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Errr, October 13th? So first its two weeks, then four and now, well who would ever have predicted this, eh? Perhaps its time to start thinking about making lots of New Year’s resolutions I’ve no intention of ever keeping.
Volcanoes volcanoes volcanoezzzzz...
Graham Perkins2006-08-21 13:18:22
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Errr, October 13th? So first its two weeks, then four and now, well who would ever have predicted this, eh? Perhaps its time to start thinking about making lots of New Year’s resolutions I’ve no intention of ever keeping.
I managed to leave my diary somewhere in Antigua so I've given up on that one. Means I can hardly remember what I've been up to though so I'd best start making things up.... NOW!
So after all of Mexico - or at least the 3% or so that I must have seen - I had to take a boat and a couple of buses to make my way into Guatemala. Here's a beautiful but poor country with an unimaginably turbulent past, culminating in some 36 years of civil war (which only ended with 1996’s peace accords) by which time around 200,000 people had been killed ands more than five times that many left homeless.
Much of the north of the country is covered by dense jungle while to the west the highlands hold thirty volcanoes rising up to 14,000 feet, many of which are amongst the most active in the world. Mind you, that’s what happens if you
San Maricos, Lago de Atitlán after Stan. Full Image
So much of this town was destroyed, from the houses to the shops to the sports field. Terrible, and it'll be a long time in the reconstruction, too.go and build a country where three fat, techtonic plates meet.
My first stop here was Flores an overpriced dull island of a town in a lake with little to offer apart from tours to the many ancient ruins in the jungles, of which Tikal is faraway the most awesome and famous.
I joined a few girls on a three day jungle trek to Tikal which was cool. We saw lots of deadly snakes, a batcave emptying one evening, lots of interesting plants and lquite a few howler monkeys. The hike was nothing like it used to be in Boy Scouts, rah! (“Hello, it bob-a-job week, Sir. Perhaps I can clean your toilet with my own toothbrush for your small change, dyb dyb
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See photographs from:
Aruba Gallery
,
Guatemala Gallery
