San Marcos, Tikal, Rio Dulce & Livingston

Where to begin?  It's been about 10 days since I sat down to write to you all and a lot has happened.  I've seen some amazing places and done some pretty amazing things!  Now, hopefully this blog can capture even a fraction of the beauty and intrigue I've had.

I fell in love with San Marcos on Lago de Atitlán, Guatemala.  There is an indescribable beauty in the countryside and villages surrounding Lago de Atitlán (Lake Atitlán).  Lake Atitlán is one of the largest caldera in the world (top 20, I think) and it is surrounded by the remaining volcanos.  The volcanos rise directly from the water's edge and rise to impressive, monstrous peaks.  Honestly, I almost skipped Lake Atitlán because having grown up in the Pacific NW surrounded by lakes and mountains, I kinda figured "you've seen one lake with a huge mountain in the background, you've seen them all."  Well, not so.  I've never been anywhere like Lake Atitlán.  The lake water is, in most places, blue and clear.  The tiny villages that dot the banks of the lake seem to each have a different way about them than the next.  Panajachel is a known tourist spot.  San Pedro comes in second on the tourist radar.  San Marcos is known for its tranquility and meditation centers.  Santiago Atitlán is generally considered to be the least touristy, but also the most dangerous.  Santa Cruz is supposedly the quietest of the villages, but I can't speak from experience because the most I saw of Santa Cruz was the dock.

As you know, I settled into San Marcos.  I love San Marcos!  One day, I will go back.  It has one major street, but most of the town is connected by narrow walkways lined with buildings, stone walls, beautifully arching flowers and plants...and dogs.

There were stray dogs and family dogs roaming the walkways and streets of San Marcos; they each have their "territory" and guard it somewhat fiercely.  I ended up staying in the Hostel y Restaurante San Marcos.  The place was great!  I had a private room, shared bathroom and breakfast for Q50!  That works out to about $6.50 USD a night!  Better yet, the hostel is fairly centrally located and connected to an Italian pizza restaurant.

It is also connected to Restaurante Fé and it's upstairs open-air café, which offers free WiFi to its customers.  There is young American couple (Kyle and Kaely) who run the café.  They were traveling down Central America and loved San Marcos so much that they accepted the job of running the café.  They are full of information and very helpful.  We quickly became friends and spent quite a bit of time together.

I spent a couple afternoons in San Pedro (although I spent my nights in San Marcos), which is a short boat ride from San Marcos.  The boats are the same type as the one I took originally from Pana to San Marcos.  They should hold about 16 people or so, plus the captain and his mate, but you never know if you will be on a boat with 6 people or 30.  They are like mini ferries; the boat to San Pedro from San Marcos is Q10 (about $1.25).  San Pedro is definitely geared towards tourists when you get off the boat.  In fact, it SCREAMS tourist trap!  (I will, however, say that Pana is worse...more on that later).  Restaurants, tiendas and bars are jammed together along the main street leading away from the dock.  There are tuk-tuks everywhere that will take you anywhere in the city for about Q5, which certainly makes the steep climb up from the dock worth it if the day happens to be blistering hot or raining.  Many of the tiendas sell clearly factory-made goods.  I discovered that if you want something handmade, you're better off finding a street vendor who sets up his wares on a table in front of the regular shops.

One of the afternoons with Kyle and Kaely, we ventured to San Pedro for some essentials and to get Kaely a new pair of hand-made shoes.  They guy who makes them is named Pedro.  He stands about 4'9" and always has a smile on his face.  You can go to him, have him draw the shape of your feet on a piece of newspaper, and get a custom pair of leather shoes in two days...all for about Q300 (about $40).  I understand that Kaely loves her new shoes.  :)

Near San Marcos, a short walk/hike along the edge of the lake, is a place of natural beauty.  It's a protected area and you pay Q15 to enter.  There's a dock (which they call a trampoline...don't ask me why) from which you can jump about 25 feet into the lake.  I chickened out.  Being afraid of heights isn't very fun in those situations.  Oh well, it was still beautiful and Kaely and I were able to catch some decent rays.

