Hungry To Wander: September 2016

Tuesday, 27 September 2016

Guatemala - 'The land of many trees'

#4
Flores and Rio Dulce, Guatemala

The rest of our trip was going to be based in one country...Guatemala. I had been really looking forward to to Guatemala. It was where I had initially planned on starting my travelling. I had heard really good things, it has beautiful lakes, lots of volcanoes you can hike as well as amazing architecture and an interesting history. It is also quite a cheap Central American country which is good when you're trying to budget.

The Guatemalan border crossing was surprisingly hassle free. I had to pay 20USD or 40BZD as an exit fee to leave Belize, when we made it to the Guatemalan border a few minutes later I then had to pay 10 quetzals (Q) entry (Q1 = €0.12)! The entry fee for Guatemala is illegal however for the sake of about €1 it's probably best not to argue. Another thing to point out is that a lot of security guards and place carry shot guns.....shot guns are everywhere. Especially at fast food chains and ATM machines. Shot guns seem to be the gun of choice. Someone told me that the guys with the biggest guns are the nicest....I haven't tested that theory out yet.

We were on a private bus this time so no cramming on and off chicken buses! We traveled into Tikal. Massive ancient Mayan ruins deep in the jungle. We had a four hour hike and tour around the ruins. Our tour guide Miguel knew so much about the Mayan history, the ruins and the animals we came across. He could name every bird and taught us a lot about the native animals. We also saw howler and spider monkeys, toucans, coati and a guati (members of the raccoon family).

The hiking around the jungle was great but again the humidity was difficult to manage. Miguel was telling us the next day (September 21st) was the Autumn solstice and there would be a lot of people coming to watch the sunrise, where the pyramids align as the sunrises. The Mayans studied astronomy and had many different gods which they praised. They believed in human sacrifices and buried their kings and queens with jade in their teeth or massive jade masks. The pyramids were so impressive and climbing up them accentuated how high they were, giving views of the jungle and their structures.

After our hot, sweaty hike round the jungle and climbing on Mayan ruins, we had a few hours more on a bus and arrived in Flores on the stunning 'Lago Peten Itza', west of Tikal. Even though we were exhausted after a long day, a few of us decided to go on a boat trip on the lake. We picked up some drinks and got down to the dock which our hotel backed into. The sun was shining when we jumped on but two minutes after we pulled out into the lake, the rain started...torrential rain! Soon after that the thunder and lightening came....and it was CLOSE! We were in the middle of this massive lake, our boat made of metal...metal bottom and reed thatched roof. Even with the tunes and drinks it got a bit sketchy. We were definitely the easiest target for the lightening. We kept going in the rain and made it to the other side of the lake where there was a rope swing and diving board metres above the lake, it was petrifying but we all had a go. The lake water was so warm it was like jumping into a bath, not the heart stopping cold jolt I've experienced in Ireland and England. The two guys Louis and Carlos who were bringing us on the trip, must have only been about 17 but they were hilarious. They were showing us all their skills, doing back flips off the diving board and flipping off the rope. On the way back we finished off our drinks, listened to some Justin Timberlake in Espagnol while randomly jumping off the boat in the pitch black.

A shot one of the girls captured!

Later that night we went and got some street food from a little stall set up on the side of the lake. We were the only tourists there. I had chicken empanadas and potato tortillas with guacamole, which all cost just over €1. For dinner! Amazing. We all got different things so were able to try a bit of everything.

Empanadas

The next day we left Flores and got a private mini bus for four hours south east to Río Dulce. Río Dulce is a gorge system leading into the Caribbean Sea. It is set at the end of 'Lago de Izabel'. The area is also well know for the Finca El Paraíso (hot-Spring waterfall). We stayed in a jungle Eco lodge on the lake for two nights. There was a lovely pool so we took advantage of that with a few beers when we arrived. The next day eight of us took a boat trip on a boat called a 'lanchas' to Lívingston. I didn't know much about Lívingston before coming to this region but apparently it's a must see. It's a small place cut off from the mainland by thick jungle and is only accessible by boat. It's located at the mouth of the Río Dulce. It is mainly inhabited by the Garífuna people, a mix of African and Caribs with Guatemalan and Mayan influence.

