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.
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