and do less things in one day, in a strange way time seems to be moving more quickly, perhaps because the days are more similar to one another.
There is something about this lake, and about San Pedro in particular, that I cannot explain. People come here and can’t bring themselves to leave. Most of them stay much longer than they planed. And when they leave eventually, it’s never because they have had enough. It’s because they force themselves to move on.
There is something so intoxicating about the atmosphere of this peaceful lake, the smiling people, the slow rhythm, the mountains around. I don’t know. It’s like this place has a spell, and once you reach it, you’re immediately caught.
And I was caught as well. A full week has gone by, that is the longest I stayed in one place since the beginning of this trip. People came and went, days passed by, things I planned on doing and didn’t do, things I never thought I would do and ended up doing... And I am still here. And there is something almost uncomfortable in this bizarre serenity. Something quiet and undefined that is quietly crawling inside your veins. Like taking drugs and knowing that you are about to get yourself addicted, that it is bad and dangerous, but you still can’t help it.
As I walk through the narrow muddy alleys of the village back from the Spanish school to my hostel, holding the books in my hand, being greeted by all the people I come across, seeing children going back from school, carrying their baby brothers and sisters with them, or senioras standing at the corner, chatting enthusiastically and laughing a mysterious laugh that only old and wise senioras can have, as I am witnessing this special blend of local people and tourists living in harmony more than any other place I have been to so far - I feel like, Yeh, I can understand why. Why it is so hard to leave this place behind.
This morning was a morning of tears.
Maybe they came because it didn’t stop raining the entire night and was gray and cold. And maybe it was the mystical atmosphere here again. Or the fact that most of my trip is already behind me, and I can’t say that I am still in the beginning anymore. So the thoughts about the home coming and all the things that are waiting for me there are rising like daemons to the front of my consciousness.
True, I still have time. Almost three weeks, which is a whole lot. But somehow, as this journey progresses, time seems to be moving faster and faster.
It’s not time yet to start mourning the end, I know, and so I try to push those thoughts back to the darkest of corners and focus on the here and now. I hope that now, when the sun is shining again, and for the first time in the past 5 days I have some true alone time, I will be able to do that.
And I feel like I am ready to move on. From lazy mornings of long wake ups and big breakfasts, Spanish classes, movie at night and playing cards with the guys, deep meaningful conversations about life, reading books and just doing nothing basically, I feel like moving around, tossing myself into the rush and excitement of new journeys and new places, have the Guatemalan driver throw my muchila on the bus roof, squeeze in between dozens of men, women and children, watch the view pass me by, not know what is expected at the end of the road, getting to a bran new place without knowing anything about it and slowly but surely conquering it, and leaving a piece of me there, just to take a piece of it with me for the next stop...
So, I think that by the end of the two days I have left here, which I plan to spend in complete silence and reflection mode, I will be just about ready to leave.
Costa Rica will be very different. Not sure how yet. I can’t wait to spend some time in those amazing beaches they have there, after spending those last weeks in a cold and wet jungle-like atmosphere. There is so much more that’s waiting out there... and my hunger to absorb it all just grows with each day that goes by.
I discovered that when you stay in one place, and do less things in one day, in a strange way time seems to be moving more quickly, perhaps because the days are more similar to one another.
There is something about this lake, and about San Pedro in particular, that I cannot explain. People come here and can’t bring themselves to leave. Most of them stay much longer than they planed. And when they leave eventually, it’s never because they have had enough. It’s because they force themselves to move on.
There is something so intoxicating about the atmosphere of this peaceful lake, the smiling people, the slow rhythm, the mountains around. I don’t know. It’s like this place has a spell, and once you reach it, you’re immediately caught.
And I was caught as well. A full week has gone by, that is the longest I stayed in one place since the beginning of this trip. People came and went, days passed by, things I planned on doing and didn’t do, things I never thought I would do and ended up doing... And I am still here. And there is something almost uncomfortable in this bizarre serenity. Something quiet and undefined that is quietly crawling inside your veins. Like taking drugs and knowing that you are about to get yourself addicted, that it is bad and dangerous, but you still can’t help it.