On the way over to Livíngston we stopped off at a few places on the way learning about the local Mayan villages living around the lake. The Mayans' main source of income is fishing but they also upkeep some of the big yachts and boats that wealthier people own. It was clear there is a stark contrast between rich and poor as wealthier people take advantage of the beautiful setting and buy summer homes dotted around the lake. As we were going by some of the small villages, young Mayan children in small canoes would pull up beside our boat trying to sell us crafts made of tortoise shells, coconuts and shells. We stopped off at an area on the lakeside where we could test out some of the famous hot springs. There was also a cave and natural hot springs that you climb down into. A local Mayan man called Felix brought a few of us around and gave us flashlights for the cave. I was expecting a small cave with a quick explanation about it but he brought us all he way into this small cave opening, led us about ten minutes into it, climbing and ducking along the way (not easy in slippery flip flops). He explained to us what the cave meant to the Mayan people, it was a sacred area. When we entered the main cavern I was surprised at how huge it was. It was so hot inside and there were plenty of bats to keep us company. He told us that the main cavern was used as a Mayan church in the past where the people would come to worship and make sacrifices. He only spoke Spanish but he had perfected 'watch your head' perfectly in English which was helpful. He then brought us to the natural hot springs which were down in one of the caves, we had to clamber down a ladder into the hot water which he told us was about 25 degrees Celsius. It is thought that the water has healing properties, I went down first and was surprised when Felix started pouring the water on my legs....and then massaging them! Explaining that it would help with any leg pain. Free massage and healing water for €1.50. Bargain! We only lasted about ten minutes in the hot springs as it was so hot. We headed back to our boat and continued onto Lívingston.

It was time for lunch when we arrived. I was looking forward to trying the famous 'tapado'. A seafood soup of crab, whole red snapper, shrimp with plantain, onions and peppers made with coconut milk and served with warm coconut bread (100Q/€12). It was really tasty almost with a Thai curry flavour but I was defeated as it was huge. One of the guys was also challenged to a Garifuta shot which was shotted like tequila with lime and salt. When I say shot, it was about 60mls. He managed it well and one of the locals seemed impressed. We also had 'coco locos' (a whole coconut with rum and coconut milk inside). Apart from a few craft and souvenir shops and the great food there isn't a lot more to Livíngston. You only really need an hour or two to explore the unique culture.

Topado

Next stop: Antigua, Guatemala
Food: Topado - fish soup in Lívingston, street food in Flores
Drinks: The coffee in the Jungle lodge in Río Dulce, the best coffee I've had so far.
Lesson 4: Bats are cute!

Thursday, 22 September 2016

'Go Slow' in Belize

#3
Caye Caulker, Belize
We left Playa Del Carmen at 6am on Thursday and headed for Belize, an English speaking country and my first stop in Central America. It is classed as a more expensive country in Central America, roughly €0.45 equivalent to 1 Belizean Dollar (BZD), although US dollars (USD) are also widely accepted. Belize has such a range of ethnic groups including Mayan, Menonite, Creole, Chinese and Central American Spanish speaking people. The food Is an amazing mix of Latin American and Caribbean but with creole flavours. Lots of fresh fish, tortillas, rice and beans and not alot of vegetables.

