"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report #130 Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala May 9, 2016 Monday Partly cloudy & 94 degrees Part #1 of 2 86 Pictures

Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2016 12:32:19 PM
Subject: Report #130 Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala May 9, 2016 Monday Partly cloudy & 94 degrees Part #1 of 2 86 Pictures

The strangest thing happened at 4am today. Who in their right mind would be waking up that early? Well one of us did, and looked out the window, where the drapes were left opened. There were hundreds of small white birds flying in all directions everywhere we could see. The lights on the lower promenade deck must have attracted them. Such an odd sight, we thought we were dreaming. Will have to ask if anyone in the bridge saw them too. Pretty hard to miss.

The good news today was that the temperatures were not going to reach 94 degrees. The bad news was that the overcast was heavy, humid, and suspiciously smoggy-looking. And it never did lift enough to see the sun clearly.

The capital of Guatemala is Guatemala City. The total area is 42,035 square miles with a Spanish-speaking population of 13,276,517 people. Speaking 20 separate languages, Mayans make up 60% of the population, making Guatemala Central America's most indigenous nation.

Unfortunately, the modern political situation of Guatemala has been one of corruption, violence, and injustice. Yet despite this, the local citizens remain mostly open and accessible to visitors. There are world-class markets with diverse landscapes and huge coffee estates. Rumbling volcanoes, colonial towns, and Mayan ruins are there to discover.

The best time to visit is November through May, which is the dry season.

Things to see are lost temples in the jungle canopy at Tikal, the country's most famous Mayan ruins. The only way to get there in one day is to fly, which is what our host Tom M did a few years ago. He did not take into consideration that it could rain up that high, and he would be walking in ankle-deep mud in his better dress shoes. He always wears dress shoes, but they were NOT when he came back to the ship. Live and learn we say, although he did say the tour was terrific.

Antigua is the chic city with Spanish-era convents, ruins, and sushi bars. A visit here would give you the chance to see the Cathedral of Santiago, built in 1542, the Church and Convent of Our Lady of Mercy, Parque Central, the Church and Convent of Santo Domingo, also 1542. It is the largest and richest monastery in Antigua. Many of the restored colonial buildings are now hotels, cafes, shops, and art galleries. Although much of the old city was destroyed in a series of earthquakes back in 1773, much of it has been restored. Now the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Several years ago we drove through the colonial city after touring at the coffee estate, but all of the sites were closed for the day. All we saw was a huge craft market, of course. They are always opened.

Seeing a sunrise from Volcan Tajumulco, the highest point in Central America must be a thrill. Riding the rugged roads to highland coffee plantations is also a good bet.

Things to do are bargain for Mayan textiles (woven fabric) at the Chichicastenango market. Or you can boat on the Rio Dulce. How about study Spanish in an Antiguan school, or soak in cool emerald pools at Semuc Champey. Surf at Sipacate, the undiscovered surf capital.

Looking for local cuisine? Try a hearty Chapin breakfast of eggs, corn tortillas, beans, fried plantains, an coffee. Drink velvety hot chocolate with Zacapa rum. And lots of coffee, of course.

Trademarks are old Mayan gods and ruins, wild masks, and bright, beautiful textiles. Also front and foremost are brooding volcanoes, rainforests, corn fields, Mayan trouble dolls and ornate iron crucifixes.

Random fact: The Mayans thought the night sky was the theater of all supernatural doings. Seasonal movement of constellations was a narrative from the gods. Who knows? Maybe they were right………..

So, our port of call today was Puerto Quetzal, strictly a jumping off point for tours to Antigua, the Mayan ruins, and coffee and banana plantations. The drive to Antigua, 4500 feet above sea level, was 90 minutes one way, and there were four lunch tours offered today. The longest duration was 9 hours, with the shortest 5 hours. Mayan cosmology and ruins was $120, best of Antigua was $140, past and present colonial Antigua was $100, and finally a coffee estate and Antigua was $110. This was an excursion we did the first time we stopped in Guatemala, and it was really a nice day. A long ride, but a great lunch and tour of the coffee plantation.

