Had a total nightmare. My camera is sick so i haven't got any photos to post this week however here is a little summary.
I am in Honduras at the moment. I came in through Copan and went to the ruins there. They were ok but compared to all the other ruins that i have been to recently they were at the bottom of the list.
From there i came to Roatan, one of the Bay Islands. I have run up a scary dive bill but had an awesome time and am now a Master Scuba diver. I complete my Wreck, Deep and Nitrox courses and it was BRILLIANT.
Tomorrow Jo and i are going to do something a little crazy. We are taking a submarine to 2000ft under the sea. Check out the website, it is totally amazing and we are so excited.
http://www.stanleysubmarines.com/welcome/index.php
With these things there are always risks but we plan to get back in one piece and i will write my best blog update ever. The guy has worked with National Geographic and the planet earth/blue planet series. We decided that it is one of those opportunities in life that just can't be missed.
much love as always
Sara
xx
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Antigua - Climbing Pacaya, active volcano
´Things don´t go wrong they just get interesting´ This is true, especially in Guatemala......
It was a fairly easy walk up, but there were still a few that took the taxi up. A tiny little horse with a few large Americans, they need to get the RSPCA in there to sort it out, you could see the horses legs shaking under the weight. If you want to climb a volcano then just climb it.
Here are the photos. I wanted to put more as it was so amazing but there is only so much molten lava you can post, enjoy.................
Volcan Pacaya
First sight of the hardend lava further down the volcano
As we were walking up there was red hot lava glowing through, sometimes just under our feet. It was like walking on BBQ coals.
Me pointing at the main flow of lava, it was amazing to see and really starting to get hot.
It may not look red hot but these babies toasted pretty quickly, they were delicious.
River of lava. I didn´t once feel nervous and you shall see in a moment, i got pretty close.
OK, the following pictures of me are not great. It was hot and the wind was blowing the heat into our faces so we had to take the photos quickly and run away. It became a game of Chicken between Jonny and I, see who can get the closest.
Closer now and melting with the heat. I couldn´t keep my eyes open it was so hot.
That was as close as i got but it was close enough to get a few good shots.
Here is Jonny, on the summit just right of the lava. The heat was intense but it was worth it as he was the winner. I am daft but i have my limits!
.
Back on the bus, shoes still in tack, and ready to go. There were some pretty steep roads and the bus really struggled on the way back. We had to get out at one point and walk up the hill whilst the drive plodded up at about 1mph. We all jumped back on, smoke still puring out the engine, only to have to jump back off around the corner for another hill.
.
Enough was enough and we flagged down a very nice man in a very nice car and 5 of us squeezed in and left the bus, with the Americans who did nothing but moan the whole day. I truely believe that they were expecting to be driven to the top of the volcano, doors open, take a shot, get back on the bus and come back down. That was our summary of their expected itinerary!
It was truely and amazing experience, not something you do every day and that is what this trip is all about.
.
BRILLIANT DAY
.
Gualtemala as been brilliant. There are still so many places that i haven´t been but i have been here for nearly 4 weeks and it is time to move on. So off to Honduras in the morning. Diving in the Bay Islands, meeting up with Jo again and donig some specialty courses. My Malaria tablets should keep me safe now so Adios Guatemala, it has been amazing.
xx
Me
There are 33 volcanos in Guatemala. Three of those volcanos are still active and today i climbed Pacaya, one of the three.
It was a fairly easy walk up, but there were still a few that took the taxi up. A tiny little horse with a few large Americans, they need to get the RSPCA in there to sort it out, you could see the horses legs shaking under the weight. If you want to climb a volcano then just climb it.
I walked up with Jonny, a Doctor from Northern Ireland. He had carried a bag of marshmallows from home to toast in the lava of the volcano, there was not way he was getting out of my sight I was sticking with him and the marshmallows!
Here are the photos. I wanted to put more as it was so amazing but there is only so much molten lava you can post, enjoy.................
