OUR DRIVE ACROSS GUATEMALA

So we asked around to get an idea of what to expect on the road ahead.  We were told that it would take us about eight hours to get to Guatemala City.  It took us four days - thats how slow we go.  The drive through the foothills of the Maya mountains was beautiful.  It was hilly, twisty, green and so lush.  It was a really nice drive but it didn't stay that way.

After a couple of days we arrived in Rio Dulce with high hopes.  Our guide book and other travellers had really talked it up.  It wasn't to be for us.  Our hotel was expensive and gross.  The power and water kept going out all day, which normally isn't a huge deal but we were already hot and cranky so everything was bothering us.  The night was from hell.  A pack of drug dealers moved in next door and proceeded to be unbelievably loud all night.  After getting drunk on our shared patio, they left for awhile, came back and turned on the t.v. and flipped channels all night long.  Sometimes they would find music and start singing along to the likes of Katy Perry and old spanish love songs.  I know what you're thinking, what drug dealer sings along to Katy Perry.  These guys were one of a kind.  When we first saw them they immediately tried to sell us drugs, as well there was knocks on their door all night long - ours too.  At about three in the morning Justin decided to go out to the truck to get some water and was immediately questioned by the security guard as to what he was doing.  Justin replied, "What are you doing?" while pointing to the building, as the sing along gang serenaded each other.  The security guard shrugged his shoulders and walked away. Finally morning came and the last straw was when a man arrived and in english gave them their instructions of where to deliver their drugs in Livingston and on what streets they could sell on.  Our plan was to spend the first day at the hotel and start seeing the sights the next day.  We left.

worst hotel experience of the trip - the hovel

the balcony we shared with the singing drug dealers

Rio Dulce

The drive going west from Rio Dulce was like no other and not in a good way.  It is the major trucking route from the port to Guatemala City.  I thought we were going to die - for real.  Narrow, twisty roads loaded with semis, all proceeding to pass each other.  They would pull out, even if they could see us and expect us to get out of the way, often we had two tires off the road.  I know this isn't explaining it but imagine three semi trucks in your lane coming at you head on and only the first one sees you and theres no room to move over.  We pulled over numerous times so Justin could stop shaking.  Somehow, miraculously we lived.  It felt like we stole some of Annas nine lives.  This stretch of highway is the scariest drive so far, we can't imagine anything worse than this.  At the end of the day it was time for a drink.

this is the only time we saw them on their side of the road

thats a blind corner ahead

After our crazy drive, we arrived in Rio Hondo - we think, we're not quite sure where we were.  Yet again, another hotel room full of surprises.  At night when we were about to go to bed, we heard scurrying and saw flexing ceiling tiles above our heads.  "What the hell was that," we said to each other.  We kept hearing it moving and tried to figure out what it was.  We went outside with a flashlight to investigate but couldn't see anything.  We ended up sleeping with the light on afraid that our unwanted neighbour was going to fall through the ceiling.  Our best guess is that it was a big lizard.  So we were about to go to sleep again when the bed started rocking - and not in that way.  "What the hell was that," we said to each other for the second time that night.  We had just felt our first tremor of the trip.

The last leg of our drive would take us through Guatemala City to Antigua.  This is the part we were dreading the most - one wrong turn and we'd never find our way out.  So we armed ourselves with a map of the city and ended up driving straight through.  No wrong turns, no nothing - how did that happen?  To leave the city we had to drive up a radiator boiling hill and down a brake fluid boiling hill.  But we made it - Nadine with a fever and Justin happy to turn the ignition key off.

Guatemala City

As we finished our long drive across Guatemala and arrived into Antigua we were worn out but we were happy.  The town was gorgeous and the weather was cooler.  At first we planned to stay for a week but then opted to stay for a month.

volcan Agua in Antigua

GUNS, RUINS AND DRUGS - OUR TIME IN EL PETEN

Another stamp in the passport, Guatemala.  I have to say we were excited, the idea of cheaper prices and cooler temperatures  in the mountains was really fueling us on.  Exiting Belize - easy, entering Guatemala - easy.  No problems, except one guy tried to get us pay an entry tax of forty quetzales but Justin asked for a receipt and said, "no receipt, no pay," and he waved us on.  We were through both borders in less than an hour.  Easy, but I'm sure we'll pay for it down the road.  Yet again, even though the countryside is fairly similar on either side of the border the cultures couldn't be more different.  Belizes' border was quiet but as soon as you crossed over to Guatemala there was music, food and chaos.  Ahhh, much better - this is what we like.

entering Guatemala

The roads were surprisingly good, a few areas of gravel but other than that we were able to make good time.  The landscape consisted mainly of farmland and with that there were a lot of animals grazing in the ditches - horses, cows, goats, chickens and now a new one to add, pigs.

