Lago de Atitlan

We are now on the edge of one of the deepest lakes in the entire world, Lake Atitlan, the left over crater from a massive volcanoe blast 85,000 years ago. It's over 2000 feet deep and teeming with fresh water crocodiles. Well, no crocs but it is beautiful and the surrounding mists that enshroud the nearby volcanoes that puff contentedly in the distance make me want to sing John Denver songs at the top of my lungs. Thank God I'm a country boy.

Anyways, the journey here was nothing short of epic. That means it was difficult Philip, life isn't just a bowl of curried Lobster on this trip. No sir. The bus ride from San Pedro Sula, Honduras was fraught with bad music and even worse movies. Our air conditioned bus featured Cat Woman played at an unavoidable decible on the big screen. Once the movie ended it was the Beegies, Air Supply and Foreigner. Angela became ill and it wasn't from the curvy roads alone, of that I am sure. The driver threatened with Kenny Loggins at the border so we hurriedly paid more, got our passports stamped and were on our way.

We reached Guatemala City around 6pm as darkness fell. The city is home to over 4 million and it is crazy to see McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken fighting for the same corner. We switched to a taxi there and hurtled on to Antigua, touching down around 9 pm. There is only about a 4 thousand foot hill seperating Antigua from Guat City but it is quite a change. On the ride down the mountain we passed vehicles with sparks coming from their brake pads and discs that glowed red in the night. Awesome. Luckily our driver didn't use his breaks so our taxi survived uninjured.

Angela and I roamed the streets for a bit before a family took us in for the night. They had a hotel and all so it wasn't a charity situation or anything like that. We spent the next day exploring the cobblestones, checking out the local market and walking aproximately 400 blocks. It was quite the little city.

This morning we boarded a 10 passenger van and hurtled off to Lake Atitlan at 7am. The driver pointed out areas along the road where massive mudslides earlier this year had killed people in their homes and shut down the road for 15 days. The devastation that still remains is hard to imagine. Within a few hours we were on the beautiful shores of Lake Atitlan where we jumped in a boat and head across to San Pedro del Lago where we found plush accomodations and Jeb and Anna from Texas who showed us around. This looks like a grand spot we will definitely stay through New Years and perhaps a week after that. Next on the list is horseback riding to the top of one of these volcanoes with some fireworks and see if we can get things going around here.

Ciao for now,

J and A

Antigua- Cobblestones and Volcanoes

We are now in the ancient colonial city of Antigua, Guatemala. The streets are cobblestone, the churches are massive, and it is as though we have stepped back to the 1700´s. I bought some big black shoes with buckles and Angela has taken to wearing a dashing green cape and white gloves. Actually that is not true, we are down to t-shirts and shorts because it is blasted hot and dry. We awoke this morning to breakfast on a terrace overlooking the city with not one but two volcanoes smoking in the distance. I thought I spotted a pteradactyl but Angela´s keen eyes pointed out it was just more vultures. We are both suffering a bit from Seagull Syndrome (I shan´t go into detail) but our spirits are high and we are enjoying wandering through Central America´s first capital city. Tomorrow we bus on to Lago de Atitlan where we´ll stay through new years. I´ll post more tonight once the sun is down.

Vaya con Dios Amigos!!

Feliz Navidad

Merry Christmas to all!

We have just taken the morning ferry from Utila to La Cieba. It´s tough to leave our tranquil little island behind but move on we must and the rain there has been a bit of a downer. Right now it is dumping buckets on the streets of La Cieba, there is nearly 6 inches of running water at the crosswalks and I saw a boatload of Puerto Ricans stranded on a small curb at an intersection, their raft had run aground and they looked confused.

We plan to bus across the border now which will be a 12 hour ordeal, naturally we shall travel first class as that is what we are accustomed to but it will still take awhile. We will bus from here to San Pedro Sula this afternoon, spend the night, then continue on to Guatemala City in the morning tenatively arriving around 5pm. We will get out of there as soon as possible since it is full of gangsters and loose women. One hour away is the quaint town of Antigua where we shall regroup and rally for another 3 hour bus ride to San Pedro de Atitlan on the shores of lake Atitlan, renouned for its tranquil beauty, volcanoes and roving banditos. Sounds nice.

