Day ten

We havent been doing a lot of traveling or exploring while we are in Antigua, but on day ten we went on a tour of a coffee finca (plantation) called Finca Filidelfia. We got to see the plant nursery, which was filled with tiny little coffee plants not even half a foot high, and it takes around eight months for them to grow to be around a foot tall. Most of the coffee grown in this finca is a mix of arabica stalks and robusta roots, which combines the strongness and bitterness of the robusta with the lightness of the arabica to make a perfect blend of coffee. We got to see the mature plants, and picked some of the red beans and ate the coffee beans inside (they were really sweet and a little bit slimey, which shocked all of us). After that, we toured the actual place where they turn the white slimey coffee beans into the dark brown roasted coffee beans that everyone is used to. We had free samples of the coffee, and I had one of the most amazing espressos ever. We came back to the hotel at around lunchtime, ate, and then went back to work in our classes (after watching the Spain vs Netherlands game, of course).

Day nine

Day nine was one of the most relaxed days we have had in a while, we stayed in the hotel pretty much all day working. In the morning, we had a slideshow and discussed what we had learned in the past week and a bit. After that, I worked with Claire and Helen on how to determine plant and animal density in an area and did a few excercises related to that.

Day eight

Day eight was pretty eventful for me. A few of us went ziplining in the morning, and it was beautiful. There were four or five lines in total, and we went over some of the clearest water I have ever seen. We also walked in front of a smallish waterfall, and the guides took a lot of pictures for us. I somehow managed to smash my toenail between two planks of wood and slip on a bridge, so I get to come home with a bunch of battlescars! After that was done, we went back to the hotel and got into the bus. We had planned to visit the Ram Tzul waterfall on our way back to Guatemala City, but we were all too tired. On our way back to the city, we noticed people spraying crops with a very dangerous pesticide without using crops or gloves, and we got a few pictures of them. Along the entire ride back we got a lot of pictures of different crops growing in various locations, for example corn being grown on the sides of mountains.

Day seven

On day seven, we left the sketchy dinosaur hotel at 6:30 in the morning, and drove to Hun Nal Ye. We were all too tired to do the ziplining/canopy tour when we got there, so we all just slept and swam in the pool until lunch. After that, we had some class time where I did a lot of work on food chains and webs in the Guatemalan rainforests and learnt about the animal and plant species that reside in them. It was around this time that I started noticing the mass amounts of land being used for cattle ranching. A lot of forest has been clear-cut in order to raise cattle, and this has caused the soil to erode and also become nutrient-deprived. Some of the soil in this area is red or orange in colour, and this indicates a high level of iron.

Day six

We arrived at our hotel the night before, but I felt that Hotel Estancia de la Virgen deserved its own post. The hotel, or should I say motel, was under construction, so there were piles of rubble everywhere and stairs that led to unfinished floors. As sketchy as it was, there were really strange-looking dinosaur slides (that were pretty uncomfortable to go down) and slides that were apparently super painful to go down.

We left pretty early in the morning in order to go to the Maya caves in Candelaria Camposanto, where we first did a small walking tour and then went tubing in the caves. We saw a bunch of different bat species in the caves, and sometimes it was so dark that you had to use the flashlights the tour guide gave you to see a foot in front of you. It was a once in a lifetime experience, and everyone had a whole lot of fun (even if the walk to the cave took what felt like hours in the Guatemalan heat). We went back to the town and had lunch, and then the community leaders talked to us about the history of the land and the Guatemalan civil war. After that, we had the honour of being part of a traditional Maya ceremony that took place in the Cave of the Bats, and it was amazing. I may have not understood everything that was being said, but I did understand how serious ot was and how lucky I was to be able to participate and watch it.

Day five

On day five, while everyone was relaxing at the hotel until lunch, I went on a tour of the ruins in Tikal. I climbed to the top of Temple 4 (and almost passed out because of the heat), and then explored the Central Plaza for a while. I also got to see a bunch of the pyramids that hadn't been excavated (in order to protect them), and I took a BUNCH of pictures, especially from the very top of Temple 4. I also saw a wide range of tropical plants and animals, so the biodiversity in Tikal is huge. We went back to Flores for lunch, and then made our way to Chisec, where we would be staying for a day or two.

Day four

On the fourth day, we were supposed to drive into Tikal (the hotel was maybe ten minutes away) and explore the Maya ruins, but I ended up getting sick and staying in all day. Everyone else went that day, though, and apparently it rained a LOT. In the evening we drove to the island of Flores, where we had dinner and saw the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen. After the sun went down, we saw an amazing amount of lightning that lit up huge parts of the sky.

It's been a while...

So for the past few days I haven't had any internet access, but I'm back in Antigua for a few days so I can update my blog again. I'll make a different post for every day I've been here so far, otherwise this post would be super long.

Day three we went to Tikal, but on the way we stopped in a place called Quirigua. There were banana plantations there and a bunch of Maya ruins because there had been a settlement there. I learnt a lot about the history of the Maya people and got to explore the ruins for a few hours. It was super hot, though, so we didn't stay out for too long. After that, we piled back into the van and drove to the Camino Real in Tikal. The Camino Real was a really nice hotel, and we had the most amazing view from our windows of the jungle.

Finally here!

Fantastic, the internet here works. Alright. So yeah, I'm finally in Guatemala (Antigua, to be exact). We got stuck in Texas yesterday thanks to the weather (hurricanes and level five thunderstorms and all that jazz) so no one has their checked in luggage, which sucks. We got here around four or something Guatemalan time yesterday and drove from the airport in Guatemala City to Antigua, so I was pretty much glued to the windows of the bus just trying to take in all the sights of the country. It's kind of crazy how different everything is from what I'm used to in Toronto (the fact that I hear birds instead of cars in the city is a great example). Everyone was completely exhausted by the time we had finished dinner (around nine Guatemalan time), so we walked back to the hotel and pretty much fell asleep instantly. Today's been a lot better as far as exhaustion is concerned, and the fact that I had two cups of coffee this morning probably helped. We walked around and explored the church a few blocks away from the hotel, and it was mind-boggling just to see how detailed and extravagent it was. Religion plays so much more of a role in this country; the fact that I can buy giant statues of Jesus half my height gives you an idea of what it's like. After that, we walked through the marketplace, and I was just overwhelmed by all the sights and sounds and smells of everything. During lunch, it started to pour (and I really mean it, we had to go inside it was so bad), but somewhat cleared up. Apparently that's super common Guatemalan weather this time of year, sunny and hot in the morning, and then cooler and VERY rainy in the afternoon. Right now it's about 4:15 and it's pretty much completely overcast and rather cool. It gets dark around seven at night here, which is going to take a lot of getting used to. I haven't done that much school work, other than trying (and failing) to identify the different plants in the courtyard of the hotel, but that might have to do with the fact that no one really has any of their stuff (hopefully we'll get it tonight). Tomorrow we're going to Tikal (however you spell it), so that's around five or six hours in the bus, but the upside of that is that we get to stop along the way to see ruins and stuff like that. So yeahm Guatemala so far is pretty amazing. Now if only my clothes would get here...