Escape From San Pedro Guatemala

Escaping from San Pedro is not as easy as one might imagine. There are some people there that have been trying to get out for months.. Everyone says that they are going but no one ever does. Unless you purchase a ticket you remain trapped in the Bermuda triangle of Guatemala. After 3 weeks of being there it was very hard to say goodbye especially with the awesome sunrise this morning.

I took 2 weeks of Spanish school while I was there, I'm not sure how useful it was they teach you things like how to say My Mom and my grandmother came to see me play chess etc.. Not really travel related so taking just 2 weeks didn't give me a lot of vocabulary I could use on my travels. If I was going to take 6 or more weeks it would have been great as they do teach the whole grammar thing. I am still trying to memorize verbs so who knows if I really need it my subconscious may be able to pull up the info.

With going to school it was hard to get out and see anything outside of town. I did make an excursion to San Marcos which is a town across the lake. There are cliffs to jump off of and a whole bunch of Yoga classes and spiritual healing centers. Maybe should have spent more time there and less time in the bars.

The last hotel I stayed at the Penelue was great. Really nice people who run it and the folks staying there where all there about the same length of time I was. Nice rooms and cheap they have dorms and rooms with shared bathrooms a private room with bath will run you about 30Q. I had some friends who stayed at the Pinnochio and they said it was great as well as a couple at the San Franciso which also got good reviews. Lots of us left today and it seems we are all heading to the same place so I"m sure I'll run into them on the beach in El Salvador.

Some great places to party in San Pedro; The Budda Bar, Barrio, Flying Dog and The Alegre. There is a system each bar seems to have it's night and the rest are dead and it rotates through the week so everyone gets a turn at having the crowd. There was a music festival over in Santiago however due to overindulgence the previous evening I was unable to attend however some friends went and said it was great.

There really is no way to describe what San Pedro is about, you have to experience it yourself but I highly recommend that everyone stop by for a week which may turn into a month, if you find yourself looking for a job it's time to get out, your liver will thank you.

Having escaped I have now arrived in San Salvador, El Salvador. Looking forward to exploring a new place.

SanMarcos

Guatemala Reality TV - Pimp My Tuc Tuc - San Pedro

San Pedro Guatemala - Paradise

I caught a bus out of Antigua to San Pedro at 2pm ($65 Q ticket purchased at the hostel (Black Cat)), the ride was suppose to be 3 1/2 hours however that time estimate didn't take into consideration the road construction about 1/2 way here that resulted in an hour delay and we had to drop some folks off at another town on the other side of the lake so we arrived at about 7pm. The bus of people were great, we hit the road construction and an Irish guy on the bus pulls out a 2 litre jug of the local moonshine called cusha. Smells a little like pain thinner but by the second swig you start thinking it's not so bad. There were 12 of us on the bus so we all took swigs (except the driver) and purchased a few CD's for the rest of the trip to play in the bus from the road side vendors who were taking advantage of the parking lot the road had turned into. All in all one of the best bus rides so far some Argentina girls, a couple from South Africa, Irish Dude, American girl and a couple of guys from Germany.

American Girl & I got off the bus and decided to get a room together (we had just met on the bus) for the 1st night and look for other accommodations in the morning. We ended up being roommates for 3 nights.. On the 3rd day we were out for breakfast and she said "By the way thanks for not killing me in my sleep glad your not a serial killer" to which I replied "and thank you for not stealing my stuff" LOL

Went to the bar our first night in (surprise surprise) were the special of the night was $4 Q Cuba Libra's.. Yup that's about 60 cents a drink and met up with Oregon guy and Czech girl that I had met in Flores along with Aussie dude, Toronto guy and German girls. Once happy hour was over we went over to the Reggae club and had a few tequila shots. Long story short it took me an hour to find were I was staying and then I couldn't remember what room I was in so spent some time looking through windows and trying the key in doors to try to spot my bags in a room.

San Pedro is awesome, they have some of the coolest streets, tiny little paths the run all over the place, very easy to get lost but that's part of the fun cause you find new little shops and restaurants all over the place. Lots of great people as well and from all over the world most of them have been traveling for a long time so they have lots of tips. Also met up with the guy from Kelowna who was in Antigua, he is sharing a dorm with Irish guy from the bus. It is a very small world indeed.

