Well, we started our spanish class today. We were there promptly at 9am excited to learn. She gave us our book and dove right into the alphabet...we were feeling really good about that part and having fun pronouncing words and asking for meanings. Then we dove right into the 2 forms of "be" (Ser and Estar). We spent the next few hours trying desperately to understand completely overwhelmed and trying not to get frustrated. Thankfully, Carmen, our sweet and patient teacher, kept a smile on her face and a sense of humor. We were assured that by day 3, we would be feeling a lot better about things. When the bell rang at 1 signalling the end of the class, we were surprised that 4 hours had already passed and relieved that it was over.
We went and had some sandwiches for lunch (a club sandwich for rob and and egg, cheese and bacon sandwich for me...I know...very guatemalan) while we tried to figure out what we dont know and how to get a grasp on it before tomorrow's lesson.
It gets pretty hot here during the day so we holed up in our room and hit the books all afternoon. I made a bunch of flashcards and we spent all afternoon quizing each other. I hope we can remember at least a little of it so that Carmen is impressed with us.
Its been brought to my attention that I really havent addressed the food on our trip. We've eaten a surprising amount of pizza and burgers which I'm not proud of. Tomorrow I will take pictures of all of our meals...dont be disappointed.
We figured out that we can easily spend twice as much on food as we do on our hotel room which is pretty tough to swallow, even when it is just $10 for a meal for the 2 of us....that would be 80 queztels and no matter how hard we tell ourselves thats not that bad, it just sounds like a lot. Because this is such a touristy place, the restaurants can get pricey for a meal with some meat. The guidebook led us to the Central park for some cheaper food. We found some ladies at a table selling some kind of rolled tacos with a beef mixture. We bought 3 of them, 2 fried plantain dumplings and a cup full of some kind of pudding for 8 quetzels which is $1. We then went back for 3 tostadas for 5 quetzels and then rob bought an ice cream cone for 7 quetzels. We are stuffed and its been over an hour with no stomach issues so we will definately go back there for more dinners. We also found another taco joint with similar prices somewhere else that we will check out tomorrow.
My brain is jelly so I'm going to sign off. I promise food pictures tomorrow...
I uploaded some more pictures to Picasa from San Ignacio Belize and Flores. Click the link on the right to see more of our photos.
We have decided to go ahead and do a week of spanish classes here in Flores. It just makes sense to do it at the start and then logistically, it will be easier for us to see the parts of Guatemala that we want to see if we arent as focused on getting to the very west of the country. I hope it is fun and that we are able to learn a lot. It should make the rest of our travels a lot easier. This town is so peaceful that it should be easy to focus on studying in the evenings.
Rob developed a small chest cold yesterday afternoon and we werent sure if we were going to travel today but after resting all evening and a good sleep last night, he woke up this morning ready to move on.
It was such an interesting travel day. On our way out of town, we stopped and said goodbye to some of our new friends, then we took a small detour to the highly recommended french bakery for a cheese croissant and a donut and we caught a cab for the border. It was overcast with a haze over the tops of the hills which was just beautiful. The cab was stopped at a little checkpoint where they gave the driver a hard time about his brakes..great... and then we kept going to the border. It was an easy border crossing and before we knew it we were in Guatemala.
Thankfully, the guidebook warned us that the cab drivers would try to take advantage of us and they sure did try. They were offering rides for up to $100US but we found a collectivo (a small van) which took us all the way to Flores, which was around a 2 hour ride. It was pretty packed but I found the ride really interesting. When we first got on there was a family with 3 charming little boys. The oldest kept his little brothers busy playing with some rubber bands. The kids were enthralled by his 2 tricks that he kept doing over and over...it was so refreshing. We stopped a few times, letting people on and off. The landscape here is beautiful. We saw tons of horses and cows. As a matter of fact, at one point, there was a gorgeous horse just standing in the middle of the road. A few minutes later, there was a dog just sitting in the middle of the road....no big deal, we just went around them. We saw men carrying huge stacks of wood on their backs.
We finally arrived in Flores which is a small island on a beautiful lake connected to the shore by a small causeway. The town is small and quiet but obviously a big tourist spot. As far as we can tell, it is just small hotels, restaurants and shops. We looked at a few hotels recommended by the guidebook and finally chose one for $15 a night with a view of the lake, AC (which I dont think we will need), a bathroom with hot water and a Tv (which we hope has cable). On the top floor is a lovely hang out spot (where I am sitting now) with a great view and some hammocks.
The island is tiny and we walked it in around 30 minutes. There are these cute little tuktuks that take people around and I really want to take one. The island is so small that I dont really see the point but I think we will need to run to the town just off the island to hit an ATM so that might be a good excuse. I'll post some pictures when I have an opportunity.
Communication is a challenge with our terrible Spanish which has us even more motivated to get to Xela for some Spanish classes. The money is even more challenging. Belize has us really spoiled with its English speakers and easy 2 to 1 money conversion. In Guatemala its $7.5 Quetzels to $1. We know that things are cheap but we had to think twice when our lunch bill came to $95 (under $13 for a huge bottle of water, a coke and 2 huge plates of chicken tacos).