As I walk through the narrow muddy alleys of the village back from the Spanish school to my hostel, holding the books in my hand, being greeted by all the people I come across, seeing children going back from school, carrying their baby brothers and sisters with them, or senioras standing at the corner, chatting enthusiastically and laughing a mysterious laugh that only old and wise senioras can have, as I am witnessing this special blend of local people and tourists living in harmony more than any other place I have been to so far - I feel like, Yeh, I can understand why. Why it is so hard to leave this place behind.
This morning was a morning of tears.
Maybe they came because it didn’t stop raining the entire night and was gray and cold. And maybe it was the mystical atmosphere here again. Or the fact that most of my trip is already behind me, and I can’t say that I am still in the beginning anymore. So the thoughts about the home coming and all the things that are waiting for me there are rising like daemons to the front of my consciousness.
True, I still have time. Almost three weeks, which is a whole lot. But somehow, as this journey progresses, time seems to be moving faster and faster.
It’s not time yet to start mourning the end, I know, and so I try to push those thoughts back to the darkest of corners and focus on the here and now. I hope that now, when the sun is shining again, and for the first time in the past 5 days I have some true alone time, I will be able to do that.
And I feel like I am ready to move on. From lazy mornings of long wake ups and big breakfasts, Spanish classes, movie at night and playing cards with the guys, deep meaningful conversations about life, reading books and just doing nothing basically, I feel like moving around, tossing myself into the rush and excitement of new journeys and new places, have the Guatemalan driver throw my muchila on the bus roof, squeeze in between dozens of men, women and children, watch the view pass me by, not know what is expected at the end of the road, getting to a bran new place without knowing anything about it and slowly but surely conquering it, and leaving a piece of me there, just to take a piece of it with me for the next stop...
So, I think that by the end of the two days I have left here, which I plan to spend in complete silence and reflection mode, I will be just about ready to leave.
Costa Rica will be very different. Not sure how yet. I can’t wait to spend some time in those amazing beaches they have there, after spending those last weeks in a cold and wet jungle-like atmosphere. There is so much more that’s waiting out there... and my hunger to absorb it all just grows with each day that goes by.
2 November 2006 - Words from... Panama
Isla Zapatilla , Bocas del Toro - PanamaI don’t remember when was the last time I wrote, but seems like a whole era had passed since then. My last words were from San Pedro, right before I started to make my way to Costa Rica, and here I am today on my 3rd day in Panama, after a very rocky week...
Maybe I will start at the end:
Panama is amazing. I am spending my days on the most amazing Caribbean islands, the most amazing I have ever seen in my life, I am with Joost (The Dutch guy I met in Mexico), we are having the best time together and everything is great.
Now how come I ended up in Panama when the plan was to travel through Costa Rica?
That’s a whole different story...
Leaving San Pedro was not easy, but I had lots of anticipation for what is yet to come and this excitement made things easier. Flora and Anjela, two beautiful girls who sold me ¨Pan de banana¨ every day, walked me to the dock and stood there, waving goodbye, as I got on the boat to Panahachel with my huge muchila.
When I got to Pana to take the bus back to Antigua, I discovered that the driver is the same guy that drove me and Torna to Pana 9 days ago, and went through with us the entire drama of her being sick. He told me that Torna was taken to a hospital in Antigua, where she was diagnosed with Salmonella and stayed there for 4 days and on that day left back to Australia.
I was so grateful for that piece of information, and finally I know the end of the story. Funny how things work, seeing that driver again and getting the last piece of the puzzle from him...
Then it was time to say goodbye to Guatemala, and make my way to Costa Rica. And I am terrible with saying goodbyes... Guatemala has been such a precious, unique and life-changing experience for me. It’s true that I take all the important things with me, but still, I feel as though a piece of me remains there, and that I would like to go back one day.
The 1.5 hours on the plane were enough for me though to switch to a completely different mode and get really excited. Mostly about seeing Joost, after 1 month that he was traveling in Cuba and I in Guatemala. I pushed the thoughts about what would it be like, traveling with someone I spent only 4 days with a whole month ago to the back of my mind and said to myself that no matter how things turn out, all will be fine. The decision to meet him in Costa Rica felt very right from the get-go, so there was no reason to doubt it.
And when I saw him again, and after a couple of hours it felt as if we knew each other for a very long time, I knew my initial feeling was right.
We took the taxi to San Jose, and it didn’t take us long to discover how different Costa Rica is. Joost was amazed by the many options you have for everything after the conservative Cuba and I was kind of overwhelmed by the Americanization and commercialism of everything after simple and down to earth Guatemala...
