Sweet Water

Actually a decent picture

Pirate Face

Wench Pose

Hm...

No swimming...really?

Hello All! I know it’s been incredibly long since I’ve posted. Things have been going well and now I am officially halfway through the semester. After a project as well as written and oral exam in Spanish class, I think we’re going to get “midterm” grades. We only have six or seven weeks of classes left, come to think of it.

Through all my travels on weekends, I have remembered that what I love best is just to be at home. Whether that’s home in Clifton or Williamsburg, or home-away-from-home here in Antigua, that’s where I am happiest and most comfortable. So while there are a lot of places I’d like to visit, I’m going to keep the weekend trips to a minimum from now on. (It might also help to mention that I generally get sick when I travel…) That said, next weekend we are making the much anticipated trip to Petén. Yes, that means Tikal, and a few other sites as well. I’m pretty darn excited. Kelsey and Anna, I’ll say hello to the spirits of Spearthrower Owl and Yax Nuun Aiin (or however you spell it) for you.

Last weekend Tamara and I ventured to Rio Dulce and Livingston. A quick note on the name ‘Rio Dulce’: the noun ‘dulce’ can mean a sweet, cake, or pastry. The adjective can mean sweet, fresh, or tender. It probably translates to ‘Fresh River’ as this is where the river meets the sea (ten points if you’re thinking of the John Denver and the Muppets song). And unlike the popularized term of the same spelling, ‘Dulce de Leche,’ it is pronounced [d-oo-l-se] – not [d-oo-l-che]. Dang Argentineans (just kidding).

We spent Friday traveling: a van to Guatemala City, where we caught a bus to Rio Dulce. I sat next to a French guy and realized how badly I speak French now that Spanish has taken over. It was 5:30pm by the time we got there, so we got a luxurious hotel room – private shower in the room and everything! However, I feel obligated to add that there was no door separating the shower from the room… We got dinner at a place by the water and watched the evening light fade on all the boats harbored there, enjoying the smell of not-quite-the-ocean-yet.

Saturday after breakfast we headed out to the Castillo de San Felipe, a fort built in the sixteenth century to keep the dastardly pirates away. At one point I tried to make a pirate face, but realized how miserably I fail at it. After way too many bad pirate jokes and silly pictures, we headed back to Rio Dulce (the town). We got lunch at a hippy joint and took a scenic boat ride up the Rio Dulce (the river) to Livingston. It was beautiful –and there is nothing like that feel of the wind on your face as you speed through the water. I wasn’t feeling too well by the time we got to Livingston, so we got a couple beds at a hostel and I passed out. I wasn’t too up to dinner that night, but enjoyed watching Tamara eat her tapado: seafood stew that contained (literally) a whole fish and a couple cut up crabs and shrimp with plantains. She kept saying that the fish was staring at her. I would be inclined to agree.

We wanted to check out the music scene, but as ten o’clock rolled around and places still weren’t open, we dug in for the night. I’m a little sad I didn’t get to see more of the Garifuna culture in Livingston, but hey – I don’t have dengue or malaria, so I’m not complaining. We spent Sunday traveling home: boat to Puerto Barrios, taxi, double-decker bus to Guatemala City, taxi, and chicken bus back to Antigua. Somehow, that turned out to be a pretty efficient trip: 6:30am-2:30pm.

It was a pretty fun trip, although I’m sad I didn’t get the chance to drink rum in Livingston. ¡Que lastima! (what a shame!) I made up for it by going drinking and dancing, Guatemalan style, on St. Patrick’s Day. Don’t worry, I didn’t drink that much. I have to have my wits about me to beat off the men with sticks. Just kidding! Well, sort of ;)