Wednesday, October 7, 2015
On The Road Again!
Family, Friends, and Followers,
I've decided to get back on the blog and continue to share my experiences with you!
It is hard to believe that I've now been traveling, living, and wandering through Guatemala (once again) for a little more than 6 weeks!
There has been some major differences this time around and I'll get to those in just a bit, but let me first tell you how I got to where I am now...
After last years adventure, I made some changes to the itinerary starting first with our airline. Rather than pay nearly double for an air plane ticket out of LAX, I decided with my grandmother that we'd be flying out of Tijuana International Airport. It was half the cost, convenient, and threw us right into the Latin culture!
Oops, I might have left something out... Yes you read that correctly, my grandmother! Traveling with my Grandma was possibly the best decision I've made. Everywhere we went, travelers from around the world all appreciated the spirit my Grandma displayed while wandering through the "Land of Maya" with her grandson Brock-O. Of course I've missed the company of my TresAmigos, but traveling with my Abuelita has taught me a lot about myself, my family, and my culture.
As soon as we touched down in Guatemala, I felt at home, and my Grandma could clearly see it on my face. We hit a lot of traffic leaving the airport, and that gave me some much needed time to brush up on my Spanish with our taxi driver!
Prior to arriving, we had booked our first 5 nights in Antigua using AirBnB. The commercial sold me on the idea of staying at someone's house and experiencing life through their eyes.
When we arrived we were greeted with a big hug from our host family and a slobbery wet kiss from our four German Shepard guard dogs!
I knew that our apartment was in a good area, a part of the town that I was familiar with. What I didn't know is that we'd be staying behind the school where we spent a week studying Spanish the year before!
Our host family shared with us what was and is currently happening in Guatemala... They made us aware that we came during a time of political uproar throughout the country. The people of Guatemala are demanding change and feel that they have a voice to do so! Our hosts said it is the first time in their lives they have felt "Guatemalan!"
Before bed that night, we turned on the tele and flipped through the channels. All news broadcasts were giving a public service announcement confirming to us what we had just heard. "The 27th of August, marks a day where we are all for Guatemala!"
#27A #YoEstoyPorGuatemala
What perfect timing for my arrival!
The following day, we were woken up by church bells at 6:00am sharp! We enjoyed a cup of cafe on our balcony and watched as people gathered in Central Park for a peaceful protest. It only felt right for us to join in on the rally! Perfect opportunity to rock my Guatemalan fútbol jersey!
We spent the next few days exploring, and visiting all the sites I wanted my Grandma to see. She was blown away by the friendliness, beauty, and culture of Antigua. Of all the spanish speaking countries she has traveled to, she claimed that Guatemala spoke the most similar to the spanish she has grown up with.
We enjoyed the luxuries of Antigua, but were ready to see more of what Guatemala had to offer! Yes it was hard to leave, but we knew we had to get on with our adventure... Plus I knew that the Lake would be a magical place for my grandma.
Upon arrival to Panajatchel, Lake Atitlan, Grandma and I were greeted by some friends I had met the previous year! Pana had not changed one bit!
We settled in and quickly hit the town! I knew a spot to eat that had an incredible view of the lake! Safe to say, grandma was not disappointed...
After a big meal, we needed a siesta para la fiesta...
We were awaken by the everyday thunderstorm. It was actually right on time, unlike most events here. I guess I should've known better than to leave the window open between 2 o'clock and 4... Anyways, we decided to enjoy our complimentary bottle of wine on our top deck patio while watching the lightning strike, so it wasn't all too bad!
We were recommended to go to Circus Bar for pizza and live music, and we did not hesitate! We decided for the tuk-tuk since we didn't want to walk in the rain, and that ended up being a good decision. Once arriving, it only got better... the meal was delicious, and the music was spot on! Grandma knew each classic song that was played! We finished our meal and made our way closer to the music... It only felt right to tip this band for the talents! Most definitely a night to remember!
We spent one full day in the town exploring before heading to another part of the lake. We walked through the food market, nearly every store selling handmade goods, and even through a butterfly garden!
The following day, we checked out of Posado de los Volcanes and grabbed a private boat from my homie Marco! 20 minutes later we were in an entirely different world, although just on the other side of the lake.
La Iguana Perdida was the first hostel we had stayed at the year prior, so I thought it would be a good place to take my Grandma for her first experience.
At our first buffet style dinner, we did our best to meet all the volunteers and other travelers. I knew we were bound to meet some awesome travelers, but I was surprised to see the same managers from the year before. Grandma shared her life story with a volunteer who is putting together a book of her travels. Her goal is to get into meaningful conversation within 15 minutes of meeting someone! Great idea and extremely inspiring! This hostel was extremely friendly and welcoming, everything that I remembered and expected.
Anyways, we opted for the rustic living rather than the hotel... Grandmas decision, not mine! And to both of our surprise, we each had our best nights sleep yet!
There is a time and place for everything, and when you are desperate to wake up after a long night, a cold shower does the trick! Apparently I was the ginny pig... I got up before everyone else, so while they all enjoyed the warm water, I was shivering hours before... Whatever, it would end up being training for my months to come.
We spent more time there than anticipated, and that's the way it should be! It was a great home base while we ventured daily to other towns experiencing different cultures in each village. Grandma was such a trooper! We agreed that when enough was enough, we would peacefully make it back home to La Iguana Perdida...
Some goes as for leaving, we left on our own time... That is the best part to long term travel!
So we went, of course sad to leave... But extremely grateful for the experiences, together!
I began to realize that my days traveling with my grandma were dwindling down, and I knew I had to make the most of them.
I came down to Central America to live a life with passion and purpose, to learn a second language, and to get lost in the right direction while enjoying rich experiences along the way. So my last few days with grandma were easy, I had my goals to fall back on. Since we were limited on time, we had to make the most of it. I've been practicing living in the present, and this was a great time to do so.
