To Buenos Aires and Beyond – My 15 Months in Latin America

Click here for a larger version of this map.
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

Welcome to my travel blog! It documents my 15 months living and traveling in Latin America from Jan 2006 to May 2008.

In the right-hand sidebar are the ARCHIVES, listed by month. Here is a list of what you’ll find under each month:

LIVING IN BUENOS AIRES – JANUARY-OCTOBER 2006:
Including La Boca match (Apr), Luisa la Gaucha, the World Cup and Architecture (Jun), Feria de los Mataderos, World Tango Championships, Café de los Maestros at Teatro Colon (Aug), My Last Tango in Buenos Aires, My Last Days in Buenos Aires (Oct)

Trips from Buenos Aires:
MARCH 2006
Uruguay –Punta del Este, Cabo Polonio, Montevideo
Argentina –Pampas Road trip along the east coast down to Peninsula Valdes
Brazil – Rio Carnaval + Ilha Grande + Parati
APRIL 2006
Argentina – Delta Paraná and San Isidro
MAY 2006
Uruguay – Colonia, Montevideo, Punta del Este, Cabo Polonio
JUNE 2006
Argentina – San Antonio de Areco
AUGUST 2006
Uruguay – Montevideo
Argentina –Esteros del Iberá
SEPTEMBER 2006
Brazil/Argentina – Iguazu Falls + La Plata
OCTOBER 2006
Argentina – Oktoberfest in Villa Gral. Belgrano
NOVEMBER 2006
Uruguay - Living with Sacha in Montevideo for 2 Months

BACKPACKING – 15 MONTHS IN LATIN AMERICA:

FEBRUARY 2007
Argentina – Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Patagonia
Argentina – Perito Moreno glacier and El Calafate
MARCH 2007
Chile – Torres del Paine
Chile – Puerto Natales
Chile – Navimag Cruise of the Patagonian Channels
Argentina – Rafting in Bariloche
Argentina – Visiting friends in Neuquen
Argentina – Guest at the Vendimia in Mendoza
Chile – Pucon and Villarica
Chile – Visiting friends in Santiago
Chile – Trip to Valparaiso (and Quintero) with Esteban
APRIL 2007
Argentina – Santiago, across the Andes to Tafi del Valle
Argentina – Quilmes ruins
Argentina – Cafayate canyon
Argentina – Salta
Argentina – Humahuaca, Iruya, San Isidro, Maimara
Argentina – Purmamarca, Hill of the Seven Colours
Argentina – Jujuy
MAY 2007
Chile – San Pedro Atacama
Chile – Pica (oasis village)
Chile – Iquique
JUNE 2007
Chile – Arica with friends
Chile – Lauca National Park
Peru – Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail
JULY 2007
Peru – Cusco: the town
Peru – Cusco: Saqsaywamán and Inti Raymi
Peru – Cusco: the Sacred Valley and Cusco surrounds
AUGUST 2007
Peru – Arequipa
Chile – Santiago
Chile – Concepción
SEPTEMBER 2007
Bolivia –Uyuni Salt flats and stunning red, green and white lagoons
Bolivia – Potosi
Bolivia – Sucre
Bolivia – La Paz and Tiwanaku ruins
Bolivia – Lake Titicaca, Copacabana and Isla del Sol
Peru – Lake Titicaca, floating reed islands of the Uros
Bolivia – Rurenabaque, the Bolivian Amazon
OCTOBER 2007
Bolivia – Visiting friends in Cochabamba
Bolivia – Visiting friends in Santa Cruz
Bolivia – Samaipata with friends
Bolivia – Chiquitos region and its Jesuit Missions
NOVEMBER 2007
Bolivia – Villa Tunari
Chile – Back to friends in Arica
Peru – La Paz to Lima
Peru – Huanchaco and Chan Chan ruins
Peru – Sipan ruins and Pimentel, near Chiclayo
Peru – Miraflores district of Lima
DECEMBER 2007
Mexico – Mexico City
Mexico – Teotihuacan ruins
Mexico – Mexico City and Luis Barragan
Mexico – Oaxaca and Monte Alban ruins
Mexico – Mayan highlands of Chiapas region
Mexico – Palenque ruins and Aguas Azules
JANUARY 2008
Guatemala – Quezaltenango (Xela)
Guatemala – San Pedro de Atitlan
Guatemala – Antigua and active Volcano Pacaya
Guatemala – Lake Atitlan
Guatemala – Quezaltenango and Viejo Palmar
Mexico –Puerto Arista
FEBRUARY 2008
Honduras - Copan ruins
Honduras – Omoa
Honduras – Scuba Diving off Utila, Bay Islands
MARCH 2008
Guatemala – Livingston and Rio Dulce
Guatemala – San Pedro de Atitlan
Guatemala - Tikal ruins
Belize – Cave of the Stone Sepulcher, San Ignacio
Belize – Hopkins, Garifuna village
APRIL 2008
Belize – Caye Caulker and the Blue Hole
Mexico – Tulum ruins and diving the sink holes
Mexico – Chichen Itza ruins
Mexico – Holbox
Cuba overview - A Refreshingly Different Experience in Latin America
Cuba – Havana
Cuba – Trinidad
Cuba - Santa Clara
MAY 2008
Cuba – Santiago
Cuba - Baracoa

