Happy New Years!

12-31-09

Baking, you ask? That´s right! You are looking at the newest gainfully employed vegan baker of San Pedro, Guatemala. Mick and I got jobs working at the local health food store and I have spent all morning making vegan cookies, zuchinni bread, apple crumble and whatever else my little heart desires. It feels good to be in the kitchen again, having a goal, and making some BIG money. All for fun, of course. Although I have a job as long as I would like, I have more traveling to do so I think I will only keep the gig for a few days.

Feliz Ano Nuevo!!!


Vegan peanut butter chocolate bars - they sold out!

12-30-09

Nothing says fun like waking up at 5:30 am to spend 3 hours hiking straight uphill at a massive and continous incline. I think we all started to wonder about our sanity after a couple of hours of hiking up inactive Volcan Pedro - final elevation 9,000 ish feet. The view of the entire lake, which made the hike all worth it, was quickly forgotten about on the hour plus descent. I think all of us ended up on our butts at some point on the way down. The rest of my day consisted of a nap, baking and finally a soak in the hot tubs before going to bed.

Another procession, this time Virgin Mary was marching for the niños. Mick and I got stuck in the street where they were lighting off fireworks. One of the fireworks, a dud, blew up on the ground yards away from us and we could feel the explosion! Crazy, terrifying and only in Guatemala!

A fun, an much needed, break from our uphill death march . . . err . . . hike.

Juan, our guide for Volcan Pedro, took some time to explain about coffee beans, the main export from San Pedro.

It was worth the view!!!

12-29-09

After having someone try to break into our room last night, which made for high excitement at 4 am in the morning, Cameron, Christine, Mick and I decided to switch to the very hip Hostel Zoola. We spent the day wandering around town and Christine and I even managed to squeeze in some yoga. Our new motorcycling friend from the Earth Lodge, James, joined us for the night, which was pleasantly dull as we had very early plans for the 30th.

I love me my yoga.

Hostel Zoola - a great place to chill and great homemade hummus!

12-28-09

A long day of traveling really. Cameron, Christine, Mick and I left the Earth Lodge to head back into Antigua and book a shuttle to San Pedro at Lake Atitlan - the deepest lake in all Central America. However, all the early shuttles were taken so we wandered around Antigua and the market before our 2 pm shuttle left. As things go in Guatemala, we then spent 45 mins on the shuttle driving around Antigua in circles and didn´t make it to San Pedro until 6 pm. From there we found some delicious Asian food (with tofu!) and found a bed at San Francisco Hotel.

I´m quite sure this turkey is meant as a pet . . . err . . . ummm . . .

San Pedro

Christine, Mick and I infront of Lake Atitlan. Can you believe that it is still considered so polluted it is not safe to swim in?

Don't Step in Hot Lava

12-27-09

I have a whole new appreciation for the game Don't Step in Hot Lava that we all used to play as kids. I literally spent the day jumping over hot lava, on pumice stone, some of which was so so hot I had to jump from foot to foot. We would be standing on lava rocks only to realize that the bottom half of the rock we were standing on was still actually magma. It was insane and breath taking all at once! I'll the pictures do the talking this time . . .


A causality on Volcan Pacaya - not too uncommon according to our guide.


This awesome view was quickly followed by the realization we were going to have a long, dark walk down a volcano.


Christine, Cameron, Mick, me and James - thankful to be alive and ready to descend the volcano.


Hey, I only claim veganism 99% of the time! Note the glowing red hot magma! (This was the cool part of the volcano were you could stand still.)



The Marshmallow Master bringing joy and angelitos (that's Spanish for marshmallow) to all.


I think I was too busy being terrified and worrying about spontaneous combustion too really enjoy this shot at the time. That's 2000 degrees F only feet away from me!


Yes, we were literally following a trail to danger! Just call me Alison "Danger" Baird!


Pre-volcano time! Can you feel the excitement?

12-26-09

A 3 hour hike through the local mountains and farms with our new friends: James from Canada (who rode down on his motorcycle) and Christine from Norway (who is traveling 7 months on her own). What a great day! And what other hair raising adventures for today you ask? How about nothing!!! - complete relaxation: reading, lounging, Scrabble, Arnis practice and movies.


I spent the morning drinking coffee and watching Volcan Fuego explode off in the distance.


A view through some cornfields on our hike. Altitude ~ 7,000 feet.


Nothing says "you are a wimp" like being passed up hiking by a 12 year old and his sister, both carrying pounds of supplies on their heads.

Hippie Heaven

12-25-09

What a great Christmas! Mick and I started our day with a 4 mile jog through the town of Antigua followed by a leisurely breakfast at El Gato Negro, the Black Cat. From there we hopped our shuttle to hippie heaven - The Earth Lodge. The Earth Lodge is this awesome avocado farm complete with dorms and tree houses to spend the night, games and hiking trails abound and even a sauna! We spent the afternoon gazing off at unreal views, lounging in hammocks, chatting with fellow travelers, playing volleyball and Scrabble and enjoying life. Dinner here every night is a family buffet, all vegetarian, with a little extra oomph for Christmas tonight. And on that note - Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!


The view from the Earth Lodge's main terrace - note the other volcano, Mick and I plan to hike that one too, assuming my shoe soles don't melt, which I hear happens if you are not careful.


The Earth Lodge's main hang out area: bar, game room, movie room, restaurant and chairs and hammocks behind me.


Our "shuttle" to the Earth Lodge.

