So after spending a long time in Antigua having fun filled adventures, I have come back to Panajachel. Paco and Dave have been playing in cafes,bars and parks every night and collecting some tip money, while I have just been chilling out and just going with the flow. I played my synthesizer with them the other night while Dave and Paco got to open an open mic night where we got free food. We played for a good hour or so and it was pretty fun. A half hour into it the place was pretty dead with only 2 people in the crowd. But then about 15 mins later the place filled up with about 20 people or so. There was this great band from Guatemala City and they were really good.
It has been cool hanging out with Paco and Dave but I was definitly getting an over load of Antigua. It was way to expensive and there were way too many touristas, mostly rich college kids on spring break. I did meet a lot of cool though and we went to a couple cool parties. And we went to a pretty pumpin party on the sidewalk when I was with Dave one night. Dave was playing the jembi and there were like 30 people just singing chants and dancing around and acting silly. Then the cops came with their big machine guns and every one started to split and I made Dave leave with me. Right when we started to leave about 6 or 7 cops just surrounded this one funny kid who didnt do anything and just start to hit him and put hand cuffs on him and arrest him. Then thats when I started to walk a lot faster.
I am going to San Marcos tomorrow to look for a good spanish school or teacher and stay there for about a week. If I just find a teacher I think that Dave and I will stay at this awesome guy Hectors house. He will let us stay in his house for free if we take care of it and his pets and help work in his garden while he lives in his Grandmothers house in Pana.
Then after I learn some spanish I will head on out towards Texas alone in Mexico. I am going to take a shuttle bus to San Crystalbol De la Casa, Chiapas and from there find a way towards Texas. I need to work on my bike because my gears are getting all funky and all the gears are starting to slip and change automatically while I am riding. It is a little different not being in such a bring group anymore. I felt pretty safe with the whole group but now I feel like I have a lot more time to explore by myself and check out some scenes while I am here. The market in Antigua is definitly a really cool market with loads of fruits,veggies,raw meat hanging around with tons of flys and people with fly swatters swatting the flys on the meat, lots of donated clothes from America( I think tjmax and marshals send their clothes to Guatemala after they cant sell old clothes because I saw a lot of clothes with Marshals stickers on them),cheap meals for under a under an american dollar and much much more.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Everything is Ok
Ok so the atm machines all lied to me. I called up my bank and I found out that I have 390 dollars left. So if I use it wisely and stop buying yummy helados and pan de dulce than I will be able to make it to Texas! Once I get in to Mexico everything will be a little more cheaper which is better for me. I can definitly find a bus going to the Mexican/guatemalen boarder. From there I can probably find some travelers that are headed up north and head up with them. I was thinking about riding through the boarder hoping that they wont give me any problems since I dont have a guatemalen visa or a passport stamp from when I first entered the country. Everyone is saying that I should be fine since I am american. And I already have a mexican visa so I should be fine. I am working on looking up some jobs for when I get into Texas and I plan on working with the yellow bike project in Austin. I cant wait to get involved with them and start working with them and see how their program works and runs. I am totally not worried any more.
Last night I had a dream that I started to fly....Kipchoge and the rest of the ginger ninjas were all their while we were in Guatemala. At first I had a really hard time, I started to get really high and then all of a sudden I would plummit down really really fast. Then everyone told me I was flying that well because of all these negatives thoughts that I manifest in my head sometimes. Then I kind of woke up while that was going on but I liked the dream and I didnt want it to end. So I wondered how I could continue to fly high and free with no worries. Then I started to imagine that I just unzipped a invisible/gooey suit filled with negative thoughts,images, regrets, worries and much more. After that I was like 60 lbs less and I started to soar higher and higher. Then I decided I would end it there and then I woke up and Paco,Dave and I all went to the mercado and bought breakfast for 7 q each.So I think we are going back to San Pedro or Panajachel tomorrow and from their I will look for a bus to Mexico, Possibly even mexico city.