It was funny to see how our reactions to the place were completely different depending on the place we came from. I was still expecting people to smile at me and greet me everywhere I go, and he was expecting people to hand out their hands asking for money if they just answered a simple question.
San Jose was our first stop, just to relax from the journey and figure out where we wanna go next. We had nothing planed.
Very soon the city was revealed to us as a large, busy and sweaty metropolin, with people driving like crazy, and where the ones who walk down the street march instead of strolling with no smiles on their faces. Seeing this, we have made up our minds immediately to take the first bus the following day at noon to Puerto Viejo, which is a small village on the Caribbean.
But, this is where fate or mostly - San Jose - intervened.
The next morning, a few hours before needing to get on the bus to Puerto Viejo, we took out some money from the ATM and sat down at a restaurant in the center of the city to have a nice breakfast before we download all the pictures from our cameras to a CD for safety.
And that’s where I got robbed.
I won’t go into all the details of how it happened. I would just say that it was a combination of me being reckless for the first time on my trip, pure bad luck, and a very clever and smooth scheme of three people.
I found myself without my money, credit card, traveler checks, but most horribly - without my camera with all my pictures from Mexico and Guatemala.
I literally felt the ground beneath my feet collapse.
I felt angry and sad and mad at myself and the world, and especially San Jose.
I was particularly angry with myself for letting my guards down even for just a second, a very crucial second, just because I was together with someone and not alone anymore.
I know, these things happen to almost anyone and everybody says that San Jose is a dangerous place, but still. I was so proud of myself so far for being so resourceful and not losing or getting anything stolen, and now this. In the worst way possible, too.
So, needless to say, we didn’t go on the bus as planned. That day, and half of the next one, was devoted to canceling my credit card and T.C`s, waiting in line at the police station to file a report and so on and so forth... By the end of this I was exhausted and depressed and mainly I just wanted to get the hell out of that damned city.
So after all the tiring necessities were taken care of, we finally managed to get on the bus to Puerto Viejo. That alone was enough to lift my spirit a little. In parallel I started sending emails to all the people I traveled with, asking them to send me as many pictures as possible, in an attempt to have some tangible memories after all. And maybe there is something symbolic about it, that now the people I have met along the way and kept in touch with, will fill in the void that was created by my own pictures getting lost…
We got to Puerto Viejo on Friday evening.
This place is nothing like any other place in Latin America I have seen so far. Most of the people there are Jamaican-looking, with a strange English dialect and mostly a very laid-back and happy way of living. I guess living in a small village on the Caribbean kind of gets you this way...
But, the bad cloud that came over me as I landed in Costa did not pass by then. That evening, I got sick. The good old Streptococcus once again. Fever and all. Good thing I brought a little pharmacy with me from home, so I had all I needed.
And in some bizarre way, we didn’t let it ruin our time together that much.
It was raining like mad the whole time we were there, so there wasn’t much to do anyway seeing this is a beach village. So we just stayed around our sweet hostel, cooked ourselves really good dinners, and just enjoyed each other’s company with hot ginger tea and long conversations.
That was when the plan to leave Costa Rica behind took shape. I’m sure it’s an amazing country that has a lot to offer, but I just had nothing but bad luck ever since I got there. And these things cannot go unnoticed, that’s what life taught me in more than one occasion.
Getting to Panama from Puerto Viejo is just a matter of taking a 1.5 hours bus to a border city, Sixaola, then cross a huge bridge (if you make it alive with all the mad trucks that pass there all the time), go through customs - and you’re there. Easier than moving from Eilat to Sinai even.
From the border we took a boat to the main Island in a chain of Caribbean islands - Bocas Del Toro. The boat ride itself was breath taking, and I immediately knew that we have made the best decision. This feeling only got stronger with every minute that went by.
This is the 3rd and last day here in Bocas Del Toro. So far we took a boat and spent one glorious day in the secluded and unbelievably beautiful island Bastimentos, where we bathed in the smoothest waters of the ¨Red Frog¨ beach. A sweet Panaman kid who came to us with a very satisfied green on his face and handed us a plastic cup showed us exactly why this beach is called this way: In the cup the kid had a tinny red-orange frog! He just came by to show it to us, watched our eyes widen with amazement, and kept on walking, happy with his finding. The sweetest thing ever.