Our first stop was El Remate.  A little village on the edge of the aqua blue lago de Peten Itza.  We found a hotel that we didn't have to hide Anna and we settled in for the next four days.  It was quiet, lush and beautifully landscaped.

Lago de Peten Itza

Ceiba tree - the Mayan tree of life

Our initial impressions of Guatemala were awesome - we instantly loved it.  Then the owner of the hotel started telling us stories about the crime here and about the drug cartels.  Turns out the department of El Peten has some problems.  He kind of put us on edge.  So now all the new cars driving slowly by with blackened windows made us nervous.  We started seeing things that weren't there.  We even bought a cheap cell phone at his urging.  As well, we kept seeing numerous military convoys at a higher concentration than we had been seeing in Mexico.  Later we found out, there was a horrendous massacre very close to where we were staying.  We had left the area a few days before it happened and have now learnt that the area is under a state of siege, giving the military complete control.  We know that tourists are not targeted and our safety is not an issue.   We know bad things happen everywhere but when you are all alone in another country this stuff can make you nervous.  Our ignorance is bliss bubble, burst.

your friendly neighbourhood gun store

Another thing we started to notice was how everyone had guns.  Not just the military, police or the guards that are in front of every business but your average Jose.  Even he's packing.  We were at the grocery store and we saw a guy with a sidearm and three quick release clips in his belt.  Now we are seeing them on people everywhere.  But everyone here is so nice, maybe the saying is true, an armed society is a polite society - who knows?

All this crap aside, we have had no problems and never a reason to be nervous.  The people we have met have been incredible.  The people here are kind, warm and so friendly.  They make you feel at home in their country.  Everyone has time to talk and it genuinely seems wants to get to know you.  We hate to even write about these negative aspects we've seen because we don't want to give a negative impression.  This stuff does not define this country.  Even with all the drug problems here we would still highly recommend a trip to Guatemala.

So now on to to the fun stuff...

drive around the lake

We took a leisurely drive around the lake.  It was very long, hot and bumpy but well worth the incredible views.  We had a guy pass us and he bent our drivers side mirror against the side of the truck.  There are no rules when driving here.  For example, stop signs are just pretty red colored octagons on street corners that don't mean a thing.

the town of Flores, it was a ghost town - not tourist season

We drove to the island town (theres a bridge) of Flores.  Another colonial town full of charm and narrow streets.  More friendly people that we were able to practice our spanish with.  After roaming the streets for awhile we escaped to Burger King for the air conditioning, yet again the heat held us back.

Flores

The highlight of the area is the ruins of Tikal.  We have been to so many ruins in the last few months we weren't that excited about seeing more.  Boy were we wrong, Tikal is the best of them all.

our guide Luis

Tikal was amazing.  We learnt all about Mayan history, culture and day to day life from our guide Luis.  He talked about the Mayan calendar and how it works and about the great reset in 2012.  We saw howler monkeys, snakes, cocomundis, lizards and a variety of birds and bugs, as he dragged us off the path and into the jungle.  

disappearing into the jungle

eating some strange fruit

view over the canopy of the jungle

You truly felt like you were in another world on these massive structures.  The area is huge.  If we wouldn't of had a guide we would of just walked in circles and gotten lost.  In total we walked eight kilometers, Luis told us.

some of you will recognize this photo, from the movie star wars

six inches behind us is a ledge that drops far far below

Justin climbing to the top

 
Our guide Luis was really funny.  He kept calling socks - sex and he would say, "lets go find a shadow, so we can talk."  He made Justin eat a termite (minty aftertaste) and made us eat all sorts of nuts and berries he found on the ground.  We usually don't get guides (being cheap) but he made this a spectacular day.

this is the way the ruins looked before excavation 

 
We really enjoyed this area but as we've written many times before it was just too hot.  So we hit the road for the mountains.......

OUR UNBELIZEABLY EXPENSIVE TIME IN BELIZE

Crossing the border, we were very excited for a new country.  Belize wasn't one of the destinations that was high on the list of must sees but it was in the way to get to Guatemala, so we figured we would give it a quick look.

You expect things to be somewhat similar when you cross the border because really its just an imaginary line but the contrast between the two countries is like night and day.  Being able to read signs, menus and have conversations with people was a treat.  Not to forget watching t.v. - choice in programming almost made our stay in Belize a lot longer.

tastes like Saskatchewan Pilsner

Belize is the most expensive country in Central America and for this reason we knew we had to cut our stay short.  One of our favourite things to do in a new place is check out the local grocery store.  It was exciting when we saw a variety of chocolate bars that we recognized and flavours of chips that weren't going to set our tongues ablaze.  Except that a bag of chips could cost up to eight dollars American (no joke! wish I would of taken a picture).  So we knew we had to partake in the countries specialty of rice and beans or beans and rice if we were ever going to fill our stomachs without breaking the bank.