Well those are all the updates I can think of for now, besides that Paco and Dave have been playing shows pretty much everynight together. I am not so confident with my synthesizer playing to play with them so I usually dont play with them. The sounds are too extreme and it is hard to find the right sounds for reggae. It takes time to come up with good ideas to mesh with the music and I dont have an amplifier so I cant practice with them. My mind keeps filling up with tons of new ideas but they slowly leak out if I dont get to play an instrument for an etended period of time. Music is medicine for me and relaxes and calms me down. Lately I have just been sleeping early and acting a little depressed. I was so used to just following the group that now it is hard for me to cope with being on my own. Sure I am with Paco and Dave but its just not the same. I think Paco and Dave are going to continue to head down south towards Honduras and Nicaragua while I head north Solo. I think it will be a good and challenging expeirence for me, and I know I will learn a lot from it as well as grow a lot. Once I get into Mexico I would like to start looking for a family to teach english to while they teach me spanish for a month or so or maybe just a couple of weeks so I can feel more comfertable with traveling alone in a spanish speaking country. I feel like I have been using Kipchoge and the other spanish speakers in the group as a crutch. Also I let Paco do all the talking whenever we book a hotel or buy food because I just do try hard enough to communicate. I understand a lot of spanish but i just get self concious and dont try to speak it.
Anyways.... until next time Amigos
Last night I had a dream that I started to fly....Kipchoge and the rest of the ginger ninjas were all their while we were in Guatemala. At first I had a really hard time, I started to get really high and then all of a sudden I would plummit down really really fast. Then everyone told me I was flying that well because of all these negatives thoughts that I manifest in my head sometimes. Then I kind of woke up while that was going on but I liked the dream and I didnt want it to end. So I wondered how I could continue to fly high and free with no worries. Then I started to imagine that I just unzipped a invisible/gooey suit filled with negative thoughts,images, regrets, worries and much more. After that I was like 60 lbs less and I started to soar higher and higher. Then I decided I would end it there and then I woke up and Paco,Dave and I all went to the mercado and bought breakfast for 7 q each.So I think we are going back to San Pedro or Panajachel tomorrow and from their I will look for a bus to Mexico, Possibly even mexico city.
Well those are all the updates I can think of for now, besides that Paco and Dave have been playing shows pretty much everynight together. I am not so confident with my synthesizer playing to play with them so I usually dont play with them. The sounds are too extreme and it is hard to find the right sounds for reggae. It takes time to come up with good ideas to mesh with the music and I dont have an amplifier so I cant practice with them. My mind keeps filling up with tons of new ideas but they slowly leak out if I dont get to play an instrument for an etended period of time. Music is medicine for me and relaxes and calms me down. Lately I have just been sleeping early and acting a little depressed. I was so used to just following the group that now it is hard for me to cope with being on my own. Sure I am with Paco and Dave but its just not the same. I think Paco and Dave are going to continue to head down south towards Honduras and Nicaragua while I head north Solo. I think it will be a good and challenging expeirence for me, and I know I will learn a lot from it as well as grow a lot. Once I get into Mexico I would like to start looking for a family to teach english to while they teach me spanish for a month or so or maybe just a couple of weeks so I can feel more comfertable with traveling alone in a spanish speaking country. I feel like I have been using Kipchoge and the other spanish speakers in the group as a crutch. Also I let Paco do all the talking whenever we book a hotel or buy food because I just do try hard enough to communicate. I understand a lot of spanish but i just get self concious and dont try to speak it.
Anyways.... until next time Amigos
Monday, March 23, 2009
No mas dinero en Guatemala
So it looks like I have 0 dollars in my bank account. I took out 500 quitales, which is about 50 dollars, and I checked my bank balance and it says I have 0 dollars left. So I was thinking of selling my bicycle for money so I can make it to texas. Or i was thinking of hitch hiking to texas somehow and then working in texas, possibly at a bicycle shop for a couple of months and then continuing my adventure. I really wouldnt want to sell my bike but I know I can earn another by volunteering at another earn a bike organization in Texas. I am still with Dave and Paco and I think we are going to hed back to Panajachel tomorrow. There I will call my bank and figure out if the machines were lying about my balance or not and see if I can get a direct bus to Mexico city from there. I would like to be in mexico in a week or so. And in Mexico I would like to find a family to live with and work and teach english to while they teach me spanish in return.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Hanging out with Dave and Paco in Antigua
So Kipchoge went home right after Dave, Paco and I arrived in Antigua. We didnt get to play one last show or say our final goodbyes. But we did meet up with the rest of the crew and said our good byes to Laughter,Jared and Cara. They all took a bus to Mexico the next day. Dave, Paco and I have been renting a hotel for fairly cheap and we played a show at an open mic night in a restaurant. I finally got to play my micro korg synthesizer. Paco is a really great guitarist who plays a lot of reggae songs that he mostly writes. We pretty much booked a show everynight here until weds. And then I think we will go back to Panajachel or San Pedro. I am thinking about going to Spanish school in either towns for a week and then trying to figure out my plan from there. I am thinking about taking a bus from Panajachel, if possible ,to Mexico City. Then from there I would like to visit some new found friends and then go to Guadalajara and then to Texas. But Paco keeps talking about going to his home country of El Salvador to play lots of shows and travel throughout south america. It sounds really awesome but my money is really low and I kind of want to travel the states for now and ty to work in random cities and make some money and then travel throughout south america in a year or 2 or maybe 3.
