Arrived safely Yaxha

Sunday 21st FEBRUARY FROM EL REMATE TO YAXHA

We had a leisurely breakfast and drank in our final stories about the old days with Don David.  He told us about when he kept bees and when he found the killer bees on his piece of land and had to hide from them in the truck and leave the bulldozer running for hours wasting fuel until they managed to kill the bees.

The stay at El Remate cost us about £100 each for bed and full board.  John also bought us a bottle of Zacapa rum to sample.  We had the best car in Guatemala to take us driven by Bruno who lives in the village and told us about how Don David had had a pet jaguar and also a monkey in his day.  He told us of the clan of foreigners in the village - the crazy American, then Don David, then the Italian who runs the restaurant.  I learned about the pink blossom trees used as hedging - they use the flowers to make flor de cacao which they feed to the animals and use in cooking.

The trip to Yaxha was on a fairly good road to the Belizean border then we turned off down an unmade track and started to go down - once we saw a glimpse of temple 16, then we were driving along a vertiginous ridge, then down, down again until we came to the usual palapa and tree trunk structure that is the main communal area of El Sombrero Ecolodge.  There we met Gabriela who is a friend of Arthur's Italian friend and we sat and ate nachos and drank beer until her son Sebastian was ready to take us in the boat across the lake to the entrance to the ruins.  Gabriela's other son is in hospital having had a car accident whilst driving drunk and now has to have a back operation in Guatemala City hospital.

We were taken to our house which is a quaint hobbit like dwelling about 200 yards from the communal area overlooking the lake.  It has 2 storeys with a living room with retro stylish furniture and a stylish open kitchen and bathroom downstairs - the shower is cold of course and just a jet of water!  Upstairs is another open area with open viewing Windows over the lake and then there are 2 double rooms with rudimentary mosquito and bat protection on the roof - we saw a couple of bats roosting up there.

Sebastian. Took us on the boat to buy our entry tickets to the ruins then on the boat again to the entry point at the bottom of the ancient causeway.  We walked through the ruins which are very atmospheric - especially in late afternoon with the sound of howler monkeys and parrots echoing around us.  The site is like a miniature version of Tikal set on the lake - For me it is the most attractive, being less busy, smaller and set around the watery jungle scene.  We gradually walked towards the tallest temple 16 and met up with Roxy on the top and several others and had around 45 minutes to await the sunset.  Looking out over the canopy was magical and we were treated to a glimpse in her nest of the bat falcon and then a troupe of spider monkeys passing through - several males chasing a female.  We learned how the monkeys live on the Ramon tree seeds which are richer in protein and vitamins than any soya or maize - so I can see this will soon be what we will be eating.  John has ordered us some Ramon coffee to try - it is supposed to be an interesting drink.  We thought this might be the coffee we had seen in UK tv where the monkeys eat the coffee - poo it out and then it makes the best coffee in the world - but sadly it is not that one! And we were hoping to treat Matt and Simon to some of that!

After sunset we walked back through the ancient ruins in the dark with our head torches on and heard the raw sounds of the jungle at night - amazing.  Sebastian left us standing on the shore on a jetty and we waited in the blackness while he went round the bend to bring our boat - it was spooky in the dark trying to spot crocs (none) but we did see glow worms and were deafened by the parrots and the howler monkeys.  We sped across the glassy lake in the bright moonlight towards the tiny specs of light of our hotel.    It was an auspicious Mayan time because at sunset that night both the son and the moon were visible at opposite sides of the sky.  

Back at Ecolodge el Sombrero, we were fed a delicious home made dinner of pastas and aubergine and apple cake followed by home made allspice tea with home made honey - amazing flavour.  Sebastian's grandad (who is still living in Guatemala City and has all his marbles at 92) used to be the biggest honey producer in Guatemala.  It was a great evening - our French tour group from Don David's also were there for the dinner and night stay and were having a jolly time in the middle of the jungle....  All in all a magical day with interesting conversation with Sebastian about his youth in this area and his feelings about the current political situation.  He has been working for 2 years in the admin dept in a sweatshop making clothes in Guatemala City and has just given up his job.  He studied in Madrid and has travelled widely.  He is a good knowledgeable guide around the ruins.  He is the same age as Matt, Steph and Jo.

MONDAY 22ND FEBRUARY - HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK!

Today Sebastian is going to take us to see his bees and then will take us across the lake to the ruins of Topoxte on a little island in the lake later this afternoon.  I love the big old launch with its elegant lines and cruising across the lake in the day or night is a truly magical experience I will never forget -- but then the sunset from the temple top amongst the spider monkeys has to be for me the moment of the holiday so far. --- we are so lucky to be doing this.

We heard over breakfast this morning how Moira locked herself in her bedroom by mistake last night and nearly had to dangle out of the window to do the necessaries- luckily Arthur managed to rescue her with a bit of gymnastic jumping through windows and over stair wells- and John and I slept through it all... - it's never a dull moment here, indoors and out!

This morning John and I went down to the jetty and were treated to a sight of Rosco their local crocodile who turned up conveniently to be photographed before breakfast in front of his crocodile signpost!

Had a lovely breakfast of yoghurt, granola, fruit and local honey and coffee and now we are lazing about under the shade catching up on the blog before it trickles out of the other ear.  The scene is totally idyllic here - warm but comfortable swinging in a hammock in the shade.