To Central America and back...0Montreal, Canada01-APR-2008 11:13:000Leaving Montreal04-APR-2008 13:37:27So Thursday I decide I have to leave... Sunday! I deal a free trip down to Stamford Connecticut with my friend Thuc, good deal ! I bought a tone of stuff, which quite a bit of it is useless right now... I managed to make it just in time. My brother helped me pack up as seen on the picture.
The first picture is there so that it's my trip front picture.0New York, United States08-APR-2008 11:15:48I stopped 2 days in New York. My first night was at the Marriott in Time Square, see the picture for the view from my room, pretty awesome. I was able to afford that thanks to my 300+ nights spent in Marriotts in Seattle. For that they allow to stay about... 5 nights in a NY hotel, how about that ! Only 300 nights to get that ? What a bargain ! Also since I am a platinum guest, I got 3 cookies and a beer. I am spoiled ! The second night is in a much more "budget" choice, gotta get used to it. Met great people though and we partied aaaallll night in the Lower East side, which changed my opinion of NY, and in the end I made it to the bunk bed just in time to get a 1 hour sleep and catch my train to Charlotte at 7am. Perfect planning...0Charlotte, United States11-APR-2008 11:45:3014 hours of train later, I'm in Charlotte NC, to visit buddy Joey !
Super clean city, with amazing and beautiful colonial style houses 1 block away form downtown. It frankly looks like a boring clean town, sorry Joey, especially after NY, but ends up it has lots of restaurants and clubs for bar hoping.... and tones of blue eye blonds which is to me somewhat exotic ! lol Joey is a great host, highly recommended !0Playa del Carmen, Mexico17-APR-2008 13:17:44The streets of Playa. Playa is great for party, not so much for singles since there are couples everywhere and large groups of single loud and intoxicated girls, which did not do it for me...
Busting my daily budget by 300% I enjoyed a day on the water. I handled the pretty rough ride (no sea sickness, and I was drunk on the net riding through waves... not bad) on this all-you-can-drink catamaran. Met TONES of super friendly elderlies and otherwise snobs, hence the exaggerated drinking. At one point I went to the nautical bathroom and while I was trying to keep a steady aim, there was a rogue wave that hit the side of the boat and came into the wide open window (right in my face) and literally filled a quater of the bathroom and made me drink a good cup of salt water... at that point I thought it was hilarious.
The garden with balcony picture was my first hostel in Playa. Great, peaceful with nice rooms with hammocks for 40$. I couldn't believe my luck until I realized that a band played every single night at the bar till 2am, with Mayan drums and local breakdancers gigs in the middle...0Tulum, Mexico20-APR-2008 13:49:29The Tulum Mayan ruins and beach. Don't miss out on the McMayan before you go...0Leaving Playa22-APR-2008 08:51:46Sandra, Jasper and Maria, my neighbors. The ferry pier at Playa.0Bacalar, Mexico23-APR-2008 07:36:36My hostel at Bacalar, check the map up close to see the lagoon, it's all fresh water from nearby cenotes. It was an a major Mayan port town for trade and later a Spanish trade town. They built a fort to protect against Pirate's attacks. Otherwise a very quiet and empty town. I was recommended to go there, a nice break from the tourists at Playa but suddenly I was the only tourist ! Next stop Palenque, Zhe jungle !!
Stay tuned !0Palenque city24-APR-2008 04:44:34It is 6am when I climb off the bus. The heat is surprising, so early in the day. The city was just waking up but it was busy with lots of cars and people around Tacos stands at every corner. After a few hours I realize that the city is a hub for people going to the famous ruins or to the waterfalls but that it had no "official" tourist things to do and frankly not the coolest place to hang out.
I am now in the Chiapas province, the poorest of Mexico with a very big community of Mayans and home of the Chaipas coffee !!0La chute a Misol-Ha25-APR-2008 08:10:18I did the tourist thing and got myself on a little tour of the three waterfalls around Palenque: Misol-Ha, Agua Clara and Agua Azul.
Not the best way to meet locals but it's good to speak english and french sometimes and tourists are usually very friendly and looking to share stories. That wasn't the case so much in Playa del Carmen, I am among more adventurous tourist now even if it is still very "tourist friendly".0Agua Clara25-APR-2008 09:44:58Agua Clara is not clear at all but it has an impressive milky bleu water. It is deeper in the Chaipas region if it can be said this way. Much poorer and all Mayan. Kids greet you with little bananas for 0.20$ and they just won't give up. It is quite annoying and there is just so much banana I can eat ! There was a bridge to cross and it was... old.0Agua Azul, Mexico25-APR-2008 12:01:38Very popular and visited by tourists and mexicans. It has lots of little "bath" holes were you can swim and chill out.
Oh and let's not forget the endless bananas. Always ready to sell one to you they come back again and again in case you change your mind.0El Panchan, Mexico25-APR-2008 16:28:34How to get here... On the way to the ruins ask the driver to drop you at El Panchan. Don't be surprised if you can't see anything when he stops, it's on the left.. in the jungle.
