On the Road Again

Since last writing, I've been moving pretty quickly, except for a few more days in San Pedro. Antigua was nice and old, but way too touristy. I'm generally not one to make complainst like that, but when every other door is someone overcharging for uncomfortable, overpriced shuttles and trinkets, it's a bit much. Perhaps the bigger disappointment was the Guinness served in Reilly's, the only Irish pub in Guatemala. It tasted like old, melted chocalate. What's more is that it cost about 4X as much as the cheap stuff. Very sad.

From there I went up to Chichi for the country's biggest market. I've never had so much fun shopping. The good check on my expenses was that all I could think was, "Whatever I buy, I'm going to have to carry for the next several months." So I just picked up a few things here and there. Haggling was great. I got some things for a third of the price they initially asked for, leaving me unsure whether I should be happy for getting so much knocked off or ticked off because there was a fair chance I was still getting ripped off. Since I didn't know any better, I went with the former. Next to the market stands the Church of San Tomas, where the Mayans and the Catholics have a rather awkward arrangement of sharing it. I saw a few Mayans going about their rituals of praying for fertility, the harvest, and whatever else there was.

From Chichi, I visited Xela, which was a big city, but otherwise a disappointment. The food was decent, and after trying a sandwich that yet again included lettuce, I reached the conclusion whether lettuce gets someone sick here really depends on the restaurant. Generally the touristy places are pretty safe.

I returned to San Pedro for the semi-finals of the World Cup. It was nice to be able to enjoy the town for a bit without having to worry about classes. Most of the people who were there when I left the first time were still there. It was a nice, relaxing few days.

I left San Pedro and went back to Antigua en route to Copan on Friday. I was quoted $30 for a shuttle from my hotel, where they told me that was the best price in town. So I went across the street and booked on for $15. It left at 4:00. I wasn't sure that my alarm clock worked that early, so I looked for a button that said "UnGodly hour", but alas, it wasn't there. Somehow I managed to roll my sorry behind out of bed with barely enough time for a quick, freezing shower before the shuttle got there. It was cramped and full, but direct. We stopped only once, which was more convenient than the 14+ hours it had taken SP friends of mine to get there using five buses from San Pedro.

Copan Ruinas was a quiet town with not much besides the ruins not far outside the city. I stayed for two nights. After the trip from Antigua, I just took it easy, watching the third place match in a rather empty restaurant. The next day, I visited the ruins in the morning. The guide spoke English, and I split the cost with three chicks, one from Georgia, one from Holland and one from Germany. These Mayans were much smarter than those who built Tikal, as they had the foresight to not put their ruins in the middle of nowhere. After visiting the ruins, I headed back to the same restaurant to watch the finals. This time, there were about 60 people in a lobby that would usually host just a few. We all had a good laugh at the end of Zidane's career.

Yesterday, I took three buses to La Ceiba, the jumping off point for the Bay Islands. On the bus I met a woman and her 20 year old daughter, along with another small group of travelers from Switzerland and Canada. The woman offered my a room in her home, which I took, for the night. The six of us met pretty late at a local watering hole. Five of us had a great time while one sat there just about crying over his ex girlfriend. We tried to convince him to drink more, but to no avail. On the bright side, one of the Swiss guys and I did manage to get the daughter off the wagon. After a terrible hangover a month and a half ago, she swore off alcohol, but we managed to get her back on the sauce.

This morning I arrived in Utila, one of the Bay Islands. For the next few days, I'll be working on getting my c-card from the factory (for you boring people who don't do things like diving, running with the bulls, or jay walking, that means getting my SCUBA certification card from the Utila Dive Center). Reminicent of Cape Cod, it's hot but fairly comfortable. There aren't any buildings over two stories, and the island, while not empty, is far from abuzz. Classes start at 2, which means I have a fighting chance of getting to them on time. That's all for now, as I have to go for a swim in the Caribbean. What are you going to do?