Blogger at Sea: Guatemala! This morning we docked very early in Guatemala. A bunch of us were all booked for the same shore excursion so we got up early for coffee and rolls and then headed down to the lounge to wait for our call. Luckily today we did dock and there was no need to tender in. My first impression of Guatemala was that it is a tropical country that looks like it was painted on the hillside, it's that green and lush.
Our destination today was Quitrua (Keet-wa) a site of Mayan ruins. These are probably the least impressive Mayan sites in the area but it was only an hour away vs. 3 hours for other tours. Mario, our guide, had just returned from a course in reading Mayan glyphs and was eager to share his new knowledge with us. I haven't cared much about the Mayan ruins until today when I had someone explain them with enthusiasm and pride. Mario was raised in Wisconsin and returned to his homeland after high school and decided to make it home. I can see why someone would stay because while this is a poor country and in transition, the people here are friendly and want to make their home a better place.
When we arrived at the ruins I was happy that I could read Spanish because the museum had great exhibits but they were all in Spanish. Mario was giving the quick version to everyone so I was able to enjoy reading about the area without crowds bumping into me. Side note here - we really sprayed down with Deet to avoid the insects. I walked through the jungle without a single insect bite today while others were slapping away. Chemicals are good stuff!
Quitrua consisted of 9-10 stelae, some better preserved than others. I learned that if you look hard enough, it is possible to understand the basics. A face on the south represents a death and a face on the north represents life. When a king died and his son took the throne, they were portrayed in this manner. I tried to figure out the counting system of bars and dots but it was just too much to deal with this morning. Math is not my favorite subject in any time period. The actual ruins were 3 sets of stairs so you really had to use your imagination to figure out what was once there. Still, it was a good glimpse into that culture.
As the cruise ship pulled away from the dock, all the taxi cabs and drivers started flashing their lights and honking thier horns to give us a "Thank-you!" send off. The ship blasted the horn back and then the fire department set off their siren. All the dock workers were waving us good-bye and it was the only time I have ever seen something like that. We were the only cruise ship in port and as we pulled out I wished I had more time to spend here. Who knew that Guatemala would end up being my favorite port? That's why I love cruises, you get to discover places that you like, that you would have never gone to on your own.
Back to ship life, tonight it's the second formal night of the cruise and our Trek pajama party. I'm powering down the coffee to make sure I stay awake for the Trek event, it's sure to be one of a kind. The Canadian SF channel (Space: Imagination) is going to be filming so hopefully everyone will manage to look decent.
Good-bye from the Guatemala coastline!
Our destination today was Quitrua (Keet-wa) a site of Mayan ruins. These are probably the least impressive Mayan sites in the area but it was only an hour away vs. 3 hours for other tours. Mario, our guide, had just returned from a course in reading Mayan glyphs and was eager to share his new knowledge with us. I haven't cared much about the Mayan ruins until today when I had someone explain them with enthusiasm and pride. Mario was raised in Wisconsin and returned to his homeland after high school and decided to make it home. I can see why someone would stay because while this is a poor country and in transition, the people here are friendly and want to make their home a better place.
When we arrived at the ruins I was happy that I could read Spanish because the museum had great exhibits but they were all in Spanish. Mario was giving the quick version to everyone so I was able to enjoy reading about the area without crowds bumping into me. Side note here - we really sprayed down with Deet to avoid the insects. I walked through the jungle without a single insect bite today while others were slapping away. Chemicals are good stuff!
Quitrua consisted of 9-10 stelae, some better preserved than others. I learned that if you look hard enough, it is possible to understand the basics. A face on the south represents a death and a face on the north represents life. When a king died and his son took the throne, they were portrayed in this manner. I tried to figure out the counting system of bars and dots but it was just too much to deal with this morning. Math is not my favorite subject in any time period. The actual ruins were 3 sets of stairs so you really had to use your imagination to figure out what was once there. Still, it was a good glimpse into that culture.
As the cruise ship pulled away from the dock, all the taxi cabs and drivers started flashing their lights and honking thier horns to give us a "Thank-you!" send off. The ship blasted the horn back and then the fire department set off their siren. All the dock workers were waving us good-bye and it was the only time I have ever seen something like that. We were the only cruise ship in port and as we pulled out I wished I had more time to spend here. Who knew that Guatemala would end up being my favorite port? That's why I love cruises, you get to discover places that you like, that you would have never gone to on your own.
Back to ship life, tonight it's the second formal night of the cruise and our Trek pajama party. I'm powering down the coffee to make sure I stay awake for the Trek event, it's sure to be one of a kind. The Canadian SF channel (Space: Imagination) is going to be filming so hopefully everyone will manage to look decent.
Good-bye from the Guatemala coastline!
I hope you are taking lots of pictures, or at least the people you are with are taking photos they can share. It all sounds exciting.
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