East Coast Village of Baracoa

Streetlife in pretty Baracoa
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

Baracoa was one of the highlights of my stay in Cuba. The journey itself was beautiful and interesting as it passed the town of Guantanamo (near the US Naval Base) and long stretches of coastal road before finally turning inland and winding up into the mountains before descending rapidly into a lush tropical landscape of palm trees, banana plantations, colourful cacti and traditional palm-leaf-roof huts. And then the road leads on to Baracoa, a very picturesque, laid back seaside town, where people seem to hang around in the shade all day long until late evening when the village is aroused from its lethargy by the sounds of live salsa resonating from various directions.

One day was spent strolling along the nearby black sand beach. I following a path into the mangrove where I reached a quaint river crossing. On the other side of this rickety old bridge a tiny fishermen's village of modest huts and fishing boats captured my curiosity, where on closer examination I discovered children fishing, colourful laundry hanging out on the palm trees, a delicious sugar cane drink and some stunning views over the bay back towards Baracoa village.

Another day was spent at a gorgeous, unspoilt beach to the north of Baracoa. I almost had the beach to myself. There must have been no more than five other people on the beach plus a large family of pigs, with four hungry piglets! I lunched exquisitely on lobster at a makeshift table in the shade of the mangrove. It didn't even occur to me that it might be illegal to serve lobster in Cuba and therefore necessary to hide me away in the mangrove!

Baracoa was a delightful town with interesting people, most of which were very keen to express opinions about their country. It was a good place to end my stay in Cuba and my two years and two months in Latin America.

Cuba to London
From here I was to begin my long 3-day journey back to London. Baracoa-Santiago, Santiago-Havana, Havana-Cancun, Cancun-London. Unfortunately the first leg by plane (Santiago-Havana) with Cubana Airlines was to give me one last memorable experience of Cuba: the flight was subject to a 20 hour delay, meaning I missed my Havana-Cancun flight and seemingly my Cancun-London flight too. I was relieved to hear that Cubana Airlines would take full responsibility for getting me back to London without any additional cost to me, but little did I know that these were lies. The 20 hours in Santiago airport were both heaven and hell. Hell because the airport had no facilities for communicating to Havana, Cancun or London, no internet, only local calls, absurd as that may sound for an airport! Heaven because they whisked us off to a 5-star hotel so that we could relax, eat, swim, use internet, while they washed their hair of us until they had completed their shifts! We eventually got on a plane. And what a plane! I cannot tell what model this propeller-driven craft was, but it was very old and probably ex-Soviet Union. There were no windows and the interior surfaces were sheet metal nailed together, which rattled scarily on landing and take off! It felt like flying in a sardine can and I prayed constantly during the two-hour flight. To my delight, in Havana I discovered that there was one flight that could get me to Cancun in time for my London flight. The Cuban representative of Mexicana Airlines deserves all the praise for having saved my bacon, and for having made my very last experience on Cuban territory a positive one.