Eventually I would like to look for some fellow travelers who would like to go bike from the west coast to the east coast with me when I decide to go home. But that won´t be for a while.
For now I am just living it up in Antigua and I am a little disgusted by all the tourists. But thats life. Tomorrow I might make my way to Maya Pedal, which is a really cool organization where they create bicycle powered machines such as a bicycle powered blender, water pump, machete/knife sharpener,generator.
Eventually I would like to look for some fellow travelers who would like to go bike from the west coast to the east coast with me when I decide to go home. But that won´t be for a while.
For now I am just living it up in Antigua and I am a little disgusted by all the tourists. But thats life. Tomorrow I might make my way to Maya Pedal, which is a really cool organization where they create bicycle powered machines such as a bicycle powered blender, water pump, machete/knife sharpener,generator.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Sick again, Lake atitlan adventures and plans for the near future!!
So a lot, and I mean a lot, has happened since the last time I updated my blog. The whole gang has been hanging out in the lake Atitlan area for an extended period of time. We hav e played multiple shows at multple venues. For the majority of the time the band played the shows, I was really sick and not able to participate because my stomach and broken nose have been making me depressed and feel out of it. But now my nose is all better and I have been drinking lots of local herbal tea and eating Papaya seeds, which make my stomach feel so much better.
Lake Atitlan Festival
So the whole band went to this awesome Lake Atitlan festival just around the lake in Santiago, Guatemala. There were a lot of guatemalen bands and a lot of cool hippies. We camped out that night and I somehow managed to eat a pot brownie, which were being served at the festival. That night my stomach started to hurt so I decided to take a nap around 8 or so and then wake up in a little while to continue watching ands until midnight... Well as I was sleeping I was woken up because I heard a lot of rustling of leaves in the woods right next to the camp sight. I looked to see what it was and I saw about 5 or 6 men with candles and it looked like they were wearing masks and had guns and machetes in their hands. I quickly woke up and started to run down to the festival only to see that all of the paths were blocked with men with flashlights. I started to panic and my heart started to race faster than that time I rode my bike down a 88 degree mountain in Chiapas Mexico. So I saw that there was an empty spot that lead down to the river so I ran as fast as I could down these huge ruin looking stairs almost slipping while huffing and puffing down. I saw that people with flashlights started to follow me so I started to climb up this mouantainous ridge until I came upon the most perfect cave I have ever stumpled upon. I was too afraid to shine my flashlight because the shadowy craetures with flashlight started to approch quickly. So I started to climb my way into this cave and crammed myself in there...for 2 hours. I would eventually look out to see if they were gone but they were still there!! the whole time! I would eventaully see people scouting out the locaction. After two hours of being paronoid and stuffed in a cave I decided I would run back to the tent and hope it wasnt tooken over my criminals in the mountains of guatemala. I returned safely with just normal campers walking around with flashlights. There were no men with masks and guns. Although there were security guards, and they must have been the men who started to chase me, and I think they were carrying had guns. So I slept in my sleeping bag outside and went to bed. The next day I woke up and talked to some people the next day and heard that there were a couple of locals who came by to the camp sight ready to lynch a criminal who just raped and robbed someone close by..... After that we all took a boat back to San Pedro and we were all safe and sound.
The Future of my life..
So Kipchoge has found out that has father is having a hard battle with cancer back home and has decided that he is going home on Sunday. This means I will have to decide what I am going to do with my life. I have multiple ideas of what I can do and what I would like to do. For example I would like to stay here in the lake atitlan area for a couple more weeks and go to spanish school which is about 65 bucks for a 20 hour course. Or I was thinking I could live with a local family and teach them english while they teach me spanish and help them work around, or on the house and their farm if it exists. There is also the possibility of continuing down south and trying to contact some new found travelers I have made on the trip and traveling with them for a while to south america. Or maybe I will go back up to Mexico and meet up with new found friends there. Or maybe... I will take a bus up to Texas and travel by bike around there and visit some really awesome bicycle collectives and meet up with some really cool bicycle advocacy groups and then travel the whole west coast by bike. And eventually go to Tour De Fat or just go to the New Belgium brewing company head quarters to check it out and visit other really cool spots on the west coast. Maybe I will find a place to live for a couple of weeks,months,years on my travels. Maybe I will go back home and then gather up some of my friends from home and go on an all out bike trip with them. Maybe I will cross paths of people I know and have met in the future. WHO KNOWS????But I do know that I am going to have a fucking awesome time doing whatever it is I am going to do. I am going to try to post up news pictures of my adventures shortly. Until Next time, be happy and live life to the fullest!! Dont let spilled milk or amibas or poverty get you down.