I think that we will take it easy tomorrow and maybe hire a boat (launcha) to take us around the lake and then we will go to Tikal the following day.
Rob developed a small chest cold yesterday afternoon and we werent sure if we were going to travel today but after resting all evening and a good sleep last night, he woke up this morning ready to move on.
It was such an interesting travel day. On our way out of town, we stopped and said goodbye to some of our new friends, then we took a small detour to the highly recommended french bakery for a cheese croissant and a donut and we caught a cab for the border. It was overcast with a haze over the tops of the hills which was just beautiful. The cab was stopped at a little checkpoint where they gave the driver a hard time about his brakes..great... and then we kept going to the border. It was an easy border crossing and before we knew it we were in Guatemala.
Thankfully, the guidebook warned us that the cab drivers would try to take advantage of us and they sure did try. They were offering rides for up to $100US but we found a collectivo (a small van) which took us all the way to Flores, which was around a 2 hour ride. It was pretty packed but I found the ride really interesting. When we first got on there was a family with 3 charming little boys. The oldest kept his little brothers busy playing with some rubber bands. The kids were enthralled by his 2 tricks that he kept doing over and over...it was so refreshing. We stopped a few times, letting people on and off. The landscape here is beautiful. We saw tons of horses and cows. As a matter of fact, at one point, there was a gorgeous horse just standing in the middle of the road. A few minutes later, there was a dog just sitting in the middle of the road....no big deal, we just went around them. We saw men carrying huge stacks of wood on their backs.
We finally arrived in Flores which is a small island on a beautiful lake connected to the shore by a small causeway. The town is small and quiet but obviously a big tourist spot. As far as we can tell, it is just small hotels, restaurants and shops. We looked at a few hotels recommended by the guidebook and finally chose one for $15 a night with a view of the lake, AC (which I dont think we will need), a bathroom with hot water and a Tv (which we hope has cable). On the top floor is a lovely hang out spot (where I am sitting now) with a great view and some hammocks.
The island is tiny and we walked it in around 30 minutes. There are these cute little tuktuks that take people around and I really want to take one. The island is so small that I dont really see the point but I think we will need to run to the town just off the island to hit an ATM so that might be a good excuse. I'll post some pictures when I have an opportunity.
Communication is a challenge with our terrible Spanish which has us even more motivated to get to Xela for some Spanish classes. The money is even more challenging. Belize has us really spoiled with its English speakers and easy 2 to 1 money conversion. In Guatemala its $7.5 Quetzels to $1. We know that things are cheap but we had to think twice when our lunch bill came to $95 (under $13 for a huge bottle of water, a coke and 2 huge plates of chicken tacos).
I think that we will take it easy tomorrow and maybe hire a boat (launcha) to take us around the lake and then we will go to Tikal the following day.
As you all can tell, we love it here. I always try to see only the good things when I travel but I would hate to paint an inacurate picture of Central America, having someone come down here and be dissappointed. Belize is not the united states and it certainly isnt some picture perfect resort. Almost everything feels a little dingy and there are no environmental laws here so cars and trucks can emit a lot of smoke. Our hotel here in San Ignacio is on a busy little intersection on a hill so all night long we hear loud cars and trucks. Most travelers smoke so if you hate cigarettes you could be miserable. Of course, people are poor and their houses are small. If you love to stay in resorts or have high standards for cleanliness, stick to the resorts of Mexico, you would probably hate it here. The beds definitely leave something to be desired.
I dont think its bad at all but I've never been a resort kind of girl.
Tomorrow we head to Guatemala.
Sure we have seen some great things but the best part of traveling is the people. We have been talking a lot to other travelers. Rob, of course, spends a lot of time talking to guys and is currently talking to a group of men from all over. I needed a break and saw an older woman from our hotel sitting alone at Eva's the bar and information hub of the town. I walked over to her table and asked if she minded some company because I needed some female conversation. I really picked the right table because she has been all over the 3rd world. We talked about Africa and Asia. She told me about her experience hitchhiking the other day here in Belize. I'm so inspired. Its great to be surrounded by people who not only share my desire to see the world but who have figured out how to do it. I want to enjoy this trip and really treat it like a vacation but in the back of my mind, I'm constantly trying to figure out how to turn this into a lifestyle. I havent been lucky enough to start a company that will send me checks every month like the Brit that we met yesterday and I dont think that I am that ambitious anyway but I know there is an answer. Its only been a little over a week and I guess there is the possibility that after 6 months we will want to just settle down but I have a feeling that this is just the beginning of many adventures.
I'm posting the rest of our pics to Picasa tonight because I'm realizing that you guys are missing so much.
This morning we took a short tour of an iguana conservation center. These little guys were becoming extinct because "Bamboo Chicken" is a delicacy. They are trying to educate the children that this is a bad thing.
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