Monday, June 16, 2008

Pictures!

Yes - there are pictures

And we have to do one after 5 hours of Internet use!

Laters people

The adventure begins

So, Indian Jones 4 is out at the movies, we have been told it ain't all that, and coincidentally we embarked on the most action packed adventurous week of our trip so far. We hummed the theme tune a lot, and we weren't humming that we were still stuck on Mahoney's theme, having seen the Belizean Police Academy just outside thhe capital, Belmopan. But that's not important right now.

We caved in San Ignacio in Belize, we climbed and marvelled at the Tikal ruins over the border in Guatemala, we swam in lake Peten Itza, and we cascaded and caved again in Semuc Champey near Coban surrounded by the majesty of the Guatemalan Alta Veracruz mountainous countryide.

We joined a lot of tours to do this stuff, which is unlike us, but having good guides enabled us to do and see stuff that wasn't otherwise possible, as we will explain a little later. Moreover, we probably had a bit of a group mentality aruond this time because of some lovely people we met. And meeting great people has been a real bonus.

From the first time we saw them at the Oceanside kareoke on Caye Caulker, to realising they were in the next cabin to us at Marin's, then the boat back to Belize city, then the bus to San Ignacio, then staying at Hi-Et, then going on the ATM cave tour, then crossing the Guatemala border, then staying in the next room in El Remate's Sun Breeze, then the dawn Tikal tour, then the bus to Flores, then them having the deluxe suite above us in Casa de Lacandon in Flores - we spent most of 5 lovely days in the company of Paulo and Marc, the Cuddly German Couple with the incredible ancestry - via Cape Verde, Spain, Brasil, Bavaria and now hailing from Dusseldorf.

Just as Marc and Paulo had to start heading back to Mexico before returning to the Fatherland we caught sight of the enemy in El Remate. Smiling along at the sight of their victory against Greece in the Euros, we met the evil Swedish couple. Except of course they weren't: evil or a couple. Marie and Per (you can pronounce it how you want - he doesn't care) are the Svensk Super Siblings that we have a feeling we might still know many moons from now. We have just had to say goodbye to them (in Coban, central Guatemal) as they have a sailing trip to do back up to Belize where Marie has been studying. From El Remate, we did the Tikal sunrise tour, bus to Flores, Happy Bean breakfast, Freddie-Mercury-jazz-guitar-dinner, bus to Semuc Champey, the amazing Semuc Champey pools and waterfalls (which we might not have considered seeing if Per hadn't got us excited about them), the Lanquin caves and then the bus to Coban, and finally dinner and breakfast at the lovely Casa D'Acuna.

Marie will be remembered for her distaste for guidebooks (especially the LP Central America as carried by 95% of all tourists anywhere - more later) until the final morning when she was photographed taking notes from the bible (as it is known) while Per read aloud. Meanwhile Per will be remebered for his shopping; in particular his ability to seek and then miraculously find 1984 vintage Casio digital wrist-wear, and one dollar basketball shirts.

These two may also have had a profound effect on our future. We have an inkling of something we might do when we get back to the world next year based on some of Per's work. It has us really excited - the only problem is that we kind of have to sit on ot for 7 months and hope it is still a possibility when we get back. Let's see. Unfortunately readers, we have to keep some mystery in this epic tale.


Anna and Marc ensure they have the proper protection before venturing towards the cave entrance

Come on you reds! Per and Marie after the hike up to the Semuc Champey viewpoint

Reef madness

We have discussed it with many travelling companions, especially as many people we have met were 'skipping Belize' on their travels, but it has to be said that Caye Caulker should be on everyone's list of places to go in Central America.

A small sand island just a few KM long and 800m wide, Caye Caulker is a magical slice of the Caribbean, ideal for backpacker types. There is a choice of pretty basic cabin and small apartment accomodation, laid back bars and restaurants serving creole, mexican and Belizean fare, plenty of rastas, English and creole pattoir language, no real beach to speak of - but azure tropical water filled with marine life all around - oh and the world's second largest reef system - and for the diver's the 'world no.3' site: the blue hole.