Not that we hadn't before, but from here on out Grandma and I enjoyed simply being together. It turned out being a wonderful time and a beautiful send off for me.
Whether she know it or not, it was my grandma that encouraged me to chase this life that seemed so far out of grasp. It was her that gave me the confidence to follow my own dreams and aspirations. And for that, I need to thank her!
Grandma and I were lucky enough to spend our last night together in Guatemala with the ever so friendly and energetic Sherry Miller! She welcomed us with open arms to La Casa de Tres Gracias and fixed up a final meal for us to enjoy together.
As you can imagine, it was an emotional night, but like I have been focusing on for years... I've been blessed with an amazing supporting cast of family and friends, and I am grateful for everything each of you has taught me. Whether we are near or far, here or there... You are with me always.
But enough with the mushy stuff... This adventure was no longer a novelty, it had become real. Heck, it wasn't even an adventure, it became my life. Zero to a hundred real quick, real _______ quick!
And so here I am, traveling alone, in a foreign country...
I've had good bays, tough days, and everything in between. It's not so bad, pretty empowering to be honest...
I am alive and well, feeling healthier than ever!
I've made it back to the place I love most... A black sand beach, where the sun sets and rises daily! Sand covers the entire town and the streets have no names! El Paredon feels like home!
I've already made new friends and am apart or a wonderful organization here on the pacific coast of Guatemala!
I can't wait to share with you all what work has been done so far, and what else I have up my sleeve!
Keep posted with my travels are make sure to give La Choza Chula a follow! I'll be posting my upcoming blogs on their site so check it out!
Rock n' Roll!
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Right Where We Need To Be
Sorry for the writes block, but it seems as if we are moving in fast forward!
We started this trip as travelers and now have suddenly turned into locals! Let me now tell you how we got to this point...
We last wrote to you in Flores while visiting Tikal. On a map, we traveled from one side of the country to the other over night. Our journey quickly became an adventure as Jamo got nominated to ride on the back of a local Guatemalan´s motorcycle. Luckily for him, it was only a short distance to where our luxury double decker bus would pick us up.
We then sat through a 13 hour night ride to Antigua. We knew that traveling at night would be a risk, but none of us wanted our other option of wasting an entire day cooped up in a bus.
An hour into our ride, our driver pulled over... We assumed it was to pick up more people along the way but then all of a sudden he began banging on the wheel well. Not knowing what the hell was going on, the noise began to worry us. After fifteen minutes or so of hammering metal on metal, we started moving again. You could now see the worry in each of our eyes... It also didn´t help that the road that we were on was curvy and our seats were front front on the top deck. Each turn seemed to be our last...
As soon as the Tylenol PM kicked in, we stopped again, again, and again. Each time banging on the same wheel for whatever reason.
Finally it was morning and we were in Guate City where we would transfer to a different bus. Our new bus wasn´t the luxury type but we were happy to get off the other.
After a short ride from Guate City to Antigua, we stopped at a place we were familiar with and enjoyed a hearty American breakfast. We had a few errands to run while in Antigua and did so before heading to Grandma Sherry´s.
Once again, we took hot showers, did laundry, and unwound from a big travel day and or three weeks!
While on the road we were eating like locals and enjoying hand cooked meals at our hostels. It was only appropriate that during our return to Antigua that we would order everyone´s favorite meal, Domino's Pizza. We had been using our Spanish but never had we used it over the phone. That´s another story all in itself...
We returned from our adventure back to Antigua solely to meet our new friend Julia. Lucky for us, she was staying at Grandma Sherry´s as a guest of Tara´s. This made it real easy for us to get to know her.
Everything so far has been lining up, but nothing more than our relationship with Julia. Right off the bat, we both knew that this friendship would be the start of something big!
Julia has started a nonprofit organization in a small beach town named El Paredon on the Pacific Ocean of Guatemala. After talking with Julia for a while, we began to realize that El Paredon and San Clemente share a lot of similarities. We wouldn´t know how many until we actually got there.
We made reservations with Julia to catch the private shuttle to a surf camp in El Paredon the following day.
We took a quick two and a half hour ride to a secluded black sand beach where the sun sets and rises daily. We had finally made it to the paradise we were looking for!
After getting settled in our dorms located on the beach, Julia gave us a tour of the place she calls home. El Paredon is home to a total of 600 people, they have one school for elementary and high school students, as well as a futbol field and a court where the kids can play. I promise I didn´t leave anything out... Oh yeah, black sand covers the entire town, and the streets have no names.
This is a place that is so remote that us Gringos stand out like sore thumbs! This could be bad, but we have used it to our advantage... Everyone knows us, and enjoys having us around.
Three days into our stay in El Paredon, we were fortunate to find ourselves a host family. We now have a mom and dad, three brothers, two sisters, and about a hundred different cousins. We are the new kids on the block!
We told ourselves before coming to Guatemala that we wanted to live with a host family and to start a sports program... And that´s exactly what has happened since being here!
Julia introduced us to the director of activities here at the school and she gave us the opportunity to speak to the kids on their last day, perfect timing for our pep rally! We mustered up something big and delivered it to them the following day. It´s safe to say that we nailed it, because one week into our program, we now have forty to fifty kids come out to play!
Not only are we in touch with their sports program, but we have met many others in town. We split time eating meals between two families, our own and our favorite cook Sandra.
Sandra was the first person we met here in town, and ironically the same is for Julia. Sandra asks us what we want to eat, and then she prepares it to perfection! We tell her in advance and she has it ready for us when we arrive. She has made us fried chicken, fried fish, tamales, oatmeal, omelets, empanadas, pasta, and a traditional soup. Each meal has been worthy of a detailed description, but none more than the soup.
