So its been epic. i hardly know where to start.
I arrived in Flores, after much disgust on being charged horrendously coming through Belize, a part of our commonwealth apparently but still up for ripping me right off for getting a bus through. Wish i had known. Anyway it did look a little nice. Oh and nearly forgot to tell about my wait for the bus,ha, i arrived in Chetumal about 7pm, hoping to get a connecting bus straight to Flores, however the next bus was at 6 the next morning.
So after a really kind Argentinian guy drove me around town and then back to the bus station to find the cheapest accommodation, i found myself staying at the same place as the bus driver, the owner was sat outside with this big black dude from Belize, i sat down to chat with them as my room was less than attractive. The owner quickly cycled off to buy me a coffee and something to eat. Meanwhile this dude, 'Cafe' his name actually was, proceeded to tell me how he was looking for an English girlfriend, hmm i knew where this was going. He told me of his big family, about 6 kids with like 4 different mothers, in several different countries. He was looking to spread his self to Europe. He then told me of his multi million dollar business' and how he did not know how to spend his money. I politely listened and smiled, secretly hoping the owner would hurry up and return so we could change the subject, he took ages. Cafe insisted on buying me a drink, he wanted to take me for dinner but i said i would settle for him buying me a bottle of wine from the corner shop. He went into a massive debate on how much he liked me and how i could have anything i wanted if i were his girlfriend, money, travel, property etc. some of the things he said are unrepeatable. I tried to explain how gross Caribbean men and there obsession with women and how shallow they were, but it didn't sink in. The owner returned and then a one armed midget turned up, blind drunk with a boom box around his neck and a tip pot in his hand. He was obviously friends with the owner, he then fell over and proceeded to go to sleep in the corner of the doorway. I was due to get up at 5am in order to catch the bus and get a discount from the owners recommendation. however i slept through my alarm calls and woke with the owner at my bedroom door at 7am, he rushed me over to the bus on his bike and put me on the bus. So i was glad to leave Chetumal, that night was really uncomfortable, i had got the most mozzy bites that i had received all my trip adn it was hot and sweaty and surrounded by weird guys staying in the same place. I was charged 250pesos to leave Mexico and then a further 15 dollars to leave Belize on the same day. Lucky some Isrealies lent me the money cause otherwise i would have been stuck there at the border for goodnessknows how long. They tried to charge a further 10Q to enter Guatemala but we all flatly refused and that was fine.
Arrived in Flores, a small island town on la lago de flores. i went to Tikal the next morning, the big mayan ruins there, we left at 4 in the morning, YAWN!. we picked out some people and i saw a guy about my age get on who gave me a smile, we were friends already. we got off the bus and brought a map, i convinced Sean-T to stay on the guided tour and we could have our own adventure after. It was epic, miles and miles of temples, animals, birds and amazing stories and people. then about 4-5 hours later we headed off on our own to find some undiscovered ruins in our minds. It was great. we got the collectivo back and headed straight to the dock to jump in the Lake, he told me of this 'moon course' on lake atilan and i knew i had to go. He left to be on time and i stayed with some friend i had met at Los Amigos, excellent hostel with the best brownies! i left a couple of days later after spending some lush time with some lush people. I also found out i failed my final project at uni which was a major blow. Me and this Scottish dude boarded the coach at 8pm, having smoked a couple of biffs, popped a vali and then proceeded to drink a load of rum. boy that journey went by in a wink of an eye. so arrived in Panajchel about lunch time the following day feeling surprisingly fresh. I got the boat over to San Marcos, knowing i was 2 days late for the course but it was a sunday so that was cool. Arrived and was lucky enough to find a bed in a pyramid with my name on it. I was about to stay here for one month, so time to chill down. My life was to consist of meditation 3x a day, yoga every day and a class of meta physics. I was sharing a room with someone that had a really closed energy and was not feeling very for filling for me. Within 5 minutes of being there i had my new partner in crime- Daisy, an English girl from Oxford darling, for all this was new to her she wasa quite skeptical, which was great for me to get an objective viewpoint so far.
San Marcos is a beautiful small town filled with holistic healing clean water, rocks, sun rises and beautiful people. I nearly left after the first week but decided to test my self discipline and try to stay for the duration of the moon cycle. We learnt a lot about the lost civilisation of Atlantis, the tree of life, astrology, the zodiacs, tarot, chakras, healing and lots more. Our master, Chati, was amazing, a Mayan Priestess with lots of cool experiences to share with us.There was about 20 of us doing the course, all with different skills to share, nutrionists, hippies, 'townies', fanatics, fadists, musicians, travellers, me and more. I did some crazy health stuff i dont feel like sharing. we shared a lot of toilet talk, never been so close to such a big bunch of people about feelings, history, our bodies. crazy. i miss those guys. I decided to do the 'Master cleanse' 10 days of fasting only consuming water mixed with miel de cana, lemon and cayene pepper, i made it to day 7 and then i broke it, terribly with my P.I.C Daisy in Panajchel, ice cream, pancakes or and a salad :) wont mention the next couple of days. was so hard to keep the fast going when we were all in silence, 6 days, so no-one to motivate me expect myself, hardcore. At the time it was the best thing, to quit the fast but after 2 days i thought i could have gone to 10 if only i had drunk the recommended amount of master cleanse juice it could of been better. i think i will try it again but not for a while. I also did the liver cleanse and the salt water flush. both gross but so good when you can see how good your body functions after. I did a reflexology course which was amazing and the best 40quid i spent in a while. I did cheat on the silent retreat, mainly for the sake of rebeling i think, and i did regret this after but then i learnt a lot from the whole experience, being quiet, trying not to respond to peoples chat and then talking, and then silence again. It is something i would do again but you can do it anytime anywhere.
After the Graduation ceremony i was confused slightly on what to do next, theres was lots of options on the table so i decided to go across the Lake to San Pedro, the party time to catch up with some pals from home and sleep on all my choices. I then decided to leave for Honduras ASAP, get to the beach, change of scene, people etc. I took two friends my P.I.C and Dervla, so now in Copan, found a cheese and wine venue so have kept myself happy all day eating cheese and getting drunk on two glasses of wine, cheeses, coffee and lush smoothies. Oh and Dusty Springfield has just come on the radio. Oh yes! simple things... :) supposed to cooking a curry in a bit for traveling moon pot luck. go me.
Pictures for Guatemala can be seen http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=507507501&aid=330433