Click here for the last photos of this mammoth trip!

DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 36,000 KM / 22,000MILES

Santiago de Cuba

Typical Cuban bookshop, selling approved literature.
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

Santiago is the second largest city in Cuba and is 860km east of Havana. My first impressions were of suffocating heat and narrow exhaust-fume filled streets, but was soon smiling again with a live salsa show, a delicious ice cream and a wander around the fascinating old bookshops. But there was little to hold me in this town so I was soon on my way again to the tropical east coast of Cuba.

Here are a few photos of Santiago.

DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 35,450 KM

Santa Clara

Che Guevara monument
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

The main attractions in Santa Clara are the Che Guevara memorials, which were very interesting and exciting to visit. Che's body was eventually removed from Bolivia, where he had been shot by a firing squad of the US-backed Bolivian army in the 1960s, and buried here in the mausoleum below the memorial pictured. I was impressed by the memorial, the beautifully designed mausoleum of local stone and timber and the museum dedicated to Che's life. To me he is more than a cult figure, more than an icon appearing on t-shirts all over the world. Having travelled most of Latin America and seen at first hand the desperate poverty of most indiginous people, the stark inequality of wealth and the constant US meddling in the politics of each Latin American country, I have come to highly respect Che's aims, although would never have joined a guerilla army had I been alive and in Latin America then.

The other memorial is a monument to Che's capture of the armoured and troop train of the Battista army in Santa Clara. The original train is displayed and houses documents concerning the successful operation whereby the track was damaged so that the train derailed and the troops were forced into open combat. It enabled the capture of Santa Clara and then of Havana.

Here are a few photos.


DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 34,945 KM

Trinidad

Trinidad, World Heritage Site
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

Trinidad is a World Heritage site, a quaint town similar to most Latin American colonial towns. But this was still Cuba, with the familiar sites of ration queues, street pizza, kids playing baseball in the streets with a piece of wood and plastic bottle lids (with great skill!).

Having left Havana the first thing that struck me was that we hardly passed another vehicle on the road during the 7-hour journey by bus. And public transport in Trinidad was varied, some local busses looked more like cattle trucks than human transport. Trinidad was a great place for tourists and locals to mix. The police presence was far less visible, there were nightly live salsa events where locals danced with tourists. But here you could also see a larger wealth gap between the average local and those involved in tourism: there are less black market and “inventive earning” opportunities here, it's a tiny village where tourism is enormous, so those in tourism earn around US$200/month while those working for the state earn just US$10-25/month. Here the requests were almost only for clothes, plastic bags and cooking oil, virtually no one asked for money. This is where I decided to donate a few items of clothings and other helpful bits and pieces.

Here are the photos.


DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 34,865 KM

Havana

Me on the Malecon, Havana
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

The city of Havana fulfilled every one of my romantic expectations of Cuba and its capital city; the narrow streets with worn, painted facades supporting endless balconies that showcase laundry and often the owners themselves, leaning out onto the street watching the world go by; the sound of salsa, son or trova on every corner, in every bar and restaurant, strolling along tuning out of one song as you pass and tuning in as you approach the next, a momentary glimpse through a door or a front porch reveals a couple dancing salsa, or perhaps just a flash of a foot or an arm; tall, elegantly dressed Caribbean men smoking their cigars, ladies with their umbrellas, taking shade from the strong midday sun. These are images that will remain in my mind alongside those of the very visible poverty, the big queues in front of the ration shops, the pizza ovens in doorways of homes filled with some gooey dough topped with a sweet tomato sauce and cheese for 5 pesos (US$0.20c), the constant requests for anything at all that I might be able to give; clothes, a cigarette, a biro, a sweet, a drink, anything. The hissing of men trying to get my attention, either to offer a taxi, help in return for a tip, to offer themselves as a date, as a husband, etc. But Cuba has one of the best levels of education in Latin America - illiteracy was eliminated by Fidel -, the highest life expectancy and the lowest crime figures. These people are used to finding ingenious and inventive ways to make ends meet or to get what they want and will not hesitate to try out clever scams on unsuspecting tourists like myself.

