For the first time in a while I found myself with no plans for the evening, so I decided to head out and take some photos. I went down to Police Beach to see if the sunset would provide some good light. While I was waiting for the sun to dip down I walked over to the entrance of Flatt’s inlet where the golden rays were lighting the pylons of the old railway bridge nicely.
I’d decided I wanted to climb one of the four volcanoes around Antigua, Guatemala. In the end, I picked Pacaya because it’s active and you can climb up and down it in a day trip. The first time I had booked was cancelled as Guatemala was entering the wet season and the afternoon rainstorms were really intense. I switched to an early morning departure, meaning leaving my hostel at 5am.
Stepping outside I realised it was pretty overcast as I waited for the mini-van to pick me up. I also concluded that my backpack was way too heavy for the two hour climb up a volcano, so I decided to leave behind my big zoom lens. I was glad I did.
When we got to the base of the volcano, we couldn’t see it through the clouds. It didn’t take long until the forced march up the volcano began. My guide moved fast and didn’t make any effort to stop and rest. He also decided to skip the many viewpoints along the hike as it was too cloudy.
I had looked around the group and realized that, with my pack of camera gear (and less than ideal fitness), I was probably going to be one of the people at the back of the group. That being said, I’m not one to ask for rest. Once, I went canyoning in Slovenia along with my mate Greg from university and John from Bermuda. We put our wetsuits on at the bottom of the hill and then had to walk up the steep paths leading to the point where we’d follow the river back down. We asked our guide how long the walk was and he said about an hour and a half. We were supposed to say if we wanted a rest along the way, but all three of us were stubborn and wouldn’t admit we needed a break. We completed the walk in an hour and a half and our guide was shocked! He said he always says it’s an hour and a half walk but most people take over two hours to get there.
Before heading up Pacaya, I’d decided I’d probably be alright. There were two girls from New York with us, who didn’t seem to do a lot of hiking. If anyone was going to crack and ask for a break, I thought it’d be these girls. Twenty minutes into the hike I was already in agony. I was shocked that no-one had asked for a rest yet and couldn’t believe the two girls I’d picked out hadn’t made a peep. I was sure they’d want to stop soon. Then, I looked over my shoulder and discovered why they hadn’t asked to stop.
They were on horseback!
So, I went on up the volcano asking myself why I put myself through these things. It was two hours straight up, with one break. I kept wondering if it was going to be worth it. Then, we emerged from the treeline and there it was – definitely worth it.
The Guatemalan city of Antigua is surrounded by volcanoes and earthquake prone. The Spanish thought this was a fantastic spot to establish their first capital of Guatemala. Eventually, the ground shook and the city was all but abandoned. This photo is of the remains of the Colonial Spanish Cathedral.
I found an old unprocessed photo from New York!!
Having a few days off, with nothing to do, has resulted in me getting the photos I have to process organized. A lot of the photos I’ve released from my last trip to the Victoria Falls were taken under tricky conditions. I was surrounded by swirling mist which soaked both me and my equipment and obscured my view of the falls, making everything blurry and flat. I got clear shots the first time I was there, but there wasn’t much water about.
This picture, is actually of the first view of the falls you see when you enter from the Zambian side, but it was the last picture I took that day. Apparently, I’d figured out how to deal with the mist by this point. I think I’d gotten more patient, waiting for the mist to clear before clicking the shutter. Looking at the shots I took just before this one, I think I’ve got some more clear images to come.
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.
While cruising the river in search of wildlife, on our shaded, covered motor boat, we came across these fishermen working hard in the heat of the sun. It’s no wonder they’ve stripped off. They were quite a distance away so I couldn’t really tell what they were doing until I got my big telephoto lens on.
I definitely would not want to be standing waist deep in that water. It wasn’t very far from here that we came across a crocodile with a freshly killed impala in its jaws.
They’re very careful about taking care of nature in Botswana. Looking across the river to Namibia, you could see a stark difference in the way that each country had decided to use the land. Botswana has set up nature reserves, making their income from taking tourists on safaris. Just across the river, Namibia has transformed the other bank into large swaths of farmland.
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 decided I felt like uploading a photo from Bermuda tonight. So, I went digging through my old unprocessed photos and found a few. I took this one last summer, out on Spanish Point as the sun set.
