This month we had a fantastic opportunity to escape the dropping temperatures in Chicago to spend three weeks working on some international stories with a vacation in between. Our first stop was the Feria Internacional de Barriletes Gigantes, or the International Festival of Giant Kites in Sumpango Sacatepequez, Guatemala, about 30 minutes from Antigua. The festival is part of the Day of the Dead celebrations, put on by the indigenous community in the region. Residents
After one week of work in Guatemala City, we headed out on one of our most ambitious road trips yet. Alex drove straight for 12 hours through dozens of small towns, over countless potholes and we even shared a makeshift ferry with a semi to cross a flooded river. We arrived in Bullet Tree Falls, San Ignacio, Cayo, Belize, late at night and were looking forward to visiting our old friends at the Cohune Palms cabanas next to the tranquil Mopan River. When we stepped out of the car, we were surprised to find the place eerily deserted. Exhausted and disappointed, we headed toward the lights of riverside lodge across the road. Colin, the owner of Iguana Junction informed us that the town (and most of Western Belize) had been wiped out by flooding a month earlier and many of the lodges were now only beginning to rebuild in preparation for tourist season. Colin and his wife Dawn graciously offered up the only place fit for sleeping--a room with five mattresses on the floor. Luckily they had fixed up their kitchen and we had a delicious dinner of Ramen, fine conversation and even an after-dinner drink (We started off with a cooler full of beer that the Belizean boarder patrol helped themselves to. At least they didn't take the rum.) Good thing we were traveling with three of our awesome friends, which made a potentially disheartening situation into a laughter-filled adventure. That night, our floor accommodations felt like the Four Seasons to us. :) We even ended up staying an extra day to relax by the now bloated, rapid river. We didn't much care that someone's washing machine floated by on what was once a clear blue and very swimmable river. Our friend Jessica and I tied vines to our waists and splashed around--just to make sure we wouldn't be carried away by the current. What a difference great friends make.
The next day, Alex drove us four more hours to Placencia, Belize. The pictures speak for themselves. We spent four days in a house just minutes from the beach and even had time to hang out with the local school kids. Our final stop were the ruins of Yaxha which were less-developed, but just as stunning as Tikal with a fraction of the tourists. We were treated to a territorial dispute between howler monkeys and spider monkeys--the uninhibited wildlife is unlike anything I've ever seen. I'll excuse the 100+ mosquito bites I got that day. A week later they still itch, little reminders of a wild vacation.
