Friends in High Places

Our good friend, Brooklyn babe Alyssa Maresca, joined us for a Guatemala mountain adventure. She met us in Antigua, where we spent a few days sightseeing, attending religious festivals, and eating schnitzel, which, for reasons that remain obscure to all of us, is good and plentiful there. Go figure.

In Jocotenango, just outside Antigua, we got to see how Guatemalan Catholics do The Assumption. Jocotenango's Rococo, powder pink church was decorated with long streamers of yellow and white flowers. A path of fresh petals led from the church doors, and into the street to store front chapels throughout town. When mass ended around 10 a.m., parishioners streamed out, kicking up the petal path, while a marching band played. The mass and march followed a night of partying; in front of the church were games, rides, and food vendors, some of whom were still asleep, behind curtains in their booths. A cleaning crew milled around, tidying up the remains of the party. We met a few friendly folks who were still drunk from the night before.

The children's fun rides were propped up with loose stacks of wood, hubcaps, or whatever. To us it looked like a disaster, and maybe a lawsuit, waiting to happen. Just another day in Guatemala.

We walked to a working coffee finca (plantation), where we were given an interesting tour by a college student guide who spoke to us in mercifully slow Spanish. While soaking up the natural beauty, we learned a few things about coffee cultivation and processing.

We saw lots of exotic plants, other than coffee, that grow on the finca. We can't remember their names, although our patient guide did repeat them for us about fifty times.

Back in the market in Antigua, a pottery shop -- or an avant-garde art piece. We're still not sure....

Antigua is known for its avocados, which grow abundantly. The market is brim full with loads of them: delicious, perfectly ripened, dirt cheap. If that isn't art, we don't know what is.

We ate fresh guacamole (Jen's rigging knife proves its usefulness, again and again) and boxed wine on the terrace of Posada Juma Ocag, our favorite budget hotel in Antigua. Ulf wasn't feeling his best, but he still found the energy to improv with a watermelon. Woohoo.

We booked a ride up to Lago de Atitlan, a two hour climb up, up, up, followed by a descent down, down, down, through dozens of hairpin turns. We were dropped off in Panajachel, also known as "Gringotenango," where we caught a bumpy lancha to San Pedro la Laguna, our destination on the far side of the lake.

Alyssa was suffering from a wrenched back. When she arrived in Guatemala, she was already in pain. Ulf gave her an adjustment that actually brought some relief. But then he decided to seal the deal with what we call a "wiking" -- i.e. he body slammed her. Well, that was that. Bumpy lanchas and chicken buses did their part, and lest we forget... Alyssa had gamely couriered about 50 lbs of Wish List gifts (our big fat thank yous to Sara, Jeremy and Alyssa herself!), plus spare parts for Sea Quill, and seven months' worth of our mail. No wonder her back was hurting.

At Hotelito Sak'cari, in San Pedro, we found comfortable rooms, with hammocks slung out front, and wide open views of Atitlan. During the day, as the light and the action on the lake shifted, we were treated to an entire picture book of beautiful scenes -- without ever having to leave our hammocks. That turned out to be useful.

Mornings and evenings, fishermen and lumbermen, worked the lake in their distinctive, square-edged boats:

Across the lake, other pueblos seemed to hover in the mist on the sides of mountains.

One day, Jen climbed Volcan San Pedro -- without a camera, unfortunately. From the summit, nearly 4,000 meters high, the panoramic view of Atitlan is truly birds' eye, an airplane view. However, it was three days before she could make her legs walk again. Hammock time.

"Indian Nose" or "El Nariz," which really does look like the profile of a man lying on his back, is a prominent landmark of Atitlan. It gives emphatic significance to the idea that volcanoes harbor sleeping giants.

Guatemalan men wear their cowboy hats better than cowboys anywhere else -- Texas included! These San Pedro farmers (plus Alyssa) were lining up for a coffee plant distribution.

We traveled to the high mountain village of Solola to experience its market day, which is said to be one of the most authentic in Guatemala. We made the trip across Atitlan by boat, then caught a ride in the back of a pickup truck with families who were also traveling to the market. It was our most spectacular ride; we climbed thousands of feet in a few minutes, passing switchbacks with tumbling waterfalls, cliffs, and fantastic views of the lake below. All the while, we stood shoulder to shoulder with Mayans, holding on for dear life. It would have made for some great photos, if we had dared to take our hands off the rails.

At the top of the mountain, the pretty village of Solola was shrouded in cloud mist, but it was alive with the bright colors and costumes of the market.

Solola's colorful graveyard has sublime views of Atitlan, far below:

We tuned in for a football match skillfully and fiercely played in a schoolyard.

... and we stood aside for passing traffic.

Our highland adventure ended too soon. Alyssa had to fly home to work and city life, and we had to get back to Rio Dulce, where we would soon receive more Brooklyn friends. Our first order of business was to hurry back to Sea Quill with the spare parts Alyssa brought us, so that we could fix our galley sink pump before our friends arrived. We also needed to install the new 12-volt fans (which have changed quality-o-life on board big time, by the way), and to fix the gaping hole in the bathroom floor, an artifact from the mast foot fix we did way back when in Cuba. We left Alyssa in Antigua, and hopped a pullman bus back to the river, where we unpacked all the fun gadgets and googaws Alyssa brought us, and got to work on the boat.