Near the start with Pacaya in the back round
Volcan Pacaya
First sight of the hardend lava further down the volcano As we were walking up there was red hot lava glowing through, sometimes just under our feet. It was like walking on BBQ coals. Me pointing at the main flow of lava, it was amazing to see and really starting to get hot. It may not look red hot but these babies toasted pretty quickly, they were delicious. River of lava. I didn´t once feel nervous and you shall see in a moment, i got pretty close. OK, the following pictures of me are not great. It was hot and the wind was blowing the heat into our faces so we had to take the photos quickly and run away. It became a game of Chicken between Jonny and I, see who can get the closest. Closer now and melting with the heat. I couldn´t keep my eyes open it was so hot. That was as close as i got but it was close enough to get a few good shots. Here is Jonny, on the summit just right of the lava. The heat was intense but it was worth it as he was the winner. I am daft but i have my limits!.
Back on the bus, shoes still in tack, and ready to go. There were some pretty steep roads and the bus really struggled on the way back. We had to get out at one point and walk up the hill whilst the drive plodded up at about 1mph. We all jumped back on, smoke still puring out the engine, only to have to jump back off around the corner for another hill.
.
Enough was enough and we flagged down a very nice man in a very nice car and 5 of us squeezed in and left the bus, with the Americans who did nothing but moan the whole day. I truely believe that they were expecting to be driven to the top of the volcano, doors open, take a shot, get back on the bus and come back down. That was our summary of their expected itinerary!
It was truely and amazing experience, not something you do every day and that is what this trip is all about.
.
BRILLIANT DAY
.
Gualtemala as been brilliant. There are still so many places that i haven´t been but i have been here for nearly 4 weeks and it is time to move on. So off to Honduras in the morning. Diving in the Bay Islands, meeting up with Jo again and donig some specialty courses. My Malaria tablets should keep me safe now so Adios Guatemala, it has been amazing.
xx
Me
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Queztzaltenango (Xela)
Dear John
A very sad Sara with what is left of her poncho. It blew away in strips at the top of the Volcano. I didn´t even realise until i got down. It is likely that the rest of it was blown into Mexico!
The view back down the Volcano, from about 3500 meters. The trees are all dead thanks to a Japanese Beetle that injects them with saliva and kills them.
Sara, Josephine, Shelly and Saskya taking it easty at about 3800 meters.
Josephine, Sara and Alicia feeling very happy that we got our tent up just before the rain started, it poured down all night. We had 8 girls crammed into this 6 person tent, by choice in an attempt to increase the temperature by body heat.
After a 3am start here i am at the top. It rained the whole way as we scrambled on our hands and knees. My poncho is still in tack at this point and believe me i needed it. The winds were approx 60km per hour and blew straight through me.
It was not very clear at the top but there were a few breaks in the cloud. You could see other volcanos for miles, the ones in the far distance are in Mexico.
I am not sure if this is out of focus or if the wind is just so strong that you can see be blown, either way it was nasty up there.
A break in the clouds. Volcan Tacana and the Mexican border.
On the way back down, i was starting to get the feeling in my fingers back. The cloud had started to clear and the views were incredible.
Tajumulco is no longer active. This is the crater.
In the distance we watched Volcan Santiaguito and Volcan Fuego erupt as we look across the volcano chain of Guatemala. You can just see the puff of smoke. This is my favorite picture.
It was pretty special.
On the way down. Not a great photo but they only one that proves that i carried my own rucksack!
Much Love
Thank you so much for the wonderful gift that you gave me, you know it was gratefully recieved. Unfortunately it did not survive the 60KM winds and driving rain at the top of the highest peak in Central America, Volcan Tajumulco 4220 meters. Love to you and Helen x
A very sad Sara with what is left of her poncho. It blew away in strips at the top of the Volcano. I didn´t even realise until i got down. It is likely that the rest of it was blown into Mexico!.
SO..... Quetzaltenago, also know as Xela. This is the second largest city in Guatemala. There was plenty going on here and it was noticibly more advanced. There was no shortage of shops selling flat screen TVs, cameras, white goods and motorbikes.
.
I came here to climb Volcan Tajumulco. I love a challenge and this really pushed me. It has pushed me to the point that i am questioning if i have reached my limit on height or if i go for the 7000m mountains in South America. I will certainly have to do a lot of fitness between now and then, sitting on 14 hour bus journeys, with bread and crisp, has not done me many favours.
.
