Route of the Maya 11/30-12/16/2005

(click on any photo to enlarge) Our group From the left: 1st row: Kerstin Schweizer, Joan Wright, Virginia Meyers, Linda McVicker, Joan & Edward Florreich, Mary Miller. 2nd row: Ward Meyers, Joanne & Larry Sovinsky, Larry Lundervold, Stephen Cochran, Carolyn Smolarek. 3rd row: Bill Barnes & Ivania Sibrian, our guide.

Day 1 – Let’s go to Miami. Smooth flights from Sacramento to San Diego to Austin to Orlando to Fort Lauderdale. Whew!! What we’ll do for a free ticket.

Day 2 – Taca Airline’s flight to San Salvador is another smooth flight, arriving after dark. We’re met at the airport by our Tour Leader, Ivania. Waiting for someone’s missing luggage is annoying because we’re tired and impatient by this time, especially since we still have a 45 minute drive to our hotel, Hotel Presidente. San Salvador sparkles at night, especially with all the Christmas decorations. Neon snowmen and reindeer seem out of place in tropical country where snow never falls. What will the day bring?

The hotel, a Sheraton, supplies us with a welcoming rum punch drink called a Volcano. Dinner is a plate of pupusas, guacamole, refried beans, beef, sausage, & sauerkraut. Pupusas are a little a yummy El Salvadorian dish, best described as thicker corn tortillas sometimes with fillings.
Our hotel room faces a lovely garden/pool area. Of course, tonight this same garden is host to a graduation party with loud thunderous salsa music. It lasts until exactly midnight, but surprisingly we fall asleep. (The school year starts in March and ends in October. The reason: the coffee beans start to ripen in November and December and women and little children’s hands are perfect for bean picking.)

Day 3 – San Salvador is a little jewel. Roads are very good (built by American tax dollars? After all, the largest American embassy in Central America is here – anyone remember the word “Contras”.) The geography of the area consists of more than 20 volcanoes, mountain ranges, plains and more than 300 rivers.

Miscellaneous notes: The faucets are not marked H & C; they are marked C & F. Anyone know why? (Answer at the end

[1]). El Salvador uses good old American currency. Gasoline costs about $3.00.

At our first meeting we finally meet our fellow travelers, a civilized group. We also learn a little more about our guide, Ivania Sibrian, who is another jewel of El Salvador. Her stories, tips, & warnings, help make this a special journey. We can’t imagine anyone taking her place. Can we adopt her?

She doesn’t just call attention to the pretty volcanic and mountainous geography and attractive people of Central America; we learn about it bloody rebellions, assassinations, poverty, lack of women’s rights and lessons learned for the future.

At the Metropolitan Cathedral we pay our respects at the memorial chapel to assassinated Archbishop Romero. In the main part of the church there is a lovely memorial service honoring the 25th anniversary of 2 murdered Mary Knoll nuns.

We have our first group meal together at lunch. From the store front we would never have realized the adorable little restaurant hiding there. We have another typical tasty meal – pupusas, tortillas, tamale and tasty juice.

On our way to Honduras we tour a small archaeological site named Joya de Ceren. This mainly residential community was home to the ‘regular’ people of the area as opposed to the royal temple areas we will see at the larger excavations. Buried around 600 A.D. by volcanic ash until being discovered in 1976 & is still being excavated. The construction of the buildings is mud & sticks similar to rebar in cement and is in remarkable condition providing an insight into the daily lives of the local prehistoric Indians. The pottery is rather sophisticated. Do wish the museum signs were in English.

Before we arrive at Copan, Honduras, we cross the border from El Salvador into Guatemala and from there into Honduras, because that’s the way the road goes. Both crossings are non-eventful.

Day 4 – In Copan our comfortable accommodation at the Hotel Marina Copan allow us to catch up with ourselves and is a perfect home while we explore the magnificent temple ruins at Copan. Discovered by the Spaniards in the early 1500’s, true restoration didn’t start until 1936.

One evening we had a wonderful lecture by the archaeologist in charge, David Sedat of the University of Pennsylvania, who gave us some insight into the past excavations and findings. He now is in charge of assembling reports and findings of the archaeologists into a scientific publication.

Copan is noted for its steles, friezes, a 63-step stone stairway carved with hieroglyphics, and Altar Q, the 4-sided monument carved with 16 rulers of Copan which has been an excellent historical resource.

