1. The cobblestoned streets, reminiscent of old Europe
2. The beautifully maintained parque central
3. The old, ruined cathedrals--seemingly around every corner
3. The street bands
4. The fine restaurants
5. The tourist crowds, local and foreign
6. The polite, friendly locals
7. The swarms of American college kids who come here for the highly regarded Spanish schools
8. The highly regarded Spanish schools
9. The considerable norteamericano expatriate community
10. The almost perfect climate--no fans or AC needed!
11. The beautiful surrounding mountains and volcanos
12. The bookstores
13. The cafes and bars
14. The delicatessens and bakeries
15. The fast food joints for that burger or pizza fix
16. The highly developed tourist infrastructure
17. The tightly controlled vehicle traffic
18. The tightly controlled, unobtrusive commercial signage
19. The excellent supermarkets
20. The close proximity to the nation's capital and airport
Showing posts with label Mayan ruins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mayan ruins. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Summing it up in Antigua (Day 51)
Having just passed seven weeks on the road in Central America and now having only two days left in Guatemala before I return home this Thursday, I find myself cooling my heels in Antigua--I've run a bit over budget this week--and mentally summing up my journey.
My trip was successful in many ways. First, and most importantly, I allowed myself enough time to get truly immersed in the local culture. Though my original, vague goal of reaching beautiful Merida, Venezuela via Costa Rica and Panama was probably unrealistic given my penchant for taking things slowly and my unwillingness to spend more than four hours in a bus on any given day, I did achieve an important secondary goal of visiting several new places--notably Leon (Nicaragua), Perquin (El Salvador), Chichicastenango (Guatemala), and the beautiful countryside of the Ruta de Lenca in western Honduras (Los Cipreses, Marcala, La Esperanza, Gracias, and Santa Rosa de Copan). Also new for me were my brief stops on the Pacific coasts of both El Salvador and Nicaragua.
It was very important for me to give this trip a lot of time. My initial trips here in 2008 and 2009 were too brief--and too rushed--for me to do much more than take a quick glance at a region I'd found I liked at least as much as Southeast Asia--if not more so. One of the joys of traveling in Central America is the geographical fact that all these countries are very small, so the backpacking tourist can cover quite a lot of ground in relatively little time. Despite their size, however, these countries together boast an incredible diversity of peoples, languages, food, climates, and geographical features such as mountains, volcanos, cowboy countryside, beaches, two very different sea or ocean coasts, and numerous lakes--from the huge Lake Nicaragua to the large Lake Atitlan in Guatemala--and numerous smaller lakes and rivers between.
Secondly, once I'd postponed the Costa Rica leg of my journey, that opened up the possibility for revisits of Copan Ruinas (Honduras) and Antigua (Guatemala) this past week. Despite the fact that they were second time visits for me, they definitely remain highlights of this trip since I was able to capture hundreds of images of these beautiful places on my "photography mission."
My photography mission itself was a third important goal for me. I was able to take the time I needed to seek out and note photo subjects, mostly of city/town/village buildings and streets, and return later to take photos as unobtrusively as possible. There were three main reasons for this approach.
First, up until this time I had almost no experience taking hundreds of digital photos, so I considered this to be a learning experience for me. Early in my trip I didn't take very many photos at all, preferring instead to get the lie of the land. Later, after I'd become more sure of myself, I began to shoot much more, but with a strong emphasis on experimentation with light, shadow, composition, and subject. My aim here was to try to improve my skills shooting pictures with the modern equivilent of the old "instamatic".
Second, I didn't want to make myself a target for beggars and hustlers, or worse, thieves and muggers, by walking all over the place with a camera around my neck. Whenever I did shoot photos, usually I kept the camera in my shirt pocket or in my daybag until I found a likely subject.