Lake Atitlan Festival
So the whole band went to this awesome Lake Atitlan festival just around the lake in Santiago, Guatemala. There were a lot of guatemalen bands and a lot of cool hippies. We camped out that night and I somehow managed to eat a pot brownie, which were being served at the festival. That night my stomach started to hurt so I decided to take a nap around 8 or so and then wake up in a little while to continue watching ands until midnight... Well as I was sleeping I was woken up because I heard a lot of rustling of leaves in the woods right next to the camp sight. I looked to see what it was and I saw about 5 or 6 men with candles and it looked like they were wearing masks and had guns and machetes in their hands. I quickly woke up and started to run down to the festival only to see that all of the paths were blocked with men with flashlights. I started to panic and my heart started to race faster than that time I rode my bike down a 88 degree mountain in Chiapas Mexico. So I saw that there was an empty spot that lead down to the river so I ran as fast as I could down these huge ruin looking stairs almost slipping while huffing and puffing down. I saw that people with flashlights started to follow me so I started to climb up this mouantainous ridge until I came upon the most perfect cave I have ever stumpled upon. I was too afraid to shine my flashlight because the shadowy craetures with flashlight started to approch quickly. So I started to climb my way into this cave and crammed myself in there...for 2 hours. I would eventually look out to see if they were gone but they were still there!! the whole time! I would eventaully see people scouting out the locaction. After two hours of being paronoid and stuffed in a cave I decided I would run back to the tent and hope it wasnt tooken over my criminals in the mountains of guatemala. I returned safely with just normal campers walking around with flashlights. There were no men with masks and guns. Although there were security guards, and they must have been the men who started to chase me, and I think they were carrying had guns. So I slept in my sleeping bag outside and went to bed. The next day I woke up and talked to some people the next day and heard that there were a couple of locals who came by to the camp sight ready to lynch a criminal who just raped and robbed someone close by..... After that we all took a boat back to San Pedro and we were all safe and sound.
The Future of my life..
So Kipchoge has found out that has father is having a hard battle with cancer back home and has decided that he is going home on Sunday. This means I will have to decide what I am going to do with my life. I have multiple ideas of what I can do and what I would like to do. For example I would like to stay here in the lake atitlan area for a couple more weeks and go to spanish school which is about 65 bucks for a 20 hour course. Or I was thinking I could live with a local family and teach them english while they teach me spanish and help them work around, or on the house and their farm if it exists. There is also the possibility of continuing down south and trying to contact some new found travelers I have made on the trip and traveling with them for a while to south america. Or maybe I will go back up to Mexico and meet up with new found friends there. Or maybe... I will take a bus up to Texas and travel by bike around there and visit some really awesome bicycle collectives and meet up with some really cool bicycle advocacy groups and then travel the whole west coast by bike. And eventually go to Tour De Fat or just go to the New Belgium brewing company head quarters to check it out and visit other really cool spots on the west coast. Maybe I will find a place to live for a couple of weeks,months,years on my travels. Maybe I will go back home and then gather up some of my friends from home and go on an all out bike trip with them. Maybe I will cross paths of people I know and have met in the future. WHO KNOWS????But I do know that I am going to have a fucking awesome time doing whatever it is I am going to do. I am going to try to post up news pictures of my adventures shortly. Until Next time, be happy and live life to the fullest!! Dont let spilled milk or amibas or poverty get you down.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
San Marcos
So we took a boat ride across the beautiful Atitlan lake to San Marcos. We have been staying in Hectors house,Hector is a really cool artist who sells his art work in the main market in Panajachel. It has been paradise. There was a beautiful view of the lake, and the town is pretty cool and not so touristy, but there are still a lot of gringos there. I have been taking it easy since I got hit in the nose unexpectedly on Saturday night. I slept while the band played one show at Panarock on sunday, and I missed out on a an epic journey where they hiked 18 km round trip to an amazing water fall. But I had a good time sleeping and playing my microkorg synthesizer. That was probably the 5th or 6th time I have played it since I have been traveling with the band since January.
