Life in the Galapagos!

Sorry we haven't written for so long! We have been so busy, we have not had a chance to write... We flew to Ecuador after writing the last entry, left the next day for the Galapagos for a week, flew back to Quito (after getting delayed for 6 hours) and after dinner in Quito, the power went out in our neighborhood, and we have been on the road and in the jungle ever since!! Sorry it is so long, but we have a lot to tell...read on...love, Heather and Toriann
Galapagos
We had not even considered the possibility of going to the Galapagos Islands while in Ecuador, but we were slowly persuaded by some friends we met in Central America, Nick and Charlotte. They flew down to Quito a day earlier, and searched the city for the best deal. We flew down last Friday and as soon as we dropped our stuff off at the hostel, we headed to their hostel to find them. Before we even arrived, we saw Nick running down the street, saying ¨we found the best deal, you have 10 minutes to decide!¨ After a few panicky moments of how much this was going to blow our budget, we decided to go for it!
Words cannot explain the Galapagos. I don't know what I was expecting, but I was surprised by the vast desert that we landed in. We signed up for a 5 day, 4 night boat trip, so we were met at the airport by Freddy, our driver. Freddy led us down from the airport, which is at the north end of Santa Cruz island down to Porta Ayora at the southern tip. We had lunch with Nick, Charlotte and an American couple that were also joining us on the boat. Our first stop after lunch was the Charles Darwin Center, where we learned a bit about the history of the islands and saw our first batch of GIANT tortoises. We got to see the famous Lonely George, the last tortoise of his subspecies. He is like, 150 years old and for a long time he wouldn't mate...but, good news, he has 2 eggs! (He was bred with the closest genetic subspecies). We couldn't find the albino tortoise that supposedly lives somewhere in the center, apparently no one had heard of him but us :). These tortoises are amazing, they seem almost dinosaur like. Apparently Steven Spielberg came here and based the movie ET off these amazing creatures!
After cruising through the CD center, we boarded the boat we would spend the next 4 days on. In a marina filled with huge yachts, we pulled right up to a pirate ship! The ship was small, there were only 12 of us on board plus the crew, and it was built in 1901. Although it was cramped and at times I thought we were going to tip over or I was going to fall out of my bunk, it proved to be a great ship. And our group was really nice as well, our guide told us this was the first group he had had in a while that was under 60!
Over the next 4 days we visited Floreana, Isabella, and Santa Cruz Island. We snorkeled just about everyday, and it was so different than any other snorkeling I have done! It was cold and we would go out in place with fairly strong currents, so you really had to work to one, stay warm, and two, try and stay with the group. But, when you saw something, it was breathtaking, amazing, surreal! We saw huge sea turtles, sting rays, manta rays, parrot fish and tons of other amazingly colorful fish!! My favorite thing was that all over all the islands, there were sea lions! And you could get so close to them, you just wanted to pet them! A couple of times while snorkeling, the sea lions would swim by right next to you! It was so great, if I could take home any animal, it would definitely be a baby sea lion :) orr, orr!
Besides snorkeling, we saw a lot of the islands, and the climates alone were unique. We did a horse back riding trip up Volcano Sierra Negro, and when we started, it was lush and green, cold and cloudy. As we rode, it suddenly changed to dessert where it just proceeded to get hotter and hotter. We saw the huge crater, where it the volcano had last erupted in 2005, eh! We then hiked further to Volcano Chico, where the land was desolate, covered in volcanic rock and cactus's. We also hiked across another beach where in a small cove, we saw about 15 white tip sharks resting. On that particular beach, you could hardly step without seeing a huge mound of marine iguanas. They were everywhere, and definitely not as cute as the sea lions. They spit constantly to get rid of the salt they swallow while feeding in the ocean. They are the only breed of iguanas to feed underwater. Unfortunately, we never got to see any of them underwater but we saw more than plenty on the beaches!
Apparently tortoises (and their conservation) are really important to the Galapagos. Other than the Charles Darwin center, we visited a tortoise farm, a tortoise breeding center, and a national park filled with tortoises in their natural environment. Needless to say, I have a lot of pictures of tortoises!! The best sighting was while we were driving into the national park and there was a huge tortoise in the road. It was up to our guide to try and move him, which he did unsuccessfully for a bit, but we eventually just drove around him.
Our boat trip ended on Wednesday and we got off and headed back to Puerto Ayora. We got off the boat, and set off to find a place to stay and sign up to dive the next day! The lodging was fairly expensive, 10 dollars with no hot water, boo!, but we found a great dive shop! We signed up to dive the next day and asked the lady if she knew of any cheaper places to stay. She said, uh, my house...she apparently rents out a room, but her sister in law was also out of town, so we stayed in her house for very cheap! It was really cool because we were out of the touristy part of town and back in the neighborhoods. We found amazing street food and got to see how Galapageans live.
The next day we went diving...I (Heather), was SOO nervous. The diving in the Galapagos is supposed to be amazing, some of the best in the world, but also fairly intense! But, with Toriann at my side (and a dive master!), we went down in our full wet suits, hood and all, and it was amazing! By the time we finished our second dive, I did not want it to be over and can not wait for the next opportunity we get to go! We did two dives, the first one we saw sea lions, a sea turtle, more amazing fish, eel gardens, and the shadow of a black tip shark! The second dive we saw all of the same but also got about 10 ft from a sleeping white tip shark and passed by 2 hammerhead sharks (we missed seeing them by about 15 seconds!!)
Overall, the Galapagos was super cool and once in a lifetime! One of the girls on our ship had been there 15 years earlier and she said it is not the same place as it was then. They are doing a lot of conservation and protection for the plants and animals, but some of the damage done is irreversible. Invasive species, both plants and animals, continue to endanger the endemic species that make the Galapagos so special. Hopefully, the work that is being done will continue to be successful and the Galapagos will an amazing place for decades to come!
Here is the link to some of our pictures...too many to put in a slide show!