Then today we took a boat and watched dolphins, dozens of them, dance around us, as if knowing we are there and putting a show to us, only this was in the middle of the ocean and these were wild nature dolphins, which made it of course all the more amazing.
Then, the boat dropped us off in paradise.
All the beaches and the islands I have seen so far, Rhodes, Crete, Thailand, Mexico, Costa Rica... simply pail in comparison.
Zapatilla is the name of this little island, which is also a national reservation of plants and animals, and it is completely untouched.
Virginal sands and waters with colors I didn’t even know existed, fish from all shapes and colors swimming right next to you and as the water is so clear you don’t even need to Snorkel to see them!
We spent a few hours there, just connecting to this piece of amazing nature, and not wanting to let go. The skies were a perfect addition to this breath-taking place, with dramatic clouds changing in the sun light...
And now we’re back, just before dinner, and finally I felt passionate about writing another reflective piece. Feeling revived again, and excited about big and small things at the same time.
It was a rough start, and I think that maybe a part of me was allowing myself to let go now that I knew someone is there beside me, who will take care of me if I get sick, maybe this is something I saved for a while that just came out now.
And like with everything else, there are things to learn from the bad experiences.
At first I thought the fact that I allowed myself to get robbed takes away from the feeling of pride and confidence I gained during this trip. Now I know that the things I did and the choices I made and the way I was on this trip is mine to have and nothing can take that away.
The words produced from the experiences I have are probably every bit as vivid as the pictures were, and they are any way on my mind for all time. Traveling is like this, it’s not always moments of joy and happiness; people will not always smile at you everywhere you go and treat you softly and nicely. And like traveling, such is life. The good and the bad are intertwined. Being able to take it all – the negatives as well as the positives, and still love the experience, appreciate it, see it as a growing opportunity – that is the most important thing, and after feeling mad about myself and about everything else – this is what I am trying to do.
Time is getting shorter... and in a little over a week I will already make my way back home. With mixed feelings, that is true. There are many things I dread from in this home-coming, and look for, at the same time. But this morning, after waking up from a terrible home-coming dream, I decided for myself that I won’t get greedy. I will experience every minute that is left on this trip to its fullest, just like I have done so far, and will treasure this as a complete, perfect thing. Other amazing adventures are already waiting around the corner...
Maybe I will start at the end:
Panama is amazing. I am spending my days on the most amazing Caribbean islands, the most amazing I have ever seen in my life, I am with Joost (The Dutch guy I met in Mexico), we are having the best time together and everything is great.
Now how come I ended up in Panama when the plan was to travel through Costa Rica?
That’s a whole different story...
Leaving San Pedro was not easy, but I had lots of anticipation for what is yet to come and this excitement made things easier. Flora and Anjela, two beautiful girls who sold me ¨Pan de banana¨ every day, walked me to the dock and stood there, waving goodbye, as I got on the boat to Panahachel with my huge muchila.
When I got to Pana to take the bus back to Antigua, I discovered that the driver is the same guy that drove me and Torna to Pana 9 days ago, and went through with us the entire drama of her being sick. He told me that Torna was taken to a hospital in Antigua, where she was diagnosed with Salmonella and stayed there for 4 days and on that day left back to Australia.
I was so grateful for that piece of information, and finally I know the end of the story. Funny how things work, seeing that driver again and getting the last piece of the puzzle from him...
Then it was time to say goodbye to Guatemala, and make my way to Costa Rica. And I am terrible with saying goodbyes... Guatemala has been such a precious, unique and life-changing experience for me. It’s true that I take all the important things with me, but still, I feel as though a piece of me remains there, and that I would like to go back one day.
The 1.5 hours on the plane were enough for me though to switch to a completely different mode and get really excited. Mostly about seeing Joost, after 1 month that he was traveling in Cuba and I in Guatemala. I pushed the thoughts about what would it be like, traveling with someone I spent only 4 days with a whole month ago to the back of my mind and said to myself that no matter how things turn out, all will be fine. The decision to meet him in Costa Rica felt very right from the get-go, so there was no reason to doubt it.
And when I saw him again, and after a couple of hours it felt as if we knew each other for a very long time, I knew my initial feeling was right.