On the Saturday before last (about a week ago), Kyle, Kaely and I went to Pana for the night.  The trip was to celebrate Kaely's birthday of the week before, which she didn't get to celebrate since she was working.  First a stop in San Pedro, then on to Pana.  The trip to Pana was fairly uneventful, but we did meet some travelers from San Francisco.  It was nice to hear about their adventures.  But who cares about that, really, when you're surrounded by huge volcanos, a vast, clear lake and a wonderfully fascinating new culture?  I spent the majority of that boat ride staring out over the water and thanking God for bringing me to Lake Atitlán.

I spent most nights in San Marcos just chatting with other travelers or Kyle and Kaely.  For some reason, I didn't find it in me to spend a lot of time writing.  I don't know if it's because the place was TOO peaceful or if I just didn't have anything to write about or if I just needed a break.  Whatever the reason, I regret not having written contemporaneously with my time there.

Paul, the proprietor of Restaurante Fé and the hostel helped me make arrangements for my departure from San Marcos.  As much as I didn't want to leave, it was time. I'd spent 5 nights in San Marcos (well, one of those was in Pana) and it was time to move on to see other things.  I was supposed to catch a shuttle from San Marcos to Tikal (look at a map...they are quite far apart).  It was supposed to leave at 8:30 a.m. and I understood that I was to arrive at midnight.  Ugh.  Long day of traveling, right?  Nope.  Not A long day; more like two.  The shuttle didn't arrive until almost 9:15 a.m. (dammit, I would've had time for that breakfast after all!).  The shuttle took me to Antigua and I arrived there at about 1:00 p.m.  Fortunately I love Antigua, because my "layover" was 5.5 hours.  At 6:30 p.m., I hopped another shuttle to Guatemala City.  My driver dropped me off at a bus terminal teeming with locals and travelers.  I had another two-hour wait for my bus to Tikal.  Awesome.  I couldn't leave the terminal because it was dark (and therefore not safe), so I found a place to rest my pack and chill for a bit.  The bus to Tikal was NICE!  It was one of those overnight buses with a bathroom and comfy seats (thank God).  I quickly fell asleep and let the countryside roll by without any attention.  I arrived in Flores, Guatemala, at just about 6:00 a.m.  There I was, half awake and groggy from not-so-restful sleep, standing in the middle of a turn-out with my bus, several shuttle vans and people screaming, "come this way!  I'll get you right to your hotel!"  I think they time the bus arrival that way specifically to take advantage of stunned, half-awake travelers!  Fortunately, I was going to El Ramate (a village close to Tikal and bout 45 minutes from Flores) and so was another couple, so we all hopped on the same shuttle.  I arrived at my new hostel around 8 a.m.  Ugh.  What an exhausting trip!  I'll tell ya, though: it was worth every penny and every minute!  Tikal is amazing (more on that in a minute).

After some food, a nap and some chill out time, I was ready to explore.  So, the next morning, I hopped onto another shuttle van for the trip to Tikal.  The ride was only abut 15 minutes to the park's entrance and we watched one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen.  After buying my ticket ($20), we rode another 15 minutes into the heart of the park.  Tikal is now an internationally protected site (I can't remember the name of the organization under which it's protected and don't feel like looking it up).  It is deep in the Petén, a region of northeastern Guatemala known for its rainforest and several Mayan ruins.  Tikal is, by far, the largest of the Mayan cities discovered in the area and certainly one of the most impressive.  We started our tour (our tour guide, Cesar, was phenominal) around 7 a.m.  We saw many birds and monkeys, along with a horde some sort of animal that is closely related to the raccoon.  We also saw one rodent-type animal related to the capybara.  We walked and climbed miles in the park, which is fairly spread out.  The buildings are made of limestone and some of them are badly deteriorated, although they are being restored in part.  Temple IV is the highest peak in Tikal and we climbed to the top to look over the top of the jungle and marvel at the other Mayan buildings peaking out from the jungle's trees.  It was an amazing experience, and one I will never forget.