This soup was filled with everything from the ocean! It included a rare fish named Señorita, a "cacaoroach" similar to a lobster, and if you can believe it, a turtle egg! Yeah, we know that eating, let alone touching a turtle could put us in jail back in the states... But this was a once in a lifetime experience!
Food brings people together, and so does music. I have been carrying my Kindle Fire around everywhere playing music. From SOJA, Rebelution, Tom Petty, to The Eagles... Everyone has caught on to our laid back positive vibes!
We are always out and about around town, but some of our best times have been spent at our house. Since being here we have participated in a lot of family activities. We speak not one lick of English around them and it has really improved our Spanish. We even watched our favorite movie Dumb & Dumber in Spanish with them. Watching them laugh just as hard as we do confirm to us that this is the funniest movie ever made.
With a seven year old brother and a five year old sister in the house, Angry Birds and Moto Racing have been extremely popular amongst everyone. When the kids finally wind down and our occupied, we bring out the cards and play for money! It is a 1Q entry fee which isn´t a whole lot, but it makes things a lot more interesting. Our one rule to our game is that the winner buys candy for everyone!
Not everything is fun and games down here. Our father works, and he works his tail off! He says he builds roofs and fishes for a living, but he does so much more than that. Javier, our father, has taught us to weave, shown us his local fishing and farming techniques, and asked for our help in taking the corn off the cob. Our mother has taught us a lot as well. We have made tortillas with her, helped with tamales, as well as learned to wash our laundry by hand. We don´t think that there is another family that could have taught us this much in a weeks stay.
A few days ago we had the idea of buying materials, and making a volleyball court for the kids of El Paredon. Our father told us where we could get the line for the net, and then went ahead and chopped two identical pieces of wood for our posts. Javier, Ty, and myself then proceeded to weave Maya style until our new was complete. Hopefully by next week we will have talked to the Mayor and have a place to put out court up! Although, we don´t just want to give them this court with no meaning behind it. We want to actually start a women's league for them. The guys have futbol, but then girls have nothing. This would give them a chance to start a league of their own! We have began teaching them the rules and showing them the proper techniques. Hopefully by the time we leave, we will have created something that will last!
I said earlier that we are living in paradise, but really, this is not for everyone. We have experienced thunder, lightning, a sand storm, and even an earthquake... We take cold showers, our continuously bitten by mosquitoes, and are constantly woken up by kids, fireworks, and roosters. But, it is all apart of the experience and we wouldn´t want it any other way!
Today is our brother Arnoldo´s Durty Thirty so we must get to the store to buy some fireworks! Tonight we will be hosting a big dinner at our house for the celebration! We haven´t been doing much of any partying but tonight will lead into tomorrow as we get to double dip! October the 24th is a holiday here in El Paredon. They celebrate all the fisherman of the town. Tomorrow there will be a 5 v. 5 futbol game with a big fiesta afterwards. It is a trouble keeping beers cold so we will be drinking Coco Locos instead!
If you were worried about us previously, just know, we are right where we need to be!
We started this trip as travelers and now have suddenly turned into locals! Let me now tell you how we got to this point...
We last wrote to you in Flores while visiting Tikal. On a map, we traveled from one side of the country to the other over night. Our journey quickly became an adventure as Jamo got nominated to ride on the back of a local Guatemalan´s motorcycle. Luckily for him, it was only a short distance to where our luxury double decker bus would pick us up.
We then sat through a 13 hour night ride to Antigua. We knew that traveling at night would be a risk, but none of us wanted our other option of wasting an entire day cooped up in a bus.
An hour into our ride, our driver pulled over... We assumed it was to pick up more people along the way but then all of a sudden he began banging on the wheel well. Not knowing what the hell was going on, the noise began to worry us. After fifteen minutes or so of hammering metal on metal, we started moving again. You could now see the worry in each of our eyes... It also didn´t help that the road that we were on was curvy and our seats were front front on the top deck. Each turn seemed to be our last...
As soon as the Tylenol PM kicked in, we stopped again, again, and again. Each time banging on the same wheel for whatever reason.
Finally it was morning and we were in Guate City where we would transfer to a different bus. Our new bus wasn´t the luxury type but we were happy to get off the other.
After a short ride from Guate City to Antigua, we stopped at a place we were familiar with and enjoyed a hearty American breakfast. We had a few errands to run while in Antigua and did so before heading to Grandma Sherry´s.
Once again, we took hot showers, did laundry, and unwound from a big travel day and or three weeks!
While on the road we were eating like locals and enjoying hand cooked meals at our hostels. It was only appropriate that during our return to Antigua that we would order everyone´s favorite meal, Domino's Pizza. We had been using our Spanish but never had we used it over the phone. That´s another story all in itself...
We returned from our adventure back to Antigua solely to meet our new friend Julia. Lucky for us, she was staying at Grandma Sherry´s as a guest of Tara´s. This made it real easy for us to get to know her.
Everything so far has been lining up, but nothing more than our relationship with Julia. Right off the bat, we both knew that this friendship would be the start of something big!
Julia has started a nonprofit organization in a small beach town named El Paredon on the Pacific Ocean of Guatemala. After talking with Julia for a while, we began to realize that El Paredon and San Clemente share a lot of similarities. We wouldn´t know how many until we actually got there.
We made reservations with Julia to catch the private shuttle to a surf camp in El Paredon the following day.
We took a quick two and a half hour ride to a secluded black sand beach where the sun sets and rises daily. We had finally made it to the paradise we were looking for!
After getting settled in our dorms located on the beach, Julia gave us a tour of the place she calls home. El Paredon is home to a total of 600 people, they have one school for elementary and high school students, as well as a futbol field and a court where the kids can play. I promise I didn´t leave anything out... Oh yeah, black sand covers the entire town, and the streets have no names.
This is a place that is so remote that us Gringos stand out like sore thumbs! This could be bad, but we have used it to our advantage... Everyone knows us, and enjoys having us around.