Christmas dinner was spent with Steve and Michelle and new friends from England and Holland. We dined on curried lobster, shrimp, turkey and coconut tartlets. It was all quite delicious but made standing up difficult at the end of the meal. Such are the hardships when one travels in the 3rd world.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night,

The Legend Continues

The weather today is hot and humid, a nice change from yesterday where it rained so hard Angela was washed right off the dive dock. Luckily she wears a bright red jacket so we picked her up in the boat before she had drifted too far. Apparently last December the island recieved 77 inches of rain, yikes. I dove yesterday down to a wrecked sailboat 60 feet down that was guarded by a barracuda, he wasn't covered in mango sauce so I let him be. I had two great dives with Alton Dive Masters but it was raining and blowing above the water so I got pretty cold, even though it was still 70F. Last night we went Italian and had pasta with shrimp in a white wine sauce, most excellent. The night before was bbq lobster at RJ's bbq, a heavily favored local spot. The lobster was amazing and RJ is the ultimate bbq dude, he looks like he quit his job as an ultimate fighting champion to bbq anything that holds still and he has attained master status.
Today I begin my advanced dive course which will start with a deep dive to 100 feet where we will check out the wreck of the dread ship Halliburton. I can't wait. Beyond that all is well, Angela will be off on a snorkelling adventure and then we will plan our culinary assault on the island later on tonight. I'm thinking bbq...

La Vida Loca

Hello friends, we are still alive and well. Today we took it easy and stayed out of the water, exploring Utila and meeting the locals. They are incredibly friendly people and their accent is a joy to listen to. We met up with Steve and Michelle after lunch with the idea of snorkelling on the west side of the island but a sudden rainstorm forced us into a bar and we were waylaid for a bit. Afterwards the sun never really came out so we bagged the idea and headed home to the hammock. Tonight we will try out RJ's BBQ which is supposed to be excellent and then it's off to Bar in the Bush, a famed night spot with a volleyball court and good people. Tomorrow we move yet again into a waterfront hotel associated with Alton Dive Shop where I will begin my advanced certification. It looks like a great place and I am excited to get more dives in, Angela has decided to stick with snorkelling and navel gazing, her specialty. The only drawback here has been the fact that it is indeed the rainy season and when a cloud breaks overhead it dumps inches of water in seconds. Amazing. But it is still at least 80F at all times so there is no hardships.

TTFN
J and A

Thrilla in Utila

Angela and I have just surfaced after a morning of diving so if it sounds like I have water on the brain, well, I do. We landed in San Pedro Sula the 17th about 3 pm. We caught a bus at 6 and were in La Ceiba by 9:30pm. We met some travellers who recommended Hotel Paris which turned out to be great. We launched our stuff inside the room and were soon drinking beers poolside as the night air cloaked us in a wonderful 86F. We slept the sleep of the overtravelled and awoke at 8am for a harrowing taxi ride to the ferry terminal where we found out the boat did not leave until 4pm. So we hooked up with some other backpackers and taxiied back into town with an even crazier driver. We spent the day exploring La Ceiba, trying on hats, sweating, dodging cars and listening to extremely loud spanish music from speakers placed at random in the streets. I tried to buy a straw hat to keep the sun off but apparently my head size is unheard of here so that was a bust. We boarded the ferry ontime and were in Utila by 5pm. Steve and Michelle greeted us on the dock and took us straight to Tranquila Bar where we watched the sun set over the ocean and rehydrated with various beverages. We then booked in at Rubi's, a nice little spot with AC and a fridge. We ended the night at the Mango Inn eating grilled Red Snapper. Decadent and delicious.
The next morning I dove with Steve and Michelle at Utila Dive Center. The water was warm but it rained like crazy on the way out and has been overcast ever since. It was a good time though and it felt good to get back in the water. We spent the day exploring the island and eating which prepared us for dinner which was fresh Barracuda in Mango Sauce at Dave's Restaurant. The best I have ever eaten. I will look upon Barracuda with renewed respect and the rumor is that Dave is a retired master chef from San Francisco and he knows what to do with mango and spices, we shall return. The evening wound down at the most amazing open air bar\hotel\restaurant I have ever seen. The entire thing is crafted from recycled glass and must be seen to be believed. The night's entertainment was acoustical guitar and the vocals of a lonely Canadian. Again, excellent.