A small durt road took me to a very special place, where tourists are king along with international hippies who adopted the place. The first man I met had an american accent and suggested me a nice place to stay and introduced himself as the local Shaman... hmmm yes ok. I shoped for a cabana (cabagna) and got one right along a stream for 8$. A bed, a chair and a fan... cool. El Pachan is the jungle, no trees were taken down to open it up, the sun is hardly visible through the canopy. Y fait chaud !!
Little trails lead to other groups of cabana and to restaurants with real good food.
Anyone who has heard howling monkeys before know what I will talk about here. I thought howling monkeys were the one going "Woooo Wooo", no. At 5am they howl. I woke up in my pitch black cabana, imagine a tiny wood shack with moskito mesh all around, there is something outside making an evil sound. Like a psycho Darth Vador breathing in an amplifyer and then grunting, again and again. Farther I could hear another one answering. Clearly an animal but with the trees moving and the volume of the sound I was convinced it was at least gorilla size or even Big Foot size and it was coming closer, seemed like feets from my cabana. I got up and recorded it, after all if it was dangerous people would be screeming by now. The recording gives the chills. The creepy thing too was that the forest was dead silent other than the evil monkeys and suddenly there was a gust of wind and the evil noise died down, and then a rooster sang, it felt like the movie "The Village".
The next day no one seemed alarmed and so I asked. Ends up howling monkeys are quite small but they have big pouches on their neck and it amplifies their evil calling. I saw a family, real cute! I wish I could post the sound on this site... I can e-mail it if you are curious.0Ruins of Palenque26-APR-2008 06:19:44Incredible ruins in Palenque. Once ruled by the Serpent Jaguar king. Finally ruins you can walk on and into.
I was offered muchos hongos on the way there (mushrooms... hey gringo wanna get high ?)
Not necessary, the ruins are something by themselves, but I understand the connection, it's mystical. The palace and the temples were impressive but what I will remember most is the moment I spent alone in a group of ruins less popular, in the jungle. There were rays of light coming throught the trees and a kind of gold dust in the air, wow. They are the 2 last pictures I posted below.0San Cristobal de las Casas27-APR-2008 02:01:00Ok, it's june 5th today and I have been procrastinating a lot.
It's hard to go back and remember all, I shall be more disciplined because I do enjoy describing what I experience, plus if that can feed everyone's desir and make some leave on a trip...
quit your jobs, sell your house and kids !!!
Seriously now, San Cristobal de las Casas. One of my favorite place so far. San Cristobal is in the Chiapas province, in the high lands, very high, 7000 or so feet up (2300m), home of the Chiapas coffee and Mezcal (similar to Tequila, some say it's more raffined, some say it's glorified moonshine). Coming from the jungle around Palenque, this was a nice break. 20degC max all day, I even wore my soft shell at times.
This is Zapatistas territory. The Zapatistas are indeginous rebels fighting for the rights of the forgotten Mayans in the Chiapas province, mainly, which is also the poorest province of Mexico. The Zapatistas back in 1998, at the height of tensions, took San Cristobal and partly destroyed the Town Hall. To me they differenciate themselves from other rebel groups by there more peacefull and philosophical approach, maybe inspired by Che (I don't consider myself very educated in history but his face is everywhere so... )Their guns had white ribbons to indicate that they were hoping not to use them, and they also apologized to the tourist at the time for the disturbance, that is nice. Also when the army came into San Cristobal, the Zapatistas left and took the fight right to the army base. Thousands dead, mainly Zapatistas. Since then, there have been little violence but the situation hasn't changed much according to them, of course many spanish citizens of San Cristobal believe the opposite. FYI the population in Chiapas is 25% Mayan.
Apart from the history, this place rules just by itself, it's got style ! Very clean and somewhat very secure for a touristy spot. The architecture is beautifull, and even the Burger King is in a typical looking edificio. Bars, restaurants of every part of the world (Lebanon?!) and movie houses. My favorite was Kinoki, a little house with a tea garden in the middle (lots of restaurants had inner gardens) it had little projection rooms around it; one where you can see 3 movies a day (first night in the city I was watching Darjeeling Limited... awesome) and the other rooms can be rented for like 1 or 2$ a person, bring your own movie or pick form the selection. Furnished with cheap camping lounge chairs and with little mezanins with pillows... we need that in Montreal !
I decided to take a 3 day spanish refresher, after all it is one of the goals I set for the trip. Todo bueno... si si, una cerveza por favor.
The hostels I stayed at was also pretty cool. For 8$ you get a bed in the dorms with a big locker for the bag, internet, pool table, breakfast and cable TV ! I was fortunate to meet great people there, by the end we were 6 or 8 hanging together (I can't remeber) and we all left the same day in different directions. I announced the "bad news": guys I'm leaving tomorrow. Everyone said "Me too" at the same time, it made the split up so easy, we went for some Lebanese food (seriously good) and we smoked the Chicha... in south Mexico...