We took the taxi to San Jose, and it didn’t take us long to discover how different Costa Rica is. Joost was amazed by the many options you have for everything after the conservative Cuba and I was kind of overwhelmed by the Americanization and commercialism of everything after simple and down to earth Guatemala...
It was funny to see how our reactions to the place were completely different depending on the place we came from. I was still expecting people to smile at me and greet me everywhere I go, and he was expecting people to hand out their hands asking for money if they just answered a simple question.
San Jose was our first stop, just to relax from the journey and figure out where we wanna go next. We had nothing planed.
Very soon the city was revealed to us as a large, busy and sweaty metropolin, with people driving like crazy, and where the ones who walk down the street march instead of strolling with no smiles on their faces. Seeing this, we have made up our minds immediately to take the first bus the following day at noon to Puerto Viejo, which is a small village on the Caribbean.
But, this is where fate or mostly - San Jose - intervened.
The next morning, a few hours before needing to get on the bus to Puerto Viejo, we took out some money from the ATM and sat down at a restaurant in the center of the city to have a nice breakfast before we download all the pictures from our cameras to a CD for safety.
And that’s where I got robbed.
I won’t go into all the details of how it happened. I would just say that it was a combination of me being reckless for the first time on my trip, pure bad luck, and a very clever and smooth scheme of three people.
I found myself without my money, credit card, traveler checks, but most horribly - without my camera with all my pictures from Mexico and Guatemala.
I literally felt the ground beneath my feet collapse.
I felt angry and sad and mad at myself and the world, and especially San Jose.
I was particularly angry with myself for letting my guards down even for just a second, a very crucial second, just because I was together with someone and not alone anymore.
I know, these things happen to almost anyone and everybody says that San Jose is a dangerous place, but still. I was so proud of myself so far for being so resourceful and not losing or getting anything stolen, and now this. In the worst way possible, too.
So, needless to say, we didn’t go on the bus as planned. That day, and half of the next one, was devoted to canceling my credit card and T.C`s, waiting in line at the police station to file a report and so on and so forth... By the end of this I was exhausted and depressed and mainly I just wanted to get the hell out of that damned city.
So after all the tiring necessities were taken care of, we finally managed to get on the bus to Puerto Viejo. That alone was enough to lift my spirit a little. In parallel I started sending emails to all the people I traveled with, asking them to send me as many pictures as possible, in an attempt to have some tangible memories after all. And maybe there is something symbolic about it, that now the people I have met along the way and kept in touch with, will fill in the void that was created by my own pictures getting lost…
We got to Puerto Viejo on Friday evening.
This place is nothing like any other place in Latin America I have seen so far. Most of the people there are Jamaican-looking, with a strange English dialect and mostly a very laid-back and happy way of living. I guess living in a small village on the Caribbean kind of gets you this way...
But, the bad cloud that came over me as I landed in Costa did not pass by then. That evening, I got sick. The good old Streptococcus once again. Fever and all. Good thing I brought a little pharmacy with me from home, so I had all I needed.
And in some bizarre way, we didn’t let it ruin our time together that much.
It was raining like mad the whole time we were there, so there wasn’t much to do anyway seeing this is a beach village. So we just stayed around our sweet hostel, cooked ourselves really good dinners, and just enjoyed each other’s company with hot ginger tea and long conversations.
That was when the plan to leave Costa Rica behind took shape. I’m sure it’s an amazing country that has a lot to offer, but I just had nothing but bad luck ever since I got there. And these things cannot go unnoticed, that’s what life taught me in more than one occasion.
Getting to Panama from Puerto Viejo is just a matter of taking a 1.5 hours bus to a border city, Sixaola, then cross a huge bridge (if you make it alive with all the mad trucks that pass there all the time), go through customs - and you’re there. Easier than moving from Eilat to Sinai even.
From the border we took a boat to the main Island in a chain of Caribbean islands - Bocas Del Toro. The boat ride itself was breath taking, and I immediately knew that we have made the best decision. This feeling only got stronger with every minute that went by.
This is the 3rd and last day here in Bocas Del Toro. So far we took a boat and spent one glorious day in the secluded and unbelievably beautiful island Bastimentos, where we bathed in the smoothest waters of the ¨Red Frog¨ beach. A sweet Panaman kid who came to us with a very satisfied green on his face and handed us a plastic cup showed us exactly why this beach is called this way: In the cup the kid had a tinny red-orange frog! He just came by to show it to us, watched our eyes widen with amazement, and kept on walking, happy with his finding. The sweetest thing ever.