heather

Together we can-Curundu!

Hola! We have spent the past two days living the life of our friend Rachel. Rachel moved to Panama to be a teacher, and this year has moved from being a teacher at an international school to working at a community center in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Panama City- Curundu. We spent two days at the center, one day teaching Bible, the next teaching English. It is 'tranquilo', very laid back, kids coming in and out, and amazing teachers and volunteers who oversee it all! The kids are soo cute, and so well behaved! Today, their school was cancelled (school is apparently sporadic, kids often released early or teachers just cancel classes) so there was 40 kids there for the morning session! The center is small, 2 rooms, a patio, and kitchen, but the kids are respectful and have a great time despite the cramped spaces. The kids get breakfast and lunch, all made at the center. Rachel is amazing, connecting with the kids who have so little, giving them something to look foward to in their day to day life. She has such a heart for the children of Latin America and it definitly shows through her work. The first morning we were there, we got to walk back further into the neighborhoods to visit a new baby. Even while we walked back, we were warned...'you know its dangerous back there'. The houses were built on stilts over basically a swamp filled with garbage. It was dirty, and although I did not feel threatened or nervous, apparently the local gangs war with each other, thus making the area very dangerous. It breaks my heart to think that most likely the 11 and 12 year old boys at the center will soon (or already have) drop out of school and be pulled into the gangs.
Thank you Rachel for allowing us to be a part of your life for a few days, letting us crash on your air mattress, and showing us a different side of Panama!
Below are pictures of Paradise Gardens, El Valle, Playa Palmar, Panama City and Curundu...Enjoy!

Panama...