From Playa Del Carmen we took a taxi to the bus station where we took an 'ADO' bus to Chetumal, near the Mexican/Belizean border. The bus took roughly five hours and was pretty comfortable with air conditioning, toilet and films (in Spanish of course). After a brief taxi we mentally and physically prepared for our next bus....the famous 'chicken bus'. These buses are common throughout Central America. They are ridiculously cheap and are mainly used for public transport however can also be a mode for transporting goods. They are old American school buses that were donated for public transport usage. They are hot, can be very crammed with limited leg space (they were made for children after all) but are definitely an authentic experience. They tend to leave whenever they are full but luckily we only had to wait about thirty minutes to depart on a three hour journey. We were the only tourists on the bus. After about an hour we made it to the Mexican border where we had to produce our passports and pay the Mexican exit fee (25USD). We then got back on the bus and about twenty minutes later made it to the Belizean border, we produced our passports again and some bags were checked. It was relatively straight forward. I was pretty nervous about crossing my first border so was glad we had our lovely (and fluent Spanish) tour guide Bree with us. We were also entering an English speaking country, even after only two days in Mexico I was used to greeting people in Spanish. The chicken bus brought us to Belize city, it was an amazing way to see the country with reggae music blaring on the bus for the whole three hours and local vendors coming on th bus at various stops selling cold drinks, sweets and tamales.

From Belize city we got a forty minute water taxi to Caye Caulker and arrived at about 4.30pm, having lost another hour due to the time difference. Caye Caulker can only be described as paradise.....white sandy beaches, turquoise water, amazing seafood and even more amazing local people. It is also has the second largest barrier reef in the world (after Australia) and the snorkelling is amazing. There are no cars on the island, just bikes and golf carts. At just over eight kilometres long, there isn't any need for cars. You can see the sea from every direction. The motto here is 'Go Slow' and the local people definitely comply with that saying.

'The Split'

That night we went to a one of the Shacks on the beach for a BBQ, Fran who owns the place was amazing and is definitely a character. For 25 BZD (roughly 10 euro) I had BBQ jerk chicken with garlic bread and mashed potato and unlimited rum punch..a very good introduction to Caye Caulker.

Caribbean BBQ delight

We ventured out after to the 'sports bar' (the spot to go out)...needless to say the heads were sore enough the next morning. That was cured quick with breakfast and a swim at 'The Split', the main swimming spot at the top of the island. Caye Caulker is now actually two islands since the Haiti earthquake in 1961 and now the island is split in two (hence 'the split'). You can swim across as to the north of the island quite easily(watching the current). It is mostly marsh land and kept as a nature reserve but one of locals was telling there are about 50 families living over there still.

That night we booked onto a Sunset cruise booked with ragamuffin tours around the island which was
amazing. More reggae music and copious amounts of rum punch. We also had boat made salsa prepared freshly and nachos and met more some amazing people both travellers and locals.

Captain Shane

After the cruise docked we went to a place on the beach called 'enjoy' where I had a whole lobster, coconut rice and vegetables for an unbelizeable €8!!! Probably the best meal of the trip so

far. We of course went back to the sports bar for more rum and dancing. The next day was spent
swimming at the split, getting braids like big kids and cycling around the island.

First Chicken bus

Amazing BBQ'd Lobster

Next stop: San Ignacio, Belize
Food: Homemade banana bread from the local vendors, fresh BBQ'd lobster, tried a homemade 'tomale' from a
streetvendor- Corn bread with chicken and vegetables inside, all wrapped in a banana leaf. I was too fragile to enjoy it though.
Drinks: rum, rum, rum and coke, rum punch. A litre of rum is about 6USD or 12 BZD
Lesson 2: If you go running island where their motto is 'Go Slow' you will get strange looks.

San Ignacio, Belize
Our second travel day was spent navigating across Belize, close to the border of Guatemala to San
Ignacio. Which is set beside the Mopan River. We had very scarily and sweatily crammed onto a
chicken bus from Belize city which was so full we had to stand in the aisles, with three people to
every seat on the bus, our bags were stacked up against the driver or on our legs or under the bus. It
was a free for all and we were also told very illegal. When the bus left the bus station they kicked
anybody off that was standing in the aisles....we therefore just walked out of the bus terminal and waited on the side of the road where the bus came and picked us up once it had left the terminal.....safe. It was a Sunday though so like at home there are less buses on these days. After about forty minutes we managed to get seats for another three hours on the chicken bus, the further we got into Belize the more green it became and almost felt like we were in the jungle. We were staying a little bit out of San Ignacio in an eco lodge owned by a local family. They have composting toilets, limited electricity, outdoor showers, a butterfly farm and frisbee golf (random)! We were the only people staying there but there was lots of iguanas, lizards, spiders and bugs to keep us company. They have a small kitchen area where one of the daughters made us dinner. I had Belizean chicken with rice and peas, avocado and fried plantain....it was very tasty, maybe as we hadn't eaten since breakfast.