Third, when it comes to photographing people, it pays to be discreet, especially in this region. Guatemalans in particular (but this goes for people all over the world) don't appreciate foreigners taking photos of them without permission. Consequently, I was very careful not to be too aggressive with the lens. Since I had almost no experience shooting candid photos of people, I was particularly careful to tread that path cautiously. I have probably improved a little bit in this area. But readers will notice that--once I get my photos posted--there aren't very many good photos of people apart from some typical street scenes.
Another important goal I achieved with this trip was the establishment of a credible travel blog which I can continue to build in the months and years to come. Committing myself to writing something almost daily was important in that it kept me on my toes, forcing me to wander--not aimlessly as I might have done two decades ago--but with some specific destinations in mind, always remembering that I had to be loyal to a readership (no matter how modest). This helped me to focus everyday on seeing things with a writer's eye. Everyday became a different story for me, and the challenge was to try to improve at creating a daily story that would be compelling to the general reader. I'm not sure how well I succeeded in that, but I think I've definitely made a good start.
My trip was successful in many ways. First, and most importantly, I allowed myself enough time to get truly immersed in the local culture. Though my original, vague goal of reaching beautiful Merida, Venezuela via Costa Rica and Panama was probably unrealistic given my penchant for taking things slowly and my unwillingness to spend more than four hours in a bus on any given day, I did achieve an important secondary goal of visiting several new places--notably Leon (Nicaragua), Perquin (El Salvador), Chichicastenango (Guatemala), and the beautiful countryside of the Ruta de Lenca in western Honduras (Los Cipreses, Marcala, La Esperanza, Gracias, and Santa Rosa de Copan). Also new for me were my brief stops on the Pacific coasts of both El Salvador and Nicaragua.
It was very important for me to give this trip a lot of time. My initial trips here in 2008 and 2009 were too brief--and too rushed--for me to do much more than take a quick glance at a region I'd found I liked at least as much as Southeast Asia--if not more so. One of the joys of traveling in Central America is the geographical fact that all these countries are very small, so the backpacking tourist can cover quite a lot of ground in relatively little time. Despite their size, however, these countries together boast an incredible diversity of peoples, languages, food, climates, and geographical features such as mountains, volcanos, cowboy countryside, beaches, two very different sea or ocean coasts, and numerous lakes--from the huge Lake Nicaragua to the large Lake Atitlan in Guatemala--and numerous smaller lakes and rivers between.
Secondly, once I'd postponed the Costa Rica leg of my journey, that opened up the possibility for revisits of Copan Ruinas (Honduras) and Antigua (Guatemala) this past week. Despite the fact that they were second time visits for me, they definitely remain highlights of this trip since I was able to capture hundreds of images of these beautiful places on my "photography mission."
My photography mission itself was a third important goal for me. I was able to take the time I needed to seek out and note photo subjects, mostly of city/town/village buildings and streets, and return later to take photos as unobtrusively as possible. There were three main reasons for this approach.
First, up until this time I had almost no experience taking hundreds of digital photos, so I considered this to be a learning experience for me. Early in my trip I didn't take very many photos at all, preferring instead to get the lie of the land. Later, after I'd become more sure of myself, I began to shoot much more, but with a strong emphasis on experimentation with light, shadow, composition, and subject. My aim here was to try to improve my skills shooting pictures with the modern equivilent of the old "instamatic".
Second, I didn't want to make myself a target for beggars and hustlers, or worse, thieves and muggers, by walking all over the place with a camera around my neck. Whenever I did shoot photos, usually I kept the camera in my shirt pocket or in my daybag until I found a likely subject.
Third, when it comes to photographing people, it pays to be discreet, especially in this region. Guatemalans in particular (but this goes for people all over the world) don't appreciate foreigners taking photos of them without permission. Consequently, I was very careful not to be too aggressive with the lens. Since I had almost no experience shooting candid photos of people, I was particularly careful to tread that path cautiously. I have probably improved a little bit in this area. But readers will notice that--once I get my photos posted--there aren't very many good photos of people apart from some typical street scenes.