My imagination has started to flow with all sorts of crazy ideas and I have been feeling really creative lately. Also I have been practicing Español a little also. I would like to go to Spanish school but I really don't think I need it and I couldn't afford it anyways right now. I think I am doing ok for never taking any classes ever in my life, but also I could be doing much better. I am just afraid to go for it and just speak it, so I end up sounding like a goof ball.
After hanging out at Hectors house enjoying the view of the lake and the beautiful garden and playing music every night, we decided to come back to Panajachel. We are playing another show tonight at Panarock again. The future is looking a little hazy and untold so far but I think we will go to Antigua and then San Salvador, El Salvador. But I am not positive yet. We might hang out around here for a couple more days to play a few more shows and then venture on to the south.
Yesterday I decided to start trying to plan what I will be doing after the tour. I am thinking about going back to school and trying to get some scholarships and study some sort of cultural anthropology or maybe study puppeteering. I was also thinking maybe I can play music for money and travel by bicycle with some fellow travelers around the world. Or maybe I can just stay in one country and volunteer there for a couple of months and then travel some more. I was also thinking about trying to join a bicycle crew for bicycle tours or crazy events like the Tour de Fat, which I just heard about the other day. I am not sure where my future will take me yet, but I do know that I will have a great time doing whatever I choose to do...
My imagination has started to flow with all sorts of crazy ideas and I have been feeling really creative lately. Also I have been practicing Español a little also. I would like to go to Spanish school but I really don't think I need it and I couldn't afford it anyways right now. I think I am doing ok for never taking any classes ever in my life, but also I could be doing much better. I am just afraid to go for it and just speak it, so I end up sounding like a goof ball.
After hanging out at Hectors house enjoying the view of the lake and the beautiful garden and playing music every night, we decided to come back to Panajachel. We are playing another show tonight at Panarock again. The future is looking a little hazy and untold so far but I think we will go to Antigua and then San Salvador, El Salvador. But I am not positive yet. We might hang out around here for a couple more days to play a few more shows and then venture on to the south.
Yesterday I decided to start trying to plan what I will be doing after the tour. I am thinking about going back to school and trying to get some scholarships and study some sort of cultural anthropology or maybe study puppeteering. I was also thinking maybe I can play music for money and travel by bicycle with some fellow travelers around the world. Or maybe I can just stay in one country and volunteer there for a couple of months and then travel some more. I was also thinking about trying to join a bicycle crew for bicycle tours or crazy events like the Tour de Fat, which I just heard about the other day. I am not sure where my future will take me yet, but I do know that I will have a great time doing whatever I choose to do...
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Another Day another Broken Nose
So I have been having a great time in Panajachel, Guatemala. Everyone here has been really great and friendly towards us. On Saturday night we played a pretty cool show at Solomon´s Porch. After the show I made some new friends and we decided to hang out and go to one of their friends house to hang out. Dave and I wanted to go to the hotel real quick to drop our bikes off and walk there. So Erin and her friend walked with me behind Dave in the aly way which lead to our hotel. Dave passed these 4 drunk guys who were walking and taking up the whole aly way. So it was my turn to pass the men, so I rang my bell to get there attention so I could pass. Pretty much seconds after I did that they started to walk past me and the guy on the left threw his arm out as hard as he could towards my face. Then they all started to walk away like nothing happened. I was a little confused and shocked and kept riding to the hotel. Then I stopped at a corner and realized my nose was bleeding non stop and that it was completely broken. The girls ran up to me and helped me with my bike and we went back to the hotel. Luckily Erin is awesome and called up her friend Noay who works at Solomons porch. He drove me to the hospital with Erin and Dave. When we arrived to the hospital the doctor didn´t want to help me at first. He said something along the lines that I am american and I should go to America to get it fixed. But luckily Noay convinced him that I was a volunteer at Solomons Porch and worked with children and lived there. So the doctor agreed and they did an x ray and saw that my nose was completely broken. Then some guy with regular clothes on had a hard time putting an IV in me. After stabbing me a couple of times he eventually put it in and they started to place my nose back in place. By the time the doctor but my nose back in place I was pretty drugged up and barely felt it. So now I have two big plugs in my nose that are really annoying and ugly. I also have to wear a nose cast which makes me stick out like a sore thumb and look pretty silly. But I feel fine. It is swollen and I kind of look like elephant man, but besides that I feel great. My stomach hasn´t been bothering me at all either.
