Honeymoon in South America: Part 1
Every day is a Saturday!
Sun, 18 Apr 2004 15:21:49 -0700 (PDT)
Greetings from Guatamala! Matt and I are both healthy, happy and having a ball!!
We are currently holed up in Antigua for a week learning to speak the lingo! Decided we might get more out of this adventure if we could speak a little Spanish (Besides no-one speaks any bloody English!) We could not have chosen a prettier town - if 17th and 18th century Spanish colonial architecture is your thing. Cobbled streets, crumbling ruins and sprays of red bouganvillea bursting from terra cotta roofs ...all nestled between 3 volcanoes! Itīs one of the prettiest cities we have ever been too. And rather funky too. Lots of great cafes (good coffee at last!!) with big courtyard gardens and some cool bars. So, perfect for a week of Spanish school! And the locals here are polite and obliging to gringoīs practicing their pigeon Spanish on them...
Anyway, we will have been on the road for 4 weeks this coming Monday so we thought it about time to drop you all a loooong newsy mail about our travels. Also, our wedding photographer has finally posted our photos on her website for all and sundry to see. Canīt believe it all took place some six weeks ago now - we are still living the thrill of that whole weekend. It was phenomenal! If you are keen to take a look through the pics then hereīs the link...
http://www.sonjawrethman.co.za/angelaandmatthew/
So beginning at the beginning...
Week 1: Ready, steady...go!
Miami - the glam start to it all! We were treated to a sulime dining experience - our surprise wedding present from Julia - at the Bue Door restaurant in The Delano. (The Delano, for those not in the now, happens to be THE chic South Beach Miami boutique hotel frequented by the trendy, rich and famous - it was opened by Madge herself!) A delicious bottle of Veuve (our favourite bubbly!) awaited us on arrival at our table and we enjoyed a delicious dinner in gorgeous surroundings...Wow! What a way to start our trip! Thankfully, we had thought to pack one suitable outfit each in case of such opportunities...I must be the ONLY backpacker in the world to travel with a slinky pair of black heels in her pack!
After 2 nights at South Beach, my next surprise awaited. Matt (dear, darling, precious boy!) collected our flashy hire convertible and we cruised down through the Florida Keys -top down, Guccis in the hair daaahling, Ibiza mainroom tunes on the stereo...Let the sun shine!! It was a pretty amazing drive!! Stopped off at Ziggis Crab and Gumbo Shack on one of the keys, a quaint little spot with waiters wearing T-shirts saying " Weīve got crabs!" or "Feeling crabby"! Ok, so we thought it was funny. It was here that I had my first deep fried oyster...yes, I can hear you South Africans reeling in shock! I was too. You just canīt do that to an oyster!!
Anyway, we spent 2 nights in the keys in a delightful hotel, a traditional key west conch house. And then that was the end of the glamour for us!! Caught a flight to Belize City and headed over to Caye Caulker which had a great, laid back, Caribbean feel ( lots of "how ja doinī mon") We spent 3 nights there, our highlght being a full day out snorkelling on the reefs. We also saw the elusive manatees in their natural habitat (thatīs a sea cow to those not familiar with the word!) Not many left in the wild so it was quite something to see one... The most exhilerating bit was a quick dip in shark and ray alley. The rays and sharks are attracted by the sounds of the boat propellors approaching the alley and literally surround the boat!! The locals feed them so the sound of the motor means dinner...fish dinner not tourist dinner!! The rays are HUGE! Now, the water is not deep - up to your chin if you stood on tippytoe - so it was quite hairy to have these huge rays gliding under yor belly a mere 30cms away! Not to mention the sharks. PS Matt was last in and first out!!
Week 2: Itīs a jungle out there!
From the Belizan Cayes we made our way accross the border into Northern Guatamala...our sights set on visiting the majestic Tikal, the ruins of an ancient Mayan city set in lush jungle vegetation. We arrived at the Tikal park entrance at dawn just as the jungle began to awake. It was a 25 minute walk to the main plaza ruins wih spider monkeys swinging in the branches overhead and a wealth of birdife darting from tree to tree. The peacefulness, lush jungle vegetation, animal noises and the fresh smell of earth after the rain afforded us an unforgettable approach. Nothing could have prepared us for what we would find when we reached the ruin...Towering pyramids rising high above the jungle canopy to catch the sun, the ruins of an ancient Mayan city sprawled over some 30kms and perhaps a population of 100,000 in the height of itīs time. The oldest structure dates back to 800BC - The mind boggles!! Our favourite part was climbing the rickety, wooden ladders of temple 4, the highest of all the temples. From the top you got an incredible view over the jungle for as far as the eye coud see - the tops of the temples in the main plaza poking out above the canopy in the distance. A real highlight of the trip so far...
After Tikal we began to make our way down south through Guatamala roughly alongside the border of Belize. There is amazing, green, hilly scenery here. We stopped overnight at Finca Isabel, (thanks Jase De Bruin for the recommendation), a 400hectare working farm which has been a welcome stop-over for travellers for some years now. Itīs famous for "chilling" and itīs all you can eat fab buffet dinner for 5 $US! Perfect for two dinners Matt! We decided to give the hammocks a go that night - a bargain at 2 $US a night! Bedtime evoked hysterical laugher fits and much giggling. After 2 hours in the hammock, Matt could hack it no more. I awoke in the early hours, my neck stuck 90 degrees to my body, to find Matt asleep on the coffee table!! Thankfully, there was a second coffee table so we did not have to fight! As far as hammocks go... been there, done that...and weīre too old for that shit!
