So, I had my appendix out on Saturday night. Doing pretty well and glad it didn’t happen while I was off traveling somewhere. An old school teacher of mine once told a story of having to carry someone down off a mountain with a burst appendix. That scenario has stayed in the back of my mind. I’m actually glad I can head off into the wilderness without risk of appendicitis now.
Here’s another shot of one of the temples in Tikal.
My new Polish friend, Pawel, and I stepped off our boat in Lake Atitlan and began wondering what to do with the hour we had to explore the town we’d just arrived in. As usual, we were swarmed by people offering to take us on tours of the town. One tuk-tuk driver said simply, “Do you want to go see Maximon.”
Suddenly, I remembered reading about the Mayan evil saint called Maximon. After a quick look at his guide book, my accomplice was on board and we hopped aboard a tuk-tuk. If you want to visit Maximon, you have to go with a local who knows where this idol is. The statue is moved from house to house each year.
After a short drive our newly hired tuk-tuk driver said we’re here. It just looked like a normal street, lined with shops. Surely, there were no houses here. Then, he took off down a narrow alley. When I say narrow, this thing was about a meter wide, and had sharp 90 degree turns. It’d be an excellent site for a mugging.
As we approached the first corner, me following behind the guide first, I adjusted my tripod to a position where I could use it to throw a quick punch. Our guide saw me do this and offered to carry it for me. He was either a really nice guy, or trying to disarm me. I said I’d hold onto it. Taking each corner wide and poking my head out to see what was lurking round the bend, we weaved our way back to a residential area.
When we reached our destination it was obvious. An open door with a dark interior venting smoke from the inside was in front of us. Our guide said we were lucky because they were in the middle of a ceremony. Then, he walked inside. Pawel and I exchanged a look of trepidation before we were beckoned to follow.
As I stepped into the room I was immediately hit in the eyes by thick, hanging incense smoke. My eyes watered as my nose took up the rich bouquet and I had to resist the urge to sneeze. As I got my sight back and my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I discovered we were in a very strange place. A wooden idol, Maximon, sat in the middle of the room. In front of him, colored candles that had burnt down to pools of wax littered the floor, still flaming. To my right, about a dozen Mayan women sat in silence, holding tall candles.
A man stood face to face with Maximon, speaking to him angrily. It sounded like they were in the middle of a pretty serious argument. At this point, our guide moved deeper into the room, to the far corner. We picked our way past the pools of fire, women and angry men. He then told us about what was going on in the room, but it was so overwhelming it was difficult to take it in.
We returned outside and were told that if we wanted to take any pictures, it cost ten quetzales for three photos. I only had large notes so was stuck with a bit of a problem. Fortunately, my companion had a solitary 10 quetzales note, and was good enough to let me go in and take the photos for the both of us. It’s a good thing I had three chances. The first photo was framed strangely in the dark, in the second a man walked in front of me, and the third… can be seen below.
Here’s another shot from Tikal. This is actually the first temple we saw while touring the ancient city. It was pretty impressive, and they only got bigger from here.
I’d struggled to take a lot of photographs in Flores. It was an interesting little island town but not exactly photogenic. As I pulled into Antigua, I knew it was not going to be difficult to take photos in this old, Spanish colonial town. My room wasn’t ready so I set out to orientate myself around the central square. When I got there I discovered this beautiful park shrouded in shady trees and loaded with amazing fountains. I probably could have spent days photographing this square alone.
**** This is the second part of the story started yesterday, click here to start there****
So, I decided to go into the cave. Even in the first chamber, the light from the door fell off before you could see through to the back of it. I tried to take a photo in here, but even after exposing for a full minute and trying to light paint with the inadequate flashlight I’d rented all I got was a black rectangle. It was clear that I would not be taking photos in this cave. So, I pushed forward.
It was pretty slippery and I was glad I was wearing hiking boots rather than flip-flops. As I entered the second chamber it was clear that, if the flashlight went out, I’d be in absolute darkness. There were signs pointing me deeper into the cave and towards the exit. There were also signs naming the formations in the cave, in Spanish I rarely understood. Light fixtures void of light bulbs were spread about. I’m guessing saving money on electricity and renting crappy flashlights is more lucrative.
