Guatemala, Once Again!

So we ended up back in Guatemala… somehow the forward progress of our trip-around-the-world isn’t happening so much. But Livingston and Rio Dulce were lovely and worth the visit. We went through another border crossing, but this time not by land or air, but by sea. Drenched to the bone by the time we reached Livingston a Guatemalan style statue of Liberty welcomed us in. We had left Belize behind to get a mix of cultures back in Guatemala which we found the instantly as we set foot on dry land. Hard to believe it was the same country we had entered from Mexico nearly 4 months ago, Livingston has more of the flavor of the Caribbean than Latin America. Greeted in a mixture of Creole, Spanish and English all things felt reminiscent of Jamaica like Belize had.



Amongst those familiar things- Seven Alters, a beautiful river going out to the sea with cascading waterfalls into blue-green pools to cool you off on a swim.

As Livingston is only accessibly by boat, we hopped on another one to head out- this time to Rio Dulce the town along Rio Dulce the river. Starting out steep sided with green forests crowding in on you, the river opens up so wide you would think you were in a great lake. Along the way we found beautiful hostels to compliment a tranquil setting.

Once again Guatemala has treated us well and is truly a country we are going to miss.

Today's our 6 month travel anniversary!

WWOOF!

No, we’re not barking, just basking in our first true WWOOFing experience- WorldWide Organization of Organic Farmers experience that is. Fortunately and unfortunately, we have started off spoiled. Village Farm and Tanya and John are wonderful. What started as a correspondence way back in November, having heard about Village Farm though the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Network, we have been anticipating this stop off on our world-tour-extravaganza for quite a while and the anticipation was well worth it.

Amongst endless great conversation over some of the most scrumptious food I think we will eat over the whole course of our travels, we learned a lot about organic farming, especially in the tropics, plus the wonders of trees like neem and moringa. We picked mangos, bananas, breadfruit, avocados, plums, pineapples and all sorts of different vegetables- some of the fruits we made jam out of, delicious! Much time was spent trimming cacao trees- the tree that produces the delectable thing we like to call chocolate. We got to taste the finished product of the fruits of our labors- a Maya Gold chocolate bar from Green & Blacks. Go out and get one and you’ll be eating from the same trees we so lovingly trimmed.

The one drawback was that the bugs were even worse than at La Florida! We had been warned and before we even arrived, we were covered head to toe in clothing to ward them off, and yet by week’s end we were still covered in bites! The greatest reprieve was the end of the day with time on the dock as the cool breeze blew (too hard for any bugs to be flying!) and the sun went down amongst good conversation and looking out over the Bay of Honduras as manatees peeked their heads out of the water to get a look at us.

At the end of our inspiring week at Village Farm we were about to get on a boat heading back to Guatemala, but as fate would have it we detoured to yet another organic farm- Maya Mountain Research Farm. More or less a WWOOFing experience, this was technically an internship in which we continue our education as to tropical agriculture and organic production. We got to help in planting and harvesting, learning and teaching (like advice on their aquaculture pond), and working on the “cob house”- cob being a traditional building material/method of using clay, sand, water and fibers and building up the walls one layer at a time.

MMRF differs slightly from most organic farms as their main focus is on permaculture and agroforestry. The farm has many different fruits and vegetables and some animals, all working in a symbiotic relationship with each other to make the farm sustainable without the use of pesticides and fertilizers and provides a very healthy impact on the earth. One of the best ways to describe MMRF and their permaculture practices is in this example: a crescent of pineapple is planted just downslope of a breadnut tree. The pineapple holds the soil and all its nutrients helping the tree to grow better. The soil also provides a perfect habitat for leaf cutter ants who feed on the leaves of the bread nut. The chickens feed on the leaf cutter ants and fertilize the tree and the pineapple helping them to easily grow strong enough to support the ants. And of course the eggs and the meat from the free roaming chicken is unbeatable. Everything is diversified so one disease cannot destroy your whole farm and all byproducts are use to strengthen, not weaken, other parts of the agricultural process. A big difference from a chemically laden pineapple orchard or the testtube chicken farm. Pretty cool, huh? We are learning a lot of great things that hopefully we can pass on as the countries get poorer and food scarcity gets greater.