We had a great day snorkelling with the reggae boys; Steve, Steven and Harry, who made up for the lack of guidance with large doses of rum punch on the way back. We sailed with a gaffa taped boom; saw turtle, eel, sharks, rays, gruper fish and coral in the water. It was a bit tough to be in a big group when we had to go into close formation where the current was strong - and we could only see other flippers - but we always felt safe - as we joked that if there was any trouble our god-like skipper Steve would just rise up like Neptune, part the waters and lift the boat clear.

After a few days just chilling (sun bathing and learning Jose Gonzales riffs respectively) the reggae boys appeared in the Oceanside disco (Caye Caulker's only night spot of note) to thrill us with R. Kelly's 'I belive I can fly' and 'We are the world'. Frankly they were a tuneless shambles but we love them. We also got lucky by witnessing the sashing of the contestants for Miss Lobster 2008 and the associated revelry.

The highlight for Jamie on Caye Caulker was joining the daily 5.30 footy match with the locals, who took it very seriously, came well equipped and went in hard, on a pitch that was littered with dangers (plastic forks, sand, mud, mounds etc.). Special mention must go to Juice and Walter for their part in a regular event which is top secret. Sorry readers, but that's just the way it has to be.

The moral of this story is; go to Belize before it is totally overrun by Americans. Belize has reef and jungle, probably the only two natural phenomena (apart from Wayne Henty) that you cannot find in the US. And it is English speaking. And just a stone's throw from the US and the uber developments in Mexico like Cancun. Go soon folks and enjoy it.

Hanging with the Caye Caulker wildlife after another backgammon session

At the 'split' enjoying the sunsplash vibe

And we thought Jamie looked most like a lobster after getting burnt on the first day on the island; The ladies fight it out for first prize

You Better Belize It

To cut a long story short Belize City is the most charmless, threatening and unpleasant place we have ever been to. It is small with only 30000 people but a total mess. Of course, it is even worse in the worse floods in a generation.

We arrived in darkness and had a wild goose chase around town through flooded, potholed streets to find a vacancy. At the Seaside Hostel we were greeted by 6 inches of water in the alley, the sea wall being breached on the coast road few feet ahead, and the crazy new owner, who tried to drag us out the taxi. He succeeded with our travelling companion, Inga, who was shown a soaking room with wet matress before being reduced to tears in front of the rest of the guests. meanwhile we found a nice room in the Three Sisters across town and luckily the better half of the Seaside management forced the owner to drive Inga back to us.

We holed up in Three Sisters for three nights while the rain eased. Luckily there was cheese and wine available nearby. Sadly Belize City seems light years away from saving. Conversely just a 45 minute water taxi away lies the wonder of Caye Caulker (pronounced key corker).


Albert Road is actually Belize City's high street. And this is a flattering viewpoint

Arthur

"Let's keep an eye on that hurricane" they said.

Well, we wanted beach in Tulum but when we arrived it had been raining for 3 days and was due to rain for 3 more so we took the decision to head to Belize after consulting the weather reports.

What we didn't quite realise was that we were about to drive through the heart of Tropical Storm Arthur - a key component of the Alma-Arthur system that bought rain to southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and much of Honduras for ten days.

Our bus from Tulum back to Chetumal on the Belize border and then down to Belize City was the hairiest ride we have ever been on due to the incredible amount of water on the road. The bus aquaplaned most of the way or had to slow down to ford the torrential currents. Luckily the high wheel base kept our gear dry and enabled us to get all the way to Belize City, which 3 was impossible for cars.

Sadly we have since discovered that Arthur brought the worst floods in Belize in 30 years, costing 5 lives, and causing havoc in the south of the country. The hurricane season usually begins on 1st June each year and Alma-Arthhur confounded the experts by starting on 30th May, at an unusual latitude, and with an irregular path.

Three Arthur songs:
-Garnish Fantasy
-Lose Your Mind
-Arthur's Moods


The bus station was under about 10cm of water before the storm even got going

Just a glimpse of one of many shacks and buildings that we saw inundated on the bus south