The next morning a few of us went to the local, and my first Mayan ruins, called xunantunich. It was only a short walk down to the river where a small ferry brought us across, we then walked about 2km up to the site. Entry was 10BZD. It was raining for part of the day but the humidity was ridiculous. We were told that these were smaller Mayan ruins but they were amazing. Especially as you could climb to the top of them. Up the wet, uneven steps but with the help of a small bannister.

The views were spectacular. We could see the border of Guatemala but were surrounded by jungle and mountains. As we were walking back down we saw a scorpion, holler monkeys, lots of butterfly's and iguanas. Hopefully I'll be getting over my fear of spiders at some stage. We also had encountered a tarantula outside our lodge the night before.....lord.

The next day we were up at the crack of dawn to make my third border crossing, handle a third currency and third country in one week to enter beautiful Guatemala where I'll be spending over three weeks.

Next stop: Flores, Guatemala
Food: homemade BBQ'd chicken
Drinks: a few local beers called Belkin, ginger Fanta!!
Lesson 3: Composting toilets are not as bad as they sound!

Jxxx

First post June 2016

This is my first blog post written back in June 2016, three months before I set off on my first adventure solo.

So why have I decided to (attempt) to write a blog? I say ‘attempt’ as apart from English essays written in school where a high percentage ended in…’and I woke up and it was all a dream’, I have not written much else. OK well there a few ‘poems’ I wrote with a school friend when I was about 7, mostly about flowers and one (published..ahem ahem) poem called The Petshop but lets not dwell on my previous career in Poetry just yet.

Anyway, I am now almost 27, I am from Dublin but have been living in England for nearly five years; two of which I was studying for my postgraduate diploma in dietetics and three of which I have been working within the NHS as a clinical dietitian. I have just completed a masters qualification during which I was working full time…I pinpoint this as being the critical array of incidences (having to resubmit my thesis twice and crying into excel spreadsheets most evenings) as to what led me to making a drastic and scary life decision. I have decided to leave my permanent job which I enjoy, in a department I love, to sell my car, leave my friends and cat (every single gal’s best friend) and to spend my (not so abundant) savings to go travelling….alone.

Luckily my parents have also been very supportive and have encouraged my to pursue this expedition (although I am sure they will have some sleepless nights wondering where in the world I am and whether I wearing sun cream to protect my very Irish skin). Work colleagues on the other hand seem to have adopted the word ‘brave’ a lot when I explain I am going alone (although I know when they say brave they really mean possibly clinically insane, I can see it in their eyes)!

Anyway I am going….I have booked my flights to Mexico and have twelve whole months to explore Central and South America, and even further if my purse strings allow and my desire to explore persists.

As mentioned above I am a dietitian – most people ask me does this mean I ‘don’t eat chocolate’ and ‘live on salads’…No it does not. I love food, cooking, reading about food, eating food and learning about food from all over the world, so my blog will also be influenced by this. Eating well whilst on a budget and trying not to get too many ’bouts’ of D+V (that’s diarrhoea and vomiting for those not used to dealing with this on a daily basis in hospitals). So along with my fancy new hiking boots, I will also be bringing a large supply of rehydration sachets…just.in.case.

Anyway, hopefully this first post won’t put people off (I promise not to talk too much about bowels movements, although being a dieitian it is an important topic of concersation). The main reason for writing this blog is for friends and family (if they are bored enough to read it) so enjoy!

J xxx

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2 thoughts on “My First Post”

Jemima

June 13, 2016 at 7:47 pm Edit

Welcome to the blog-o-sphere! And may I just say you’re living my dream. You just upped everything and now you’re going travelling? Lucky! This sounds so amazing. I’m definitely going to be looking forward to your travels.
I wish you all the best in your blogging and physical journey.