That's San Cristobal.
Oh and forget Red Bull... take una Bomba ! Shaped and opens like a grenade, good marketing !0Discovering the mayan culture29-APR-2008 14:31:00The Mayans do not like to be taken in picture,although I was told that if you buy them something then it's ok.
So I went to a museum and took pictures of pictures, it dates but it shows the ceremony where some dress with animal hide, sacrifice chickens and throw moonshine on the repentent to make bad spirit leave.
The museum was inside the mansion of a couple of anthropologists who lived there and tried to protect the Mayan culture. All that was in the early 1900 and it was rugged camping !
The doll that you can kinda make out on the picture, really made an impression on me. It looks a bit alien like and as if it is about to move, with its big hands.
No it's not a big, HUGE, joint for community trans ceremony of some sort, it is a roll of tobacco for selling at the market. A bit disappointing...
Finally, they showed the traditional way of giving birth. The husband helps by pushing with his knees. Notice how the woman is well positioned to slap the man and tell him that it's all his fault. I therefore concluded that it is a woman dominant society...0Sumidero Canyon01-MAY-2008 08:21:56The Sumidero canyon was described as a "croc" filled canyon with shear walls a kilometer high. Awesome!
Located not too far away but all the way down the mountains. Temperature peaked at 30 something deg C, a reminder that I was still in central America. We were grouped into groups of 15 or so into some power plenty boats and we went shooting off upstream. Slowly coming into views of the first giant walls, the view is incredible, but the crocs are nowhere to be seen.
Once through the canyon we end up in the reservoir which provides hydro electricity to all of south Mexico and most of the north of Guatemala.
There we are spotted and chased by a "convinience store" lancha (boat).
On the way back, I don't know if it was just the angle of the sun but it became impossible not to notice the garbage floating down the river: plastic bottles, bags, wood and other unidentifiable "shits". It really teinted my experience. But finally we see a croc ! And then a bit further down stream... a bunch of kids playing in the water, hmmm.
The garbage situation in Chiapas is annoying and depressing, and little did I know then that it would only get worst in Guatemala... I do realize that the situation is difficult and ressources are low, but then I have seen so many locals throwing garbage out in the street or burning them in their yards. It's not just a question of money. I agree that it is education but still it leaves me wondering how a human can live in his garbage. Didn't I hear somewhere that animals would never defecate in their home? I'm thinking out loud and you can comment on my thoughts if you want, actually that would be great, but I believe that the place we live in reflects our state of mind. It costs nothing to sweep the floor and gather garbage.
Still garbage is a problem world wide and travelling here made me much more aware of it. When there is no garbage man in your neighborhoods, where do you put it? The amount of garbage we generate is unbelievable, I take notice when I dispose of something around central america because chances are it may just make its way somewhere in a street !0GOOOOL GOOOOOOOOOL03-MAY-2008 14:51:18A day in the capital of Chiapas with Gunnar my american democrate friend ;) Goooo Obhama !
I first suggested to go and check out the zoo which was supposed to be very jungle like, but Gunnar in his relaxed (and I mean relaaaaxed) state and diplomacy suggested that maybe we could go check the big soccer game coming up.
Forget the zoo !!! What a better idea !!
Chivas vs Jaguares (the goats vs the jaguares... sounds unfair but the goats are the best team in Mexico right now... still I wonder who was there the day they brain stormed for the name!!?)
We were the only gringos in the stadium it seemed and that made it that much more enjoyable. We finally got tickets at fair prices (not gringo prices) but soon realized that there are much more tickets printed than actual seats, so we watched the whole thing standing drinking some Sol cerveza.
After that we were to meet the owner of the hostel in San Cristobal who lived in Tuxtla. She picked us up in a pick up truck. This was my first ride in a pick up truck in central America, lovely !!
We stoped at one of her favorite street stand and hooooombre that food was unbelievable... the smell of charcoal, the street buzzing behind, the friends each side and then a 2$ bill !!! Increible !0Crossing to Guatemala06-MAY-2008 10:32:270Discovering Lago Atitlan06-MAY-2008 15:44:570Settling into San Pedro La Laguna10-MAY-2008 04:32:020Spanish school !21-MAY-2008 16:41:41024 hours in Antigua is not enough...22-MAY-2008 14:53:550All about my quicky in Guatemala City !!23-MAY-2008 08:29:330Guatemala City, Guatemala23-MAY-2008 09:19:500Guatemala City, Guatemala26-MAY-2008 15:56:450Guatemala City, Guatemala28-MAY-2008 13:09:340Guatemala City, Guatemala29-MAY-2008 00:54:400Guatemala City, Guatemala29-MAY-2008 01:44:130Guatemala City, Guatemala31-MAY-2008 16:49:140Guatemala City, Guatemala01-JUN-2008 14:45:550Guatemala City, Guatemala01-OCT-2008 19:28:400000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000