As I began to walk through the cavern, I was startled by a snake two feet in front of me. Then, I realized it was just an old cable for the lights. Already, my mind was playing tricks on me. Then, I started thinking, “There could probably be snakes in this cave, sheltering from the heat.”
After recovering from that shot of adrenaline, I started looking around. There were black spots on the ceiling that could only be bats. After shining the flashlight up there and letting my eyes focus I realized they were just black dots. By the time I’d entered the third chamber, my mind was already running wild.
I started to think that if I encountered another person in the darkness I’d most likely scream. Then, there they were, a pair of legs, eerily stationary in the corner of the cave. I didn’t scream, but I did stop breathing. I focused the dim circle of light on them and followed them up. They were actually the legs of a formation eerily reminiscent of an Egyptian mummy.
In the fourth chamber I didn’t find much to look at, but it dawned on me that this would be a great way to rob tourists. All they have to do is wait until some idiot with a bunch of camera gear wanders in, with a faulty flashlight, then call their buddies to relieve you of your goods.
I pushed into the fifth chamber. This one was large and my flashlight wouldn’t light the far end. Maybe they’re waiting for me in here, I thought. Then, I shined my light towards the ceiling. More black dots, and by now I’d convinced myself I could see things flying out of the corners of my eyes, but of course, the view out the corners of my eyes were complete darkness. At this point, I decided pushing on any further would be really, really stupid. I searched nervously for a “salida” sign and carefully made my way back to the entrance. The whole way, I was on edge and just hoping I wouldn’t encounter another person until I reached the light.
Fortunately, when I did find people it was as I approached the exit – two pairs of legs stood exactly where I had as I contemplated whether or not to enter. I called out to try not to startle them as I appeared. They were an Australian couple, also holding a dodgy rented flashlight. I told them what I’d found and we decided to head into the cave, feeling comfort from the fact we had two dodgy flashlights. In the second chamber we discovered their flashlight was worse then mine as it flicked on and off occasionally. They were in flip flops so moved a bit more cautiously than me through to the third chamber. Here, I paused to look at the ceilings. This time, one of the black dots moved. I got excited as I’d finally confirmed there were bats in this cave. I shone the light upwards at them until the one I’d awoken took flight. This startled me and I dropped my flashlight and a metal lens cap from my camera. An expletive echoed through the cave followed by a nervous, Australian, female voice yelling,”What happened?”
I explained I’d just been startled by a bat. We continued to push on into the cave. By the time we reached the fourth chamber, the Australians were suitably freaked out as their flashlight misbehaved more and more. We made for the exit.
I didn’t want to leave this place without a single photo from inside Actun Kan, so when we neared the entrance I paused to take today’s picture. My new accomplices were kind enough to wait with me as I took long exposure after long exposure for what must have been 15 minutes. They even held my water bottle and other bits and pieces for me.
Just as I snapped the last shot a handful of bats flew past us and out the cave. I asked what time it was. Then, confirmed it was getting close to sunset. Realizing that as the sun goes down, bats leave their caves, we made a hasty exit.
After returning our flashlights we began the walk back into town, but found a taxi a short way up the road.
After aimlessly wandering up and down the incredibly steep hills of San Jose, on Lake Peten Itza, in intense heat, I decided it was time to go somewhere a little cooler. The cave near Flores, called Aktun Kan, or la Cueva Del Serpiente, seemed like a great idea.
I boarded a minibus to take me back to town and began flicking through photos from the past couple of days on my camera. At this point a local woman, of Mayan descent, sat down next to me. We had a quick conversation about where I was from and what I was doing there. At this point I was shocked at how well my basic Spanish skills, which had lay dormant for ten years, were doing at carrying on a conversation. I almost understood most of what she said. Then, when I ran out of Spanish, I decided to show her my photos. She smiled broadly as I flicked through images of the temples at Tikal and some spider monkeys I’d found the day before.