On my first day in Havana I fell prey to a couple of jineteras - girls that try to cream you for whatever they can. They befriended me as we walked in the same direction for a while then suggested we take a look at a nearby bar, a famous haunt of Che Guevara, they told me. I made it crystal clear that I couldn't afford to buy any drinks in this touristy place (Cuba cannot be travelled anywhere near as cheaply as the rest of Latin America and was taking me to the limits of my budget). We agreed that I would take a quick picture and we'd leave, but while I took my pictures they ordered 3 mojitos that cost me the equivalent of US$12. I was frustrated, as they had taken advantage of me AND they were still after more, and all this when I had made it very clear that I don't have the money to pay for it. I left them after explaining that they would have benefited much more from a couple of dollars each than from a mojito consumed quickly with an awkward atmosphere. Now that I knew the kind of scams I was facing I was well prepared for the rest of my stay, and this actually was a reassuring feeling.

I was blessed with the ideal hostess in Havana and the timing couldn't have been any better, as these were my first days in Cuba. Maria is in her 60s, she's a true revolucionista, a Fidelist, not brainwashed, not without criticism, an intelligent lady that could weigh up the pros and cons. She laments the state of the nation with its poverty (caused by US embargos, collapse of the Soviet Union), the overpriced food and products, the concessions made by Fidel out of necessity that have compromised the ideology and caused the younger generations to seek materialism, capitalism. She understands that her liberties are limited, but argues that capitalist countries are also not completely free. She has visited relatives in the US and was shocked by the lack of freedom due to laws, laws governing your property, your children's education, your ability to smoke in public, etc.. She felt that the US churns out more propaganda about US history, foreign policy and about Cuba, etc. than Cuba does about its own history and about the US. Maria, like me, is a good talker, so I learnt a lot from her, I listened hard, I didn't debate much, I took it or I left it, but it was all valuable information about the country, its politics and public opinion. I met her ex-husband and her daughter, all professionals, all Fidelists. What they said made sense, was well argued, but was very biased. I may respect a lot of the communist values and a number of them may well be lived out successfully here in Cuba (for example there is no juxtaposition of excessive wealth and poverty, like in the rest of Latin America), but that does not change the fact that there is no free press, no elections, no internet access to the general public or in homes, no leaving the country unless for a legitimate and agreed purpose and with a limited stay.

So, my days were spent alone, walking around this huge town, wandering around Revolution memorials, strolling along the Malecon (8km seawall), sitting in parks talking to the locals, dancing salsa at matinee live shows, fighting off irritating or sometimes totally charming jineteros and jineteras, eating gooey street pizza or fried rice served in a cardboard box with a cardboard spoon cut-out, drinking the national Tu-cola. I loved it loads, loathed it just a little.

Here are the photos of Havana. Enjoy!

Cuba - a Refreshingly Different Experience in Latin America!

Fidel and Raul!
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

After travelling in Latin America for so long, experiencing more than once virtually every kind of beautiful landscape, fauna, climate, etc., you eventually find yourself slightly underawed by “yet another” jungle, lake or mountain or yet another Caribbean coral reef. However, Cuba, one of the world's few bastions of communism, would definitely offer me a fresh experience, demanding all of the experience and skills acquired over the last 2 years in Latin America.

