Guatemala

And Gutemala City it is, one of the most dangerous places on this part of the world. But all that of course is far away from the very touristic Antigua, the old part of the city where the most you have to worry about is ever present and very persistent street hawkers. Still recovering from my suspected dengue encounter, I just spent 3 days lazying around this charming place, enjoying the good coffee or reading my book in the Zocalo or doing the tourist sightseeing round the hundred and one chrurches and plasas present in Antigua. On a second visit we trekked up Volcan Pacaya, a bizarre experience given the fact that the last part of the trek was basically over blazing lava!!

Rio Dulce was again chillout time. Excellent weather and just a couple more guests at the hostal meant peace of mind. Swimming, reading and eating for a couple of days. This is where i got to know about a place called Semuc Champey. Staying at El Portal, overlooking the river, we had rain the first day so i decided to stay on the hammock and plan my visit, borrowing lonely planets and trying to make it on time to meet Alvin in Mexico.

Decision which paid off cause the next day was a cloudless day, perfect weather. We headed to the national park of Semuc Champey. An hour walk and we were on the mirador,overlooking pools of turquoise blue waters forming a limestone roof over the magnificent river passing underneath. The beauty of this special place takes a while to sink in . It didn t take that long though to walk down and dive in the clear turquoise water and absorb the energy that is said to exist in this place.

Lake Atitlan, an absolutely gorgeous lake surrounded by volcanos and small villages was my base for a couple of days where all we did was gaze at the beauty of the lake and seeing it change shapes and then fade out. San Pedro the village we stayed at can be easily described as an in your face hippie hot spot, and can be quite intense at times with European ppl trying too hard to fit in. The colourful native market of Chichicastenango was a pleasant Sunday trip from San Pedro, where Mayan natives try and sell hand made textiles, masks, wooden items, hamocks, hats and a hundred other similar items basically at any price you are willing to pay.

Tikal, the world famous Mayan ruins of Tikal was the reason for my second entry into Guatemala back from Mexico through Belize, along with a hundred and one scams on border controls from officers and money exchange ppl alike, was worth every hassle we had getting there.

Five in the morning and the jungle starts to wake up with the loud scary noises from Howler monkeys who make sure everyone around knows they are awake. This obviously wakes up neighbours amongst which are the colourful Tukans who fly around irritated trying to get far from the loud screams of the monkeys. All this surrounds the Mayan ruins of Tikal, scattered amongst pristine jungle, with all their magnificence unrevieled as the earth makes one more turn around the sun. This was sunrise over this special place called Tikal. We spent all day accompanied by a pleasant guide telling us the story of the Mayan rule over these temples.

A perfect ending to my journey through Guatemala, a truly unique country. And next... Mexico