Lunch is a fun picnic under the trees.

After lunch we briefly tour La Sepulturas, a residential area, which has evidence it was a pottery or artistic enclave.

Day 6 – Today we drive to Antigua Guatemala. This World Heritage site was a capital of Guatemala, founded in the early 16th century, and was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1773. Many of its principal monuments are still preserved as ruins.

Again we find our accommodations at the Hotel Don Rodrigo Antigua quite agreeable. Our room even has a little garden atrium and a fountain. The town, built on a grid pattern, is easy to walk around; restaurants are very good especially our dinner at the Hotel Santo Domingo, and ruins and museums are first rate, accessible, and fascinating.

Day 7 – This is a day that will stay with us: we visit a school in Aguas Calientes & have lunch in a local family’s home. At the school 5 & 6 year old students put on a wonderful performance, a flag ceremony and a little dance. We see how the women weave the beautiful textiles.

Our home visit is a real highlight of the trip. We break up into smaller groups for this. We are very lucky with our family. One of the daughters speaks some English, so with my limited Spanish we learn about each other. While we might consider their situation as poor, by Guatemalan village standards, they do alright. Most of the girls will only go to school until grade 4. Hopefully, this will change. Of course, this would change their way of life. Example: when our student, a sweet 5-year old named Rosemarie, led us home from the school, her younger brothers were crying. She immediately went to pick one up and comfort him. This motherly action was very mature for a 5-year old. This family is just one of the many natural assets that Guatemala has to draw upon.

Day 8 – Today is supposed to be free day, but Ivania takes us to Cuidad Vieja for a local festival, an amazing parade & later to the burning of the devil. The festival is a religious day, but one float is ‘manned’ by a local homosexual group. The crowds and music could be overwhelming. Ivania watches the crowd for pickpockets. As for the Day of the Devil, during the year, one is supposed to save paper and then burn it to rid the house of the devil. Because this annual accumulation of paper could become a fire hazard, most people buy a piñata in the shape of a devil and burn ‘em.

Day 9 – On our way to Lake Atitlan and Panajachel we stop at a wonderful coffee plantation and musical instrument museum. The tour of the macadamia nut farm is fascinating. Our hotel, Posada Don Rodrigo Atitlan, is adequate and comfortable. Panajachel is a resort town for the people who come to enjoy Lake Atitlan. This scenic lake covering at least 49 square miles formed in a valley dammed by an ancient eruption of volcanic ash and is surrounded by 3 cone-shaped volcanoes.

Day 10 – Our big activity today is a boat tour of Lake Atitlan and several of the villages that dot the shores. Fishing, weaving and onion production are main occupations. The men work the large looms, the women use the floor loom, and children make small bracelets (2 a day when not in school, 1 when attending school). The persistent children follow us until we buy a packet of 12 bracelets for 66¢. We’re awed by the large vacation homes of rich Guatemalans.

Day 11 – On the way to Guatemala City Ivania tells us more about Central America and its people: Most of the public buses are retired US school buses sometimes colorfully painted and other times still yellow and having a US school district’s name. These public buses, called ‘chicken buses’, have a terrible accident record because they aren’t really controlled by the government.

Guatemala has had several poor governors, rulers, presidents. One particularly poor one had to flee to Mexico. The Government would like to arrest him and have him return the artifacts he stole.

There isn’t much divorce here. Some men have more than 1 wife. Men give their wife (or wives) a daily allowance of about Q50 or $6-7 for food. If they shop right, they can save up. Soup is a staple. Meat is eaten maybe twice a week. Men drink too much and spousal abuse is problem.
The utility lines have debris hanging from them which turn out to be kite remnants. Kites are flown with messages to ancestors.

In Guatemala City, on our tour of the Historical Center of the city we visit the National Palace and the Cathedral, both beautiful buildings perfectly designed for their intended purpose. Then we try to travel down 6th Avenue, a long conduit of shopping stalls where it is said “they could take your socks without removing your shoes.”

Day 12 – Today we leave the highlands and fly to Flores and Petén region. Our hotel, Camino Real Hotel, is a wonderful resort right on the lake. Two nights here are not enough. Can we stay a couple more nights?

This largely deserted area after the fall of the Mayan empire has only recently been repopulated

and to its detriment. During the civil war the government encouraged people to move here, clear the land, and farm. Clearing the land was supposed to remove hiding places of guerillas.

