Day 7 ::: We got up and walked to the bank a few minutes before it opened in hopes of exchanging some money, but there was already a line 10 deep! Instead we grabbed a fresh pastry and went to catch the public boat to Livingston. According to Lonely Planet, the ride should have been an hour but a 30 minute delay, a 30 minute trip out of the way and numerous stops for no good reason meant it took 4 hrs! We did, however, make one cool stop to explore some caves for awhile. We finally arrived around 1:30pm in Livingston, the very cool town on the Amatique Bay, which feeds into the Caribbean. Livingston has a population of about 12,000, 75% of which are Garifunas - black Guatemalans who speak Spanish and their native language (Rastas would be the closest comparison). The guidebooks say they are descendants of African slaves, but one Garifuna we spoke to claimed otherwise. 
We ate a late lunch at Happy Fish and then walked all over the town - along the water and throughout the areas where the locals live. We watched some kids play volleyball and then found a very interesting picture of a half-baby, half-chicken creature painted on the side of a building. Later on we went back to our guest house to relax and listen to some minimal techno (which Pooh plugged into their system), when all of the sudden we saw a huge spark and the lights went out! We ventured outside to see just how far reaching the power outage was and noticed that it was only our block and a few others. We went up the street to McTropic, the restaurant run by the owners of our guest house and feasted on some really good Thai curry while people watching the locals. Later that night we had a few cuba libres at Ubafu, the Garifuna bar and live music venue in town.
Day 8 ::: Because of the blackout, we didn´t even have a fan during the night which meant it was f%cking toasty trying to sleep!! So we got up at 8am and I got some breakfast up the street at Bahia Azul. Pooh and I then made our way back down to the docks to try and catch a boat to Los Siete Altares (waterfalls) and Playa Blanca (the beach), however there weren´t enough people to share a boat. Instead, we hired a very nice part-Paki, part-Guate man, Alfonso, to take us to the the series of freshwater falls/pools about 5km from town. The water was extremely rough, which meant we couldn´t get close to the dock and had to anchor off shore and then jump out and walk with our bags above our heads. We knew something funny was up when Alfonso and his son started stripping down into their underwear!!! The hike was literally through the small falls - we walked in our sneakers up the watery path until we landed at the last waterfall, which had a lovely little swimming hole. We spent an hour wading around and looking for snails before making our way back to the boat.
When we got back to town we had lunch and then spent some more time lounging at our guest house. Melanie, the woman running it, wound up asking Pooh for more techno so he copied all his files onto her computer - we´re spreading the good word in Guate!!! Around 2pm we caught the public boat to Puerto Barrios, a port city originally built to route produce from Central America to New York and New Orleans. We got off the boat and quickly walked across town to catch a bus to our next stop, Chiquimula, about 4 hours by bus. When we arrived we went straight to Hotel Hernandez and then grabbed a tostada dinner at Cafeteria Rancho Tipico next door. After that we cruised around Parque Ismael Cerna, a flower packed central plaza blaring Guatemalan pop music, while young couples made-out in the shadows. We finished the night off by watching some futbol on TV.
Day 9 ::: I got up early on Thursday and toured around Chiquimula, one of eastern Guatemala´s major market towns. Everyone was bustling around, buying or selling everything you could possibly think of - toys, fruits, fish, live chickens! We had to catch another bus so we quickly grabbed pastries and a bran cookie (to help with digestion!) and walked to the bus stop. On the road again - this time a few hours to Honduras border. We rode in an 11 person passenger van, which at one point had 25 people in/on it, including 5 school kids hanging on the outside. I was also lucky enough to have a weird old lady sitting next to me, spitting her apple pieces onto my sandaled-feet. We finally jumped out at El Florido, the border town, where we changed money (to Honduran Lempiras) and made out way through immigration. A shuttle to the town of Copan Ruinas was waiting on the other side, but in typical fashion we had to wait another 30 minutes before we moved anywhere. We checked into a cute little place called Hotel La Posada and then walked 1km to the ruins. 
These Mayan ruins were significantly newer (and better preserved) than those in Tikal, but not as large in scope. However, it´s important to keep in mind that only a fraction of these sites have even been excavated - in this case only 20% - so who knows what else is still yet to be unearthed!! We saw a bunch of Scarlet Macaws and the highlight of the ruins, a hieroglyphic stairway - 65 steps of Mayan history. That afternoon we found a great little spot called Cafe Via Via for lunch and then went horseback riding through the outskirts of town for an hour and a half. My horse, Bartolo, was much more well behaved than Pooh´s! However, we both decided quickly that we weren´t cut out for life as cabelleros! The night consisted of dinner, some internet and a trip back to Via Via for drinks with a motley crew of travelers and locals. The MVP award for the night went to a nurse practitioner from San Jose, California who was in Honduras to volunteer. He was a wasted, annoying liability so we (and by we I mean, Pooh) decided to ditch him later in the night.