Before I write specific posts on Cuba, here's a quick introduction to the country:

Cuba has survived manifold crippling US embargos over the years and near-to famine in the early 90s, caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union, its former saviour trading partner. However, the communist ideology has been harder to enforce and is indeed harder to recognise in society these days, given Fidel Castro's essential emergency concessions over the years, such as permitting selected workers (builders, mechanics, tourist B&B owners) to offer private, freelance services, the opening of Cuba to tourism and the introduction of a second currency, the convertible – or 'tourist' - peso (24 times stronger than the national peso and roughly equivalent to one US Dollar). The state pays fixed salaries equivalent to approx. US$20-25/month to professionals and US$10-15/month to non-professionals. A mechanic or B&B owner can easily earn US$200/month after (heavy) tax. Whereas the non-professional has the possibility to earn tips (and in the very fortunate cases of those getting tips in convertible pesos they can multiply their monthly salary by up to 10 times!) the professional is truly restricted to their monthly salary. So in a country where the fantastic free healthcare and education cause a state-school-educated Brit like me to turn green with envy, you have professionals struggling to provide clothing and food for their family.

Given the above-mentioned salaries I was shocked to discover that certain necessities such as deodorant, clothing, oil, washing powder respectively cost around 20% of a monthly state salary. So, as you can imagine, Cubans' best bet to avoid starvation is their own chicanery and the thriving black market. And the tourist, spending per day what a Cuban earns in 2-6 months, is constantly subject to and wearied by the begging for money, clothes, plastic bags (scarce), pens, basically anything at all. And both young men and women see tourists as an opportunity to get a quick tip for 'help' (usually unwanted help), or an opportunity to be treated to the luxury of a free drink, a night out, or a way to leave the country (by marriage). You'll often see a middle-aged or elderly tourist out with an attractive young Cuban.

Apart from the constant struggle to get by financially, young people in Cuba are ambitious, curious about the outside world, they want the standard commodities and gadgets that their fellow Latinos enjoy, such as mobile phones, computers. Raul Castro has now made it legal to buy such equipment, but who in Cuba can afford such luxuries, and what's the point of a computer if you can't legally access the internet, can't afford its maintenance, etc. The only Cubans that own such items, wear brand-named clothes or get to leave the country are those with relatives living abroad, relatives that are classed as traitors by the Cuban government and are only allowed to return to Cuba on a limited-stay tourist visa.

So what do Cubans think about Fidel, Raul, communism and the state of their country? Well the opinions are quite forthcoming and varied....... well, as long as there are no police nearby! They could be arrested for speaking to foreigners! All Cubans agree that life is hard in their country, some feel that it is because of communism and Fidel, others think it is because of the US and the fall of communism internationally. Most seem to view Fidel's Revolution as positive, as the overthrow of a murderous tyrant. They are proud of the standard of education in Cuba, the healthcare and expect to be compared to the most developed of Latin American countries, not the poorest. It is mainly the younger generations that want change, they are fed up with the propaganda (endless documentaries, news stories about the Revolution, Che Guevara and Fidel), they want more freedoms, although cannot legally demand it, they have high ambitions that they want to be able to live out. Raul Castro is generally viewed as more liberal than Fidel, and I sensed some hope in Cubans, but they do not believe things will change any time soon.

See my next blogs specific to La Havana and other Cuban towns and villages.

The Beautiful and Tranquil Island of Holbox

Beach on Holbox
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

From Chichen Itza I travelled on to Merida, an attractive city, but I was eager to spend a few days away from the hustle and bustle before heading off to Cuba, which I knew would be a challenging experience. So I headed east in a bus and took a boat across to the lovely and peaceful island of Holbox. Here I spent two days reading on the beach or in my hammock at the hostel, and one day on a dolphin safari, where I spotted a group of bottlenose dolphins that hung around the boat for a while. I was a little disappointed that I was not permitted to enter the water, because they certainly looked in a playful mood!

Here are a few photos.

DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 34,360 KM

Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

I have seen all three of America´s Wonders of the Modern World:

Peru´s Machu Picchu
Brazil´s statue of Christ the Redeemer
… and now Mexico´s Chichen Itza.

It was an excruciatingly hot day, but it was worth it to walk around this well restored site comprising the impressive pyramid, the haunting ball court (where losing captain was sacrificed to the gods), the conch building and a whole host of other beautiful and highly decorated structures.