I chose to do the hike with Quetzaltrekkers http://www.quetzaltrekkers.com/guathome.html, a non profit organisation, who set up schools and accomodation for orphaned children or isolated villiages with no schools. They were all volunteers and really made it a very special 48 hours. We met the day before to get allocated with supplies. Yes, believe it people, i had to carry my own backpack. We carried all out own kit, food, tents, pots, gas etc and not a porter in sight.
.
We were a group of 22 including a seven year old, the only thing you need to know about Emerson is that Quetzaltrekkers will not be taking small children on the tour again. I am not quite sure why that is but it could be one of many reasons, everyone else carried his allocation of supplies, threw his backpack back down the hill to highlight that he had had enough with 600 meters still to go, screamed blue murder most of the night when we had a 3am start to the summit. I just can´work out which one it is. We all blamed the mother, but that didn´t make us warm to him any more.
.
Anyway, it was a beautiful hike up. I was very tired from travelling and the altitude did have a bit of an effect on me. I was slower than i would have liked and was breathing like i smoked 60 cigarretes. Here are the photos, i am really pleased with them, enjoy......
The view back down the Volcano, from about 3500 meters. The trees are all dead thanks to a Japanese Beetle that injects them with saliva and kills them. Sara, Josephine, Shelly and Saskya taking it easty at about 3800 meters. Josephine, Sara and Alicia feeling very happy that we got our tent up just before the rain started, it poured down all night. We had 8 girls crammed into this 6 person tent, by choice in an attempt to increase the temperature by body heat. After a 3am start here i am at the top. It rained the whole way as we scrambled on our hands and knees. My poncho is still in tack at this point and believe me i needed it. The winds were approx 60km per hour and blew straight through me. It was not very clear at the top but there were a few breaks in the cloud. You could see other volcanos for miles, the ones in the far distance are in Mexico.I am not sure if this is out of focus or if the wind is just so strong that you can see be blown, either way it was nasty up there.A break in the clouds. Volcan Tacana and the Mexican border.On the way back down, i was starting to get the feeling in my fingers back. The cloud had started to clear and the views were incredible.Tajumulco is no longer active. This is the crater.In the distance we watched Volcan Santiaguito and Volcan Fuego erupt as we look across the volcano chain of Guatemala. You can just see the puff of smoke. This is my favorite picture.It was pretty special.On the way down. Not a great photo but they only one that proves that i carried my own rucksack! .
I can´t tell you how pleased i was with myself. It really has been a great few days. After sitting around the lake doing very little it was nice to get the muscles moving.
.
I met up with Jo again and we went out for thai food and a good catch up. Next day back to Antigua to climb Pocaya, an active Volcano. If i make it back down there will be another post very very soon!
.
Honduras is next on the menu but it has been delayed because i forgot to take my Malaria tablets, doh!
Much Love
me
x
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Santa Cruz, Lake Atitlan - Guatemala
Beautiful Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.
This post is going to look like another party post, the partying has only been a small part. There has been lots of culture and other things going on, i just don´t have any photos of them!
White trash party for 4th July, it was great fun and the fireworks were brilliant
One of the many enormous fireworks
loaded up and ready to go
The next night there was the Iguana weekly cross dressing party. They have a fancy dress box, hours of fun. I managed to find something particularly nasty! Jo found a maternity jump suit and, i think, wore it pretty well!I am in Santa Cruz, Lake Atitlan. It is such am amazing place i am finding it hard to imagine myself leaving. I am with Jo, John and Helen staying in La Iguana Perdida http://www.laiguanaperdida.com/ .
John, Helen and i did our high altitude diving specialty here, below is a photo of John in his sexy printed wetsuit.
White trash party for 4th July, it was great fun and the fireworks were brilliant Matt and Melody, it was the one year anniversary of Melody´s Mum passing away with Breast Cancer. She has a tattoo on her arm with her Mums advice ´Live a simple life, love someone, let it be´ it was beautiful and i am glad tha we could be with her. The next day we went out in kayaks and put some flowers in the water.
One of the many enormous fireworks loaded up and ready to go Wooooooooshhhhh.....
Ahh!
Ahh!
The Bar
We have been here for over a week now, it has been a great place to rest, kayak, walk and catch up on myself. John and Helen have just left, which i feel really sad about. It has been fun travelling with them for the last few weeks. Building up to Honduras for a bit more diving.
Hasta Luego Chicas
X Sara
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