Day 10 ::: Another early morning - this time 5:30am to catch a shuttle to Antigua by way of Guatemala City. After 6 hours we arrived, but couldn´t find an available or suitable place to stay so we walked and walked and walked which sucks when you have those big packs on! We finally found a decent guest house, dropped our bags and then went to a cool little cafe/bar/clothing shop called Kafka. The afternoon was spent browsing the markets, looking for allergy medicine, napping and watching soccer. That night we decided to splurge on a nice dinner at Sangre, an upscale tapas restaurant owned by some friends of a friend from New York. The wine, food and ambiance were all great! However, we were seated outside and I can´t believe I´m saying this, but it was cold! I knew the temperature would be more moderate in the southern part of the country, but had no idea it would dip that low. It was a nice, refreshing surprise after a week spent in the jungle. After dinner we wandered the streets in search of a place called Peru Cafe that was supposed to have chill electronic music, but didn´t find it in time. Instead we made our way to No Se, a very cool little bar with live acoustic guitar and a tequila bordello that you had to get to via a passageway through the kitchen. We wimped out on the tequila but enjoyed a cuba libre before packing it in for the night.
Day 11 ::: We got an 8am bus to Panajachel, a town on the shore of the largest lake in Guatemala - Lago de Atitlan. We immediately transfered to a public boat which took us 1/3 of the way around to a tiny little village called San Marcos La Laguna. San Marcos is a peaceful and beautiful place most well known for it´s meditation centers, holistic therapy and massage. We trekked awhile to find Hotel Cafe Jinava, an amazing place on a hillside garden, tucked away from all of the rest and with it´s own private beach. For $30 a night, we got our own casita (little house) with a view of the lake. After a quick bite to eat, we went straight for the dock for a few hours of sun and swim.Short Video of the Lake View:
Later that afternoon we ventured back into the village center to explore and enjoy some fresh juice. Then we climbed a few hills to get a feel for where the locals spend their time and came across a basketball court full of kids running in every direction. I´ve been really surprised about how much hoops is being played in Central America - everywhere we go there are tons of kids playing. And this time, I got an even bigger surprise because there were actually 12 or so 10 year old girls playing and playing well for their age! Las chicas!! Awesome. That night we ate dinner at Baraka and then went back to our guest house for a night cap where we chatted up Carlos from Hoboken, a leathery old guy who has been traveling and living abroad for some time. What a character! Oh the stories!
Day 12 ::: We spent Sunday exploring the surrounding lake towns - first San Pedro, known for drugs and Israelis (same difference - ha!) and then Santiago, a traditional market town set between two volcanoes. We took the public boats back to San Marcos for lunch at Las Piramides, a meditation center, then I spent some time swimming and chatting with world famous Carlos and the two owners of our guest house (Gene and Elizabeth, a German and local respectively).
Day 13 ::: Lazy, lazy day. Sun and swim followed by lunch and a massage. It´s a tough life in San Marcos! After my massage I made my way back to the basketball court and found 12-14 girls playing. I watched and took a few pictures and then found myself engaged in a conversation with a local dad who was there with his kids. Despite my terrible Spanish, we had a lengthy conversation that covered so many interesting topics - basketball, 9-11, the cost of hotels in the area, his life at 30 with 5 kids, my life in NYC at 30 with no kids and no spouse, my travels, etc. There were times that I felt terrible about being a tourist and not being able to communicate a specific sentiment. I can only hope he got a feel for what I was trying to say through my expressions and not my (mangled) Spanish words. After the long talk, I joined the girls for a game of me vs. them, which was so much fun. I haven´t played in a long time but it was so great to get out there and interact with them. One of the little gunners was actually saying ¨come on!¨ to me as she dribbled toward me...Ha! We ate dinner that night at a cute little Italian pizza cafe where we also got to watch Blood Diamond.Day 14 ::: We left the lake and made our way back to Antigua to wrap up the trip. Antigua is a quaint town of 40,000 nestled between three volcanoes. It has cobbled streets, colored houses and amazing colonial era doors. When we got back, we exchanged some cash, grabbed a bite to eat at Cafe Condesa in the main plaza and found a room at Casa Rustica, a good spot with a nice lounge, a pool table and laundry service. That afternoon we checked out some shitty museums, a few churches and many of the town landmarks (now ruins) that had been damaged by numerous earthquakes. We sat in Parque Central for an hour or so people watching and then made our way to Chocotenango to buy some homemade chocolates - yum! After that it was off to Sky Bar, a 3rd floor roof deck, where we watched a hazy sunset and took in views of the city from above. Back home, 3 games of pool and a shower... before dinner at La Posada de Don Rodrigo. The night cap involved drinks at Cancun-like Monoloco (we only lasted one drink) and then to Reilly's, the requisite Irish Pub.
Day 15 ::: The last day! We had a traditional lunch at some random cafe and then did some shopping before catching a lovely bootlegged viewing of summer blockbuster (aka piece of shite), Transformers. That afternoon we ventured an hour and a half away to climb an ACTIVE volcano (Pacaya). What a way to end the trip! We hiked an hour and a half up a jungle path, then climbed awhile longer over mounds and mounds of hard lava rock before getting just shy of the peak. We got within feet of three streaming, red rivers of lava - so cool!!! Some people even had the foresight to bring marshmallows and hot dogs (-: Me and Pooh marveled at the lava for awhile and then made our way down back down the mountain in the dark, commando style! Our final night in Guatemala, we grabbed some dinner at Cafe 2000 and caught a bit of Sportscenter and a movie. What a great trip! Two weeks down, four to go!
Video of the Volcano #1:
Video of the Volcano #2:
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