Here are the photos.

Tulum Ruins and Diving the Sink Holes

Valladolid sinkhole
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

Hurrah! Back in a Spanish speaking land! (I´ll have enough English when I get home!) I crossed over the border into the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico and stayed overnight in the border town of Chetumal, in order to visit the infamous Mayan Museum there. It was a beautifully designed and well organized museum, for a change, and the exhibits were well worth the effort made to house them. I had the fortune to see a small art exposition by a local artist who depicts the cultural Mayan-Spanish mix of the Mexican people in his work. (I have included a few photos of his paintings in the photo link below.)

Tulum is famous for three things: its beach-front Mayan ruins, its Caribbean beaches and its sinkholes (openings in the ground connecting to underground/underwater passages and water holes, usually decorated with stalactite and limestone formations). I took advantage of all three, visiting the ruins, the beach and diving three sinkholes. The sinkholes had to be the highlight; after having dived 19 Caribbean reefs I was starting to get Caribbean reef fatigue. The sinkholes are an amazing new environment to dive in, where you jump into the waterhole from a tiny hole in the rocky ground and dive down into a new world of tunnels, passages, mazes, with weird and wonderful formations and then emerging into caves. The most fascinating was one called Calavera, which boasts both a thermocline (a distinct layer in water where the temperature changes notably) and a halocline (a distinct layer in the water where there is a change from fresh to salt water). The halocline came as a shock, as I was expecting a thin layer, not the two metres of blurry, low visibility water that I passed into and out of. Prior to entering the halocline I was having trouble with my mask, unable to loosen it, resulting in a headache, and then entering the blurry halocline I thought for a moment I was about to faint! All in all a strange but exciting experience!

Unfortunately only one of the underwater sinkhole photos came out, so sadly you won´t get an idea of what a truly magical experience it is to dive in sinkholes, to see from the depths the sunlight shining on a given area of water above you, or the mysterious underwater world of stalactite, stalagmite and limestone formations.

Click here for the Tulum photos.

DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 34,200 KM

Caye Caulker and The Blue Hole

Me at the Blue Hole
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

Next stop – the super touristy island of Caye Caulker. Needless to say that I was not in my element, surrounded by the typical beach tourists, but I made the most of being stuck on this paradise island during a wind storm and over Easter. I dove the Blue Hole, albeit under the worst conditions imaginable: a three hour boat trip with 5m waves, with most of the passengers vomiting and soaking wet. The visibility was poor, as you might imagine, and the overall experience was disappointing, however it was saved by a pretty lengthy dive with 5 nurse sharks (2-5m) and about seven giant groupers (1m). The Blue Hole itself is best observed from the surface; a 300m-diametre circular reef with a hole in the centre that goes to depths of 120m. The dark reef makes the surrounding turquoise water appear even brighter. On the dive you follow the reef wall down to 40m where there is an undercut with large stalactites hanging down like columns, giving the overall impression of swimming through an arcade or colonnade.

I spent the rest of the trip snorkeling (with southern rays, turtles, etc.), manatee (sea cow) watching, reading, sunbathing on the hostel dock and just taking it easy. What else could a non-beach bum do?

Here are the photos, including the handful of disposable underwater camera photos that came out.

DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 33,800 KM

A Wholly Garifuna Experience in Hopkins

Sunrise from my cabana
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

I had been disappointed with the vague Garifuna culture in Livingston, Guatemala, so when I reached this tiny, laidback Caribbean seaside town of Hopkins, with its almost exclusively Black Caribb population and their proud cultural heritage I was so enthused. Although the beach was lovely and my cabana overlooking the sea was a dream, the most impacting part was hearing the resident Garifuna Punta drummers in my hostel-cum-drumming-school, Lebeha.

