Friday, January 30, 2009

Tikal

I woke up yesterday morning at 330. i always set the alarm for an odd time so i actually set it for 327. I hit snooze once but ended up rising before it went off again. I was catching the shuttle to Tikal at 4am so that I could be inside the ruins by sunrise.

I got there and the air was humid but you could smell the rainforest rich with pulsing life. As I was walking to temple 4 which is the highest in all of tikal you could hear the forrest waking up to greet the sun, the monkeys were swinging from the trees, you could hear the calls of so many different birds, woodpeckers hunting for their morning meal. It was quite an experience once I got to the top of temple 4 and you could see the rest of the temples peeking out from under their green umbrella. it was rather hazy so you couldnt really see the sun rise as I had hoped but you could see the rays of the sun stretching out through the looming grey. It was quite an incredible experience. It was very reckoning and humbling all at the same time.

I really believe that this trip is helping to aid my ability to see things clearly. to open my insight and to listen to my heart rather then the fear that paralyzes my brain.... we only live one life and taking chances isn't gambling as much as we think it is. it's all part of our internal evolution and although i have subscribed to this philosophy for quite some time i dont believe that it has ever come into fruition because of my over analytical nature as well as my inability to be vulnerable. When i say vulnerable I dont mean just in terms of relationships but in terms of accepting the fact that failure is a possibility and in that is sheer beauty. because without the option for failure then there would be nothing pushing us to try harder and learn more. anyway sorry for the rambles but i suppose since i havent been writing in my journal as much this sorta serves a dual purpose.

flores is intersting. I am ready to leave and am going to head back down south of coban. i'm in hunt of this small town about 2 hours south of coban that is suppose to be really neat. i have it written down but cant remember the name right now. There is apparently this hike about 12 km with epic waterfalls and fauna. I am pretty amped. I have been rather stir crazy after the ruins. I got back from the ruins yesterday about 3 pm and went for a swim but other then that there wasnt much to do. although the water was absolutly perfect. the best tempurture.

i am still getting eaten by these bugs i cant imagine when i get to brazil what i am going to look like. maybe a big giant map where people put pins in them with places they have traveled to. this map would be covered cause this individual is a traveling maniac!!! okay okay so i am exaggerating. whatever!!! hahahahaha

a few things i miss.....
besides the obvious like bacon.....
peanutbutter... they have it down here but it just doesnt taste the same.
brussel sprouts ...yah i know right ieeeew.... i would have thought that too until i came up with the best recepie for them ever.
hot showers with good water pressure.
my ipod. never again will i try to limit my music selection to 2 gigs.
my sleepy scarf. i brought a make shift one but it isn't the same.
candice's breakfast scrambles
driving with the windows down and the heat on home from work.
meaningful hugs..... those are different then the ones you give to people you have met traveling.
nightlit showers

of course there is more but those make the top of my list.....

I will write in a few days...

I hope you all are enjoying your days...

i send all my hugs.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Semuc Champey

Since the last blog was very general and not very natasha-esque in her writing I decided to take this hour of downtime before dinner to give a few details about the day i had.



I woke up a bit crabby i think it´s mostly because i got bit by something massive and it seriously is the size of a quarter hard as a golf ball and as red as the ripest tomato you have ever seen!!! but then i remembered i am traveling and perhaps i should sleep with bug spray on... yes okay then it is noted and now in my mental rolladex!!!



again may i remind you i am typing quite fast cause i have people over my shoulder waiting and this keyboard is a bit moody so there will be typos.... i am not going to re-read and correct so i guess just adapt please!! gracias :)



okay so once i got going and got a bowl of cornflakes with banana i was a pretty happy girl. we gathered up and took this pickup truck where you all stand in the back down about 9km. through the most luscious green hills. there was a mist hanging in the sky when i woke up probably added to the crabby mood just a smidge... but as we were driving down the haze began to lift.... the most majestic of blue skies came peering through the green canopys....



