Departing the oasis in the jungle in a very cool, beaten up yellow land cruiser with no roof we headed to the bus station only to find the bus was delayed for a couple of hours (we could have had a sleep in after all)! Unlike last time we travelled this route there were no further hickups on our trip to the murder capital of the world. A quick lunch in the food court of fried chicken (we had 13 fried chicken places to choose from) and a wander through the bus station’s shops - which included a gun shop - we piled into a collectivo (minivan) bound for Copan Ruins. The air conditioning lasted 10 min and the 6 people tripled to peak at 21 but we made it safely.
Copan, a sleepy wee colonial town famous for its Mayan ruins was a fine place for Nick to celebrate turning the ripe old age of 28. After a sleep in and a complimentary breakfast of pancakes we decided to skip the ruins and opted for a stroll through the cobbled streets. Eating lunch in the market with all the stray dogs was fun and the leather cowboy boots were tempting. Homemade guacamole and a couple of bottles of $7 rum shared between some new hostel friends made for a sore head the next day.
Thankfully we had decided to bite the bullet and fork out for a tourist shuttle to Antigua which cost a pricey $25US but was well worth it for the air conditioning, space and complete lack of hassle as we crossed back into Guatamala.
Antigua is a very quaint city of 30 000 or so surrounded by towering volcanos and full of crumbling 15th century churches. Whether too much rum had anything to do with it or not is unclear but Lucy had picked up a nasty cold (not sure how in such a warm country) which saw her take it easy for a day or so. Exploring the city with its narrow cobbled streets and our new travelling buddy Dario was great fun and the view from our picnic spot provided a grand perspective of Antigua and the surrounding landscape.
The main purpose of our visit to Antigua was to climb a volcano. We shopped around and found the chicken lady who swore she provided the best food of any tour company offering trips up the famed Acatanango volcano. Scaling this nearly 4000m peak required a fair bit of effort as it was particularly steep and lacking a bit of oxygen. We camped an hour from the summit in a windy spot which provided views of the neighbouring volcano called Fuego. Did I mention that Fuego is an active volcano and spews lava every hour or so? The misty cloud cleared just on sunset and the spectacle of watching a volcano erupt was truly amazing. We tucked into our dinner of chicken and mashed spud while the others in our youthful party of mainly British tucked into a cup of noodles.
Temperatures dropped to near freezing overnight and with the constant rumbles from the exploding volcano little sleep was had. Awakening at 4am we set off in the dark to summit Acatanango and watch the sunrise. The freezing conditions and exercise had not done Lucy's health any good but with much determination and a fair amount of dragging by Nick we summited. The views were spectacular as too was the sunrise but the frigid temperatures saw us scampering back down. A long afternoon siesta and a wander through the most amazing market seen on our travels so far plus a rooftop beer under the prowess of lava spewing Fuego capped off some action packed few days in Antigua.
Boarding a brightly coloured chicken bus we headed for Lake Atitlan to learn some much needed Spanish. For part of the trip we were on the large 4 lane road which heads to Mexico. Being a Sunday morning it provided the perfect place for daredevils in very flash motorbikes to play chicken with the traffic and potholes and race each other at 100miles an hour. Next we encountered a running race which held us up for a hour or so, meanwhile the bus beside us didn't want to wait around so everything was pulled across to us including the turkeys, fruit and stunningly dressed village elders. A quick boat ride across the lake saw us docking in San Pedro our home for the next week.
We found our Spanish school and checked in with our host family who had sent the 9 year old to collect us. Walking us home Lorenzo was as proud as punch and cheerily introduced us to the rest of his family and hyper dog Rocky. Being back at school was tough on the old mind and learning another language was particularly hard, especially when you struggle with your native tongue. It seems we are not the only ones struggling however, the locals find it particularly difficult to understand single syllable names such as Nick. Nico is much more acceptable to their ears and might just stick.
