Itinerant Wanderings...

Not all who wander are lost... but those looking at a map on the corner probably are.

I left Belize this past Sunday for the glory, suspense and action of Guatemala. Entering into the Northern part of the country, I first headed to El Remate, a tiny little town on the side of Peten Itza lake. The closest settlement to Tikal, El Remate is a one road town that is known for beautiful wood carvings, of which I saw many. I figured it would be an easy place to reach for my first night traveling alone, which turned out to be true, and I stayed in a little thatched attic over some very hippy folk for about 3$US. After checking the guidbook and talking to some locals, I decided to head south on the 5am bus the next morning towards Coban with a stop in Sayaxche to take a trip to the ruins of Dos Pilas.

Standing under a street light on a lonely dark street Monday morning was when it truly began to sink in that I was traveling alone. Fortunately I didn´t wait long before headlights came around the corner and I hailed a bus heading towards Santa Elena, where I knew I could catch another to Sayaxche. The long ride worked out as planned and I arrived at my jumping point for Dos Pilas around 7h30am. After asking around though, I found out it was much too late to get to Dos Pilas and still be back to the bus stop in time for the last bus to Coban at 3pm. Apparently it´s a hour and a half boat ride to a trailhead for a three hour hike in to Dos Pilas. Needless to say it has yet to become a tourist hot spot. I was rather dissapointed since I was excited to see an example of ruins from the Terminal Classic period but ended up being convinced by a local boatsman that he could take me to Aguateca, a smaller nearby ruin with impressive crevasse, that was used as a natural defense system. In my haste to make this stop worthwhile and do something outside of the suggestions in the guidebook, I took him up on the offer without much negotiation and payed more than I would have liked. The fellow at least turned out to be a decent guide and during the ride out there was able to point out considerable wildlife as we passed many locals fishing in traditional style boats, it was really a beautiful site, all the more since I was the only tourist on the river. I ended up hiring his services as a guide to the ruins as well, which turned out to be a good chance to practice Spanish and see some ruins. This site in particular fell after a war with neighboring Maya while they were still constructing a major temple; the unfinished bohemoth still stands in front of a massive pile of cut stone ready to be used for construction. On the way back out, nearly back at Sayaxche, we passed a boat of tourists going the other way, cameras poised and bow-riding guide pointing out sights. The look of interest, awe and a little envy from most of the tourists crammed into their boat at me riding with not but my backpack and a local guide made me smile a bit..."Yea, that´s right" I thought "You´ve got your slick brochures and tour packages and I´m riding it solo."

Back on the bus towards Coban, it started to rain. The trip was a long one and I arrived in the little city in the darkness and pouring rain. Pulling my raincoat and packcover out of the pack I desperately studied my map to try to get my bearings, to little avail. I wandered arounf for a while asking directions from locals who always made it seem as though what I was looking for was just around the corner. I finally found a gentleman who was able to suggest another hostel that he knew and I checked into a dorm room there. After a phonecall home, a stink at an internet cafe and a tour of the city without my backpack, I hit the guidebook again to figure out what was the next step.

Since there isn´t much activity right in Coban, and I had a few friends in San Pedro la Laguna, a town on Lake Atitlan with several good language schools, I decided to leave Coban that morning to get to Atitlan and hopefully enroll in a language school for a week to improve my Spanish more quickly. I had to go through Guatemala City, a rather infamous spot, in order to get another bus towards Panajachel, on the shores of the lake. Looking at the map of "Guate" as it´s called locally, I realized that I was going to have to cross several miles of this city of 15million people in order to get from one bus station to another where the buses run towards the highlands. It seemed a lot easier on the map than it turned out to be and once again directions from locals made it seem as though none of them knew how to get around the city either. After a few unsuccessful attempts at following instructions from very confident individuals and even being lead around by a Belizean fellow living in the city for 8 years, I ended up hiring one of the notoriously expensive taxis in hopes of getting out of this chaotic, ant hill of a city. It´s a good thing I did since it felt like we were driving forever before we finally made it to the station just too late to get a bus to Panajachel in time to catch a boat across the lake to San Pedro.

In some stroke of luck though, I was called over to another bus that looked unreal for all the colorful decorations inside and out and was told they were going to Panajachel. the price was right and I hopped on to later find out that they were in fact driving all the way around the lake to San Pedro, so I was going to get to my destination after all. A jaw rattling, nerve shattering bus ride that involved a stint on a not-yet-constructed road, a stop to trade one bald tire for another and some cutbacks over the mountains that make U turns look wide and I finally arrived in San Pedro just before nightfall. A kind fellow from the bus offered to guide me towards the hotel I was looking for and eventually advised that I hire a Tuk Tuk, on of the three-wheeled taxi vehicles to take me through the winding streets. Not wanting to wander any more streets, I followed his advice. The ride was quick and with the hotel in sight the driver stopped for a woman on the side of the road. She turned out to be the proprietor of the hotel she was sitting in front of and when she heard I was going to stay down the street she started negotiating. Normally I would have turned her down and suck to the guidebook, but for some reason I decided to at least check out the room with a private bath that she was offering for 2$US per night. I ended up taking the room and when she found I was from the States she excitedly told me that they had two French folks and two girls from the US staying upstairs. I nodded politely and followed her to the roof to see the hammocks that view the lake. The view was great and I paid for the room. On the way downstairs she again pointed out the room where the US girls were staying and I acknowledged with a smile that I would meet them tomorrow. But, to my horror, she knocked on the door to introduce us then. A white girl came to the door looking rather confused, when the woman said she was from the States she responded that, no, she ws actually Canadian. Feeling rather foolish I said Hello and tried to explain what was going on when from the back of the room I hear a quisical voice say "Shaun?!"
From behind the Canadian pops the familiar face of Emily Falta, a UVMer who had left Belize a few days before. With a smile and a hug we greeted and the proprietor smiled and walked away, further convinced that everyone in the States knows each other.

We went out to dinner and on the way home ran into two other UVM students here for language school for the next few days. It was great to sit down and have someone to talk to and show me a few streets of the maze that is San Pedro. I was able to enroll in Spanish school this morning and start classes tomorrow and my home-stay tonight. 20 hours of 1 on 1 instruction and 6 nights homestay with three meals a day for 138$US! Pretty sweet and the school is beautiful. I´m loving this little town in the mountains on the edge of the lake and will be here for at least a week.
So began my solo travels and I suspect that after this week I will be much better prepared to get the most of the rest of my time down here. I´d love to write in more detail, but Internet is a bit expensive in this place, so perhaps some more refined stories of adventure and misadventure will come over the Summer when I am again Stateside.
More adventures to come!