We have been staying in Hectors place across the atitlan lake. It is very very beautiful and it is like living in paradise. I am considering living in Panajachel and volunteering while the rest of the gang goes to El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Panama because I am running really low on money. I only have 600 american dollars left. Which I dont think is enough to go all the way down to panama and then all the way back east home. So we will see what happens in a couple of days...
We have been staying in Hectors place across the atitlan lake. It is very very beautiful and it is like living in paradise. I am considering living in Panajachel and volunteering while the rest of the gang goes to El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Panama because I am running really low on money. I only have 600 american dollars left. Which I dont think is enough to go all the way down to panama and then all the way back east home. So we will see what happens in a couple of days...
Saturday, March 7, 2009
I feel better now.
So we are still in Panajachel, which is a pretty awesome town. There are a lot of tourist and there is a beautiful view of Atitlan Lake and the three huge volcanos that surround it.
My stomach feels much better and I feel happier. We have been playing shows and will coninue to play shows every night here until Monday where we will head off towards Antigua or Guatemala City. I am not sure where we will head next.
But the weather is great and I have been relaxing and having a great time hanging out with the crew and some new found friends. We have been hanging out with a mexican band who is also on tour. We ran into them in Oaxaca and maybe in Chiapas also. They are all really cool and play sweet traditional music with a modern twist.
I am kind of bummed that we are headed to El Salvador and then straight to Costa Rica, skipping Honduras and Nicaragua. But maybe I can visit those countries some other time in my life. El Salvador and Costa Rica and Panama should be really fun and exiciting. We will see what happens next.
Anyways I am trying to find some places to volunteer in Mexico for when I get back into Mexico after the tour. I emailed an orphanage but they haven´t responded yet. I would like to try to work with children and perhaps work with a program similar to an earn a bike program.
My stomach feels much better and I feel happier. We have been playing shows and will coninue to play shows every night here until Monday where we will head off towards Antigua or Guatemala City. I am not sure where we will head next.
But the weather is great and I have been relaxing and having a great time hanging out with the crew and some new found friends. We have been hanging out with a mexican band who is also on tour. We ran into them in Oaxaca and maybe in Chiapas also. They are all really cool and play sweet traditional music with a modern twist.
I am kind of bummed that we are headed to El Salvador and then straight to Costa Rica, skipping Honduras and Nicaragua. But maybe I can visit those countries some other time in my life. El Salvador and Costa Rica and Panama should be really fun and exiciting. We will see what happens next.
Anyways I am trying to find some places to volunteer in Mexico for when I get back into Mexico after the tour. I emailed an orphanage but they haven´t responded yet. I would like to try to work with children and perhaps work with a program similar to an earn a bike program.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Stomach Problems, Chichicastanango and Panajachel
So my stomach started to hurt a lot while we were in the town before Chichicastanango and the riding started to get brutal because of all of the hills and mountains. We played a show in a little Peubla that we rode to at an end of a long day of epic riding. Everyone was really nice and accomadating to us and they let sleep in a community center type of building. I think it was there where I ate something full of hungry stomach cramping, non stopping diariah giving bacterias. The next morning it was time to ride on what was suposed to be a 4 or 5 day journey to Chichicastanango. My stomach and Caras stomach started to feel really bad and uncomfortable. So Cara told us that Jared, Corey and herself were going to take a bus ride to Chichi which would be about 5 hours conpared to 5 days. That way Jared would be able to get some work done on the system. But thats when I decided to just bail out on riding as well and decided I would like to take a bus too because I wasnt feeling so well. So me and Dave both took a couple buses to Chichi while Kipchoge and Laughter were left to ride for days on end. Oh yeah, and by the way Laughter is a 54 year old Woman from the crazy mountains of California. So me and Dave made it to chi chi where I got lost within a alf hour of getting there. The crowds were swaming with all sorts of people from sketchy to hungry and to helpful and kind people. I found an internet cafe and dave rode by with some fellow travelers. We found a hotel and met up with Cara, Jared and Corey the next day. That day was full of unpleasant gas, extra large bloatage of my stomach, and really really unpleasant cramps. I went to the doctors and I took a fecal exame and the results said I have a large source of bacteria in my stomach. It was probably the worst stomach pain I ever had in my life. I slept for like 2 days straight and I havent been feeling hungry at all. The doctor subcribed me to some medication that I have been taking. So we will see how I feel in a week or so.