our first stop was the caves of lanquin. miles and miles of dark caves some parts were pretty deep with water and you have to swim... by the way my head lamp kicks some major ass!!!the rocks were formed so intricate and beautiful... i was in awe but i had to keep up with the guide so i didn´t get as much time to stare and appreciate as i would have liked to.



okay on to the next thing.... ummm i forgot my camera..... what an idiot!!! we walked up it could have very well been 2000 stairs carved out of stone the ground was wet and slippery the mud was so visceral. of course i had my awesome hippie sandals.... disregarding how they might look... asthetic shamthetic who cares they rocked the rocks and slimey goodness of the mud. no wrestling matches in those things cause i´d kick some major booootay!



once i got to the top and looked upon the beauty that was before my eyes i was stunned.... besides it being so absolutley beautiful it reminded me so much of when i was in jujuygoh (?) in china....

okay so as i was typing this the internet went dead.... i actually wrote quite a bit more with the ending being all portic and crap but then as i was going to save it to the desktop the whole computer just shut down.... i hate pc´s!!!

hahahaha

okay okay i´ll write more later!

xoxo

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Rotten Coffee!!

So I decided to change from travel hub or whatever it was to blogspot... why you ask.. it´s simple really it´s all about navigation i mean when you think about it we are always more inclined to utilize thing when they are simpler to navigate.... take for instance the iphone... so simple so easy it´s like a warm shower ahhhhhhh....

okay okay enough about thoe small extravagants....

i´m warning now that this keyboard i am using is quite tempermental. lucky for me when i travel the first thing i pack is my patience!

so i arrived in guatamala city on the 15th right when i landed i had to go to the brizillian consulate in guatamala to get my visa cause i was unable to get it in los angeles. the wretched woman... thats a whole other blog... anyway after i dropped it off which was scary in it´s own way cause ummm im in a far off country with no pssport i headed to antigua.

antigua-cobblestone streets, stray dogs running everywhere, a maze really it felt like. there re no street signs and no lights. it has a very quaint feeling to it though which was warm feeling. i walked thru the market and that was quite an adventure. people are elling everything you can image. young girls working with their moms wearing their indegionus dress. it was amazing... i got some blackberries (mora) and was soooo excited i got a pound for like 50 cents and if you know me at all you kow blackberries are an immense weaknes for me.

the next day i headed to panajanchel.

nothing much to report about tht place it was like any other town that survives off tourism it´s a small town on the lake of atitlan. there are small towns all around the lake all with a varience of their own culture. the local language is qiche. (sp) i had dinner in this small restruant one night and i was looking at the street below this other restruant was playing music and these two little kids were getting down...i wish i had video camera. it was stellar!

the next day i ventured to San Pedro across the lake. I loved this town immediately. the people were all very kind and everyone seemed to be a bit slower packed then the last two towns i had been in. on the 3rd day there or maybe the 2nd i decided to hike the volcano. Nico and I did it and let me tell you it was intense. its 3300 meters straight up and i walked to the base of it which is an extra 3 km. there were no switchbacks it was a straight uphill climb. Nico was off i was a bit slow because my bum leg was giving me problems but when i got to the top i was in heaven!!! it was so beutiful up there! it was chilly we were so far up above the clouds!! i didn´t bring enough snacks i didnt think it was going to be as tough as it was!!! man...

the last day i got a little ill and headed back to antigua. i was going to venture to lanquin the next day but couldnt cause of my stomach.... good thinng i waited...

i m not in lanquin it´s beatiful here. i am going to head to the caves and the waterfalls tomorrow if it looks a bit more sunny.

i have a ton more to write but at least now you are all updated!!

oh and rotten coffee. in san pedro there was this coffee processing area and it smelled like rotten coffee at first i thought it was repulisive then after a few days i began to really enjoy it!

yuuuuum...

oh the things we take with us!

hasta luego