The cost of things was crazy to us (12.5% sales tax), especially after our stay in Mexico.  Decentish hotels with air conditioning were at least double the price.  The cost of fuel at the highest was 5.5 USD a gallon. Tours, local attractions and all things touristy are not made for the budget traveller here.  This is a country loaded with things to do and see for those with deep pockets.

our 3rd bushing change

land rovers are a dime a dozen in this country

So onto the heat.  Just can't describe it.  It completely limited all activities.  We never realized how much the heat was going to affect our trip.  Thing is, we both love hot weather but this is not livable.  Even the locals would stop us and tell us to go get water if we didn't have a bottle in our hands.  We would talk about how great it would be if it would just damn well rain (and it is rainy season and everyone keeps telling us how strange it is that the rain hasn't come yet.  On another note the rain still hasn't started in Guatemala yet either.)  Days that we had to drive, we would be up at four am to load the truck to be on the road at sunrise and hopefully at our destination by about eight am because at that point we had to get ourselves and Anna into air conditioning.  Sometimes after we had been outside for awhile and would go into ac, our eyes would fog up from the temperature and humidity change.  (We think thats the reason but it could be our malaria medication.)  We were feeling so listless, foggy headed and just plain terrible all the time.  Water wasn't cutting it so we started to drink gallons of Gatorade everyday (about four or five bottles each a day) and that really seemed to help.  I know every post we seem to complain about the heat but it has ruled our lives for the last three months.

We didn't want to leave the country without seeing some of the sights, so we ignored our budget and booked some activities in different parts of the country.

First we went to the Belize zoo.  It has all the animals native to the country and it wasn't so much a zoo as a animal rescue/education center.

Then in western Belize we arranged for a canoe ride through Barton Creek cave.  This was truly the highlight of our stay in the country.  We drove through massive orange groves and mennonite communities on an insane road built of boulders to get there.  We also had to do two river crossing and cross a bridge that appeared to be half built.  The cave was amazing.  Stalagmites and stalactites galore, mayan burial grounds, skulls encased in minerals, pottery, catfish and bats to name some of the sights we saw inside.  We got to the end of the passable part of the cave and our guide asked us if we wanted to go further - and we said of course!  So we all had to rearrange ourselves and lay flat in the canoe as the ceiling was only about a foot or so above the water.  Once we got to the point that we absolutely couldn't go any further, Teddy told us to turn off the flashlights and we were in complete darkness.  That was somewhat frightening!  On the way back to the hotel we crunched on sugar cane and were introduced to our new favourite treat - cassava chips.

orange groves

water crossing

bridge with planks not nailed down - driving on it was interesting!

entrance to Barton Creek cave

exiting the cave

The next day our guide Teddy talked us into going tubing down the Mopan river with him.  So we all piled into the land rover, picked up some inner tubes at his mothers house and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon floating down the river.  He pointed out different birds, lizards and bats and talked about the history and how life is lived for the people of Belize.  We saw horses in the water, watched families doing their laundry in the river and saw evidence of how high the river gets in the rainy season - and its extrordinary.  Then we asked him about crocodiles (which we shouldn't of) because it seemed like a likely place for them to be.  He told us its fine here but farther up and further down is where they are - yeah right!

Mopan river in western Belize

our awesome guide Teddy

This seems to be getting really long so here are some other things that happened while in Belize....

• both of us being bitten repeatedly by sand colored ants that burnt like fire
• finally getting bacon on the side and not mixed into our eggs
• Anna chasing a cockroach through a hotel room and catching it, totally proud of herself, while one of us was screaming
• learning all about the contraband items in Belize and realizing we had a lot of them
• not realizing again, that we were in a different time zone and showing up at a specific time and wondering why everyone is always late
• Justin meeting up with another member of the land rover club and him setting up a driver to Belize city to at last find the correct oil for the truck
• the constant search for bank machines that would work, we were out of cash all the time
• driving through heavy smoke and raging fires on either side of the highway

guy hitching a ride on a pedal bike on the back of a sugar cane truck

We didn't really get to see a lot of what this country has to offer.  We didn't see the islands or any of southern Belize.  We do know its worth coming back to when we have the cash to do it.  It is such a small country that one could see a lot of it by renting a vehicle on a two week stay.  We would also recommend being careful about what time of year you come to avoid the insane heat!!  The people are friendly, the things to do are spectacular - this country is definitely worth a visit.

all land rover over landers stop here

bye bye Belize - Justin (in the blue shirt) starting the paperwork to leave the country