Then today we took a boat and watched dolphins, dozens of them, dance around us, as if knowing we are there and putting a show to us, only this was in the middle of the ocean and these were wild nature dolphins, which made it of course all the more amazing.
Then, the boat dropped us off in paradise.
All the beaches and the islands I have seen so far, Rhodes, Crete, Thailand, Mexico, Costa Rica... simply pail in comparison.
Zapatilla is the name of this little island, which is also a national reservation of plants and animals, and it is completely untouched.
Virginal sands and waters with colors I didn’t even know existed, fish from all shapes and colors swimming right next to you and as the water is so clear you don’t even need to Snorkel to see them!
We spent a few hours there, just connecting to this piece of amazing nature, and not wanting to let go. The skies were a perfect addition to this breath-taking place, with dramatic clouds changing in the sun light...
And now we’re back, just before dinner, and finally I felt passionate about writing another reflective piece. Feeling revived again, and excited about big and small things at the same time.
It was a rough start, and I think that maybe a part of me was allowing myself to let go now that I knew someone is there beside me, who will take care of me if I get sick, maybe this is something I saved for a while that just came out now.
And like with everything else, there are things to learn from the bad experiences.
At first I thought the fact that I allowed myself to get robbed takes away from the feeling of pride and confidence I gained during this trip. Now I know that the things I did and the choices I made and the way I was on this trip is mine to have and nothing can take that away.
The words produced from the experiences I have are probably every bit as vivid as the pictures were, and they are any way on my mind for all time. Traveling is like this, it’s not always moments of joy and happiness; people will not always smile at you everywhere you go and treat you softly and nicely. And like traveling, such is life. The good and the bad are intertwined. Being able to take it all – the negatives as well as the positives, and still love the experience, appreciate it, see it as a growing opportunity – that is the most important thing, and after feeling mad about myself and about everything else – this is what I am trying to do.
Time is getting shorter... and in a little over a week I will already make my way back home. With mixed feelings, that is true. There are many things I dread from in this home-coming, and look for, at the same time. But this morning, after waking up from a terrible home-coming dream, I decided for myself that I won’t get greedy. I will experience every minute that is left on this trip to its fullest, just like I have done so far, and will treasure this as a complete, perfect thing. Other amazing adventures are already waiting around the corner...
8 November 2006 - Last words from Central America
Boquete, PanamaThese are probably the last words I will write on this trip.
In 3 days I will start making my way (in a long, exhausting journey that includes 3 flights and over 40 hours) back home.
And as always, the thought of home coming has mixed feelings for me. On one hand, I wish I could travel more and more. On the other, I miss the people in my life, and I am very excited to start applying all the conclusions I reached and changes I went through during this journey.
And what a journey it has been for me.
After Bocas Del Toro, the amazing chain of islands in Panama, Joost and I moved inland, to a sweet city called Boquete, where there is a huge national park with nature reservations (Cedero de Quetzales is one of them) of rare animals and birds and lots of coffee plantations, which are said to be the best in the country.
We went tracking into the jungles, trying to get to the top of Volcan Baru (used to be a volcano and now a nature reservation). This turned out to be some experience… The road turned out to be much longer and more challenging than we had thought, after 5 hours of tracking inside the jungle, almost drowning in swamps or slipping off rocks, crossing shaky bridges over growling waters and not knowing where the end of this trail is – we got to the starting point again, starving (we didn’t bring any food with us because we had no idea this would take that long) and exhausted. A nice guy we met along the way, when we were making the last but the most vicious trail uphill towards to entrance to the park, gave us some cookies and juice which was so unbelievably reviving at that point. He was genuinely a god-sent, and doing this just out of goodwill, not wanting anything in return except for a nice friendly conversation (which in itself was a difficult task, as we were so out of breath!).
The following day we decided to take it easy and go visit the natural hot springs right next to Rio Kaldera – small ponds naturally spouting from the ground with very healthy minerals. After we were boiling hot, we got out of the hot water and jumped into the freezing water of the river, where dozens of butterflies with all colors circled us cheerfully.