Good bye GAP. We are here in Panama City and have just said good bye to the four girls we have been traveling with since Mexico City, as well as the rest of the group and our leader Micheal. Its hard to believe that we have crossed six boarders, visited seven countries, and have been traveling for two months. We have seen so much and meet so many people, yet it feels like we are just starting our travels after saying good bye to the group.
This past week has been slower but, we have seen and enjoyed each place we visited. From Bocas del Toro we traveled to Boquete where we stayed at a cozy hotel which had the feel of a hostel- communal kitchen, TV room, and balcony. The best thing about Boquete, and maybe our whole trip was our visits to a place called Paradise Gardens. A couple from England retired in Boquete and brought with them a few Macaws that they owned in England. Since moving to Panama, their home has turned into a rehabilitation house where threatened, poorly cared for and/or abused animals are taken in, cared for and then, if possible released back into their natural habitat. Paul and his wife Debbie showed us all the animals and told us the stories of how they ended up here. Some of the few animals they have or once had in there home are geoffroys, tamarins, kinkajou, margay, sloth, tucans, macaws, monkeys and much more. During our visit we were able to feed Niki the kinkajou a banana, pet the margay, scratch/pet and hold Precious the scarlet macaw, go inside the cage of the white faced monkeys and play with Billy and Montey, hold Tember the 3 month old sloth and talk with the birds. Our fist visit was great and we loved it so much we decided to go back the next day and it was just as a amazing. Its so great to see Paul and Debbie be so welcoming to what was unspokenly set out before them. Their plan was to retire, have a beautiful garden and butterfuly house, but instead they have spent the last three years creating Paradise Gardens. The have already helped so many animals, and are showing no signs of stopping! They truly love their life and are so thankful to be caring for the animals! The volunteers we met who help them really seemed to enjoy their work as well. One of the girls from our GAP tour is actually heading back to spend another week volunteering there. They are working on their website right now, but if anyone is looking for a great place to contribute to the environment and play with animals, we have their contact info! If time had elated Heather and I both would love to have stayed and volunteer but sadly we had to continue on.
From Boquete we traveled our last long day to a town called El Valle. El Valle is a town inside the crater of a volcano. Apparently millions of years ago the volcano erupted and created a crater lake. An earthquake happened and cracked the moutains and the water ran out and now people have been living here for a few hundred years. If living inside a crater isnt strange enough this town is surounded by mountains and the most famous mountain is the Sleeping Indian Girl. The legend goes that when colonizers came to El Valle there was a prince who fell in love with an indian girl. The prince went back to his father to ask if he could marry the girl. The king said no because he was obligated to merry someone of royalty. The indian girl did not like this decision, and then killed herself. According to legend, she now lays in the moutain side wating for her prince to return. Once her prince returns she will wake up and they will live happly ever after. This is just one version of the story there are many more but the outline of the indina girl dose layout on the moutian. During our time here we took a day excursion to a beach town called Pelmar where we learned how to surf and layed out on the beach. Micheal, our guide rented a surf board gave us a little lession and then took us out into the Pacific ocean and attempted to teach us to surf. After a few attempts, both Heather and I succefuly stood up on the board and it was great. Who knows, maybe we will take surf class while we are in Australia to better our skills. Either way, it was loads of fun and it was a great last day at the beach with everyone before our last stop, Panama City.
We started our trip in Mexico City and we are here in Panama City ending it. Panama city has been a great place to end the tour, an amazing city with a rich history. Before saying good bye to everyone Michael took us around town and showed us Casco Viejo, The Canal, and the View Piont. Panama has two down towns- "the new town" which is filled with modern sky rises, and "the old town" which is called Casco Viejo. Casco Viejo has become Panamas historical site where you see vintage buildings, churches, plazas and the first university. It was really interesting to see the contrast of old and new, and take in the impact the canal has had on this city, its people, and the surronding land. The next day we spent the morning at Miraflores Locks- one of the engineering wonders of the world. Toriann and I thought it looked a lot like the Ballard locks (other than it had a HUGE freight going through holding 5000 or so Japanese cars, haha). The Panama canal has been open for 94 years now, and has been hugely successful. It has shaped a large part of Panama Citys history, impacting the people to the politics. The US handed over control in 1999, with many fears about how the Panamanians would handle the switch. But the canal is more efficient than ever, and an expanded portion is currently being built.
So, we are now transitioning to being on our own, being without the group and a guide. We have a few more days in Panama City, staying with Torianns roommate from SPU, Rachel. She has been kind enough to let us stay in her apartment that she shares with 3 other girls! Tomorrow she is going to let us tag along to the community center where she tutors inner city children!
We hope all is well at home!
Much love, Heather and Toriann

