Day 8 - 19/07/13

Today is a story of endurance followed by blissful reward.

A hangover is never an easy thing but in this heat it makes for a particularly tough ride. I have fry jacks for breakfast (very nice), bumping briefly into Taylor and Shelby long enough to say our goodbyes.

I have chosen to use local transport to get to Flores, which is definitely the cheaper and wiser option but is quite fiddly, with various different connecting waits, connections and walking to bus stops hounded by taxi drivers. By far the most gruelling leg of the journey, however, is the ollectivo I catch from the border to Flores. A steal, you might think, at but 30Q (3 pounds) for a two hour journey but such economy comes at a different cost; the minibus in question is, I imagione, designed to seat 8. I think for the majority of the journey, it houses about 20, all piled on and with no hint of air-conditioning. Truly sweltering conditions and en route I feel the tug of nausea more than once.

What prize, then, for such bravery? What illustrious reward for such a stoical feat of perseverance? Well, imagine the most idyllic scene you can. Take your time: make sure you´ve reached out with your imagination for all those niche luxuries one might not initially consider. Got it?

Compare it with mine: a town barely four-hundred yards across, set in the middle of a lake; cobbled streets, clear waters stretching as far as the eye can see. I´m swimming in this lake´s 25 degree water; the next minute I´m sipping a pina colada (my fourth) that is by far the nicest I have ever had, lying in a hammock in the leafy shaded garden of our hostel as they play golden oldies all day long.

Welcome to Flores, my favourite place so far.

2nd Photos

Day 7 - 18/07/13

Today´s tour does not quite posses the magic of yesterday´s but is an enjoyable compendium of activities, nonetheless.

The driving parts are a bit of a slog: 3 hours each way on very bumpy terrain! First port of call (and the main feature of the tour) is the Mayan city of Caracol, translating as ´snail´, so named because on its discovery in 1937 it was inhabited by a huge colony of the creatures. Conditions are very hot and stickybut it is very atmospheric sitting on top of temples looking out onto mountainous jungle as far as the eye can see, the scene alive with noise from birds, howler monkeys and a host of other jungle life.

I am also pleased with my group! There are only 5 of us today and I particularly enjoy the company of a pair of Texan honeymooners: Taylor and Shelby. It is hard not to fall in love with these guys! Shelby in particular is so beautifully innocent, one of those people who has seen very little of the world but loves all of it and I doubt whether anything could have dampened her spirits or made her any less grateful to be seeing all things that she is. She has only left the USA once before, to Mexico, and - in her own words - it blows her mind to discover how Europeans and Australians travel: moving from hostel to hostel, sometimes journeying for months at a time. It seems as if this honeymoon has opened up a whole new world for her and it is lovely to see!

In terms of activities, the highlight of the day is one of the return journey stops. After visiting a cave, we go for a swim in the Rio-On rockpools and the smooth granite slabs between each pool function as a very effective water slide, making the entire system like one great water ride!

The evening is spent in the company of the aforementioned Texans plus a Chicago girl who is pleasant enough but VERY American, in a coffee-drinking, histrionic, morally uncompromising sort of way, which is not always easy to stomach. I end up getting pretty drunk in the end; all good fun.

Day 6 - 17/07/13

Cor, I see some special things today..

An early rise is needed to be ready for the ATM (Achtun Tunichel Muktal) cave tour and after a short wait at the tour branch I am on a minibus with some fellow cavers, travelling an hour into the Tapir Mountain Reserve, the most verdant part of the country I have seen so far.

When we disembark, we have an enjoyable but for me very itchy trek through the jungle/forest until reachingthe mouth of the cave.

Having donned helmet with torch, and spearheaded by our guide Emil, we enter the cave. I decide that I LOVE caving. Swimming through the water, wondering at the amazing stalactite and stalacmite formations, having to climb through outrageously tricksy rock formations - I love all of it. Add to this the fact that the Mayans regarded this place as sacred and thatthe whole cave is awash with Mayan artefacts and you have the ingredients for a truly memorable experience.

The Mayans were largely agricultural and so their world was all about the earth, the sun and the water. They perceived the world to be flat and regarded the sun as a god that came from the underworld beneath each day. It stands to reason, therefore, that they would see these vast labyrinths of caves as portals into the world of the gods, whence water came and where they should make their offerings in order to appease these gods.

Only high priests were allowed into the caves, always elaborately dressed, painted and disguised to trick the gods into believing they were one of them. The deeper into the cave and the more treacherous the journey, the closer they believed they were to the gods and, along the single route we take, are littered scores of Mayan pots, each of which would have been brought in as an offering centuries ago and broken in half to release the pot´s soul, which would have been initially crafted into it by a shaman.

The deeper into the cave we go, the more elaborate the offerings become: as the Mayan civilisation began to crumble its citizens came deeper and deeper into the cave out of desperation. For this reason, the pots farther in are of the later eras and at the very farthest reaches of the caves one sees more hardcore types of sacrifice - animal and then human skulls - culminating in the perfectly preserved skeleton of a girl with a broken knee, fractured jaw and missing vertebrae (they believed the more pain the closer connection with the gods) at one uppermost zenith of the caves.

Wow. I´ve never seen anything like this before and am now very interested to see the Mayan ruins at Caracol tomorrow.

After a scrumptious curried lunch, it is simply the return leg and I get back to San Ignacio about 4pm, with time to attend to a few domestic chores before grabbing some dinner. Happily, I bump into Michael from Caye Caulker and we share a few beers, discuss pedagogy, the nature of literature in translation, how perceptive faculties can supercede analytical ones and the problems this can create, before retiring (separately) for the night.

Day 5 - 16/07/13

An early rise this morning for the water taxi to Belize City. This is where we say our goodbyes! We do so at the arrival dock and once again I am on my own.

This is okay, though. I am really enjoying my book - cleverly written and very philosophical - and I am surprised at how easy it is to get a taxi to the bus station and then a bus to San Ignacio, which takes two hours.

In no time, I have checked in at a very laid back guest house and have a single room. I am glad for the chance to relax, particularly because I am really quite burnt on my back - I put sunscreen on for the snorkelling but neglected to factor in (pun intended) the actual time in the water, during which ones back is facing directly up to the sun.

Once done, I head out and book myself two big tours for the next two days. I am really rinsing money! But Guatemala will be cheaper and I can hopefully get back onto budget.

After a spot of lunch I have an afternoon nap, which is much needed. I get up about 6pm and have a couple of beers and a light dinner. I am excited about tomorrow!

Day 4 - 15/07/13

Interesting day. Definitely the strangest so far.

The bad:

(i) seasickness on the snorkelling boat bad enough that I am actually sick quite violently and cannot eat any of the food provided.

(ii) amidst this, as if not embarrassing enough, my body decides to have a panic attack! And probably the worst one I have had since my first big one several years ago. I know what it is now, of course, and it passes and it´s fine but it does leave me looking like a right spacker. Curse my constitution!

The good:

(i) despite all my difficulties at sea, I still manage to participate in all the snorkelling! In many ways I actually feel more gastrically stable in the water and the fish are amazing. There are big grey ones, small blue ones, ones with funny stalk-like protrusions, manta rays, groupers and snappers and sea-turtles (which are the absolute highlight!).

In the first dive, I am actually in the middle of whole shoals at points - truly surreal. Nessa pretends to be a fish and bites my toe.

In the third dive, I accidentally kick a MASSIVE fish! I suddenly feel a big thud as I kick with my left flipper and turn to see a reeling, shellshocked grouper. Our guide is angry and says I must watch my feet; the girls think it is hilarious. 

1st Photos