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1. hungrytowanderblog
  
  June 13, 2016 at 7:53 pm Edit
  
  Thank you so much for the support! I have another three months before I go but will be easing myself into the blogging world in this time xx
  
  Liked by 1 person
  
  Reply

'YOLO' in Mexico

I wrote my first post about a month ago when I was still planning on setting off. I am now in Mexico. In the last two weeks I have left my job, cat, car, friends and family. I had a full week in Newcastle and one in Dublin. During this time family and friends were asking was I nervous.....the answer: No. I think everyone else was more nervous for me. Maybe I should have felt nervous but I just didn't (I'm about as emotional as a stone sometimes). Or maybe I'm just impatient and wanted to get going.

I managed to pack my life for the next year in a modest backpack, and smaller rucksack...even surprising myself considering I was 7kg over my baggage allowance coming back from Newcastle a week earlier.

Maybe I wasn't nervous as my first 16 days are already planned out with a 'YOLO' group tour starting in Playa Del Carmen in Mexico and ending in Antigua in Guatemala where I will spend a further two weeks (attempting) to learn the lingo while living with a local family. I have already ensured I know the basics.......how to ask where the bar is and how to order a drink (imperative), I can also swear quite well in Spanish after a narcos binge over the past couple of weeks...(I actually watched the whole season in three days).

After a comfortable ten and a half hour flight, hour bus and half an hour wandering around with my life on my back in scorchio heat looking for my hotel, I checked in and headed straight to the best beach to dip my toes into the sea. I met my group that night and we had our brief on what the next 16 days would entail. There are ten of us in total coming from all over the world including England, North America, Canada, Australia, Denmark and of course, Irish. We are family for the next 16 days and it feels like I've known everyone for ages already. We went for dinner in a little Mexican place recommended by our tour guide, we all had traditional Mexican dishes and of course cerveza (beers) and some margaritas.

The next day we were up at the crack of dawn, 6 of us had opted to go on a day tour of whale shark snorkelling off the coast of Cancun. Apparently there are only a few places in the world you can snorkel with them and the 'season' ended In two days' time. After this it is thought the Sharks then head further out to sea and are more difficult to find. I was reassured the Sharks were herbivores which swayed my decision to agree to jump in the water with these creatures. Once in a lifetime opportunity! So my first day on my trip was spent on a little (but very speedy) boat miles out to sea snorkelling with these massive creatures where we were close enough to touch them and surrounded by them as well as manta rays. We spent a couple of hours out there and I was blown away at how docile they were letting us swim side by side with them. We did however get a shock when one whale shark swam under our boat and 'bumped' us three times from underneath (angry shark)! On our way back to Cancun we stopped at Isla Mujeras, white sand and turquoise clear water. I was informed that this is rumoured to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world (I could see why). While we were having a swim, our day guide and captain prepared us 'ceviche', a Peruvian dish but also eaten in Central and South America. It consists of raw fish marinated in lots of lime juice, herbs and onion...so fresh!

Fresh Ceviche

Manta ray

That evening (our last night in Mexico) a few of us went to a '100% natural' Mexican restaurant. I had chicken and Cactus fajitas...the cactus was nice and tasted like grilled green peppers. I had a 'vampirina' to drink (beer mixed with pineapple and lime juice). We also went and had some 'Mezcal' cocktails on the way home, Mezcal is the traditional drink in Mexico and is made from the Aloe plant, to be honest I wasn't overly keen, it had a vague taste of tequila with a turpentine aftertaste.... I'll stick to tequila from now on..or rum which is the local drink in our next country.

A beer vampirina

We called it s night as we were meeting the next morning at 6am to head to Belize...roughly a 12 hour journey.

Next Stop: Caye Caulker, Belize
It's a Yes: Ceviche, Cactus
It's a No: Mezcal
Lesson one: I ALWAYS need to wear sunscreen....I now have comical knee burn thanks to my wetsuit. Burnt to a crisp