Boquete has such a great atmosphere. The people are truly nice, welcoming and helping and you actually feel very safe. We met some cool people; two of them became wonderful friends – Tatiana and Erika. One is Panaman who studied in the States and is now traveling with her friend until she gets back to her home town, Panama City, and the other is Costa Rican-American, who also lived and studied in the States, moved back to Costa Rica, started traveling at a relatively older age and caught the famous travel bug. Ever since then she takes off some place else for 1 month, once a year.
We all stayed at the same hostel and at night, in the old kitchen of the place or over dinner or a nice hot cup of tea, we had culture-crossing and very interesting conversations.
After 3 days in Boquete we made our way back (9 hours by bus) to Costa Rica. Our destination this time was La Fortuna, the little village right below the active Volcano Arenal. It’s so great to have a relatively well-developed bus system, which can take you from one country to the other, using the Inter-America highway. The quality of the buses, too, is quite good and comfortable. You just really need to watch out for your belongings and carry anything valuable on you, in a hidden place!
We got to La Fortuna yesterday at noon, after the most amazing 4.5 hours bus drive between green mountains and valleys and small villages which I couldn’t take my eyes off. I wish I had more time to explore these little hidden corners saturated with magic. As I was sitting on the bus, gazing out the window with amazement, I played with the thought of spending a good few weeks here, living in a small wooden hut between the mountains, writing my days away…
The first day we came we already took the tour up the volcano Arenal, which was another funny experience, when instead of seeing the volcano, the eruptions and the lava streaming from the top, we got caught up in the heaviest rain I have ever experienced in the middle of a rain forest, got soaking wet and caught in the dark. Imagine making your way between the mad jungle vegetation when the rain just pores down, your clothes and shoes are completely wet and you can’t see a thing! But, we were with nice people and laughing all the way…
From the rain forest, freezing and shivering, we got to an observation point from which you can see the volcano. Luckily the clouds scattered enough to enable us to actually see the two mouths of the volcano muttering red smoke every few minutes and the lava making it slow way downhill. This volcano was asleep until 1968, when it erupted all of a sudden and killed about 80 people. So, climbing to the top of it is not an option… But ironically enough it brought a lot of prosperity to the people of La Fortuna – the small town right beneath it – because of all the tourists that flow here all year long.
The tour ended in the Baldi hot springs, and that was the most luxurious thing I have done in this entire trip - a huge spa with lots of pools in different temperatures - freezing cold and steaming hot, especially after being so wet and freezing, it was so AMAZING, that I actually thought that getting caught in the rain like that was all planned!
We have two more days here, and lots to do, before we take the bus back to San Jose. Then it is goodbye Costa Rica, goodbye Joost, goodbye CentroAmerica… my journey back home begins. And maybe it’s good that I have such a long journey, which will give me some time to process and prepare myself.
I know home coming will not be in any way easy, but perhaps it is also a part of the journey, seeing what has changed and what has remained the same and finding my new balance among it all.
I am not ready for words of conclusion just yet… There are two more days which is a whole world… tomorrow we will just hang around this sweet little town, maybe do some shopping for gifts to take back home, then the following day we will make all the way close to the Nicaragua border, to do the Canyo Negro tour – a 3 hours boat ride in a wide river which splits the jungle into two, where you can see all types of wild life, from monkeys to alligators, Iguanas and 50 species of birds… I can hardly wait.
So, there is still much to explore. And perhaps words of conclusion are not even appropriate to something as huge and as intense as this, especially seeing that I know now in my heart that this journey will live on in my heart and in my being long after I return home.
In 3 days I will start making my way (in a long, exhausting journey that includes 3 flights and over 40 hours) back home.
And as always, the thought of home coming has mixed feelings for me. On one hand, I wish I could travel more and more. On the other, I miss the people in my life, and I am very excited to start applying all the conclusions I reached and changes I went through during this journey.
And what a journey it has been for me.
After Bocas Del Toro, the amazing chain of islands in Panama, Joost and I moved inland, to a sweet city called Boquete, where there is a huge national park with nature reservations (Cedero de Quetzales is one of them) of rare animals and birds and lots of coffee plantations, which are said to be the best in the country.