After El Ramate and Tikal, I decided to head to Honduras.  Turns out it's not so easy.  I took a collectivo (which is one of those shuttle vans that runs on a regular schedule picking up people along the way) to Santa Elena.  In Santa Elena (which is near Flores), I bought a ticket to Rio Dulce.  Rio Dulce is on Lake Izabel.  Rio Dulce is both a town and a river.  I met another traveler getting off the bus who also was looking for a place to stay and we ended up having the dorm (a room with bunkbeds, sometimes sleeping 8-10 people) to ourselves. We were both headed to Livingston the next day, so it was nice to not be traveling alone for a short spell.

Livingston is accessible by boat, and only by boat.  It's a beautiful 1.5-2 hours from Rio Dulce, full of beautiful greenery, bird watching and a hot spring.  Unfortunately, we made the crossing in a torrential downpour.  Fortunately, the poncho my mom gave me on the eve of my departure was in an outside pocket of my pack and easily accessible.  Also fortunately, it was relatively warm.  Still, I didn't understand the need to stop at a remote island to gaze at vultures in the pouring rain.  Nonetheless, the trip was fun and filled with beauty.

We docked at Livingston, still in the rain, and I had the luxury of carrying my 45-pound pack up and down and around winding, water-filled streets...in flip-flops.  The first hostel my travel mate and I were ushered to was full.  Sigh.  Another long walk up an even steeper hill in seemingly even heavier rain brought us to our second try.  Success!!  A hostel for only Q40 each with a private bath!  It's a bit out of the way, but the walking does me good.

Livingston is a Garifuna town.  The Garifuna people are descents of Africa.  They have their own language comprised of English, Spanish, French and an African dialect.  The town is infused with Caribbean music.  At night, bars and restaurants BLAST their music so loud that I don't understand how anyone can actually sit in those establishments.  The beaches are nothing to marvel at, although the town IS right on the coast.  People sell vegetables from make-shift tables along nearly every street (which seems odd to me considering how little vegetables are used in Guatemalan fare).  There is a tienda every 25 feet or so.  And a bar or restaurant in between every tienda.  The streets are filled with activity during the day.  It's the vibe in Livingston that draws people to it.  And I totally get it.  The vibe here is laid back, free-spirited and lively all at the same time.


That first night in Livingston it rained and rained.  I prayed that the heavy rain would mean that the next day saw hardly any rain, and my prayers were answered.  We woke up and set out on a 1.5 hour walk along the beach.  Our destination?  Los Siete Altares (Seven Altars).  We walked along the beach, which was scattered with garbage for most of our trek.  I still wonder how so much garbage can just sit there along the shoreline without anyone caring enough to clean it up.  I don't know if the garbage washed ashore or if it was dumped there.  I saw more mismatched shoes and plastic bottles on that walk than I've ever seen outside of a garbage dump.  It made me sad to witness such carelessness.

After a long, hot walk in sultry weather, we came upon the path leading to Los Siete Altares.  Q20 to enter.  What?!  We'd heard it was Q5.  Oh well, if you figure the price based upon US dollars, it was still only $2.50.

As a side note: I try not to think in US dollars because everything will seem really cheap and it's easier to spend money.  I've had to try to reconfigure my brain to thinking in terms relative to the Guatemalan currency.  I've tried to think, "I pay, on average, around Q40-Q80 for a room for the night and I should compare everything to that."  It's not easy, but that's the way of life down here.  Based upon that comparison, take a look at US hotels.  If you pay, on average $80-$125 night for basic accommodations and compare everything to that, you can see how expensive things are.  Lunch down on the street here goes for about Q10-Q25.  Lunch in a restaurant is about Q25-Q45.  So, the price for entry to Seven Altars is about the price of lunch.

In any event, the price to enter Los Siete Altares was a little shocking, but worth every penny.  We climbed over rocks and walked through rushing water, eventually finding ourselves at an amazing waterfall with a perfect swimming hole.  Ahhhh, bliss.

I spent a total of three nights in Livingston -- three more than I ever planned.  It's a little seedy at night, and you have to wonder if the cops are on the take, but it's safe enough to wander around the main streets after dark.  A group of us were told not to walk too far along the beach at night, lest we be victims of robbery.  OK, got it.  Stick to the main streets.  All in all, I like this place, but I don't feel the peace I felt in San Marcos.

I leave tomorrow morning for La Ceiba, Honduras.  Looking forward to another journey.