Spent yesterday checking out other hotels as I am going to be here awhile I want to find somewhere cheap and in an area that is easy to find. Moved this yesterday into a new place by myself ($35 Q) but I'll be moving again on Monday. This place is okay but shared bathroom and a little on the scuzzy side so found a place today that is available on Monday for $30 Q has a private bathroom and a shared kitchen not that I have any intentions of cooking but the fridge to keep beer cold is a good thing. I've been living on street meat since I got here, $10 Q for 3 taco's, $8 Q for street chicken LOL the hepatitis A shot was probably a good idea. So far all good and the food is very tasty. There is a guy on one of the side streets who has a stand called Phat Burger, every time you walk by all he ever says is "Phat Burger" in a baritone voice, sometimes you don't even see him it is just a voice coming from somewhere.

So for folks that have been to Osoyoos this is the same kind of thing on an international scale, we are all from different countries and with way more bars and cheap drinks, same kind of vibe everyone is friends with everyone and all are just looking for a good time.

I signed up for Spanish lessons yesterday at the cooperative school ($675 Q for the week 4 hours a day for 5 days), Oregon, Aussie and Czech girl also registered 2 of them started today but mine does not start until Monday. Aussie guy is doing the home stay where you live with a local family so I'll find out how it goes and maybe do that for the last week I am here. It would be good to be able to practice Spanish.

Went kayaking yesterday which was great but the wind picked up so getting back involved some work arms are a little sore today. Kayak rental was $10 Q

Tons of Internet cafes here. The one I am using is D'noz it is right by the dock. They have WiFi and all you have to do is buy a beer to use it.

Room for #35 Q - Moving out Monday -------- Streets

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Streets

Semuc Champey / Antigua

Caught a shuttle bus from Flores to Semuc Champey / Lanquin for $100 Q a 7 hour bus ride that involved a car ferry (BC Ferries should outfit their boats this way LOL check out the motor, 1 on each side) at one point and the last 1 1/2 hours on a 1 lane dirt mountain road that makes the old Hope Princeton look like the autobahn, pretty interesting when 2 vehicles meet up.

Stayed at El Retiro Lodge in Lanquin, a really nice place lots of Cabanas and right by the river, dorm rooms are $35 Q a night and they have all you can eat diner @ $40 Q which was kind of lost on me as all I can eat isn't much but the food was great. They have swings as seats at the bar which was my favorite part of the place. Sadly the weather sucked it was raining and cold, I still would have stayed the extra day if it was just the rain as they have a great tour that involves caves and wading chest deep in water with a candle, a 10 meter bridge jump and playing in the river pools but wasn't interested in the cold and one of the locals told me it probably would not get better anytime soon so rather than sit and drink (unless you are doing the tour that's about all there is to do, not much in town) I decided to move on and return at a later date. So off to Antigua I go, $125 Q and another 7 hour bus ride. The shuttles are pretty comfy normally but this one was full so we were all a little squished.

Got to Antigua which is a beautiful colonial town, it used to be the capital of Guatemala until the earthquakes and lava hit then they moved it to where Guatemala city is. Lots of reminders of the quake many of the buildings are 1/2 fallen down which just adds to the charm of the town. Lots of Spanish schools and gringos. I checked in to The Black Cat Hostel, it is right by the main square, dorms are $60 Q and include breakfast in the morning so not a bad deal. Lots of folks here, met a guy from Kelowna, a chick and a guy from Oregon and more Brits. Got some great travel tips as most of them were working their way up from Nicaragua. Just did the 1 night here, I will come back on my way through to El Salvador and stay a few nights, I am going to be in San Pedro taking Spanish immersion classes for at least 3 weeks and I'm really looking forward to not taking a bus for awhile, I got a tip on a great hotel for $15 Q a night were you get your own room with a bathroom, I am so looking forward to that and unpacking, so I'll see how it pans out. Bus to San Pedro (Shuttle) $75 Q.

Czech girl from Flores just came in to the Black Cat to use the bano she is on the shuttle to San Pedro an hour ahead of me, Oregon guy from Flores is already there.. Small world, you find after a few weeks that you keep bumping into people in the strangest places. All very random, or is it? San Pedro should be good, they are both crazy :-)