Three days into our stay in El Paredon, we were fortunate to find ourselves a host family. We now have a mom and dad, three brothers, two sisters, and about a hundred different cousins. We are the new kids on the block!
We told ourselves before coming to Guatemala that we wanted to live with a host family and to start a sports program... And that´s exactly what has happened since being here!
Julia introduced us to the director of activities here at the school and she gave us the opportunity to speak to the kids on their last day, perfect timing for our pep rally! We mustered up something big and delivered it to them the following day. It´s safe to say that we nailed it, because one week into our program, we now have forty to fifty kids come out to play!
Not only are we in touch with their sports program, but we have met many others in town. We split time eating meals between two families, our own and our favorite cook Sandra.
Sandra was the first person we met here in town, and ironically the same is for Julia. Sandra asks us what we want to eat, and then she prepares it to perfection! We tell her in advance and she has it ready for us when we arrive. She has made us fried chicken, fried fish, tamales, oatmeal, omelets, empanadas, pasta, and a traditional soup. Each meal has been worthy of a detailed description, but none more than the soup.
This soup was filled with everything from the ocean! It included a rare fish named Señorita, a "cacaoroach" similar to a lobster, and if you can believe it, a turtle egg! Yeah, we know that eating, let alone touching a turtle could put us in jail back in the states... But this was a once in a lifetime experience!
Food brings people together, and so does music. I have been carrying my Kindle Fire around everywhere playing music. From SOJA, Rebelution, Tom Petty, to The Eagles... Everyone has caught on to our laid back positive vibes!
We are always out and about around town, but some of our best times have been spent at our house. Since being here we have participated in a lot of family activities. We speak not one lick of English around them and it has really improved our Spanish. We even watched our favorite movie Dumb & Dumber in Spanish with them. Watching them laugh just as hard as we do confirm to us that this is the funniest movie ever made.
With a seven year old brother and a five year old sister in the house, Angry Birds and Moto Racing have been extremely popular amongst everyone. When the kids finally wind down and our occupied, we bring out the cards and play for money! It is a 1Q entry fee which isn´t a whole lot, but it makes things a lot more interesting. Our one rule to our game is that the winner buys candy for everyone!
Not everything is fun and games down here. Our father works, and he works his tail off! He says he builds roofs and fishes for a living, but he does so much more than that. Javier, our father, has taught us to weave, shown us his local fishing and farming techniques, and asked for our help in taking the corn off the cob. Our mother has taught us a lot as well. We have made tortillas with her, helped with tamales, as well as learned to wash our laundry by hand. We don´t think that there is another family that could have taught us this much in a weeks stay.
A few days ago we had the idea of buying materials, and making a volleyball court for the kids of El Paredon. Our father told us where we could get the line for the net, and then went ahead and chopped two identical pieces of wood for our posts. Javier, Ty, and myself then proceeded to weave Maya style until our new was complete. Hopefully by next week we will have talked to the Mayor and have a place to put out court up! Although, we don´t just want to give them this court with no meaning behind it. We want to actually start a women's league for them. The guys have futbol, but then girls have nothing. This would give them a chance to start a league of their own! We have began teaching them the rules and showing them the proper techniques. Hopefully by the time we leave, we will have created something that will last!
I said earlier that we are living in paradise, but really, this is not for everyone. We have experienced thunder, lightning, a sand storm, and even an earthquake... We take cold showers, our continuously bitten by mosquitoes, and are constantly woken up by kids, fireworks, and roosters. But, it is all apart of the experience and we wouldn´t want it any other way!
Today is our brother Arnoldo´s Durty Thirty so we must get to the store to buy some fireworks! Tonight we will be hosting a big dinner at our house for the celebration! We haven´t been doing much of any partying but tonight will lead into tomorrow as we get to double dip! October the 24th is a holiday here in El Paredon. They celebrate all the fisherman of the town. Tomorrow there will be a 5 v. 5 futbol game with a big fiesta afterwards. It is a trouble keeping beers cold so we will be drinking Coco Locos instead!
If you were worried about us previously, just know, we are right where we need to be!
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Rock n' Roll
After a depressing UCLA loss, one thing lead to another and we ended up missing our boat the following day. Although, as we've been saying, "Todo bien!"
We had to stay an extra night on the Caribbean coast and we were happy to do so. As you can imagine, we spent all day in hammocks with our friends that were volunteering at the hostel. We've met some great people, but none friendlier than this bunch.
We had our entire weeks stay on a tab at the hostel and had to man up to our first big bill. Yikes! Adding it up in our head, we imagined a step price for the four of us... 6 nights, breakfast lunch and dinners, snacks, and of course plenty of happy hour beers added up to a total of 1200Q, merely 150 dollars!
We took another boat back down the a Rio Dulce, and hopped on a 4 hour charter bus to Isla de Flores.
We were recommend by some travels we met to stay at Los Amigos, and as soon as we showed up we ran into some old friends we had previously dormed with. This place quickly became our favorite hostel!
Since staying here, we have been with many well traveled people from all over the world. We have meet people from Australia, Israel, New Zealand, Germany, Sweden, Chile, and even as close to home as Mission Viejo! We now have more reasons to travel once we return!
After our first night, we got a group together and adventured off down the river. We were told of an awesome water slide a little bit down from where we were and decided to check it out. What was suppose to be a water park with animals, turned into a zoo with a slide! But this was better than any zoo that we had been to in the states. We got to see an alligator, puma, jaguar, monkeys, toucans, and everything in between!
From there, we had no choice but to make it down the water slide. This slide was nothing compared to anything at Wild Rivers. We first had to clean the leaves off the entire slide, splash water all around to make it slippery, while hoping that we would make it out alive. We even went far enough to put sunscreen on our ass cheeks to speed up the process! It was such a blast, and we ended up going down multiple times.