Before we left Chichi we all agreed that we would go to El Salvador next and then bus to Costa Rica and bike down to Panama. We are currently in Panajachel which is a really cool town right next to a beautiful lake with 3 Volcanos in site, right near Antigua. The hills and terrain are just getting tougher eachday but I am still surviving somewhat. Hopefully I will start to feel better soon. If not I may leave the group and head back up to Mexico alone to a big Hospital. But I doubt I will need that.
Anyways today I hitched by myself and rode about 12 km from where the truck dropped me off to Panajachel, I went to an awesome market and bought some delicious fruit. Shortly after I bought the fruit about 4 small children who were full of life started asking me for money and they were a little dirty. I had big bills on me so I gave them 2 mangos and 2 bananas. They wanted 2 more mangos but I decided that they would be beneficial for the near future. Anyways I made it into town where I directly went into a cool little restaurant that was playing loud jazz music and had a drum kit set up. I worked my magic and got the band a show within the same day and I got free lunch and dinner. The owner is a really cool guy along with the rest of his family and coworkers and friends. Everyone who pretty much works here speaks perfect english or is American. We had a good night and went to a beach and had some hotdogs that I probably shouldnt have eaten. So we are going to hang out in this cool town for another day or two and head on out to Antigua and eventaully head towards El Salvador.
Well anyways...I hope you all have a safe and exciting filled life until next time.
Before we left Chichi we all agreed that we would go to El Salvador next and then bus to Costa Rica and bike down to Panama. We are currently in Panajachel which is a really cool town right next to a beautiful lake with 3 Volcanos in site, right near Antigua. The hills and terrain are just getting tougher eachday but I am still surviving somewhat. Hopefully I will start to feel better soon. If not I may leave the group and head back up to Mexico alone to a big Hospital. But I doubt I will need that.
Anyways today I hitched by myself and rode about 12 km from where the truck dropped me off to Panajachel, I went to an awesome market and bought some delicious fruit. Shortly after I bought the fruit about 4 small children who were full of life started asking me for money and they were a little dirty. I had big bills on me so I gave them 2 mangos and 2 bananas. They wanted 2 more mangos but I decided that they would be beneficial for the near future. Anyways I made it into town where I directly went into a cool little restaurant that was playing loud jazz music and had a drum kit set up. I worked my magic and got the band a show within the same day and I got free lunch and dinner. The owner is a really cool guy along with the rest of his family and coworkers and friends. Everyone who pretty much works here speaks perfect english or is American. We had a good night and went to a beach and had some hotdogs that I probably shouldnt have eaten. So we are going to hang out in this cool town for another day or two and head on out to Antigua and eventaully head towards El Salvador.
Well anyways...I hope you all have a safe and exciting filled life until next time.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Epic moutains and landslides in Guatemala.
So we have been biking for a couple of days straight since we stayed in Coban , Guatemala. We have been sleeping in Peublas and restaurants that we pass by.
The mountains here make all the hills in my home town look like pimples. The terrain gets really rough sometimes which makes it especially dificult while riding up hill.
So the other day we were riding along having a nice day when we passed by a small town to get lunch. A man in the town said we wouldnt be able to continue on the main road because of the ´derrumbe´. So after a couple more hours of riding in the deep jungles of Guatemala, you could see this huge giant dirt mound from a distance. As we got closer and closer we realized that the road was destroyed and was covered with huge rocks and dirt. As we got to the end of the road there was a homemade fence made out of sticks and cloth to prevent people from crossing over. We all got off our bikes and climbed over the fence and went to the edge of the cliff to check out the scene. It was a beautiful site, and an amazing view. We talked to the security guard who was at the fence and he told us that it happened about a month ago and it killed about 130 people.As we looked down we saw a small little road which crossed underneath the cliff and went to the other side where the road continued. So we knew we would have to take that path since it as the only way to go. So we went back a couple hundred feet where a microbus was parked with about 20 people outside of it hanging around. We all took our bikes down this really dangerous narrow steep path that was filled with rocks and dips and sticks and whatnot. That was the road that everyone used to cross to the other side. Pretty much everyone road there bikes down it but I decided to walk down it with my bike. I fell over about 12 times since I walked down the whole road because I didnt feel safe riding down it. Luckily some of the people that were crossing the path decided to help me walk my bike down the hill. They were hard workers who carried huge machetes, which is normal and common down here. (We first started seeing everyone carrying machetes while in Chiapas, where there are lots of crops and deep thick jungles.) So after they helped me walk my bike down the bottom of the landslide it started getting easier to ride my bike, so I thanked them and shook all of their hands and began to ride uphill. But the hill was epic and full of more rocks and bumps and I couldnt really make it up the hill. So the guys helped me walk my bike (which probably weighs about 150 lbs or more),all the way up this huge hill. It was very tiring and took so much energy out of me. Then as we made it up the hill we realized that there was no road at all because the landslide pretty muh just destoyed it all, so we all had to take all of our luggage off our bikes and walk it through the jungle for about half a mile until we reached a dirt road. So pretty much everyone who crossed the path helped us carry everything to the road. We gave some of the guys who stayed around a tip of 10 quitales each. I was really whiped from that crazy adventure and we all needed a nice sleep.