There was problem with this idea. The soil is very poor in nutrients. The native plants have evolved to grow there. And when these plants are removed the thin layer of soil runs off allowing the limestone to push up and further destroy any possibilities of good crops. Now the area is protected because the local flora cleans much of the pollution from the air circling the globe so the rest of the world can breathe.

The area is covered by lakes. These lakes have crocodiles. Surprisingly these crocs do not eat swimmers because if they opened their mouths under water, they’d drown.
The Wrigley family had a big influence in the area when they acquired land, built roads and flew planes to use the sap of the sapodilla tree for chewing gum. The wood was also used by the Mayans for door lintels.

After a short drive from the airport we arrive at the Mayan ruins of Yaxha, meaning green water. (This area was the setting for Survivor Guatemala.) This large ruin covers about 35 square miles and has some beautiful temples. On one present excavation our guide educates us on the various levels of work from surveying the site, to tree removal, to tunneling, and to the use of limestone to patch the holes made by removing the trees roots. Tomorrow we will tour one of the great Mayan cities, Tikal.

Day 13 –The 1,700 year old complex at Tikal comprises about six square miles with about 3,000 structures, including temples, pyramids, tombs, palaces, ball courts, & terraces. At its peak, Tikal was home to an estimated 100,000 Maya, & it was one of the most important urban centers of its time. Our guide explains the complex Mayan society, religion, calendar and deity worship. Their religion required sacrificed to their gods both in their temples & on the playing fields of their ball courts. Oftentimes the entire losing team was sacrificed in the name of sport. It was an honor to join with the gods and ancestors.

The construction of the soaring temples almost seems too complicated for these peoples. How did they manage to build such towering powerful structures yet maintain such grace. What it must have looked like in the Great Plaza when a ceremony was taking place. Or how did the El Mundo Perdido (the Lost World) look when it was replaced.

Another picnic on the grounds and then a tour of the little Tikal Museum, which houses a collection of ceramics & other artifacts unearthed here. One stele was in excellent condition; I wish photography was allowed.

Day 14 – Today we leave Guatemala and enter Belize. We have lunch at a little restaurant that is also home to a green iguana sanctuary. We will call the Five Sisters Lodge home for a couple of nights. We mistakenly take the ‘nature trail’. The trees are labeled, but calling this a trail after rain is a joke. It’s more like a mud slide infested with mosquitoes. The one-mile trek takes over an hour and doesn’t offer much in the way of memories other than, “We did!” The Lodge has a beautiful view of the river that cascades below it that gives the Lodge its name. The funicular that is supposed to glide up and down from the lodge to the river is out of order. This lack of proper functioning applies to the shower water too. Some people have no water, we have scalding trickles. After the pleasant accommodations at other stops, this hotel wears like a bad pair of shoes.

Day 15 – After breakfast we visit the ruins of Caracol. Caracol conquered Tikal around 600 A.D. & ruled as the dominant power in this area for over a century. At the height of its glory around 700 A.D., it was home to more than 180,000 Maya.

[Opinion: Personally, I think this part of Belize should be ignored until the government does two things: Improve the absolutely rotten road leading into the Caracol region and bring to an end to the corruption at the border. Requiring a bribe from Guatemalan tour guides so the group doesn’t have to endure a complex crossing just makes them look petty. The locals don’t seem as friendly either. In Guatemala people along the road waved and smiled; here they barely look at you. And they charge $30 per person to leave. I won’t be returning to Belize.]

Day 16 – It’s time to return to the USA. Central America has impressed us and we look forward to seeing the area grow and participate in the world of the future.

Day 17 – Our trip home is a mini-nightmare. First, our plane is an hour late getting into Fort Lauderdale. This will have implications later on. So, we know we will not be arriving into Sacramento until 7:30 p.m. But it gets better…not! In Phoenix they throw us all off the plane and divert our plane to Orange County. This must have been due to the late arrival of our plane in Fort Lauderdale. We lose another hour. Now it’ll be 8:30 p.m. But we arrive in Sacramento and collect our luggage. Well, Larry gets his, mine is missing; most likely misplaced during the plane change. We fill out the forms and get the car. It’s now about 9:00 and we have an hour’s drive to Grass Valley ahead of us. Grab a bite at the local MickyD’s, hit the road and we’re home. How wonderful to sleep in your own bed.

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[1] C stands for CALDO – HOT / F stands for FRIO - COLD