About half way there we stopped at a agriculture checkpoint, and I really needed to wiz, so I hopped out and found my way to the bathroom with the help of one of the agents working there. He was sporting a big smile and seemed happy to practice his English with me. It is a challenge to blend in when you are 6'5" with blond hair in Guatemala, so you get lots of attention. Petty crime also seems like a bad decision. Who would they get to stand in a lineup with me?
Anywho, I was walking back to the car and the same friendly guy pointed to where everyone was and said "Your friends are over there.". I responded with "Mis amigos, no, son mi familia!" (cause I was enjoying speaking Spanish). He looked surprised, but then he saw Sue holding Luna and it all clicked. My Guate Peeps.
The water park was a blast. Jaime, Eric and I did all the big kid slides and some were quite thrilling. Being at the tail of the distribution for the clientele I was concerned that the rides might be calibrated without regard for the Dutch Stallion, but I just seemed to get stuck more than other people, as opposed to flying off anything. In the afternoon I convinced Sue to go on my favorite slide with me. We both piled onto this double inner tube thing and slid down through some twists and turns, then, you go down a steep ramp that sends you back up a 1/4 pipe on the other side. You get pretty high on it, then fall backwards and slide into a pool. It really gives you a rush. It was a fun trip for all. Even Sandra went on the rides!
All along I was still chewing on the decision of where to go. In order to pull off the Cuba thing I would need to get so much set up and rush to the airport early. The other option was Costa Rica, but the flights weren't that cheap and I read through the guidebook and the activities that were appealing to me seemed like a lot of work to get to. I decided to travel with Rebecca (Sue's friend) up to Flores.
Flores is a small island town that is best know as a base for exploring Tikal. I was thinking of crashing at a hostel there, then heading south through the Peten to explore and make my way eventually to Rio Dulce. Rebecca splits her time in Flores and Guate, so she rents part of a house in Santa Elena, which is the town connected to Flores by a bridge. Rebecca offered up her extra bedroom and I accepted. I explored Flores for the afternoon and the she picked me up at 5:30. I took a much needed shower and we went out to dinner on a deck built out on the water. We talked about all kinds of stuff, but she told me about Caye Caulker.
She pretty much sold me on the place and we stopped at the bus station on the way home to secure my ticket. She also called her Taxi guy to pick me up early the next morning, which was super helpful. The next morning I was on the bus and on my way.
The bus ride was a good look at how most of Guatemala lives. The roads were falling apart or just plain dirt. I even saw 2 dead horses on the side of the road. I had my ipod to keep me company and listened to a great interview with Alan Alda about his new book about finding meaning in life. I think I am going to read it when I get home. The summary of it could be stated that the most meaning in life is found when you really listen to other people and live in the present.
We arrived in Belize City ahead of schedule, which was a surprise to me, since the bus had to navigate so many rough roads along the way and we needed to pass immigration. When I landed in Belize, I got on a water taxi for Caye Caulker (Key Caulker). I am actually typing this from the internet cafe called Cayeboard Connection, cute huh. I checked in to a really nice hotel here to spoil myself with a hot shower and AC.
I went out to explore the island and on the way back there was a basketball game starting up with some of the locals. The shouted out to me "Hey Luke Longley, come with us mon!" I thought about it for a sec and thought it sounded great. I told them that I needed to put on sneakers and the one guy said "Don't need them mon" and I looked down to see that half of them were barefoot. I still got my shoes. I waited for the first game to finish and then I was on the court! The game was definitely "Street Ball" with no fouls being called and many of the other finer rules not being called. I noticed that before entering the game, so I knew what I was in for.I ran full court for three games! The locals were pretty good and I was especially impressed with the barefoot players. Their feet were smacking on the ground and that, combined with the court banter in Criole/Spanish/Garifuna/English (nearest I can tell) it was a spectacle. They played a zone defense and always took the ball out from the side, which made me think that there was a soccer influence at play. I didn't score too much, but did my best to play good D and grab rebounds. Scoring was a bit of a challenge since, well, I am more than twice their age, and, the hoops were at different heights and, well, they fouled my post up move everytime. Ok, no more excuses.
I was completely exhausted after the second game and pretty much moved like a zombie in the third. After that I was keen on a shower and a hammock. Which I smartly achieved at the hotel. After that, I set out for dinner. On the way I stopped off at a tour company that had an Adventure Trip planned for leaving the next day. It would be 3 days and 2 nights of snorkelling, fishing and camping. I put my name down and was told to show up the next morning at 8:00.
Unfortunately, that also got cancelled due to lack of people, but I signed up for the all day snorkelling trip. That turned out to be a BLAST. I saw Sharks, Tarpon, Turtles, all kinds of fish, and even the tail end of a Manatee! I free dove through a cave with the guide that was about 30 feet deep. It took me 3 tries to get down low enough, but I finally did it! After the third stop, we set sail back to Caye Caulker and started drinking. They made a Rum Punch with fruit juice that was "Weird Good" and by the time we reached the dock, the whole boat was schnocked.
I made some new friends on the trip and we all met up at Jolly Rogers World Famous BBQ for dinner. I was SOOOOOO hungry since all I had that day was a sandwitch on the boat. Then when we finally got everyone to sit down and placed orders and all, it took forever to get the food. All the ladies got their food first and I was the second to last dinner that was served. This place is basically a BBQ grill and 4 picnic tables on the beach. Roger is a native CC dude weighing in at about 400lbs. It had all the signs of being great food and when it finally came, it was rapture. He felt bad for making me wait so long, so I got 3 lobster tails, a snapper filet and coconut mashed potatoes (all for about $15). There was a convenience store across the road where you could by beers and bring them over. After dinner, which was about 10:30, I was done. It was off to bed for me.
Today I am going Fishing with one of the guides here. It is normally $200, but he is taking me out for $100 since it is so slow. I am hoping to catch my dinner! Tomorrow, I set off to a series of busses and boats to get back to Guate. It should be a full day of travel, but I think I can handle it as long as my sunburnt back cools off a little.
That's all from paradise for now.
I will add some picks when I get to a better computer.....
DMW