First of all the music really appealed to me, reminding me of a more complicated Samba or even Uruguayan Candombe rhythm, secondly the drummers are so very talented, drumming at an unbelievably fast pace, maintaining a highly melodic rhythm throughout and enjoying themselves thoroughly. (The two most talented drummers were just 16 and 17 years old!!) The interaction between drummers was fascinating, especially when one stopped drumming and danced in direct ´conversation` with the drumming.

The music is contagious. Of course I got up and joined in dancing, but my bum, used to the sideward movement of salsa, could not manage the up and down movement. However, according to the flattery of the drummers I still managed to outdance one of the local Garifuna boys with my poor Samba-cum-Salsa moves! Ha ha!

I regret that after just 24 hours in Hopkins I had to move on without any videos or photos of the Punta performance. I wanted to go back before leaving Belize, but the country was just too expensive for me!

Here are a few photos of Hopkins.

DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 33,620 KM

Indiana Jones and the Cave of the Stone Sepulcher, Belize

Calcite-encrusted remains of a Mayan woman
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

Those of you that still do not think that I´m adventurous after two years of traveling Latin America might now concede….. After Tikal I crossed the border leaving Guatemala for Belize, a British Commonwealth country. Suddenly I was in an English speaking environment again, well, Creole. Arr-ait! (See next post for more about Belize itself.)

I had heard about the Actun Tunichil Muknal (Cave of the Stone Sepulcher) tour near San Ignacio and decided to give it a try. No regrets! It was probably one of the most exciting, most adventurous and dangerous tours I have done yet.

The cave has appeared in numerous NatGeo/GEO editions and documentaries. The cave is located in a jungle and was seen by the Mayans as a dark and sacred place where they made food and human sacrifices to their gods in times of dispair. Strangely all of the artifacts and human remains are still in their original places and the cave is open for conservation-conscious guided tours.

Entering the cave, with the odd bat flying by, you are immersed in water and then must climb over, under, in between flowstone rock formations with water gushing through them. We were treated to amazing stalagmites growing up from the caves and calcium-carbonate stalactites dripping from the ceiling. The formations are incredible. We then climbed up to a massive opening where hundreds of pottery vessels and even human remains are still in their original positions. One of the remains is encrusted with calcite, hence “Cave of the Stone Sepulcher”. I have photographs of everything described above.

Here are the photos. There are more to come – when I receive them from other tour group members.

DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 33,450 KM

No Longer an Arachnophobic?

How scared do I look?!!!?
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

Anyone who knows me will be stunned by these photos. I did it! I have (pretty much) overcome my fear!!!

Click here for more proof.

Mayan Jungle Ruins of Tikal

View from Temple IV
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

I needed something impressive to help take my mind off my heartbreak. And this was certainly it! The ruins of Tikal are in themselves stunning, but the jungle environment within which they lie, in my opinion, raises Tikal way above all other Mayan sites. As you walk around this enormous site, with its huge temples separated by jungle paths, you are literally surrounded on all sides by nature, and if you do not immediately see wildlife you are constantly aware of its presence; the howler monkeys have their name for a reason. To an unfamiliar ear the loud roaring of these primates, eerily echoing across the jungle could easily be mistaken for the roaring of a pack of jaguars. And the wonderful diversity of exotic birds in and around the sites was a real treat. I spotted two species of toucan, hundreds of parakeets, a strange peacock and a whole host of birds that I cannot name. And then there was the tarantula……. See my next boastful post for a good laugh or possibly a shock!

Here are the photos of Tikal and Flores, the attractive lake island where I was based near Tikal.

DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 33,340 KM

Another Tearful Goodbye to Esteban

Esteban and I on a "Boose Cruise" with Altons
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

After Livingston and Rio Dulce Esteban and I headed back to our beloved San Pedro de la Laguna on Lake Atitlan for his last two weeks before returning to Chile. On 10 March we separated at Guatemala City Airport with heavy hearts. I zipped through dangerous Guatemala City in a taxi and took the first bus north towards the Mayan ruins of Tikal.

I have added the new San Pedro photos to the old Lake Atitlan set. Click here to see them.

DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 32,790 KM