After a long day on the water, we decided to treat ourselves to a spa day! It cost a total of 6 dollars and included a steam bath with a sea salt scrub and a honey rub. We felt totally refreshed and ended up having an skipping the nightlife because we were to wake up early the next morning for Tikal. We dozed off to the sound of a local bible study group singing next door to our room. From morning to night, our whole day was relaxing and very much needed!
Before any of our 4:10am alarms went off we were ready to rock n' roll. We were eager to wake as we knew what this day meant to each of us. Tikal has been on our minds since before we even got here. When we arrived to the temples we were in compete awe. It was fascinating to see such great big structures created by the Mayans. We got caught up wondering about each and every thing we saw. Thoughts like: Who did this? What did they use? Why so big? When did they start? How many of the Mayans helped? We were truly submerged and didn't want to take our eyes off our surroundings.
We got back to our hostel to enjoy our last few hours with the friends we had met. We walked around town one last time and took an hour or so dangling our toes in the water off the dock. Moments like these making leaving extremely hard, but, the trip must go on!
We leave tonight at 9pm from Flores and arrive 10 hours later in Antigua to regroup at Grandma Sherry's for a night or two.
As of now, we plan on leaving for El Paredon, a surf village on the Pacific Ocean by Sunday to volunteer for some time. We've been told this is a great surf spot and that a big swell is on it's way! Cross your fingers for us as we know you all are enjoying the big surf back home!
Our Aussie friends enjoy us yelling "Rock n' Roll!" at the bar so it's only appropriate...
First we Rock, then we Roll...
Rock n' Roll!
-From your Cali Boyz
We had to stay an extra night on the Caribbean coast and we were happy to do so. As you can imagine, we spent all day in hammocks with our friends that were volunteering at the hostel. We've met some great people, but none friendlier than this bunch.
We had our entire weeks stay on a tab at the hostel and had to man up to our first big bill. Yikes! Adding it up in our head, we imagined a step price for the four of us... 6 nights, breakfast lunch and dinners, snacks, and of course plenty of happy hour beers added up to a total of 1200Q, merely 150 dollars!
We took another boat back down the a Rio Dulce, and hopped on a 4 hour charter bus to Isla de Flores.
We were recommend by some travels we met to stay at Los Amigos, and as soon as we showed up we ran into some old friends we had previously dormed with. This place quickly became our favorite hostel!
Since staying here, we have been with many well traveled people from all over the world. We have meet people from Australia, Israel, New Zealand, Germany, Sweden, Chile, and even as close to home as Mission Viejo! We now have more reasons to travel once we return!
After our first night, we got a group together and adventured off down the river. We were told of an awesome water slide a little bit down from where we were and decided to check it out. What was suppose to be a water park with animals, turned into a zoo with a slide! But this was better than any zoo that we had been to in the states. We got to see an alligator, puma, jaguar, monkeys, toucans, and everything in between!
From there, we had no choice but to make it down the water slide. This slide was nothing compared to anything at Wild Rivers. We first had to clean the leaves off the entire slide, splash water all around to make it slippery, while hoping that we would make it out alive. We even went far enough to put sunscreen on our ass cheeks to speed up the process! It was such a blast, and we ended up going down multiple times.
After a long day on the water, we decided to treat ourselves to a spa day! It cost a total of 6 dollars and included a steam bath with a sea salt scrub and a honey rub. We felt totally refreshed and ended up having an skipping the nightlife because we were to wake up early the next morning for Tikal. We dozed off to the sound of a local bible study group singing next door to our room. From morning to night, our whole day was relaxing and very much needed!
Before any of our 4:10am alarms went off we were ready to rock n' roll. We were eager to wake as we knew what this day meant to each of us. Tikal has been on our minds since before we even got here. When we arrived to the temples we were in compete awe. It was fascinating to see such great big structures created by the Mayans. We got caught up wondering about each and every thing we saw. Thoughts like: Who did this? What did they use? Why so big? When did they start? How many of the Mayans helped? We were truly submerged and didn't want to take our eyes off our surroundings.
We got back to our hostel to enjoy our last few hours with the friends we had met. We walked around town one last time and took an hour or so dangling our toes in the water off the dock. Moments like these making leaving extremely hard, but, the trip must go on!
We leave tonight at 9pm from Flores and arrive 10 hours later in Antigua to regroup at Grandma Sherry's for a night or two.
As of now, we plan on leaving for El Paredon, a surf village on the Pacific Ocean by Sunday to volunteer for some time. We've been told this is a great surf spot and that a big swell is on it's way! Cross your fingers for us as we know you all are enjoying the big surf back home!
Our Aussie friends enjoy us yelling "Rock n' Roll!" at the bar so it's only appropriate...
First we Rock, then we Roll...
Rock n' Roll!
-From your Cali Boyz
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Coastin' on a Dream
It has now been exactly one month since we left the states!
We are currently staying in a bungalow on the Caribbean coast in a town called Livingston. I'll tell you more on how we got here later...
Anyways, we ended up staying longer than we thought on the river in Lanquin. The entire reason we went there was to see pools of Semuc Champey, and we got caught up making our own fun in the backyard of our hostel. The workers noticed us having such a good time that they decided to make a diving board for us to jump off into the river. After we got bored with that we tied a rope on the other side of the river to hang onto. We would jump off the diving board, swim down river, and then hang onto the rope as long as possible. It turned into a good workout for us.
When we decided to go to Semuc Champey, we were told that the 45 minute drive could only be made by off-road vehicles... We didn't realize that we would be standing in the back of the truck hanging onto the sides the entire time!
When we finally got there we were greeted by 15-20 kids trying to sell us cold beer! Usually we are quick to grab a drink while traveling, but at this place none was needed; We were running on a natural body high!
Our first hour was spent exploring the underground caves and waterfall!