The next morning we had a pretty good ride and all met up to eat breakfast. We found out that Dave got robbed by gunpoint by two teenagers who were wearing masks. They tried to rob Jared also but Jared just kept riding on even though they pointed the gun at him. It was a pretty unexpected and shocking story. Luckily they let Dave go after he gave them 50 quitales.
Later on in the day we came across hills that seemed never ending. They just kept getting higher and higher and steeper and steeper. I was in front of the whole group by half a mile or so and stopped half way in the middle of the huge mountain to a little Puebla where I filled up my water bottle. I layed down on the ground to take a little rest. Eventually everyone else showed up and a man from one of the houses came over and invited us to his house for some juice and water.
Everyday has been an epic journey and I am enjoying every minute that passes by.
I have been starting to get a little home sick and I miss everyone back home. But I know I will see everyone eventually after my trip.
The mountains here make all the hills in my home town look like pimples. The terrain gets really rough sometimes which makes it especially dificult while riding up hill.
So the other day we were riding along having a nice day when we passed by a small town to get lunch. A man in the town said we wouldnt be able to continue on the main road because of the ´derrumbe´. So after a couple more hours of riding in the deep jungles of Guatemala, you could see this huge giant dirt mound from a distance. As we got closer and closer we realized that the road was destroyed and was covered with huge rocks and dirt. As we got to the end of the road there was a homemade fence made out of sticks and cloth to prevent people from crossing over. We all got off our bikes and climbed over the fence and went to the edge of the cliff to check out the scene. It was a beautiful site, and an amazing view. We talked to the security guard who was at the fence and he told us that it happened about a month ago and it killed about 130 people.As we looked down we saw a small little road which crossed underneath the cliff and went to the other side where the road continued. So we knew we would have to take that path since it as the only way to go. So we went back a couple hundred feet where a microbus was parked with about 20 people outside of it hanging around. We all took our bikes down this really dangerous narrow steep path that was filled with rocks and dips and sticks and whatnot. That was the road that everyone used to cross to the other side. Pretty much everyone road there bikes down it but I decided to walk down it with my bike. I fell over about 12 times since I walked down the whole road because I didnt feel safe riding down it. Luckily some of the people that were crossing the path decided to help me walk my bike down the hill. They were hard workers who carried huge machetes, which is normal and common down here. (We first started seeing everyone carrying machetes while in Chiapas, where there are lots of crops and deep thick jungles.) So after they helped me walk my bike down the bottom of the landslide it started getting easier to ride my bike, so I thanked them and shook all of their hands and began to ride uphill. But the hill was epic and full of more rocks and bumps and I couldnt really make it up the hill. So the guys helped me walk my bike (which probably weighs about 150 lbs or more),all the way up this huge hill. It was very tiring and took so much energy out of me. Then as we made it up the hill we realized that there was no road at all because the landslide pretty muh just destoyed it all, so we all had to take all of our luggage off our bikes and walk it through the jungle for about half a mile until we reached a dirt road. So pretty much everyone who crossed the path helped us carry everything to the road. We gave some of the guys who stayed around a tip of 10 quitales each. I was really whiped from that crazy adventure and we all needed a nice sleep.
The next morning we had a pretty good ride and all met up to eat breakfast. We found out that Dave got robbed by gunpoint by two teenagers who were wearing masks. They tried to rob Jared also but Jared just kept riding on even though they pointed the gun at him. It was a pretty unexpected and shocking story. Luckily they let Dave go after he gave them 50 quitales.
Later on in the day we came across hills that seemed never ending. They just kept getting higher and higher and steeper and steeper. I was in front of the whole group by half a mile or so and stopped half way in the middle of the huge mountain to a little Puebla where I filled up my water bottle. I layed down on the ground to take a little rest. Eventually everyone else showed up and a man from one of the houses came over and invited us to his house for some juice and water.
Everyday has been an epic journey and I am enjoying every minute that passes by.
I have been starting to get a little home sick and I miss everyone back home. But I know I will see everyone eventually after my trip.
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