Another important goal I achieved with this trip was the establishment of a credible travel blog which I can continue to build in the months and years to come. Committing myself to writing something almost daily was important in that it kept me on my toes, forcing me to wander--not aimlessly as I might have done two decades ago--but with some specific destinations in mind, always remembering that I had to be loyal to a readership (no matter how modest). This helped me to focus everyday on seeing things with a writer's eye. Everyday became a different story for me, and the challenge was to try to improve at creating a daily story that would be compelling to the general reader. I'm not sure how well I succeeded in that, but I think I've definitely made a good start.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Projected Itinerary Beyond Perquin
Following Perquin I may re-enter Honduras and travel by back roads to re-visit the Mayan ruins at Copan. This is worth another look for me because this time I will be able to take photos, unlike when I made the journey there in August 2008. Alternatively, I can reach Copan by traveling to the El Salvador/Guatemala border near Esquipulas then cross to Honduras from there.
At that point I anticipate traveling by microbus from Copan to La Antigua de Guatemala, a six hour trip which is the reverse of the one I did in 2008. From Antigua I can make connections to Chichicastenango and other towns further northwest.
That will pretty much wrap things up for me for this round of Central American travel. As of today I have just over three weeks to catch my flight back to the U.S.
At that point I anticipate traveling by microbus from Copan to La Antigua de Guatemala, a six hour trip which is the reverse of the one I did in 2008. From Antigua I can make connections to Chichicastenango and other towns further northwest.
That will pretty much wrap things up for me for this round of Central American travel. As of today I have just over three weeks to catch my flight back to the U.S.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Sat May 29 (Day 6) & the Rains
When it rains it pours! And it`s really coming down today. I took advantage of a brief lull & grabbed a bus into town so I could check the ATMs again. I still can`t get cash from my account, though I`m still able to use the card for debit/credit. This is very inconvenient long term because I have only a limited amount of cash dollars which are a hassle to change and which I need to preserve for emergencies. I can last a few days but I hope I don´t have to call the bank.
The rain is so relentless today that I really didn`t feel like dealing with any travel at all, but I took advantage of the time to research the next leg or two. One option, which I`ve just about rejected, is to make my way to Guatemala`s nearby Pacific coast. The town of Monterrico in the coastal preserve Biotopo Monterrico-Hawaii looks kind of interesting for the turtle sanctuary but the hatching season doesn`t start til June. Meanwhile the guidebooks tell me that Guatemala`s Pacific beach towns are either run down or sleazy (or both). Much more interesting would be the stretch of beach towns just west of La Libertad in El Salvador. Apparently this little corner of Central America has some of the best surfing in the world--and lessons for $10!
Tomorrow, rain or shine, I think I`ll make straight for the El Salvador border and then to Ahuachapan, a pleasant colonial city I visited in 2008. This town is close to a couple Mayan ruins sites & some little-touristed mountain villages in El Salvador`s western coffee plantation region. From there I can visit the beaches then proceed to the capital San Salvador & points beyond.
The rain is so relentless today that I really didn`t feel like dealing with any travel at all, but I took advantage of the time to research the next leg or two. One option, which I`ve just about rejected, is to make my way to Guatemala`s nearby Pacific coast. The town of Monterrico in the coastal preserve Biotopo Monterrico-Hawaii looks kind of interesting for the turtle sanctuary but the hatching season doesn`t start til June. Meanwhile the guidebooks tell me that Guatemala`s Pacific beach towns are either run down or sleazy (or both). Much more interesting would be the stretch of beach towns just west of La Libertad in El Salvador. Apparently this little corner of Central America has some of the best surfing in the world--and lessons for $10!
Tomorrow, rain or shine, I think I`ll make straight for the El Salvador border and then to Ahuachapan, a pleasant colonial city I visited in 2008. This town is close to a couple Mayan ruins sites & some little-touristed mountain villages in El Salvador`s western coffee plantation region. From there I can visit the beaches then proceed to the capital San Salvador & points beyond.
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