Happy New Year!
December turned out to be a month of excitement - both planned and unplanned. The big highlight of course was vacation... the longest winter vacation I have ever experienced. We had 3 solid weeks to rest and remove ourselves mentally from work... ahh! It was very nice.
The vacation began with a twist because of the Delta buddy passes that our wonderful friends, Jake and Elaine gave to us. The "plan" was to beat the holiday rush and fly to North Carolina for a quick visit toHaviland's parents. We needed to do a quick visit because my parents were flying to Guatemala to be with us. Buddy passes are great because they save a ton of money, but you only fly if there is room on the plane. Worried that I would not make it back in time to be with my parents, I decided to stay home. Haviland and Sam decided that it was worth the chance to see Joey and Grandma Susan and so they flew to the states.
Suddenly home alone, I needed to make a plan. The next day I drove across the country to the western portion of Guatemala to a town called Quetzaltenago (or Xela for short). I was hoping to hike Central Americas highest point - a volcano called Tajumulco. I found a guide late in the day that was willing to take me for an overnight trip to this volcano. I would say that more than half of the adventure came from riding my first "chicken busses". The busses cruise through towns and tiny, twisty mountain roads packed tight with people. Vendors come in the bus trying to sell everything -- cold drinks, gum, watches, fruit, tortillas and even dog sandwiches. The drivers varied from good to insane. On the way home I was tempted to throw myself off a bus, thinking I would be better off launching off the bus while rolling through a stop sign than I would if I stayed on. Apparently roaring through tight mountain roads at great speed and passing on every hill and blind corner are normal for this driver. However, when even the locals are praying and my guide calls him crazy, I think jumping ship might be a good idea. Of course we made it to our destination without an incident and I was able to hike my volcano. Saul, my guide, was very nice. It was very strange to be on a hiking trip and have someone else carry most of the weight, to have someone insist on cooking dinner and lighting the fire. With little "work" to do, I was able to enjoy a beautiful night in the mountains. We camped just a 1,000 feet below the summit and had an easy moonlit stroll to the summit arriving just in time to catch the sunrise.
After my trip, I had one extra day to play. I decided to go to a local volcano called Pacaya and try to see lava. It is an active volcano that always seems to be in some stage of spewing lava - sometimes explosively, but mostly the oozing type. The day I went, I was able to see the most amazing river of lava! I could stand just 20 feet away from the lava - it was the coolest thing ever! check out the photos.
Well, the day before my parents were expected to arive, Haviland was not able to get on a flight home. In fact, it was unlikely that she would be able to get home until a week later on christmas day. So my parent and I had a rare week together - just the three of us. Since my mom is a weaver, we spent lots of time in markets, museums, stores and towns seeking out the finest texiles in Guatemala. My mom couldn't have been happier.
Unfortunately, Haviland couldn't make it back on Christmas day. It was looking like we wouldn't see Haviland and Sam until after New Year. Nana and Poppy Laurie were not happy with this news and neither was I.
Without Haviland and Sam, we boarded a flight to Flores - a town within striking distance of Tikal. If all went well, there was a chance that Haviland could meet us there by catching a flight to Belize City and then catching a small flight to Flores. And this is exactly what happened. Our holiday present this year was having everyone safely together in one place. We were able to enjoy the wonders of Tikal and a similar site called Yaxha all together - the grandparents of course were thrilled.
We literally said goodbye to 2008 with a bang. Guatemala seems to have a "thing" about fireworks and exploding things. Even as I write this, I hear bombs exploding in this distance. But on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve they go crazy with the pyrotechnics. At midnight the world is filled with smoke, beautiful lights and explosions so big you can feel them rock the house. I think every house in the city puts on their own professional fireworks display - my dad was truly impressed.
December turned out to be a month of excitement - both planned and unplanned. The big highlight of course was vacation... the longest winter vacation I have ever experienced. We had 3 solid weeks to rest and remove ourselves mentally from work... ahh! It was very nice.
The vacation began with a twist because of the Delta buddy passes that our wonderful friends, Jake and Elaine gave to us. The "plan" was to beat the holiday rush and fly to North Carolina for a quick visit toHaviland's parents. We needed to do a quick visit because my parents were flying to Guatemala to be with us. Buddy passes are great because they save a ton of money, but you only fly if there is room on the plane. Worried that I would not make it back in time to be with my parents, I decided to stay home. Haviland and Sam decided that it was worth the chance to see Joey and Grandma Susan and so they flew to the states.
Suddenly home alone, I needed to make a plan. The next day I drove across the country to the western portion of Guatemala to a town called Quetzaltenago (or Xela for short). I was hoping to hike Central Americas highest point - a volcano called Tajumulco. I found a guide late in the day that was willing to take me for an overnight trip to this volcano. I would say that more than half of the adventure came from riding my first "chicken busses". The busses cruise through towns and tiny, twisty mountain roads packed tight with people. Vendors come in the bus trying to sell everything -- cold drinks, gum, watches, fruit, tortillas and even dog sandwiches. The drivers varied from good to insane. On the way home I was tempted to throw myself off a bus, thinking I would be better off launching off the bus while rolling through a stop sign than I would if I stayed on. Apparently roaring through tight mountain roads at great speed and passing on every hill and blind corner are normal for this driver. However, when even the locals are praying and my guide calls him crazy, I think jumping ship might be a good idea. Of course we made it to our destination without an incident and I was able to hike my volcano. Saul, my guide, was very nice. It was very strange to be on a hiking trip and have someone else carry most of the weight, to have someone insist on cooking dinner and lighting the fire. With little "work" to do, I was able to enjoy a beautiful night in the mountains. We camped just a 1,000 feet below the summit and had an easy moonlit stroll to the summit arriving just in time to catch the sunrise.
After my trip, I had one extra day to play. I decided to go to a local volcano called Pacaya and try to see lava. It is an active volcano that always seems to be in some stage of spewing lava - sometimes explosively, but mostly the oozing type. The day I went, I was able to see the most amazing river of lava! I could stand just 20 feet away from the lava - it was the coolest thing ever! check out the photos.
Well, the day before my parents were expected to arive, Haviland was not able to get on a flight home. In fact, it was unlikely that she would be able to get home until a week later on christmas day. So my parent and I had a rare week together - just the three of us. Since my mom is a weaver, we spent lots of time in markets, museums, stores and towns seeking out the finest texiles in Guatemala. My mom couldn't have been happier.
Unfortunately, Haviland couldn't make it back on Christmas day. It was looking like we wouldn't see Haviland and Sam until after New Year. Nana and Poppy Laurie were not happy with this news and neither was I.
Without Haviland and Sam, we boarded a flight to Flores - a town within striking distance of Tikal. If all went well, there was a chance that Haviland could meet us there by catching a flight to Belize City and then catching a small flight to Flores. And this is exactly what happened. Our holiday present this year was having everyone safely together in one place. We were able to enjoy the wonders of Tikal and a similar site called Yaxha all together - the grandparents of course were thrilled.
We literally said goodbye to 2008 with a bang. Guatemala seems to have a "thing" about fireworks and exploding things. Even as I write this, I hear bombs exploding in this distance. But on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve they go crazy with the pyrotechnics. At midnight the world is filled with smoke, beautiful lights and explosions so big you can feel them rock the house. I think every house in the city puts on their own professional fireworks display - my dad was truly impressed.
I hope everyone had their own wonderful holiday season!
Interested in seeing more photos of Guatemala?
Check out: http://picasaweb.google.com/GrobGuat
