My wonderful Boston...

Let’s get lost on the Rio Dulce…

After Livingston, why should we go back to civilization? Why not enjoy the amazing landscapes, and the wildness of this river? Here, I feel like the time has stopped to let me find the rest that I need so much… Today, I feel like showing you the beauty of nature, life out of the civilization, but I will also show you a great surprise that I had: we found a school in the middle of the jungle, a school that teaches students the ancient Mayan way of life and dances.

3 days road trip around Guatemala – 2nd part!

After another 4 hours driving and 20 minutes being sent against the person next to me in a small but very fast motor boat… we finally arrive in Livingston!

Livingston is a small city that you can access it only by boat, and once you reach this remote city, you immediately notice its African roots. This Guatemalan Rasta city has found its own balance between the cultures of Jamaica and Guatemala. It has a Caribbean charm that you immediately notice. White sand, blue sea, music in the streets…

There is something else that is different in this part of Guatemala… I don’t understand when people talk… no, this Caribbean atmosphere did not make me forget my Spanish. In Livingston, people speak Garifunda, a language that I have never heard before. They say that it is a mix of French, Italian and Spanish… the fact is that I don’t understand a single word! Luckily, they also speak Spanish…

Of course, English is not an option…

Everything is so different, everybody is so relaxed… don’t you want to be just like them? I definitely do! Time for me to look more like a local… Let’s do a before/after for this!

Before…

When the transformation starts…

After!

Transformation … succeeded! Let’s have some rest because tomorrow is Day 2, and we have many other adventures waiting for us!

Petite pensée spéciale pour Lise... quand j'ai vu ça j'ai pas su résister!

3 days road trip around Guatemala - First part

Do you think I had enough adventure for a week of vacation? Are you kidding me?
Today, I want to show you Quirigua, the first stop of my 3-day trip around Guatemala. We left Antigua at 5am with Eugenio, our (really cute) driver, because they don't write any direction in Guatemala, so if you don't want to be lost, you need a local!

Quirigua is the best place to see Mayan steles and sculptures from the 8th century. If you want to see sculptures so well preserved, you have to go to Honduras to Copan.

It's gonna be HOT!

Hey people, stop walking and have a break to enjoy this amazing landscape! We are climbing an active volcano, there is this amazing view of Antigua, and this lake, and everything is so beautiful…

Welcome on the Pacaya volcano! One of the best places to go hiking! Amazing landscapes, fresh air, and it is so exciting to know that the volcano is still active!!

Anyway, at the beginning, I did not really believe that we would see lava. I thought that it was a tourist trap and I was there mostly because hiking is fun and because I wanted some fresh air! It is one of the reasons why we go on vacation, isn’t it?

The first part of the path was the kind of vegetation you expect on a mountain, it was green everywhere! Exactly what I needed! It is a perfect second day of vacation! You cannot feel more on vacation than lost in the middle of nature…

After a while, we saw a change in the landscape. When we could see the villages and the other volcanoes, we also saw a grey thing in the middle of the green trees and corns… OMG, it is an eruption that happened 10 months ago! That is sooo cool! (to see it, I don’t speak about the people who probably lost everything because of it…)

Second kind of vegetation… no vegetation but small pieces of ground lava… Funny, really original, but it goes really easily in your shoes! ; )

It looks like you’re on the moon. There is nothing! I love it! (of course, it is harder to walk on it and we were beginning to be tired, so I think many of us, including me, hated it at this moment.)
Last but not least, the top of the volcano! With hard lava everywhere! I looked like a chaotic landscape. I’ve never seen something like that! The only problem is when the lava just breaks under your feet.

At the beginning, it is funny, you don’t think it can be any dangerous, until you see a small crack that shows far under where you are and… OMG, this is red under all that stuff!! At this moment, you start to freak out and be careful when you walk. You just follow the guide and you try to follow her exact steps… And if it was not a tourist thing? If there is real red lava that you can really go close to? And then, you hear somebody who sounds really excited and surprised, you look up and WHAT THE HELL IS THAT??? It is really hotter here… you can feel hot air coming from the ground! And… NO WAY!!! There is a hole in this block of hard lava and there is a lava flow in it!!! And you can go as close to it as you want (or as close as you can support because it is HOT) That is wicked cool! It is too hot, but you just can’t help it, you want to go closer, you want to touch it with something! Does somebody have a wooden stick or something? :P

This is so great! And the best things is that it is not the biggest surprise this volcano has for you! Some people just pass by this lava flow and go further… what is wrong with these people? This is one of the most impressive thing I have ever seen!

Ok, something is happening over there… what can be more interesting than lava flow? A bigger lava flow! This one is not a hole in a lava block; it is a real huge lava flow! 2 meters large, and I have no idea how long… so hot that we couldn’t stay more than a few minutes looking at it, and you feel that your shoes are getting hot. The air, which was has been smelling like sulfur for the past 30 minutes also smells like rubber and melting shoes… one of the men in my group almost had to go down the volcano with one shoe because the other one melted. Luckily, he could kind of fix it by attaching the sole with a girl’s headband (it sounds funny, but I swear it’s not!)

Anyway, it was a great experience! And I still can’t believe I saw that! The thing that surprised me the most was that there was no security measure. You could go as close to the lava as you wanted to. That is something you would never see in France/developed countries.

In a few words, it was exhausting, and maybe also dangerous. I advise you to do it though! IT IS SO EXCITING!!! It’s wicked cool!!

Bienvenidos a Antigua Guatemala!

It is where I stayed in Guatemala. It is an old colonial city next to a volcano which is still active. The city has been destroyed so many times by earthquakes or eruptions that most of the places you can visit are ruins and most of the descriptions say : this is an old church which has been destroyed first by the earthquake that happened in 1713, and then by another one in 1773… ;-)

The best spot to feel like a local is the central place! There are always many people, and you can choose to act like a tourist and look at the monuments, buy souvenirs and things like that, or act like a local and eat or buy old books at the small shops in the street.

Another great thing about Antigua is that there are many small markets. Some are organized and all the stuff that people sell are installed on table on the first floor of a building but in many cases, you see just women in traditional clothes selling things in the street!

At least, there are the churches and ruins that you can visit. It is so quiet and peaceful when you go there that you would like to sit on the fountain or anywhere and stay there all day!

And of course, wherever you are, you can see the volcano. It is so beautiful that you would never believe that it actually destroyed the city so many times…

How do you find it? Isn’t it beautiful and amazing? When you see this lovely city, so quiet, so exotic and so close to the nature, don’t you want to forget our busy cities and lose yourself in the jungle? What about climbing this volcano, so peaceful in when you see it but so dangerous? People in the city told me that you can see red lava on the top… You know me, when there are at the same time amazing landscapes, and a little bit of danger, I can’t resist! See you at the top of the volcano!