12-24-09

After a bumpy bus ride and a decent amount of sleep, Mick and I found ourselves in the charming town of Antigua. All the buildings are bumper to bumper but many of the houses, hotels and restaurants have beautifully landscaped courtyards inside. Mick took Spanish classes here for 5 weeks so he took me on a thorough tour of the town all morning and we even stumbled upon a few new sites. We spent the afternoon in the harrows of the market - sheer craziness! We were the only gringos for what seemed like miles around. After a late afternoon nap, we set back out for a Christmas Eve dinner, 10 pm mass and then to the safety of our rooftop terrace to watch the town disolve into utter chaos - hours of fireworks. After watching a firework smack into someone's house and then having a few come close to us, we decided we better watch Jesus's midnight birthday bash from the safety of our hotel room. (It is clear Santa must visit the Guatemalan's last as they know how to party . . . seriously!)


Nothing says Christmas Eve like some curry and a shot in an Irish pub.


The market of Antigua. I scored some scarves, fruit and a hat. I managed to avoid the live stock and open air meat market - phew! You name it and it could be found in this market!


Antigua - I could happily stay here for a while.


My tortilla didn't taste the best but I certainly earned some street cred with my creativity.


Mick and I had some impromto lessons on tortilla making, much to the amusement of our Mayan friends. They found our efforts endlessly amusing and Mick and I found them not as tasty. Who knew tortilla making was so hard?


Me amid the church ruins.


The ruins of San Francisco Church. The ruins are quite extensive as the church was destroyed 3 times in earthquakes from the volcano. I think the people of Antigua finally got the message when they made it into a museum as opposed to a church.


Iglesia la Merced. I think the food vendors out front really add to the church decor. It's really a shame I cut them out of the photo.


The inactive Volcan Agua, as seen from our roof terrace. We fully plan on hiking that bad boy!

12-23-09 con't

The afternoon couldn't have better! Mick and I made new friends with the David's and invited them along on our boat tour of the lake. We climbed up some more Mayan ruins [that are in the beginning stages of being excavated] to El Mirador - the look out. We spent another few hours cruising the lake, seeing the sights, and even stopped along the shore to strip down to our skivvies and jump in. Almost 90 degrees that day! After dinner with our new friends Mick and I boarded our overnight bus to Antigua.


Our new friends David and David. Good stories, good people and good times.


I had to hike up another 200 steps and more Mayan ruins for this photo of Flores. I'm gonna have the firmest butt when I get home!


Our cruise ship on Lago Peten Itza. Great swimming weather and warm water.


The town of Flores - cute!

Saving Money in Guatemala

12-23-09
Mick and I woke up this morning and had a leisurely breakfast watching the lake and relaxing. I nixed our morning run, thanks to massive pain in my legs and butt. 600 steps, remember? We are now waiting on some laundry, using the internet (duh) and then off on a tour of the lake with a local boatman, Carlos. Tonight we are taking an overnight bus to Antigua where we will be spending the holidays.


Mick and I at our favorite hang out in Flores, Cool Beans: a jungle dining area, lakeside, unlimited coffee, board games, books, movies and fun people!


12-22-09
We left San Ignacio early in the morning and headed over with a small, but eclectic (one other vegan and a local SF man who is an active member in The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgance and who is going to be on the Jerry Springer show), group of people to Tikal in Guatemala - home of the largest Mayan ruins in all of Central America. Edgar, our tour guide, was amazing and not only did we learn all about the Mayans but also ended up hearing all sorts of stories about the gangs and violence in Central America and how people make it to America and what it costs depending on which route you take. Insane! After Tikal we jumped a bus to the lake island town of Flores, where we spent the evening exploring and joining in the local festivities.


Flores, Guatemala - an island town in Lago Peten Itza.


Here´s what a Guatemalan Posada looks like. Mick and I jumped on in and followed baby Jesus to the church.


I love, love, love the town of Flores.


Our impression of a Mayan sacrifice.


Note the wooden safety rail. Apprently 3 people sacrificed themselves, accidentally, to the Mayan Gods recently.


The view from Temple 4! Would you believe I climbed over 600 steps today?!

12-21-09
High excitement today! We left the island pretty early on a water taxi and headed off for the Belize Zoo. The zoo is amazing, only native animals that have been injured or orphaned or born in the zoo are kept and the spacious enclosures mimic their natural enviroment. From there we had a quick lunch and headed off for cave tubing. Although thrilling in itself, the real adventure came from the fact that the water level was rising from all the rain and we either had to cancel the tubing or bust butt to get in the river and hope to not get trapped in the cave. Of course we chose option B! After caving we jumped a bus to San Ignacio and spent the evening exploring the town and meeting locals. We even got invited over for Christmas dinner by one of locals!


Mick and I getting ready for Cave Tubing of Death!


The goal was as follows - don´t smash into a cave wall while tubing in the pitch black.


Looking back at the cave entrance . . . I am not going to lie - it was a little scary.


Tapir´s in the Belize Zoo.


You don´t just come to the zoo for animals, oh no! It´s all about the poetic sign posts as far as I can tell.


Junior the Jaguar. I know that I shouldn´t have, but I couldn´t help myself! Before my mind could stop my body I reached out and petted Junior, much to the horror and then jealousy of Mick. (Both hands still intact!)


12-20-09
Today was our last day on the island and although neither of us really wanted to leave, we were both ready for new adventures and the much cheaper country of Guatemala. After my last blog update, Mick and I spent the afternoon watching the rain, enjoying the view, hanging with new friends and playing a fierce game of trivia.


Trivia night with Mandy and Chris. Our team didn´t take first place as planned, but we still made it in fourth. Who knew that Basra is Iraq´s second largest city?


Go figure the one time I challenge a local to an arm wrestling match he turns out to be an ex-boxer. I didn´t win the drink, but I swear with his jacket on he looked pretty puny!


We spent a lot of time practicing our hula hooping skillz and left Caye Caulker awed by our awesomeness . . . well the school aged children at least.


Bugs vs. Alison
Bugs: 94 Alison: 4