Bikes, beaches, bananas and boats

We have completed our time in Costa Rica, our last stop in Puerto Viejo...an old port town, now a Caribbean beach town surrounded by banana plantations. We are on the fourth and final portion of the trip, and we got to spend 3 nights in Puerto Viejo, which was amazing. We spent the first night having dinner at a soda restaurant (a small hole in the wall restaurant, Costa Rican style) having traditional, famous rice and beans. Rice and beans here are made with coconut milk and served with your choice of meat, our favorite was fish with Caribbean sauce...soooo goood! After dinner, we found a place called Bread and Chocolate. Bread and Chocolate was a dangerous place...haha, they served mint brownie sundaes to fried egg sandwiches to homemade bagels..soooo good too!
The next day we rented bikes and rode to a couple nearby beaches-Cocles and Punta Uva, both were beautiful with turquoise water and white sand. We decided to have a survivor challenge and see who could get down a coconut to drink. After some unsuccessful attempts to climb the trees, throw stones and old coconuts, a kind lifeguard lent us a ladder and a knife. We then managed to open it up with just a stone and shared in drinking coconut juice fresh from a coconut. It definitely made me have respect for those people on Survivor!
The following day, our tour leader took us to Cahuita National Park. Cahuita National Park was established in the 1970s to protect the large coral reef just off shore. Unfortantly, the reef is still dying due partially to a large earthquake in 1992, but also from pesticide run off from the large banana plantations. The pesticide causes plankton blooms that block the sunlight and poison the water. These same banana plantation use bags to protect the bananas from bugs. The bags are not properly disposed of and almost always end up in the sea. This is rapidly killing off the turtle population, as the turtles can choke on the bags. To say the least, banana plantations are having a harmful effect on the environment. Chiquita and Dole are two major companies who are taking part in the careless treatment of the environment, and it makes you think twice when buying produce at home. The park itself was beautiful, including rain forests filled with Howler and white-faced Capuchin monkeys, sloths, hawks, and leaf-cutting ants. After exploring the jungle, we visited the beaches that lined Cahuita National Park, which were similar to the beaches from the day before. After spending the day at the park, we headed back to Bread and Chocolate for a late afternoon snack before we had our last plate of rice and beans, so good but sad to have to say goodbye to Costa Rica!
In the morning we crossed our last border in Central America with GAP. We finally arrived in Panama!! Our first stop in Panama is in the district of Bocas del Toro, on Isla Colon, the most developed of the 6 islands in the area. It is an Afro Caribbean island with a small town feel. It was discovered by Columbus, who named it after himself, then left because there was no gold. A few hundred years later, immigrants from Jamiaca and England came to the island, leaving a mixed population of Afro Caribbeans, indigenous tribes, and white people from the mainland. The islands were also commercialized by the United Fruit Company (banana farms now owned by Chiquita, Dole and Del Monte) in the 1900s. Bananas remain one of the major exports of Panama, as well as most countries in Central America.
Our first and only excursion we did on the island was the Catamaran tour. We spent the day relaxing on the boat watching the dolphins swim by and snorkeled in a privately contracted part of the reef. Our first stop was amazing, the water was so clear and the reef was filled with brilliant colors of the rainbow. As for the coral reef its the best we have seen so far. After our relaxing snorkel swim I (Toriann) thought it would be fun to swim to a nearby island to get some exercise. Well in the midst of swimming I felt my body starting the sting and then realized i had swam through a spool of jelly fish. I was not just stung once but about four times. Thus, I decided to swim back. Never being stung by a jelly fish before I was shocked by how bad it hurts. My advice is if you see jelly fish don't then go for a leisurely swim because there inevitably will be more. After the jelly fish encounter, we boarded the boat had amazing sub sandwiches and boated to the second snorkeling spot. Heather and i ventured out to snorkel but still freaked out about the jelly fish I freaked out midway and swam back. Heather, on the other hand was much braver and snorkeled around the beautiful coral reef and enjoyed the colors of the reef and fish. Before we realized the day had past and we were back on the island were we spent the rest of the evening relaxing around town. The Caribbean chill feel has really grown on us and it is sad to have to say good bye.

