From bricks to blocks!!!!!

Buenos!

The spanish word for the day is Mariposa. it means buttefly and I remeber it as the sylables are the same as Harry Potter. (atleast in my head)

The reason that is the word is because of all the butterflys that went fluttering by when i was at the river and waterfalls known as El Chiflon. There was one specific type that was a shiny purple and was one of the prettiest hings i have ever seen! I kept trying to get a picture and it kept elluding me. Then as soon as I would put away my camera one would fly right into my face and take off again! It was a blast! I got to set up my tent and camp near the river, jumped in many times. The color of the water is out of this world, although technically in this world, and there were tons of pools in the rapids to play in!

There is a km long hike to the main insane waterfall, and from there for another dollar you can go up another km long trail to a few more falls! This is heaven. It is $40.00 canadian for a cabana and $2.50 for my tent. There was even a litle barbecue type thing to make a fire in and cook.

From there I had a crazy awesome day. I wanted to head to Guatemala, to the city of Quetzaltenango, where I heard you can learn spanish cheap and there is a place called Quetzal trekkers (more on them soon, I am in love!) where you can go hiking. So my journey began simply enough, I caught a collectivo back to Comitan, from where I would head to Guat.

On that ride I met a man who is a clown and we talked alot..it was a whole day of learning spanish, i was also starving and he gave me a bean emapanada! The driver of that ride hooked me up with the next one, where my big bag just got bounced from one roof to another...its important to make sure you get into the van with your bag on the roof!!!

So this Van took me close to the border where I needed to make sure everything was ok to leave and return to mexico. Then I got into a taxi to go the rest of the way to the border. In the back was me a woman and a man. In the front was the driver and a woman with 2 kids and her sister!!! The woman with me started to talk and was helpful. I showed her pictures of canada for my camera and she was amazed.. They were from working in the snow and skidooing!!

At he border I went into the office of the Guatemalan immigration. There were a bunch of people in uniforms watching TV and didnt even seem to notice me. After a few minutes they said hi and we joked about how the guy in front was obsessed with the people making out on the tv. They took my passport and were about to give me a bunch of forms to fill out and decided not to. They said they liked my smile and I could go!!! I wish it was so easy to go to the USA.

An interesting side note is not to call USA america because everyone here is living in america. Why the US should be the only country that gets to call itself america is besides me. It is quite self centered, but so is their foreign policy... (oops...I dont want to get too political...but who was it who decided that they didnt like the democratically elected president of guatemala and got rid of him??? and did the same in much of latiun america???? I dont think it was Slovakia!!)

So I reached guatemala and had to walk up a long road to get o the chicken bus station! I would have taken one of the litle 3 wheeled taxis but everyone I asked told me its just 50 more meters...anyway about a 500 meters uphill later I was there! My bag was taken from my hands and thrown on the roof and I hopped in. (just after the border there are tons of poeple to change yourm oney and the whole area on both sides it a huge market! I didnt feel it was the right time to start phtographong though...It is weird but I am beginning to fell very bad about taking pictures of people...or things unless I have a relationship with it or them. I hope to go into more detail about this tyype of thing abnother time, just need to find the right words....)

The lady form the front seat of my taxi was on the bus and we spoke the whole way for about 2 hours. I am not sure how to describe this bus. It is a school bus from 1953 USA and painted bright colors. My knees don't fit in the seat. There were not too many people on the bus and it was ok. Someone told me the ride was 1 hour to Quetzeltanango so I didnt bother with the bathroom. Well 2 hours later we had to get on a new bus for another 3 hour journey! I was starved, and as my bag went from the roof of one to the other I asked the man if I had time to get a little snack, he said no, but ok! So I ran and got some bread...no bathrooms, then the bus was already honking at me as I got on. My friend and her baby were in a seat with two other people and almost every seat on this bus had 3 people!!! To be fair most people here are built a little smaller than at home but wow!!!! People were standing on each other, and it was almost impossible to get through the isle..I found enough of a seat for one of my cheeks and we were off....actually we were off after one of my feet was in the door but I didnt notice!

This is one of the best parts of latin america..poeple's personal bubbles are much smaller then at home. I was luckily at the isle, as my legs dont fit in the seat and my shoulder was pushed up solid against the third man from the seat across the isle! Dont ask me how the man comes through to get you fees!!! and he remembers where everyone is going and whose bag to take off the roof. He goes out he from the front door of the bus (he is also the door man and responsible for blowing the air horn non stop!) and up a ladder on the back, then bangs the bus when it is time to move on! Some how we would leave without him, but he would be there after another stop!! It took me a while to realize that he was coming in the back door!

So once on the second bus and going through the mountians it started to rain..then poor, with awesome lightning!!! It was lucky that we were on the side of the road near the mountain...and the oncoming traffic had the cliff. After a while the rain turned to hail and there was snow in the ground!!! I would have taken a photo but I was busy hanging on. Its hard to balance on one cheek when it fels like the bus is on one wheel at most!! The driver had to keep wiping his window every 30 seconds!!! Then when the road switched to us being on the side of the cliff I stopped shitting bricks and started to shit cinderblocks!!!!

What a ride!!!

When we arrived my friend gave me the name of a hotel and I got a room that was so small I couldnt open my bag... I would have taken a photo but there was no room for me and my camera at the same time!

I had a comfy sleep and headed to Casa Argentina in the morning..where a friend said to go and where Quetzal trekkers is! I walked in and the trekker people were all eating vegan pancakes! I had no idea what to expect but they are a group of volunteers who take people hiking and give all the profits to charity...They have built a school in a village that never had one and I will find out more soon. I signed up immediately for a hike and will probably do a couple more! SO I am off tomorrow and while I didnt think I would find the habs game here I am sure I wont find it in the forest...Go Habs GO!!!!!

