October our backyard

October our backyard

Panama

Panama
Red Frog Beach

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Tikal Guatemalla

After checking out of the hotel Peten we set off for Tikal. The highway winds through the mountians with panoramic views of the country side that are spectaular. It is verdent and lush with small villages dotting the road side. All of the villages have roadside vendors that are prepared to sell crafts , vegtables and local foods that are simple but good. Once you arrive at the gates of the park you recieve a ticket and then you proceed up the highway and it is dotted with wildlife crossing signs jaguar, deer, monkey, peacock, and snake. The park was bustling with local people of Maya dissent. There was some kind of religious ceramony going on in the main square of the temples. A large fire had been built and there some kind of preists giving offerings and annointing people by spraying them will an alcoholic beverage. Once that was preformed the person would toss an offering of their own into the flames,grain corn , or tobacco seemed to be the preferred offering. The pyramids were spaced apart from each other at considerable distances, with alot of walking through the jungle with paths that meander to the next temple. All of the temples were unique in someway. Some were very high with steep inclines and others were flattened out at their summits with platforms, and large vistas of the surrounding areas . Gil and I with Kurt and Jill limbed the last temple to the top via a stairway that zigzaged back and forth to the top. There were plenty of rest stops made because of the heat and the humidity. But the view from the top was worth every step. Once we descended it was time for a beverage break at the little tiendo they had at the base of the pyramid the beer was ie cold and wonderful. The rest of the day was spent walking through the shaded paths with monkeys swinging in the tree tops as we passed through. All of the temlpes were moss covered with ferns and creeping vines growing on them. They were quite different from the ruins in Mexico and yet alot of the carvings on the stone tablets had similar hyrogliphics depicted on them. One of our last stops on the tour was their museum. As you go down the path to it you see areo pendula, which are a birds nest tha hang from the tree branches. And the path to the museum has orchids growing from the wooden handrails on them. Inside there were artifacts of jade jewellery, obsidan arrowheads and pottery with intricate designs on them. There were the remains of one of the kings who had ruled at the time on his body there was approximitly 16 ppounds of jade jewellery. It was a wonderful day of exploring and the ride back to Flores had ingredable veiw of the lake as we were coming down the mountian. It looked like the view from Montreal river hill. Absolutely breath taking. If you are down this way it is a must see place.

Tikal Guatemalla

Gil and I met a really nice couple ,who had drove across Guatemalla from the Pacific side. They were staying at the marina hotel for a night And then the two of them were heading to Tikal and then to Belize. Jill and Kurt Strecker turned out to be a very interesting couple,they have bought their first boat and learned how to sail it and then went through the Panama Canal. We invited to travel along with Jill and Kurt to Tikal .They would continue on their way and we would come back to the Rio by bus. Anyway we all piled into a small rental car and drove up into the mountains to a town called Flores. The attraction was to stay at a hotel on a man made island. It is hard to believe now that tis quaint town was once"Tayasal"-the ceremonial and political center of the powerful Maya Itsa confederation. In 1542 Hernan Cortes arrived . In 1697 Martin de Urzua y Arismendi conquered the last independent Maya stat and captured Itza king Canek. The Spanish built a fort on the Island because it was easier to defend and fewer biting bugs than on the mainland. Flores was named after Cirilo Flores who was a political leader and was lynched in Quetzaltenango. But before that it was called Nuestra senora de los Remedios y San Pablo de Itza and then it was called Devil's Island when it had a prison built on it. All in all it is quaint with its gaily colored buildings and cobblestone streets.The hotel was called Hotel Peten and it was very large with three large beds and a small balcony looking out on the water. We ate fairly good food at reasonable priceses. As soon as we found out that they turned the electricity off in the hotels at Tikal we returned to Flores and the hotel Peten for our second night.

The Journey Begins

My dad and I left the Soo on January 5 2008.

About Me

My photo
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
I am Katerina Precepa, newly retired and going sailing with my best friend and soul mate Gilbert Quesnel. Who happens to be the captian of the fine sailing vessel Endorfin. Gilbert has been a water well driller for thirty five years. I worked in a steelmill for thirty years. The both of us will be leaving a lot of family members behind. Gilbert, a son and two daughters five grand children, his brother and sister and his wonderful mom. I am saying goodbye to seven brothers and two sisters,my son and his wife, my daughter plus six of my own grandchildren. Before I forget all of the many neices and nephews.

what Gil's leaving behind

what Gil's leaving behind
the pension

The crapper

The crapper
When you got to go

manatee

manatee
a really thirsty one

Florida

Florida
dolphins

fishing off coast of Cuba

fishing off coast of Cuba
dinner

Gil's tuna

Gil's tuna
Only 28 pounds

thirty pounds tuna

thirty pounds tuna
how to fillet on a rolling sailboat

crossing to mexico

crossing to mexico
hitchhiker