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

Livingston and Rio Dulce, Guatemala

Along Rio Dulce
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

Livingston is Guatemala´s only claim to Caribbean culture and is only one of two towns on Guatemala`s tiny Atlantic coast. It claims a fascinating Garifuna culture with some nice beaches. Unfortunately our experience did not live up to our expectations. After the cultural experience in Utila, Livingston pales in comparison; there was very little evident Caribbean culture, the town is quite dirty and smelly and the beaches were a joke.

So we quickly moved on to Rio Dulce town, on a boat trip along the river of the same name, stopping off at a remote jungle community, some caves and thermal springs on the way. The trip was nice enough, although not as beautiful as fellow travellers had led me to believe. But Rio Dulce proved a much more interesting stop. The town is based on two sides of Rio Dulce, but most of the tourist accommodation is within the swampy jungle deltas. We spent two days in one of the traditional style straw-roofed cabanas of Casa Perico, which comprises basically a hostel, restaurant and bar completely surrounded by jungle swamps, and the only way to get around is to use the hostel´s kayaks or pay for a boat ride into town. We spent those two days nearby the hostel, swimming in the river and kayaking. One day, during a water fight in the kayak I managed to capsize it (on purpose, of course). While I was up to my neck in swampy water, with mud up to my knees saving our things, Esteban was rescuing the kayak and bailing out water!! We headed back to the hostel in hysterics!! A fun experience, that was until our last night, when on returning to the cabana I spotted an enormous spider (10cm) on my backpack. Esteban froze on the spot and I was left to kill the blighter. It took all my courage to get close and splat the thing (that was actually bigger then the shoe I used). After 5 minutes of nerves and trembling I recovered, only to discover a similar sized one on the wall beams near our beds. With no chance of killing this one we rushed into the safety of our mosquito nets and tried to sleep…… of course I was too scared to sleep!

Here are the photos, including one of the spider!


DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 32,190 KM