Well, my dad has returned to The States and I´m back to the solo road. Man! We had soo much fun together! So, after Tikal and Belize, we took a boat over to Livingston, Guatemala and escaped the exit fee that Belize normally charges if you leave by land (nice little hint if you are planning on going to Belize). After about a week we finally figured out the best method to travel. When we arrived at a new place, we would locate a bar for my dad to sit and relax (have a beer) while I went out and found a hotel...haha! It worked great! Our place in Livingston was great...like a resort. By far the best place we had stayed. One night we saw a sign for Lobster that night advertised at Q150, or about $18.00. We thought what a steal so we ate at the hotel restraunt that night. Come to find out that it was Q150 per side of the lobster.....and we each had a whole lobster. You do the math. When we saw the bill was Q800 we were a little shocked. But since it tasted so good (and we were a little lit by then) we let it slide. haha!
We took another boat up the river (Rio Dulce) to the town Rio Dulce. There we had a couple of options, but decided to head on to Antigua, Guatemala. With 30 minutes between when we arrived in Rio Dulce and when the bus departed, I decided it was a good idea to order a pizza. Not a good idea. With only minutes to spare, I stuffed the last piece in my mouth and ran to the bus station, where my dad was waiting (nearly panicking). But we made it in time, and it´s a good thing we ate bacause it was a 5 hour bus ride and we only stopped once.
We arrived in Antigua around 8 pm...not a great time to arrive in a city anywhere, let alone one in Guatemala. I had read my guide book earlier that day and had an idea of where we might stay. Luckily there was a landmark (an arch that went across a street). I told the driver to take us there. It just so happened one of the best hotels in the city sat just below the arch. What luck! By this time we were ready for a beer. Although the town was quite dead (due to the celebration of Semana Santa the previous week), we found a really nice little place. It had kind of an italian feel and was great. We past the next few days in Antigua looking at the shops and enjoying the cobblestone streets and European atmosphere.
On the second to last day I persuaded my dad that a volcano tour was a good idea. Having climbed a volcano before, he wasn´t too interested but decided to come along since I told him how many good things I had heard from other travelers. We were picked up at 6 am, and had about an hour and half journey up into the mountains. They dropped us off in a poor community where we were met by out guide. At the time tons of young children were trying to get us to buy walking sticks and rent their horses. A few in the group decided to get a walking stick, but my dad and I decided to pass. No one got a horse. We were about 2 minutes into the hike, (which turned out to be the most difficult terrain) and I turn around and see my dad renting a horse...haha! At the time, of course I made fun of him. haha! But by midway throught the hike, I think a lot of people would have paid him to trade places. It was a difficult hike. Afterwards I was glad he got the horse. Even I was struggling towards the end. At the top though, the horses couldn´t pass. We had to climb the volcanic rock (which is super sharp) to get to the opening where the lava flowed. We were literally 2 feet from the lava. Very cool! But my shoes didn´t think so. The soles actually melted a little. The trek through the volcanic rock was no easy treck. Loose rock and no real path made it difficult and dangerous. A girl in our group lost her footing and cut her arm open pretty bad. Let´s just say my dad was bad when we got back to the part when he could get back on his horse for the ride down. I was proud of him!
We stayed in the Howard Johnson for our last night in Guatemala City. While my dad showered, I thought I ´d head down to the restraunt and get us a couple of beers while we got ready before dinner. I explained (in perfect spanish) that we would be coming for dinner and i wanted to start a tab and get a couple of beers. The guy couldn´t have been friendlier, but informed me that they didn´t serve alcohol there. WHAT! Turns out, it was a cafe and the nearest bar/restraunt was a 15 minute walk. Guatemala City is the most dangerous city in Guatemala and not a place you want to walk around. We decided to take a taxi to the Westin to have drinks. It was SUPER nice. I had my headband on and didn´t fit in at all. I didn´t mind though and threw down 3 vodka tonics. I knew it was going to be my last time to have a good drink for a month or so. Naturally, I took advantage of the opportunity. We decided not to eat in the Westin, and walked down the street a ways and found a nice little restraunt. We caught a cab home and thus ended our journey. I saw my dad off at 5:30 am the next morning (the hotel provided a free shuttle to the airport). At 5:31 am, I was back alone. Let me tell you, it´s a little odd to have someone with you at one minute and then the next, be in a country all by yourself. Luckily, I had gone through it already when Katie left Cancun, so I knew what to expect and handled it fine. I went back to sleep for another 2 hours and then passed some time in front of the television until 1 pm (checkout time). The hotel was nice enough to give me a ride to the bus station at 2 and at 2:30 I was on a bus headed towards Quetzaltenango, or Xela, pronounced Shay-la. I spent Friday and Saturday in a neat hostel and met two very interesting people. One from Hawaii and the other from California. On Sunday, I enrolled in a language school for a week. I work on my spanish and teach english while living with a family. I´m currently living with a very nice woman who is pregnant and has two young kids running wild around the house. The husband is out of town this week, and the blind grandfather lives upstairs....let´s just say....it´s an experience. But I´m loving it! Quite different from Guadalajara.I´ll update you with the details about my time this week later...but things are great! I am healthy (other that several bug bites) and the family doesn´t mind if I have a glass of red wine while I read my current book, The Partner by John Grisham. It´s a story about a lawyer who steals 90 million dollars from his lawfirm and runs off to South America. I thought it was appropiate since I´ve decided to go to law school this fall. Whoa! Surprise! Yep, I accepted my scholarship and am attending Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Fl. I start August 10th....