River Cruise with Ron and Sandie

While the new epoxy was still drying on the bathroom floor, Sandie and Ron arrived in Rio Dulce, following a marathon day of trains, planes and automobiles from NYC to El Salvador, to Guatemala City. Their travel day culminated in a five hour taxi ride from the airport to the river. They arrived on the heels of Hurricane Felix, which hit Honduras two days before, then glanced off Guatemala with little wind, but a deluge of water. Their five hour ride from the mountains to the coastal plain was threatened by flooding rains. The excellent Antigua agency, Quetzali Travel, through which we arranged the ride from the airport to Rio Dulce, followed up on all the details and contingencies until the last minute, calling us several times to confirm reservation, weather situation, and so on.

We spent the night moored at comfy El Tortugal, then made our trip down river the next morning. On the way down the Rio Dulce, Sandie took in the view, while demonstrating that all-too-common feature of boating life: the soggy bottom.

We spent the next couple of days anchored in Cayo Quemado, near Texan Bay Marina. We swam, sunbathed, walked in the manatee reserve, had lots of laughs, and ate well. Sandie and Ron had brought a selection of wow artisanal cheeses and a few bottles of bordeaux. What a treat. Yum.

Somehow, Ulf persuaded Ron to finish his own boat chores, as for example, washing the dishes, and sawing off this old welded plate so that we could mount the barbie on the stern pulpit. Good job, Ron. Nice trick, Ulf.

Vivienne of Watergeus rowed by early each morning, shaming us with her cheerful motivation to exercise.

Meanwhile, on Sea Quill....

We took the dinghy out to the hot springs for another spooky fun tour of the steamy caves, where we managed to stir a few bats from their beauty sleep. Our caving adventure was followed by a relaxing soak in the sulphury hot springs.

On the way back from the hot springs, we stopped at Marco's woodworking shop, where Sandie found some beautifully carved mini-cayucos to bring back to New York.

Maurits and Mavis of Gertruide invited us to join them for a trip to Livingston. We jumped in their lancha, and sped down to the Caribbean port for a little sightseeing and shopping. Hanging out with M & M later on their island, we got to see how quickly and creatively their new home is shaping up. So inspiring!

It was a big week in Guatemala. First there was the presidential election. Then, the national holiday to celebrate Guatemala's independence from Spain in 1822. And, last but not least, Sandie's Birthday! At Texan Bay, we joked with owner Mike Payne that she wanted to shoot off a gun on her birthday. We didn't expect Mike to take us seriously. We should have known better. On the morning of her birthday, we woke up to the sound of rockets popping off the end of the dock. Later that night, Mike launched a fire works display just off the patio, where we were all yukking it up. Hoooweee, Texan fun!

After all of the excitement, we decided to spend a few quiet days at El Hotelito Perdido, a rustic jungle lodge on Rio Lampara. Chris and Aska, our fun hosts and chefs extraordinaire, with their hilarious dogs, Bernie and Barley, showed us a great time and made us all feel wonderfully comfortable.

We anchored Sea Quill just off the dock, and Chris helped tie off our anchor lines to the boat house, so that home and hotelito were in easy reach.

The beautiful gardens of El Hotelito Perdido are a nice mix of natural jungle and artistic landscaping, and the whole grounds are infused with the lovely smell of ginger lilies. Befitting a tropical jungle lodge, there's a healthy population of big jungle insects, too... healthy, that is, except for the giant spiders that can't seem to keep their legs on for Bernie and Barley, the dogs.

The place is beautifully designed and finely built by hand by Chris and Aska, with lots of nice touches and comforts. The cozy lounge area has good angles for conversation, or for hiding in the hammocks, as you wish. There are good books and games, and side tables right where you need them, ready to receive your drink, your book, or your can of bug spray.

One afternoon, we took the dinghy to the end of Rio Lampara, hiked up a little hill, then down into the jungle, listening our way towards the isolated waterfall at the end of the path. As we turned the last bend, and the sound of falling water rang clearly, we saw a lovely, luminescent pool below us, and the frothy tumble of the falls above.

We swam -- and hammed -- in the cool, refreshing water until we all had goose bumps, a rare delicacy in the tropics.

Sadly, Ron and Sandie's visit was coming to an end. The day before their flight, we all decided to go to Puerto Barrios, where they would catch their pullman bus back to Guatemala City and the airport.

Puerto Barrios is an old company town, built up at the turn of the last century by the banana barons of United Fruit Company. We booked rooms at Hotel del Norte, the old international hotel of that era, which shows every bit of its age, but is steeped in atmosphere. The wide, airy corridors of the wood-framed hotel, with it's extra high ceilings, long, screened-in porches, shuttered doors, and sea views, seem full of ghosts.

We visited the ancient Mayan ruins of Quirigua, where the largest and most detailed of the carved stellae are found, and then we returned to Hotel del Norte to spend our last evening together, relaxing by the (new construction) pool, and experiencing the old restaurant, with it's white table cloths and avuncular waiters. By the pool, Ron channeled the energy of an old-time banana mogul.

As Sandie and Ron climbed onto their bus for the long trip back to the airport, drummers and marionettes marched through the streets of Puerto Barrios. It was Guatemalan Independence Day.