This morning I dragged Angela from her room at the crack of 7am and we headed out with Alton Dive Shop to see if Angela remembered all that she had been taught relating to scuba diving. She did and was off like a gold fish, leaving the dive master behind in a wake of sand and seaweed. We went down to 60 feet and watched Black Angelfish, Cow fish, and a Grouper the size of a Volvo. It was incredible. Our dive master was from Italy but his name was Daniel not Ricardo or Terramizu or something cool, but that was ok, he was nice, the boat was small, uncrowded, and piloted by Joe, a local boy. The locals speak a sort of pidgeon creole English that is much better than any English I've ever spoken. I am taking pains to learn the dialect and shall return to spread the word.

We are now staying at Freddy's which has a deck over the ocean with big hammocks and cable tv which is why we moved. Angela couldn't leave Judge Judy behind and without the Tyra Banks show I just get cranky.

I hope everyone reading this is well and happy and doesn't hate us for having the most fun in the world.

Ciao,
J and A

We Have Arrived!

Hello sportsfans,
We posted a wonderful account of our trip thus far two days ago but it is apparently lost in cyberspace so here we go again. The flight to Miami was uneventful, no terrorists, vomiting children or otherwise. Angela did lip off to the TSA a bit but nothing they couldn't handle with intimidating stares. We spent a wild night in Miami, but again no shootings and everything went as planned. On the 15th we flew into Atlanta right behind an ice storm. We lucked out once again because the storm didn't do too much damage and the airport had delays before us but we were right on time. Angela's mom picked us up and took us straight to the brand new Georgia Aquarium. There are guards positioned at the entrance to the aquarium so we were searched once again, in the cold rain, before we were allowed in. Luckily Angela did not take on the guards this time so all was well. We were there two hours and saw an incredible amount of fish in massive aquariums, well lit and easy to see. The highlight of course was the Whale Shark exhibit where rays passed by in huge schools and the Whale Sharks trolled along like Greyhound Buses. We finished up the day at Touch of India, the best indian restaurant in Atlanta. It's so famous the owner has a picture of him and the band members from Great White and the Bullet Boys up on the wall. Wow.

The next day we visited Angela's dad and drank our weight in sweet tea. We ate at the Hickory House, which is some good southern cooking. Hickory smoke boiled off a massive bbq in the back and there was a cop at the counter complete with pointy silver star on his shirt so you know it's gonna be good. Of course none of this could compare to Angela's grandma who cooked an epic feast that night of green beans, sweet potatoes, fried okra, dressing and again gallons of sweet tea and a farmload of turkeys. We all had to roll ourselves home after opening a few early Christmas presents.

It was a nice visit, but too short, so we'll be back before long.

Where in the World?

Here is a map of Honduras, get out your magnifying glass or click on it to enlarge. They don't speak English or Latin here although it is called Latin America- that is crazy. We will land in San Pedro Sula and then take a bus for 1.5 hours to La Ceiba on the coast and then a ferry ride over to the island of Utila where we will dive and eat fresh fruit for the first week. So far that is all we have planned. That leaves 3 weeks unplanned- no itinerary- no ideas- nada. We'll find out soon enough just how smart that is going to be.

We haven't left yet

Ok, we haven't left yet but I'm excited. Currently it is about 12F and snowing in the wee Alaskan town of Girdwood and we will soon be leaving that all behind. Today Angela and I bought diving masks and I was so excited I drove home with mine on. Not such a good idea in hindsight as I now have a massive purple ring around my face and my nose has a bright red crease in the middle, no matter, at least I know it fits properly. Tomorrow we pack our bags and make sure they don't leave our sight at any time until we are onboard our redeye to Miami, FLA. I am thinking of wearing my "Don't Shoot, I'm Bipolar" shirt as a safety precaution and shout out to the TSA and Air Marshals. - J