We were given nothing more than a lit candle to navigate ourselves. During some points of the excursion, we had to bite onto the candle and swim our way through the caves just to make it through. We burnt the limestone caves with our candle flame and used the black substance it created to paint our faces! I felt like a true survivor man!
After the caves it was a half hour hike to the Mirador, the lookout at the top of Semuc Champey! This hike wasn't nearly as difficult as the one to the top of the volcano, but it's view seemed to be just as equal. Looking out and seeing nothing but jungle and natural crystal clear pools made us feel like we were in a Disney movie!
When we finally made it to our destination we were blown away with its pure beauty. We had just jumped into a blissful paradise! We swam, dove, and laid out in a place that is referred to as Heaven on Earth! We could have spent many days there but we decided to continue on with our journey.
We had finally become familiar with the rocky dirt roads we were traveling on, but none of us expected to take one 5 hours to the Caribbean coast. Yes, that's right, one dirt road from Lanquin to Rio Dulce, 5 hours, packed like sardines in a minivan.
When we arrived in Rio Dulce, we spoke with a few locals and found a place to stay on the river for reasonable price. We boated over to our hostel only to realize that we were staying far away from anything. Our boat driver navigated his way threw the marsh land and right to El Perico, our hostel for the night. I felt like we were living on the bayou! It was our first time sleeping with mosquito nets and I decided against mine because the heat was too much to bare. It was a risk I was willing to take! I'm absolutely covered in bites, so two or three more wouldn't make much of a difference!
After a miserable nights sleep, we were off traveling again. Our next stop took us to the Caribbean coast of Livingston, where I write to you now. Since there is no roads to get here, boating was our only option. It took us two hours to get here down the river, but we did check out some spectacular views along the way! We rode through huge lily pads, checked out the natural hot springs, as well as cruised below the 200ft cliffs of jungle!
As soon as we arrived in Livingston, we were greeted by the Garifuna people. These people trace their roots back to the Caribbean island of St Vincent, where shipwrecked African slaves mixed with the indigenous Carib in the 17th Century. As we got off the boat, we heard the voice of an older man singing Redemption Song by Bob Marley. That was an image that will last with me for some time.
We've spent a few days in Livingston doing absolutely nothing. For a month we have been on an adventure, but here I feel like I'm on vacation.
Yesterday we laid out all day on our own private beach named Playa Blanca! We drank bottomless Coco Loco's, which are coconuts that are opened, and mixed with Caribbean rum! We spent hours chilling in the white sand beach just as we would at home. With no ball to throw around, our coconut drinks soon turned into a football for us to toss. When our day finally came to a end, we noticed that the sea had become violent from the wind. We took our rinky dink boat head on to the swell!
Today, we sit and wait patiently for our UCLA Bruins to play Utah on ESPN! We have merely watched highlights of the previous games provided by AJ, but tonight's it is on! We will be partaking in our own tailgate here at our hostel and I can guarantee I will be leading a few rowdy 8 Claps!
Go Bruins!
We are currently staying in a bungalow on the Caribbean coast in a town called Livingston. I'll tell you more on how we got here later...
Anyways, we ended up staying longer than we thought on the river in Lanquin. The entire reason we went there was to see pools of Semuc Champey, and we got caught up making our own fun in the backyard of our hostel. The workers noticed us having such a good time that they decided to make a diving board for us to jump off into the river. After we got bored with that we tied a rope on the other side of the river to hang onto. We would jump off the diving board, swim down river, and then hang onto the rope as long as possible. It turned into a good workout for us.
When we decided to go to Semuc Champey, we were told that the 45 minute drive could only be made by off-road vehicles... We didn't realize that we would be standing in the back of the truck hanging onto the sides the entire time!
When we finally got there we were greeted by 15-20 kids trying to sell us cold beer! Usually we are quick to grab a drink while traveling, but at this place none was needed; We were running on a natural body high!
Our first hour was spent exploring the underground caves and waterfall!
We were given nothing more than a lit candle to navigate ourselves. During some points of the excursion, we had to bite onto the candle and swim our way through the caves just to make it through. We burnt the limestone caves with our candle flame and used the black substance it created to paint our faces! I felt like a true survivor man!
After the caves it was a half hour hike to the Mirador, the lookout at the top of Semuc Champey! This hike wasn't nearly as difficult as the one to the top of the volcano, but it's view seemed to be just as equal. Looking out and seeing nothing but jungle and natural crystal clear pools made us feel like we were in a Disney movie!
When we finally made it to our destination we were blown away with its pure beauty. We had just jumped into a blissful paradise! We swam, dove, and laid out in a place that is referred to as Heaven on Earth! We could have spent many days there but we decided to continue on with our journey.
We had finally become familiar with the rocky dirt roads we were traveling on, but none of us expected to take one 5 hours to the Caribbean coast. Yes, that's right, one dirt road from Lanquin to Rio Dulce, 5 hours, packed like sardines in a minivan.
When we arrived in Rio Dulce, we spoke with a few locals and found a place to stay on the river for reasonable price. We boated over to our hostel only to realize that we were staying far away from anything. Our boat driver navigated his way threw the marsh land and right to El Perico, our hostel for the night. I felt like we were living on the bayou! It was our first time sleeping with mosquito nets and I decided against mine because the heat was too much to bare. It was a risk I was willing to take! I'm absolutely covered in bites, so two or three more wouldn't make much of a difference!
After a miserable nights sleep, we were off traveling again. Our next stop took us to the Caribbean coast of Livingston, where I write to you now. Since there is no roads to get here, boating was our only option. It took us two hours to get here down the river, but we did check out some spectacular views along the way! We rode through huge lily pads, checked out the natural hot springs, as well as cruised below the 200ft cliffs of jungle!