We went tracking into the jungles, trying to get to the top of Volcan Baru (used to be a volcano and now a nature reservation). This turned out to be some experience… The road turned out to be much longer and more challenging than we had thought, after 5 hours of tracking inside the jungle, almost drowning in swamps or slipping off rocks, crossing shaky bridges over growling waters and not knowing where the end of this trail is – we got to the starting point again, starving (we didn’t bring any food with us because we had no idea this would take that long) and exhausted. A nice guy we met along the way, when we were making the last but the most vicious trail uphill towards to entrance to the park, gave us some cookies and juice which was so unbelievably reviving at that point. He was genuinely a god-sent, and doing this just out of goodwill, not wanting anything in return except for a nice friendly conversation (which in itself was a difficult task, as we were so out of breath!).
The following day we decided to take it easy and go visit the natural hot springs right next to Rio Kaldera – small ponds naturally spouting from the ground with very healthy minerals. After we were boiling hot, we got out of the hot water and jumped into the freezing water of the river, where dozens of butterflies with all colors circled us cheerfully.
Boquete has such a great atmosphere. The people are truly nice, welcoming and helping and you actually feel very safe. We met some cool people; two of them became wonderful friends – Tatiana and Erika. One is Panaman who studied in the States and is now traveling with her friend until she gets back to her home town, Panama City, and the other is Costa Rican-American, who also lived and studied in the States, moved back to Costa Rica, started traveling at a relatively older age and caught the famous travel bug. Ever since then she takes off some place else for 1 month, once a year.
We all stayed at the same hostel and at night, in the old kitchen of the place or over dinner or a nice hot cup of tea, we had culture-crossing and very interesting conversations.
After 3 days in Boquete we made our way back (9 hours by bus) to Costa Rica. Our destination this time was La Fortuna, the little village right below the active Volcano Arenal. It’s so great to have a relatively well-developed bus system, which can take you from one country to the other, using the Inter-America highway. The quality of the buses, too, is quite good and comfortable. You just really need to watch out for your belongings and carry anything valuable on you, in a hidden place!
We got to La Fortuna yesterday at noon, after the most amazing 4.5 hours bus drive between green mountains and valleys and small villages which I couldn’t take my eyes off. I wish I had more time to explore these little hidden corners saturated with magic. As I was sitting on the bus, gazing out the window with amazement, I played with the thought of spending a good few weeks here, living in a small wooden hut between the mountains, writing my days away…
The first day we came we already took the tour up the volcano Arenal, which was another funny experience, when instead of seeing the volcano, the eruptions and the lava streaming from the top, we got caught up in the heaviest rain I have ever experienced in the middle of a rain forest, got soaking wet and caught in the dark. Imagine making your way between the mad jungle vegetation when the rain just pores down, your clothes and shoes are completely wet and you can’t see a thing! But, we were with nice people and laughing all the way…
From the rain forest, freezing and shivering, we got to an observation point from which you can see the volcano. Luckily the clouds scattered enough to enable us to actually see the two mouths of the volcano muttering red smoke every few minutes and the lava making it slow way downhill. This volcano was asleep until 1968, when it erupted all of a sudden and killed about 80 people. So, climbing to the top of it is not an option… But ironically enough it brought a lot of prosperity to the people of La Fortuna – the small town right beneath it – because of all the tourists that flow here all year long.
The tour ended in the Baldi hot springs, and that was the most luxurious thing I have done in this entire trip - a huge spa with lots of pools in different temperatures - freezing cold and steaming hot, especially after being so wet and freezing, it was so AMAZING, that I actually thought that getting caught in the rain like that was all planned!
We have two more days here, and lots to do, before we take the bus back to San Jose. Then it is goodbye Costa Rica, goodbye Joost, goodbye CentroAmerica… my journey back home begins. And maybe it’s good that I have such a long journey, which will give me some time to process and prepare myself.
I know home coming will not be in any way easy, but perhaps it is also a part of the journey, seeing what has changed and what has remained the same and finding my new balance among it all.
I am not ready for words of conclusion just yet… There are two more days which is a whole world… tomorrow we will just hang around this sweet little town, maybe do some shopping for gifts to take back home, then the following day we will make all the way close to the Nicaragua border, to do the Canyo Negro tour – a 3 hours boat ride in a wide river which splits the jungle into two, where you can see all types of wild life, from monkeys to alligators, Iguanas and 50 species of birds… I can hardly wait.
So, there is still much to explore. And perhaps words of conclusion are not even appropriate to something as huge and as intense as this, especially seeing that I know now in my heart that this journey will live on in my heart and in my being long after I return home.
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