Jungle City

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Teresa

The Belize to Guatemala border crossing was pretty uneventful. We had a detailed account of the crossing from another traveller’s blog which did not lead us astray. I kept a close eye on the parental unit, trying to decipher what was going through their minds.

We found the hotel, Hotel La Mansion Del Pajaro Serpiente, in El Remate with relative ease. Although the term ‘rustic’ kept being thrown around by mom, it was a beautiful spot with a great view over Lago Peten Itza. Mom was happily snapping photos of the local flora and fauna, so I was happy. We ate at the hotel that night. A local woman prepared some delicious Guatemala food for us. The favorites were definitely the soup and fresh fried tortillas (similar to nachos).

Tikal was stunning. Although there are many Mayan ruins peppered through a handful of countries, Tikal stands on its own because it is 1. massive and 2. in the middle of a dense jungle. The wildlife is as much of an appeal as the ruins. We picked up a local guide at the park entrance who showed us around the massive site all morning. Highlights included the views from the top of the pyramids and the local monkey population. Words cannot express how haunting the howler monkeys sound. We lost our video of the monkey due to some phone issues, but here’s a taste. We finished the day up with some cervezas overlooking the lake.

Next stop would take us way off the beaten track to Semuc Champey.

The Battens are coming, the Battens are coming

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Teresa

I had known for a long time that the parental unit wanted to visit us on our journey. They knew when they could visit which helped us focus in on Belize & Guatemala. I was a little over exuberant in suggesting that we drive through Guatemala together. Soon after they purchased the plan tickets, I started experiencing waves of anxiety. No turning back … – what the f%$k had I done. I was thinking about the border crossing into Guatemala, the bad roads, the long distances, and the simple (I’m being very kind) accommodations.

I planned for 4 dramatically different stops. The first of which was Ambergris Caye, Belize for a little fun in the sun before driving into Guatemala.

They flew into Belize City, and then hopped on the Tropic Air taxi to Ambergris Caye. We picked them up at the San Pedro airport with cold beer and a golf cart (basically the only form of motorized transport on Ambergris Caye). We were off to a good start.

The parents landed in Ambergris Caye in time for carnival. The main attraction seemed to be painting each other with colorful water paint. The local businesses had prepared for this by covering everything with garbage bags. I absolutely had nightmares of mom getting tagged with colorful handprints. The kids were respectful though and gave us a fairly wide birth. Phew.

On the first evening, G and I introduced them to ceviche (I love, love, love ceviche). The following morning, I took mom for a massage to loosen her up for what was to come. We then took out a small hobie cat. George was a champ with 3 deadweight passengers. We walked the hobie cat out through the sea grass and muck to clear the peers. After a few false starts we finally got on our way. We lucked out with great wind, so we were flying along pretty well.

On a recommendation from Catherine and Dan after their wonderings in Ambergris Caye, we went to get lobster burritos. Also delicious. Some locals (some women, some men in drag), were making there way down the street performing for donations which was lively entertainment for dinner.

The next day we planned a snorkel trip to Ho Chan and Shark Ray Alley, but decided not to share where we would be snorkeling with mom and dad. Ho Chan was unfortunately a little disappointing because of the strong current and hordes of tourists. As we headed to Shark Ray, the parents didn’t realize there was still another stop. Shark Ray did not disappoint. There were tens of sharks and many more rays. I have to admit, I didn’t man up and jump in until dad took the plunge. George, being George, was the first one in. We finished up the day with another great dinner.

The following day, we would be packing up, taking a water taxi to Belize City to grab the truck, and driving across the Guatemalan border to Tikal. I could not relax…all that was on my mind was the truck being taken by armed banditos (…no matter how irrational the thought).

To the Yucatan

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Teresa

Do you remember one of your teachers asking you what the best day of your life was in third grade? Well, when asked, I answered that it was the day L.Batt. came into the world. There have been many amazing days since, but it often crosses my mind how boring our family would be without the youngest daughter. It should also be known that I love (LOVE) surprising people (and hate to be surprised).