Guatemala feels great...the city buses here are also old schoool buses and the people are super friendly and patient. I flagged down one bus that was not going in my direction, (I didnt know that at first) and maybe you can picture the only tall guy, with a huge bag, stepping up onto this bus...all eyes on me...I stuck out like an Albino at a black panther meeting! And the driver took plenty of time to make sure that I knew where to get on the right bus, and not a single person seemed to mind waiting!!! Mean people shouldnt go to jail, they should go to Guatemala to learn some manners!

I am off to find a veggie restaurant I heard about!

Adios!

Aloo Gobi!! and Comitan

Last time I left off on my way to learn how to cook Aloo Gobi. My teacher's name is Bela, sheçs from Israel and in love with India. So here is the recipe!

Fry onions for a few minutes and add garlic, cumin, curry powder and tumeric, with a dash of salt between each spice. Then half or a whole tomato and some cilantro if possible.

Then add cubed potatos and peices of cauliflower, and fry for a few minutes.

Add water and bring to a boil and cook until potatos and cauliflower are soft and ready to eat!

mmm mmm good!


Now I am in the town of Comitan. It is not very different than san cristobal other than it is not a tourist haven! In order to see a white person I need a mirror! The central square at night has a different vibe and its fun! I am in a posada now, I have my own room with two beds, a shared bathroom and no kitchen here! I am leaving today to some waterfalls for a few days and maybe then to some lagoons!

Adios!

mike

Hail to 'el Presidente' (San Cristobal-continued)

Greetings!

I am having trouble and running out of time trying to get these pics uploaded. I put them up with comments at the following link. See if you can count the teeth in the open Jaws!!!

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http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23312&l=5f7ff&id=501526901
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I'm now at a new hostel, Posada 5. It is just another door onthe road but opens up to a big lawn and a view of the city! It has a great kitchen and is quite comfortable. There of lots of folks practicing yoga here which is helping to encourage me.

While here I visited 2 surrounding towns and one canyon. A friend and I were going to go visit a mayan village with a guide, spend a night and explore the forest. Well after getting up at seven and waiting for the guide till ten, we realized it was time to do something else! We got into a collectivo and headed to Zinacantan, not knowing what to expect. Once there it didnt seem like therew was much to do so we walked. We followed a road that turned into a dirt road and headed up into the mountians. From there we took a trail and kept walking along.... After a while we were near a high point and we came to a cemetary! It was decorated with lots of flowers and colorful graves. (This can only be understood when I can get a picture uploaded!) It was a beautiful spot and had a great view. From there we kept following trails heading in the direction of town and headed back to San Cristobal and the new Hostel.

The very next day I headed to see a canyon (Sumidero canyon) with km high walls. It was another ride in a collectivo, this time squished into the backseat with one person too many! It was a very scenic ride through the mountains. When I got off I happend down the right road to where the boats were and hopped into one (after paying). The canyon was stunning in every way! The walls got bigger and bigger as we were pushed along by the power of 150 horses churning the water. There are many birds around, and also monkeys! The highlight as far as animals went were three crocodiles! They are huge. There are all kinds of plants growing right on the canyon walls, even a bunch of cacti! Part of the vegetation was on fire and the guide explained that someone ontop must have thrown down something that was burning. The smoke lit other partsof the wall on fire. But the vegetation was not too dense and it is unlikely that too much was destroyed. (On the way back I was in the front of a packed collectivo and got to enjoy the scenery)

The next day I went with a friend to San Juan Chamula where there is a church with some interesting rituals. I did not get to speak to any practitioners but I willconvey what I heard about it. Here it is believed that carbonated beverages which incure burping help you to heal and cleanse so Coke and pepsi is part of any ritual. Also something about chickens but I dont hvae enough detail. When we arrived at the town the mainstreet was barricaded and we had no idea why. We started walking down towards the church and stillonthe sideofthe street we asked what it was all about. The man said the president of Mexico...el Presidente himself senior Felipe Calderón was about to pass by. He came in a motorcade waving a little. We wondered why there was alostno one in the steet but it turned out people were all gathere in the town square for his speech. We headed there and heard him talk. From what I was able to gather along with some translations from a friend he was promising schools and hospitals to indigenous people in the area.
I am currently in the state of Chiapas where the Zapatistas are. In a quick summary they are trying to get more rights for the indigenous folks, or that they get the rights already promised. Up until a few years ago they were also a military power and took control of a city or two. They are also respected by many people and all over the markets there are people selling dollsof people in ski masks as well as postacrds which pictures of the zapatistas. Now things are calmer but they still reject the government form what I understand.
So it was a big deal for the President to come to a town right in the center of this area. There were people from manay different viallges or regions which was evident by all the distinct types of dress. There were so many beautiful colors and patterns on many men and woman! The president and his speech was met with polite applause but no cheering. It was neat to see.

We finally went to the church and it was an interestingplace to say the least. But I will say a little more. The stone floor was covered with straw and people came on their own or with a family, crossed themselves and then knealed onthefloor and lit candles. Thjey stayed and prayed by the candles until they burned down. There was a man who came along after to scrape the wax form the floor. You werent allowed to take pictures in the church, I'm guessing because it was not a museum, people are coming to pray.

Now I'm back on my own again, and will probably head to another city near some lagoons tomorrow or the day after. Then most probably Guatemala!

No time for spell check as Im going to learn how to make Aloo Gobi!! Curried cauliflower and potato! mmmmmmm..........