The rest of the excursions were a country drive and coffee plantation for $90, panoramic Antigua for $70, and lastly Antigua on your own for $60. These were all about 5 ½ hours.

We decided to stick around the shops of the Pez Vela Terminal, where there is a welcoming palapa, which leads into a couple of acres of park and souvenir stalls. There are three restaurants, one of which faces the small boat harbor. As far as souvenirs go, this is a shopper's paradise. Many of the beaded jewelry creations are unique to here. There are no two pieces that are identical. Over the years, we have collected an assortment of these creations. And today was no exception, as much as we say we probably won't buy anything. A different type of necklace seemed to be popular with several vendors. And these locals were quite willing to bargain. We seem to remember that we are here towards the end of the tourist season, so everyone is discounting deeply just to move their inventory.

The colors of their purses, bags, table runners, placemats, and quilts are vibrant. Many of the ladies were having a swell time shopping for household items as well as the typical t-shirts, hats, and blouses and skirts. They are hard to resist when the prices are so good. That's what happened when one of us saw two wooden giraffes that just happened to match a much larger one we bought here two years ago. They are not exactly the typical giraffe you might find in Africa, but more of a whimsically –painted animal. The good thing is that they come apart for easy packing. So they have a new home now as they are decorating our windowsill along with the remainder of the potted plants.

Our final purchase was a woven water bottle holder with a strap for a mere $5. Will be convenient for our walks at home, and a reminder of the good time we had on this trip.

At the nicest of the restaurants, we went to Pez Vela and shared a delicious serving of a chicken and beef cheese nachos. The local beer, Gallo, was perfect…..cold and wet. It was nowhere near as hot as yesterday, but the humidity was still making us uncomfortable and warm. The only dessert offering on the menu was cheesecake, so we tried it. What a nice surprise, when the waitress brought it split on two plates. The best thing was how good it was…….close to the cheesecake I make at home. Better than what we have tasted on the ship.

After lingering for an hour at the restaurant with a view, we walked the little harborfront, watching for iguanas……large and small. There is a boulder-lined harbor here, where the lizards like to alternately hide and sun themselves. While we were snapping a few photos, one of the diners tossed out some small pieces of bread to the iguanas. They came running like little dogs to snatch up the snacks. Thought they ate insects and frogs, but not bread. Now we know they will eat practically anything. We did get some good pictures, even if they are not the most handsome of creatures. They have such a prehistoric look about them. And do you know in Ecuador, they eat them? Tastes like chicken we heard………We will never know.

There wasn't much more we could do here, and we would never attempt to leave the area, since we had been warned it was not the safest place to be off on your own. So we went back to the ship, watched a movie, while working on the computer. One of us continued the packing, stashing clothes, shoes, and purses in space bags, and left-over toiletries in smaller ziplocks. When the stack got high enough, the master packer (not me) distributed them among the six suitcases and duffels. It's not so bad when you do a little every day.

We took a walk outside to deck nine to get the last of the sunset, which really was non-existent tonight. The smoky haze totally hid the sun going down. Everyone we know has been complaining about the pollution in the air for the last three days. Today was the worst as far as the smog goes. No matter how much breeze came from the ocean, the air never cleared up.

All aboard was 7:30pm, and apparently everyone made it back today, as there were no announcements for missing people. Speaking of that, we have not heard if the two missing passengers were ever found yesterday. Will have to do some investigating tomorrow. The Amsterdam left the pier around 8pm, and we were soon sailing towards Mexico and Puerto Chiapas, where we will dock tomorrow.

Dinner was good with a tomato/zucchini cream soup, one entrée of oxtail stew and another of the vegetarian stuffed manicotti. Both were very tasty, although could have been hotter. We are enjoying our last final days with dessert, which will cease once we get home. It is going to be a hard habit to kick.

Tonight the entertainment was a ventriloquist show featuring Dan Horn. His claim to fame is that he has been on the Late Show with David Letterman. His show is always a hoot as are his dummies. Too bad the clocks had to go forward one hour tonight. Now it is almost 1am, and definitely time to end this report. Don't like the clocks going forward…………..

Bill & Mary Ann

Here comes the tug in Puerto Quetzal