As we approached the bus station in San Benito she asked where I was going. At that point I couldn’t remember the name of the caves so just said Flores. She said that I could hop off in the next market and grab a tuk tuk there. As we piled off the packed minibus she recommended I protect my bag, but the tuk tuks were lined up ready.
I hopped aboard one and the little old lady told him I was heading to Flores – cue a confusing conversation where I try to tell the driver I don’t want to go to Flores, without actually knowing the name of the place I want to go to. I remembered La Cueva del Serpiente, but as it turns out, the locals have never heard of that name. Out came the guide book and off we went to Aktun Kan. On the way to the caves I snapped the photo of the view from a tuk tuk featured a couple of weeks ago.
The road took us off through the back of town and out into the hills. When we arrived I asked the driver to come back for me in an hour. He wasn’t sure he could do that. He kept telling me to call but had no phone number for me. Then, he gestured at the gate. As I turned to look at it, he sped off. So, there I was, stranded on the outskirts of town.
Upon approaching the desk, and paying to enter the cave, the lady there asked me if I had a flashlight. Now, I have an excellent flashlight, first purchased for camping on the lower Zambezi. This flashlight was designed for combat – it’s compact, with a metal casing, and beveled end. This flashlight will light up a hippos eyes in pitch dark from half a mile away. If you point it up on a cloudy night this flashlight will brighten the clouds. However, this flashlight was back in my room, in the hostel, on the floor – good planning on my part.
As it turns out, the price for renting a flashlight is exactly the same as the cost of entry – that’s a neat little trick. The flashlight I was given could definitely not light up a hippos eyes at half a mile.
When I got to the caves entrance, I had doubts. First of all, this system was pretty complex, as you can see on the map below. On top of that, it had no “you are here” dot on it. On top of that, the little orange dots you see marking the formations listed on the right, did not have numbers on them. If this untested, untrustworthy, dim flashlight decided to die on me, I was stuck in there.
This is what the cave looked like from the outside, I spent a good 10 to 15 minutes debating whether or not to enter. In the end, I decided it would be too embarrassing to go back that quickly, and return the flashlight, because I was scared. So, I entered.
Check back tomorrow to find out about the inside of Aktun Khan and see the one photo I was able to take in there.
I had a morning to kill in Antigua, Guatemala before heading off to climb the Pacaya volcano. Antigua is a beautiful old colonial town, evacuated after multiple earthquakes suggested it wasn’t a great place to establish a capital. Some people stayed though, and it’s now a world heritage site. I set out along a route that would take me to see the earthquake plagued cathedrals and monasteries of the town.
Along the route was a restored colonial mansion. When I got to where I thought it should be, I couldn’t really find any sign of it. Then, I spotted a small name plaque marking it’s location. It also showed it’s opening hours, and was closed. I turned to walk away and saw, across the street, a small shop selling textiles with a little old Mayan lady sat on the floor, weaving. Her name was Irene, and after a little chat, and an explanation of backstrap weaving I didn’t fully understand (was in Spanish), I snapped the below photo.
I’ve got to do a quick post tonight as I’m on my way out. Antigua is full of ruined colonial churches and monasteries due to the earthquake prone nature of the regions. I visited this collapsed cathedral looking for some photo opportunistic. I took a few photos showing the roofless grandness of the columns and arches. Then, I noticed these angels and thought they were pretty interesting, and I’ve got a friend who’s fond of angels; so decided to grab a picture.
When I got to Guatemala I was surprised to discover that one of the main modes of transport around the cities is the Tuk Tuk, typically synonymous with Thailand. They’re good fun, if not entirely safe, as they bounce over the cobbled roads of Flores and Antigua. I used them to travel around quite a lot and on this occasion, while on my way to el cuevo del serpiente, I decided to catch a cool photo of the view. If you look closely you’ll notice this photo also includes a self portrait.
On my boat trip around the lake, my last stop was ARCAS, a center for trafficked wild animals. While there I met some, a parrot that says “hola” and two baby jaguars.
I also took what felt like my first good photo of the trip, of a sunken launch off their dock. There was an Australian girl there fishing to feed an otter they’d just gotten in who said that the boat got damaged and they couldn’t afford to fix it so they sank it there.