As soon as we arrived in Livingston, we were greeted by the Garifuna people. These people trace their roots back to the Caribbean island of St Vincent, where shipwrecked African slaves mixed with the indigenous Carib in the 17th Century. As we got off the boat, we heard the voice of an older man singing Redemption Song by Bob Marley. That was an image that will last with me for some time.
We've spent a few days in Livingston doing absolutely nothing. For a month we have been on an adventure, but here I feel like I'm on vacation.
Yesterday we laid out all day on our own private beach named Playa Blanca! We drank bottomless Coco Loco's, which are coconuts that are opened, and mixed with Caribbean rum! We spent hours chilling in the white sand beach just as we would at home. With no ball to throw around, our coconut drinks soon turned into a football for us to toss. When our day finally came to a end, we noticed that the sea had become violent from the wind. We took our rinky dink boat head on to the swell!
Today, we sit and wait patiently for our UCLA Bruins to play Utah on ESPN! We have merely watched highlights of the previous games provided by AJ, but tonight's it is on! We will be partaking in our own tailgate here at our hostel and I can guarantee I will be leading a few rowdy 8 Claps!
Go Bruins!
Thursday, September 25, 2014
We Feel More Alive than Ever!
We are deep in the jungle of Coban in the village of Lanquin!
We traveled 8 hours to get here from Antigua... and rode in a 27 person van that was completely filled! The van was packed with experienced travelers and we were happy to be apart of it.
We were advised by our good friend Tara where to stay in Lanquin, and we were thrilled when we arrived. Once we got to our hostel on the river of Lanquin we immediately fell in love with the place. We are staying in a 14 person bungalow where we have made some great friends!
Today we spent the whole day with our new buddy Brad who has traveled the last 12 weeks from Panama to Guatemala. On our adventure today we jumped off the rope swing from our hostel, swam across the river, and tubed down the Rio Lanquin during a rainstorm deep in the jungle!
During our 24 hour stay at El Retiro, I myself was able to misplace my Oakley hat, slam my knee on a rock, cut my feet, ruin the copy of my passport, I just lose my GoPro3+ and Brad lost his camera... But to be honest, I've never felt more alive!
Anyways, we are off to enjoy the last bit of happy hour befor we feast on a homemade spread alongside the Lanquin River while we anxiously search for UCLA Bruins updates! Much Love!
Go Bruins!
Brocko, Tigre, Jaime, y Mateo
We traveled 8 hours to get here from Antigua... and rode in a 27 person van that was completely filled! The van was packed with experienced travelers and we were happy to be apart of it.
We were advised by our good friend Tara where to stay in Lanquin, and we were thrilled when we arrived. Once we got to our hostel on the river of Lanquin we immediately fell in love with the place. We are staying in a 14 person bungalow where we have made some great friends!
Today we spent the whole day with our new buddy Brad who has traveled the last 12 weeks from Panama to Guatemala. On our adventure today we jumped off the rope swing from our hostel, swam across the river, and tubed down the Rio Lanquin during a rainstorm deep in the jungle!
During our 24 hour stay at El Retiro, I myself was able to misplace my Oakley hat, slam my knee on a rock, cut my feet, ruin the copy of my passport, I just lose my GoPro3+ and Brad lost his camera... But to be honest, I've never felt more alive!
Anyways, we are off to enjoy the last bit of happy hour befor we feast on a homemade spread alongside the Lanquin River while we anxiously search for UCLA Bruins updates! Much Love!
Go Bruins!
Brocko, Tigre, Jaime, y Mateo
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Lake Atitlan Adventure
Buenos Tardes!
We write to from the village of San Marcos la Laguna! We have now spent 10 days at Lake Atitlan, "The Most Beautiful Lake in the World!"
Each day has been unique in its own way... We have visited six villages along the lake, and did so by public transportation. We stayed 3 nights in Santa Cruz, 2 in Panajachel, 2 in San Pedro, 1 in Santiago, 2 in San Marcos, and visited San Juan for half a day!
Traveling by public boat, we quickly learned to practice patience. Private one-way boats go for 200-300Q (24-36$) across the lake... Where as public transportation is 10-25Q (1.25-3$). We had been told that public boats travel every hour, but quickly learned that this is far from the truth. By having no plan, no itinerary, and no need to get anywhere, it makes traveling quite easy and affordable.
With three mysterious volcanos surrounding a lake at 5,000 elevation, time has become a thing of the past!
For us, the volcano above the village of San Pedro is the focal point the lake. We asked around and were told by different locals that the hike to the top takes 3 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours, and 10... The treacherous hike ended up taking us 6 hours round trip, 4 up and 2 down! We each struggled on the way up, but really didn't comprehend how tough it was until we hiked down and noticed how many stares we had actually climbed. Easily the hardest hike of each of our lives!
We have had some down time since our hike but have been eager to get back to the active lifestyle. The past two days we were fortunate enough to play basketball with the locals.
We played 3 v. 3 with some really cool kids on their home court! We played best of 3 and won the first two games easily... Yes we had a height advantage, but it was their home court!
People around the lake know us as the "Tres Amigos!" but we are thrilled to be adding another brother to the group. Matty Murph will be joining us Tuesday on our adventure in Guatemala! We don't know what we are doing, or where we will be, but we guaranteed him a life changing experience!
Anyways, we leave tomorrow morning back to Antigua to check in with Grandma Sherry, do some much needed laundry, and enjoy a warm shower before heading out again!
Looking forward to the days ahead!
¡Adios!
We write to from the village of San Marcos la Laguna! We have now spent 10 days at Lake Atitlan, "The Most Beautiful Lake in the World!"
Each day has been unique in its own way... We have visited six villages along the lake, and did so by public transportation. We stayed 3 nights in Santa Cruz, 2 in Panajachel, 2 in San Pedro, 1 in Santiago, 2 in San Marcos, and visited San Juan for half a day!