Nicaragua and Costa Rica

Pura Vida!


We have been in Costa Rica for almost a week now and it has blown me away with how beautiful it is here! After our last stop in Nicaragua, a volcano island called Ometepe, we took a van, ferry, taxi, and bus to cross the border into Costa Rica. Our first destination was Monte Verde, a small town in the jungle filled mountains. It was originally settled in the 1950s by Quakers that escaped the Korean draft in the US. The Quakers started a cheese factory, and the mountains are now filed not only with amazingly rich natural flora and fauna, but also huge black and white dairy cows! Getting up the mountain, you drive along a rough dirt road for about 2 hours, and Toriann said multiple times, I don't know why they don't just pave this road...apparently its a controversial issue and the Quakers oppose it because of the influx of people and pollution it will bring to their area. So, it will probably be a bumpy ride for a while!
The morning after recovering from the trip, we decided to take a ´hike´-its a road, but a very steep one, to the cheese factory. We made it about half way up until it started POURING rain. We were very unprepared and left stranded at a bus stop. Luckily, one of two tuktuks drove by and drove us up the wet, dirt road the rest of the way to the factory. I definitely thought we were going to tip over a few times, but he made it there safely. We had a small tour and an ice cream treat before we realized it was still raining and we had no way down. Amazingly enough, the same tuk tuk showed up to pick up ice cream to deliver to the town, and was nice enough to take us back down the mountain.
After our adventure to the cheese factory, we zip lined in the jungle canopy's. This is a very popular thing to do in Costa Rica, and it was really fun! We zip lined down 14 different lines, the longest one was 70 meters. We also repelled down a tree and swung on the Tarzan swing. Overall, zip lining was really fun and it was a great way to see the mountains from above! It has definitely been one of our favorite activities!
Our next stop after Monte Verde was La Fortuna, a city at the base of Volcano Arenal. (If you haven't noticed, this was the volcano portion of our trip!) We did a tour of the volcano and the guide was SO informative! He told us the history of the volcano, pointed out native plants and wildlife, and was actually able to communicate to the howler monkeys. He sang the song...Who let the monkeys out?, and then we all were supposed the make our best monkey sounds...which was fairly retarded sounding but the monkeys yelled back! It was SO cool!!! Compared to other guides, hmm, the one in Guatemala that got us lost, the guide was a gem! Even though there was more water from the rain than in most of our showers, the tour through the jungle was amazing, soaking wet and all! The people of this area did not know Arenal was an active volcano until it erupted in the 1940s. It is now the most active in Costa Rica. It erupted again in the 1968, destroying the town of Arenal and killed the entire population. The volcano continues to erupt everyday since, and has created a total of 3 craters. Supposedly the volcano erupts every 5-10 minutes and we were able to see it erupt with a fair amount of lava! We went when it was dark and it was incredible to see red lava streaming down the mountain! We were glad to sit in a van and not be too close!
Other than that we had a great time in La Fortuna, we rented bikes and went to a local swimming hole, had amazing local food (Chicken and rice...one of Torianns favorites!), went to a hot spring resort with a crazy water slide and generally took in the sights of Costa Rica! From La Fortuna we ventured to Costa Rica's capital San Jose to say good bye to our third group and welcome our fourth and final group. We have a new tour leader named Micheal and a couple from England. Since being here in San Jose, my old stomping ground, I took Heather on a little adventure around the city. We rode the local buses to my old school where we had lunch with some of my teachers who still work there and chated with the some of the students. After my little reunion we headed into San Jose's main square which has two major pedestrian streets filled with shops. We had chocobananas from a little ice cream shop called POPS and then just roamed the streets. San Jose is very much a busy city, crowded with people and one could easily get lost but luckily i remembered a lot of the city and we were able to walk around without getting lost. Sadly our time here in San Jose is too short and we leave today to visit the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, a town called Puerto Viejo. It should be fun and we have been told that there are some great beaches. So until next time bye, take care and Pura Vida!!!

The voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes
Marcel Proust

Honduras

Copan Ruinas
Copan was such a cute, small city in the midst of the Hondurean mountains. We stopped here for only 1 night, mostly so we could see the last of the major Mayan ruins. But, we have seen so many ruins and we liked the city so much we decided to skip the ruins and spend the afternoon in the city. It was nothing exciting, just fruit smoothies, internet, and a nap, but it was awesome. We are on the go so much on this tour, everyday traveling or going on some adventure and it was great to have a relaxing afternoon! In the evening we walked up to an old jail where we could overlook the whole city and watch the sunset.
A Very Long Day of Traveling to Utila
The next morning we left at 5:45 on a bus to the city of Ceiba, where we would catch a ferry to the island of Utila. The bus made it about 6 hours into the trip and then the engine blew. That left us stranded on the side of the road for about an hour until another bus (mostly full bus!) rescued us. We spend the last 2 hours standing in the isles of that bus until we finally arrived in Ceiba. At the ferry terminal, we learned that they had given away 10 of our 16 ferry tickets. But, our skillful leader hired 2 private boats that whisked us across the sea while the sun was setting-it was SO beautiful! When we were about 100 ft from shore however, we ran over a rope (it was dark at this point), and the boat stuttered to a stop. So there we were, so close, after such a long day, but stuck! We had to have the other boat unload and come and rescue us! It was quite fitting to have a day with a broken bus and a broken boat! But the journey was worth it, the island of Utila was beautiful! The island feels more Caribbean than Honduran, its English speaking, and only a small percentage of the population are actually from Honduras. While most of the group spent their days at the pool or snorkeling, Toriann and I spent a full 2 days getting our PADI certification to scuba dive! It was a time well spent and the dives were amazing, so wished we had an underwater camera to capture all the cool fish, snake, and coral we saw.
Leaving Utila...Entering Nicaragua!
After two full days on the island we sadly left and embarked on two VERY long travel days. The first day was about 12 hours on a boat and bus which got us to Tegucigalpa, the capitol of Honduras. The second day was only 10 hours but by the end we were all ecstatic to be off the bus and in Granada, Nicaragua. Granada is a colonial town and is surrounded by four or five volcanos and Nicaragua's two major lakes. Excited to be here, the next day we decided to do an all day tour around Granada. The day was long but we saw so many famous things in Nicaragua. First we stopped at a small local pottery factory, visited a lookout point were we saw Lake Apoyo, and then proceeded to drive down to the lake to have a little swim and cool off. After we took a dip in the lake, we drove to Masaya market which is Nicaragua's heart of arts and crafts and had lunch and did a bit of shopping. Energized from lunch we visited one of, I'm sure, many prisons Somoza (Nicaraguan dictator) had during his rule. The El Coyotepe jail was built in 1893 and was used to hold political prisoners where they were held in inhuman conditions, tortured and possibly electrical shock. Although it was interesting to see and hearing stories its hard to think that there are individuals who can commit such harsh behaviors, and think that its right and for a good cause. After we left the prison, we ended our day visiting the Masaya Volcano (another active volcanoe!). Our excursion up to Masaya Volcano was much more relaxed then our first one we did in Antigua. We climbed up the mountain side to see the loads of sulfer gas steaming from the active crater. Once it was dark, we could see the glow of the lava at the bottom. The sight from the top was really nice, and once the clouds shifted we could see Lake Managua and Ometepe Island, where we are heading tomorrow. We also trekked into caves, created by flowing lava that hardened. The caves were home to 3 types of bats, all which were flying above our heads.
Independence day in Granada
Today was the celebration of the Central American independence from the Spanish in 1821. The city was pretty dead for being a holiday, we heard there was supposed to be a parade and street parties, but we have yet to see them! Maybe we should leave the internet cafe and go find some holiday festivities...;)
Lots of love from Nicaragua....