Having $200US go missing from our locked bedroom in the homestay threw a slight spanner in the works. Although someone could have climbed through the window or snuck in the front door while we were eating it seems unlikely however it is also terribly uncomfortable to accuse the family who had been so welcoming. After an awkward conversation with our school we moved homestays and the school agreed to cover the missing $200 which was a nice surprise. We moved homestays and were placed with an adorable lady who cooked great food and was always keen for a chat and was very quick to correct our bubbling Spanish. We learnt a lot in a week and with our new found confidence we headed to Monterico and the pacific coast for a spot of volunteer work.
ARCAS Turtle Sanctuary - Montireco - Guatamala
Our poor bodies were in for a shock as we were put to work straight away. Every night we had to do two 2 hour night patrols of the beach looking for nesting turtles. This proceeded to be a real game of cat and mouse between the turtle sanctuary staff and locals who collect the eggs to eat! There is supposed to be a 20% donation of eggs to the sanctuary however it often doesn't occur. Our first patrol we were lucky enough to spot a turtle ammerge only for a dog to bark at it and scare it back to sea. We trundled off to bed bitterly disappointed only to hear a knock at the door 15min later to say the turtle had returned. We jumped out of bed and learnt how to collect fresh turtle eggs. Having dug a tunnel down into the chamber of the nest it was time to wait and catch the eggs as the were deposited, a very strange feeling I can tell you! Having collected all the eggs (around 100) and taken measurements of the turtles we raced back to the turtle hatchery to bury them.
Unfortunately none of the photos of live adult or baby turtles came out due to not using the flash.
Burying turtle eggs
During the day we helped at the local schools with education on just how destructive plastic is in our environment and how it effects turtles. It was eye opening to witness the complete lack of education in these remote villages. The kids only attend class from 8am until 1pm and most of this time is spent playing football, it is mostly just a day care. On two occasions we turned up to a school and the teacher just hadn't bothered to turn up for the day! Although slightly unruly the kids were enthusiastic to get involved and participate in activities which included making toys for the sanctuary's parrots out of plastic bottle tops. We also spent a day under the hot sun clearing weeds from trees in a re-vegetation project the sanctuary also runs.
As the week progressed it turned out that Lucy had more luck spotting turtles while Nico had to settle for burying eggs brought for food vouchers from the locals. The turtles come ashore to nest for 6 months so we also got to witness wee baby turtles emerging from their nest and release them into the ocean. They were so cute to say the least and were immensely determined to reach the sea. This was an incredible experience and made you think of the big wild world and all the challenges we face as only 1 in every 1000 baby turtles will ever make it back to the beach to nest. Unfortunately we witnessed first hand some of the challenges turtles face as 2 were found washed up dead. A necropsy confirmed that both turtles were adult females full of eggs and had died either by drowning in fishing nets or being hit by a boat.
Having spent 6 great nights at the sanctuary we decided to leave a day early as the following day was Election Day in Guatemala. We avoided this by crossing the boarder into El Salvador which involved taking 2 minivans, a small boat and 3 famous chicken buses. The surf was up in El Sunzal and after the first full night sleep in a hostel we had to ourselves it was time for some waves.
The point break was rather large to say the least and after watching some very good surfers get some huge rides it was time to get amongst. After a lot of furious paddling and arms that felt like lead Nico managed to get out the back. The waves were big but reasonably gentle and much to his absolute delight he rode one of those big suckers to nearly the beach (a good couple of hundred metres). The epic surf session came to a crashing end though when he got stuck close to shore in a big set which proceeded to smash him and the board up. Of course the last wave was the biggest and it was much too powerful for the poor old board which snapped cleanly into two pieces. After a bit of sweet talking and only $45 later the board was being stitched up at the doctors. Guess it could have been worse and it could have been me at the doctors being stitched up….
We have another day or so in El Salvador before we take a long shuttle ride through Honduras and into Nicaragua. Stayed tuned as we hit some more surf spots, toboggan down volcanoes and explore so old cities and cloud forest.
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