Traveling by public boat, we quickly learned to practice patience. Private one-way boats go for 200-300Q (24-36$) across the lake... Where as public transportation is 10-25Q (1.25-3$). We had been told that public boats travel every hour, but quickly learned that this is far from the truth. By having no plan, no itinerary, and no need to get anywhere, it makes traveling quite easy and affordable.
With three mysterious volcanos surrounding a lake at 5,000 elevation, time has become a thing of the past!
For us, the volcano above the village of San Pedro is the focal point the lake. We asked around and were told by different locals that the hike to the top takes 3 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours, and 10... The treacherous hike ended up taking us 6 hours round trip, 4 up and 2 down! We each struggled on the way up, but really didn't comprehend how tough it was until we hiked down and noticed how many stares we had actually climbed. Easily the hardest hike of each of our lives!
We have had some down time since our hike but have been eager to get back to the active lifestyle. The past two days we were fortunate enough to play basketball with the locals.
We played 3 v. 3 with some really cool kids on their home court! We played best of 3 and won the first two games easily... Yes we had a height advantage, but it was their home court!
People around the lake know us as the "Tres Amigos!" but we are thrilled to be adding another brother to the group. Matty Murph will be joining us Tuesday on our adventure in Guatemala! We don't know what we are doing, or where we will be, but we guaranteed him a life changing experience!
Anyways, we leave tomorrow morning back to Antigua to check in with Grandma Sherry, do some much needed laundry, and enjoy a warm shower before heading out again!
Looking forward to the days ahead!
¡Adios!
Monday, September 15, 2014
Caught up Living in the Present
It's been some time since our last post and obviously a lot has happened...
We are currently writing to you from Pana! We spent this past weekend in a hostel on Lake Atitlan in a village named Santa Cruz la Laguna witch had no reliable wifi connection. I found a sign that read "Pull the plug and give a hug!" and that we did.
As soon as we got to the village of Santa Cruz all we wanted to do was explore! We walked as far as we could before nighttime to a lookout point in the middle of the jungle. We have all envisioned getting lost in the jungle on our journey through Guatemala, but neither of us expected to encounter a mystical jungle around the most beautiful lake in the world.
Grandma Sherry treated us to a three night stay at La Iguana Perdida, all of our first hostel experience! We stayed in a 7 person dorm where we came across a lot of down to earth people. A group of 28 Christians came through, and we were lucky enough to stay with 4 of them. They are currently apart of the World Race, which is traveling to 11 countries in 11 months, helping people along the way while spreading the word of God.
After a live concert at our hostel... We spent our morning enjoying coffee on the dock in front of our hostel. We made friends with the local fishermen and eventually ended up buying a fishing setup from them. (Sprite can, line, hook, and worms). We caught no fish but made good friends out of the experience.
They gave us directions as to where to hike but nothing more than follow the creek bed up the mountain. We hiked 10,103 steps and or 4.84 miles (according Jameson's fitbit) to find ourselves at a 50ft waterfall. We spent 45 minutes in complete awe taking in every bit of our surroundings.
After heading back, we enjoyed our last dinner with Grandma Sherry... She has been more than kind treating us to our first week here in Guatemala and we look forward to seeing her shortly. But for now, we are ready to carry on with our adventure.
This morning we woke up to fireworks from the locals. Today is the Guatemalan Independence Day and all we hear is loud music, fireworks, and bombs going off!
We spent all day with a local futbol player who we first met when we first came through Pana. He showed us a good time but tonight will be special. Not only is it the Independence Day, but tonight is special because we are meeting up with a San Clemente local who is currently in Pana! Christine Jonas will be taking us to her favorite spot here in town and we couldn't be more thrilled about it!
I've been told tonight is a crazy party, obviously! So a quick siesta before the fiesta!
¡Adios!
We are currently writing to you from Pana! We spent this past weekend in a hostel on Lake Atitlan in a village named Santa Cruz la Laguna witch had no reliable wifi connection. I found a sign that read "Pull the plug and give a hug!" and that we did.
As soon as we got to the village of Santa Cruz all we wanted to do was explore! We walked as far as we could before nighttime to a lookout point in the middle of the jungle. We have all envisioned getting lost in the jungle on our journey through Guatemala, but neither of us expected to encounter a mystical jungle around the most beautiful lake in the world.
Grandma Sherry treated us to a three night stay at La Iguana Perdida, all of our first hostel experience! We stayed in a 7 person dorm where we came across a lot of down to earth people. A group of 28 Christians came through, and we were lucky enough to stay with 4 of them. They are currently apart of the World Race, which is traveling to 11 countries in 11 months, helping people along the way while spreading the word of God.
After a live concert at our hostel... We spent our morning enjoying coffee on the dock in front of our hostel. We made friends with the local fishermen and eventually ended up buying a fishing setup from them. (Sprite can, line, hook, and worms). We caught no fish but made good friends out of the experience.
They gave us directions as to where to hike but nothing more than follow the creek bed up the mountain. We hiked 10,103 steps and or 4.84 miles (according Jameson's fitbit) to find ourselves at a 50ft waterfall. We spent 45 minutes in complete awe taking in every bit of our surroundings.
After heading back, we enjoyed our last dinner with Grandma Sherry... She has been more than kind treating us to our first week here in Guatemala and we look forward to seeing her shortly. But for now, we are ready to carry on with our adventure.
This morning we woke up to fireworks from the locals. Today is the Guatemalan Independence Day and all we hear is loud music, fireworks, and bombs going off!
We spent all day with a local futbol player who we first met when we first came through Pana. He showed us a good time but tonight will be special. Not only is it the Independence Day, but tonight is special because we are meeting up with a San Clemente local who is currently in Pana! Christine Jonas will be taking us to her favorite spot here in town and we couldn't be more thrilled about it!
I've been told tonight is a crazy party, obviously! So a quick siesta before the fiesta!
¡Adios!
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