Next stop - Lake Izabel and the Rio Dulce river. We caught a ride accross the lake on a speedboat and through the Rio Dulce canyon to Livingston, a town on Guatamalaīs Caribbean coast inhabited by the Garifuna people and only accessible by boat. The trip down through the river canyon was absolutely spectacular...Verdant jungle vegetation, steep canyon walls, beautiful lily pads, birds galore...just breathtaking.
Livingston itself was a funny liite place...once again on the Caribbean so lots of that "how ja doin mon " type of thing. The local Garifuna people are the descendents of the slaves first brought across from Africa. They have since intermarried with local Indians, shipwrecked sailors etc and so it is an interesting little community and culture. We were lucky enough to encounter Maria, proprietor and head chef of the Talingo Lingo restaurant. She was a portly Mexican lady married to a rasta (her 5th husband!!) and whose claim to fame (apart from her cooking) was helping to capture one of Americas most wanted criminals. An encounter with Marria was like getting caught in a whirlwind. She talked at a 100miles an hour, was very animated and had us drooling about her food within minutes of the conversation beginning!! We were begging for a table reservation! Dinner that night, in her rustic little wooden restaurant lit with candles, the gentle Caribbean breeze blowing through the open windows, was magic!
The following day we decided to do an " Ecological Tour" of Livingston which involved a local guide taking you to several sights in the little town,a half hour canoe ride (dug out from a tree trunk) and ended at the Seven Altars, a series of waterfalls. This "ecological" tour led us to all the village attractions, but also past the ladies of the village doing their laundry in pristine streams, the hugest turtle living in a putrid estuary and along the beach where fisherman haul in everything that moves in the sea with great nets, picking out what they want and leaving the smaller fish to flounder and die on the shore. The grim reality of it all I guess. Travelling is not always about seeing the good stuff. Eddie, our young Garifuna guide, was immensely entertaining and took us off to a local restuarant to sample Topada ("It was only the real topada if it was made by a real Garifuna woman!") A round, smiling Garifuna woman delivered 2 huge steaming bowls of the seafood stew -made with prawns, fish, crab, coconut milk, plantains and coriander! Deeeelicious! Coming to a Terrace dinner party near you!!
Next stop was a few days at Finca Tatin, also ony accessible by boat (we like these places!) Itīs a small, rustic jungle hotel with plenty of hammocks for lazing in (thankfully there were beds for slepping in!), great swimming off the jetty ...and lots of bugs!! We spent a day kayaking through pristine mangroves (Matt and Ange in a double kayak!!) and on the morning we left we were lucky enough to catch sight of the elusive toucans!! So now we can say we have seen them for real in the wild...not just on the Froot Loops Cereal Box!!
Week 3: A room with a view
Our overnight stay in Guatamala city does not warrant much comment apart from the fact that it was our one month wedding anniversary, our hotel had cable TV (despite the TV being in a cage and bolted to the table!) and hot water!!! Yeehaaa!!! A rare pleasure in these parts!
From Guatamala city we headed over to Panajachel on Lake Atitlan. Our chicken bus ride there left us pale, shaking and in need of a stiff drink!! Our driver drove as though there was a 1000 pound cheque waiting for him at the other end. Overtaking on blind corners and ...on the inside on the gravel!!! Smoking brake pads the whole way. We shit you not! Anyway, we lived to tell the tale. Thankfully. Lake Atitlan is a caldera (collapsed volcanic cone for those who did not do geography at school) about 2000m above sea level, surrounded by volcanoes and quaint hilltop villgaes. The traditional values and customs, observed by the indigenous Maya who inhabit the villages around the lake and the rest of the Highlands, are still strong here. We spent our Easter break checking out the villages and chilling at the lake. Panajachel is the main town you pass through in order to access the lake and itīs villages...itīs a lot like the Kho San Road in Bangkok for those who have been there - except with the Guatamalan flavour obviously, as opposed to Thai. Managed to squeeze in a visit to the colourful market of Chichicastenago for a spot of retail therapy! Easter Sunday, we decided, was treat time and we checked ourselves into Casa Del Mundo (House of the World) which professed to have lake views like no other. We were not disappointed. The hotel is set into the cliff over a number of terraces...plenty of steps!! And we had a room with a view...a million dollar view in fact. Dinner was an informal affair, with everyone sitting down at a long table to enjoy a 3 course meal. Out of the 20 people at the table, Matt and I (somehow, instinctively, who knows!!) managed to sit down accross from the two biggest reelers there. Chaice (like rice with a "szh") and Tom, a most peculiar pair, had spent the past 2 months studying the environmental effects of the use of antibiotics in shrimp farming! Their outcome, we asked? It was all bad, bad, bad. An evening of much hilarity and red wine ensued...
And so now here we are...in Antigua learning the lingo. And if you have managed to read to the end of this mail on your Monday morning at the office then itīs time you get your butt back to work! We miss you all very much...a good ol Terrace dinner party or drinks evening would not go amiss!! Please drop us a line and keep us up to date with all your happenings, news and hot gossip....we would hate to lose touch now!!
Lots of love to you all!!
Ange and Matt
xxx
Para Matt y para mi, cada dia es Saībado!