Almost everything we ate while there came from the soil that surrounded us (a notable exception being the delicious pizza night, no cheese producers here). The long and short-term interns Liz, Ashley and Lincoln were great and really made our week, and of course Chris, the man behind the farm of MMRF plus his two little girls. And one of the best things- hardly any bugs! (sigh of relief) It was still quite hot and humid, but that was easily helped by taking a dip in the river that borders the farm, one of our favorite things to do.

So the south of Belize certainly treated us well thanks to the lovely hosts at Village Farm and MMRF- thank you so much and keep up the good work!

Wait a second, what country are we in??

How have we crossed into Jamaica without ever getting on a plane or in a boat? There is Courts Store in the center of each city, Digicel credit being sold, patois ringing in our ears, the same fruits and veggies we were so used to, and in place of the Mayan features of the people we see the look of Africa, or to our eyes, Jamaica (except for the Mennonites- we weren't expecting to see the beard and suspender clad white men with long beards in horse-drawn carriages!). It feels good to be in Belize. Crossing the border the difference was immediate and we felt strangely like we had come home.

After the third time the customs clearly explained to us that this is an English speaking country and we did not need to speak to them broken Spanish, we started our trek through the countryside ending up in the quaint little town of San Ignacio. With a day and a half to explore the small town, we spent some of our most relaxing time of the entire trip sitting on porches with our hostel family, walking through parks and just stopping and chatting with the locals. This is our type of traveling.

And of course a trip to Belize would not be complete for us without getting to see a part of the second largest barrier reef in the world. So next stop was hopping a ferry to Caye Caulker- white sand beaches and the beautiful Caribbean Sea. Again, we were feeling at home. An island that you could nearly spit to the other side of, Caye Caulker is a long stretch of laid-back paradise where we had the good fortune of making some great new friends.

Back to the reef part, the snorkeling was beautiful. It was wonderful to see that Belize is filled with reserve after reserve to help to protect some of the remaining corals we have left in this world. While this does come with a price tag we were able to splurge a little with an all day sailing and snorkeling trip that was amazing and will definitely be one of our highlights. A stark difference from the seriously damaged Jamaican reefs, in Belize there is a plethora of everything and it is all much bigger! From nurse sharks and southern sting rays, green sea turtles to giant groupers, the wildlife in the marine parks were some of the most beautiful and plentiful we have ever seen. So thank you Contessa, the snorkeling was wonderful!

Our final days in Guatemala, until we return again shortly

As our time in La Florida came to a close, we had five more days until our 90 day visa came to an end. So to start if off we hit our old stomping grounds of Xela and Antigua. Back to Casa Argentina where from our Goldie Locks experience of terrible beds we got our most comfortable one to date. I guess as the old saying goes “the sixth time is the charm. We also had a great time catching up with our fellow travel compatriots there, plus another salsa lesson (that’s the dance not a how-to course on making the condiment), and a chance to see our old teachers and school while enjoying the city one last time. In Antigua this time there was not the hustle and bustle of Semana Santa so the scene seemed very subdued to us, which was a very nice thing. We got to see Casa Sito crew, Rory and Maria again, feasting on some Irish stew made by someone who can claim the recipe. And by wonderful coincidence Jenn and JJ were there making a lovely Peace Corps Jamaica reunion! Always good to catch up with good people.

The other highlight of being back in Antigua is that it is the jumping off point for most people going to climb Pacaya, a young and very active volcano in the region. As last time we were there it was actually deemed “too active” to summit, we postponed our visit. This time it was just active enough for us to melt the soles of our shoes and chase us away from a spot where we casually noticed a new molten lava shoot was forming 40 feet above us. We actually got close enough to the flowing lava (that is liquid rock you know) that we could have roasted marshmallows. Remarkably we made it down with no problems, stopping occasionally to check out the incredible view and reposition our new custom soles as the glue was beginning to reharden.

Next came an 8 hour ride of uncomfortable “sleep” getting to Flores in Peten, a new area of Guatemala for us as we emerged from the mountainous highlands to the heat of the tropics at last. For anyone knowing a little something about Guatemala, you might know Flores is the usual jumping off point for Tikal-bound tourists. Tikal, the great Mayan ruins tucked in lush rainforest with wildlife abounding and amazing architecture millennia old. Well, we didn’t go there. Gotta save something for a return visit and we lounged around Lake Peten exploring new markets, worked on the never ending web sites, and took some time to just relax.

Thank you Guatemala for an incredible three months, we will miss you.