So I had my mind set on surprising Lynds in Cancun. I let her know that it was too far out of the way and then cut off contact a week before she was set to arrive in Cancun. George and I literally drove two weeks straight of 7+ hour days across Mexico to get to Cancun. In all honesty, my contribution to that was small. G was a trooper. The first road we had to take out of Oaxaca was over a mountain pass in Mexico. Did you know that the Mexican interior is all mountains? Anyways, it took us 6 hours to drive the mountain pass. We calculated about 21 turns a mile. If you put your hands in front of you like you’re grasping a wheel and move them from side to side at a reasonable pace, you’ve grasped the ab workout we endured. We were both car sick.

It took us 3 days to drive from Oaxaca to Cancun. I was bubbling over with excitement. G had managed to find a campground right beside the five star resort Lynds was staying at. When we pulled in, I was frantically emailing Brian who I was colluding with to organize the surprise. Meanwhile, G walked out to the beach. The resort was preparing for a wedding. I wasn’t sure if it was ‘the wedding’ Lynds was attending until I heard country music. This was definitely a Mitchell (small town – south western Ontario) wedding. G was in the shower when the wedding was wrapping up. I told him I was going to make my move if they started leaving. Thankfully, he made it out to the beach in time because he would have been pissed if I went in without him.

We spotted Brian who directed us at the wedding party. They had just finished up a toast. I was a little apprehensive to disrupt the festivities, but with Brian’s prodding, I got in there. Lyndsay turned around and started sobbing (awesome).

We spent a few days catching up with them (which I’m immensely grateful for) and partying at the resort. Thanks to happy newlyweds (Maureen and Trevor) for putting up with us.

PS. (placeholder for cursing). Our food container, tent and basically everything we own was invaded by thousands of tiny ants. We used a garbage bag to build a moat in the sand around the ladder. This was successful until the ladder punctured the plastic and the water drained out. What a well-adapted species. We hosed down the tent, drove hundreds of miles, and those damn things were still climbing out of everywhere when we popped the tent in Belize.

“…just follow the plan…”

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Teresa

Several years ago, we were on the coast in Oaxaca state for Nat and August’s wedding. Amazing. So, in my mind, Oaxaca City was a must see as we drove through Mexico. Nat and August spent a bunch of time there, so we picked their brains while crashing at their pad in SF before xmas. From what August told us, I gathered that food in Oaxaca is should be the biggest tourist attraction. August also sent us a 3-step plan to epicurean delights in Oaxaca.

We had stayed at mostly some sketchy places on the way down to Oaxaca, so I wanted a place in the city with a few more comforts. We ended up getting a nice little hotel room. I was pacified. As a side note, with a piping hot high pressure shower, good bed, and blazing fast internet, I can live just about anywhere doing just about anything.

As mentioned, I was determined to stick to the plan. We were exhausted the first night in Oaxaca after days and days of driving, so we picked a full restaurant on the central park for dinner. In my mind, basically any food item + guacamole = bliss. I saw chapulines + guacamole on the menu. Awesome… = bliss. However, I hadn’t tried yet “chile relleno con queso”, so I opted for that. When we got home, I looked up chapulines. Apparently a delicacy in Oaxaca (cool), toasted grasshoppers (not cool). Disaster averted. The chile relleno was delicious by the way. The queso was flavored perfectly with fresh herbs and it was served in the rojo mole (one of 7 moles that Oaxaca is also known for). George did not have such luck. He got chicken in green mole (another of the 7 moles). The mole was sweet, and we believe in separation of church and state (sweet and savory).

The next morning, we headed for one of the places on August’s list. After hunting it down in the market, we found the mandated eating establishment. We ordered chilaquiles verdes con huevo. This time, the green mole was sour. I emailed August and Natalie and enquired what the heck green mole was supposed to taste like. Nat told me to stick to the plan – it was implied that we were eating less than awesome food because we had veered of course.

Needless to say, we did stick to the plan. The food was awesome, but with little Spanish, I was struggling to eat vegetarian while staying true to August. That evening, we took advantage to the thriving night life in Oaxaca. We tagged along with a parade around the city. A school had planned a concert that began with hundreds of students following a band around the streets of central Oaxaca. It was quite a fiesta when you added in some dancing, tequila, and two giant nurses. We classed it up with a bottle of rum and some coke. I thought that we had again lucked out with our timing. As it turns out, there were 3 more processions (2 weddings and one of just bicyclists).

The following day, we checked out Monte Alban before continuing the journey to the Yucatan and L. Batt + Bud.