Guatemala-Tikal, Swamp Island, Chichicastenango and Antigua

Rise and shine, time to see the sunrise at the top of temple four. When we last left you all we mentioned that we were going to see the Tikal ruins, and we did. We got up at 2:30 am and headed out in to the jungle to climb temple four and watch the sunrise. Sadly there wasn't much of a sunrise but we did here the jungle waking up. Spider monkeys swinging, howler monkeys howling like wild cats, and toucans squawking. It was pretty amazing. After we saw the sunrise or the sun razes peaking through the clouds we started our four hour tour through the ruins. The tour was long and we were all very tired but nevertheless, it was beautiful and mysterious being deep into the jungle. Tikal spreads out about 16sq km and has about 4000 structures, however not all of them have been restored. We saw the five major temples and climbed up temple four and temple two. What makes these ruins so fascinating is how they tower over the jungle. Once you make it up the steep temples you over look the whole jungle. This was quite a sight.
From Flores, a small town outside of the Tikal ruins, we left for what Heather and I liked to call the swamp island, really we were on a small island outside of Rio Dulce. There wasn't much to do on the swamp island other then lounge at the pool which was nice to have a day to rest and recover. But when it was time to leave swamp island we were both excited to see more of Guatemala. We had a long day of travel but finally arrived in Antigua. We only spent the evening roaming the city before we headed out the next morning on some chicken buses to visit Chichicastenango. Well you all might be wondering what chicken buses are and they are quite a treat. Central American chicken buses are their version of American greyhounds. They are old school buses that have been brought down form the states and painted to be used as town to town transportation. Fortunately we didn't have any chickens on our three buses but lets just say were were packed in like sardines. After our three chicken buses we finally arrived in Chichicastenango to spend the day shopping. Chichicastenango is famous for its markets and its blend of Catholicism and indigenous beliefs. This is one of Guatemala's biggest markets and people walk for many hours to set up there stand for the two big market days which are Thursday and Sunday. You can buy anything and everything here; fruits, vegetables, spices, meats, and gifts, you name it they probably have it. The streets are just filled with people and at times you feel a little overwhelmed but it is quite fun.
After a long afternoon of shopping we ended our day in Panajachel, a city overlooking the beautiful volcanic Lake Atitlan. Lake Atitlan is surrounded by three volcanoes, which makes it stunningly beautiful! Despite the constant rain, we took a boat tour that traveled to several cities on the lake. It was the chilliest we had been on the trip thus far, and was a nice break from the heat! We ran into our old tour leader the evening after the boat tour and had a nice dinner with everyone before going to see some live music!
After Panajachel, we returned to Antigua for the weekend. It was the completion of our 2nd past of the trip, so we lost 4 people and gained 5 new ones! Antigua is a really nice, quiet city with cobblestone streets, markets, and beautiful churches. Saturday we went to a local coffee plantation, or so we thought! It ended up being a tour of Mayan music and instruments. While informative, it was a lot of the information we have already heard along the way at the ruin sites! We were like, what does this have to do with coffee? When that part of the tour was finished though, we went to the other side of the museum and had a quick tour of a small coffee plantation!
On Sunday we had our biggest adventure yet. We climbed the active volcano Pacaya, an hour outside of Antigua. Toriann and I had the idea in our head that it was a sort of day hike and at the top we were told you could roast marshmallows! The first half of the hike was strenuous, but definitly ok. Then, our guide, who had no idea where the path was exactly, took us the 'long' way up loose volcanic rock for about an hour. It was like a scene from Lord of the Rings, we were in the clouds, on steep sharp rocks following a guide that kept leaving us in the dust. We eventually reached a slope that was close enough to the lava that you could see it and feel the heat! It was amazing to see the lava rivers flowing down the mountain, but a little scary when the guide takes you so close to it, it could fall on top of you! There was definitly no way that we were getting any closer to 'roast marshmallows'! It was definitly an adventure and our feet are a bit rough from the rocks, but we survived and it was an awesome site!