Last Word

Some lessons learned from the World Vets Guatemala experience:
*Test sunglasses with both sunscreen and sweat prior to taking them on this kind of trip, to avoid purple streaks on face.
*Plan on using an ATM to get local currency- most people don't bring piles of dollar bills to trade, since ATMs are getting more and more popular. Tell your bank where you are going, and when, before leaving the country.
*Take the extra day off work after getting back. Shifting gears takes more than a couple of hours.
*Schedule long layovers when customs is involved. Bring a second photo ID in case you have lost weight or cut your hair since the passport photo was taken.
*Make friends with people who take pictures!
*Bring printed instructions, in the local language, of where you need to be and when.
*Be open to trying things (activities, foods, languages) that you aren't familiar with - it's an adventure!
*Beware of random sharp things on the sides of kayaks.
*Bring hair gel, because even if you don't use it, someone else will want to borrow some.
and...
Holy Crap - Go on World Vets Trips! This was an amazing adventure! We really made a difference in the lives of the animals (and people) we went to help. We learned new skills (even the surgeons learned new techniques). We made new friends, and appreciated new experiences (I loved sitting at the front of a water bus). The adventure was incredible. I went on an amazing vacation, and came back not feeling selfish or spoiled. I renewed my sense of purpose in what I do. I recharged by working harder and doing more than I would have if I'd stayed home. And just being in a different culture, seeing what makes us the same and different at the same time, is always eye opening, and leads to self-reflection. Also, my team was amazing, and we just had fun being silly.
So go on: www.worldvets.org. You don't need veterinary skills to volunteer and go on a trip. You don't have to go on a trip to help this happen. World Vets is always looking for donations of supplies - a few dollars, a few leashes, a few minutes of your time, talking to someone about what we do. It is totally worth it.
Signing out for now,
Krayzy Kat Lady

Exploring Tikal

Oh no! A crocodile!

... and by the time Sandy got into the picture I was bored, so...

 I literally ran up all these stairs. Then I wheezed while possibly smarter people (like Stacy and Sandy) walked up. Then we posed for pictures! This is the main platform at the amphitheater, so from where we were standing, we could hear what Sandy was saying as she took the pictures:

Then I laid down and looked up at the clouds while they switched places, then we posed for more pictures - possibly with some gravel in my hair:

 Ceiba tree and bromeliads, a setting sun in the smog.... ahhhhhhh....

We took a break at the Palace of the Lost World. It was still pretty warm and I'd been tromping around like a hooligan in the jungle. The palace was really cool though. We saw the priest/shaman guys' rooms with bed platforms and little windows, and walked through a classically Mayan-arched tunnel with a snake carved around the entrance. Very chilling!

Remember how I said that some of the original wooden supports were still in use? A Mayan person chopped these trees down with a stone ax, trimmed them with a flint adze, probably peeled them with a flint or obsidian blade, and then fitted them into the stonework, and secured them with stucco made of sand, flour, water, and some other secret stucco recipe items (okay, so I didn't pay very good attention to that part). Still amazing to think about though:

 Going back a couple of days. This was my first sighting of anything Mayan. WOW! And the light just right for making it all seem surreal. I am so glad I got to see this first!

 This was the next part I saw. It got even more WOW! There were levels and layers and windows!

 The tower at the back of this picture is where I first climbed up and laid on the stone just to soak it all in.

 I love the variety! Imagine what it looked like un-crumbled, with people using the space!

 And then, I saw that there was even more stuff over the wall, so on I went!

I climbed to the top of basically anything the would let me climb to the top of:

 And I wasn't the only climber! Woofie didn't climb at all - he had a handy camera-bag-strap seat!

 Because this is what jungle vines are FOR...

A faraway coatamundi, and an agouti, and a little birdie, all in the same picture!

 I love this shot! It's fuzzy because of long exposure - it was almost dark out when it was taken:

 Same place, same-ish time, next night, with a half moon. This time I think the setting was better, but some dots crept in and I don't have photo-editing software. Oh well. Awesome anyway!

This is from the sunset tour on our last day in Tikal. The massive shadow is from Temple IV - I was about 3/4 of the way up, and there was that much still above me!

We hung out on this ledge, waiting for the light to change...

... so that Woofie could say good night to Tikal in the sunset!

 After the sunset, I ran back to my first encounter spots to say goodbye. The flash made some funky tree silhouettes behind me...

 So I got out of the picture and let the flash focus on the ruins. Oooooo - spooky! And sad. And just amazing. I could have camped right there all night...

 But I went back to the hotel instead. We said our goodbyes to Juan, and our restaurant guy Manuel - he got us some pudding for dessert since it was our last night there. I'd been practicing my Spanish, and Manuel said I did a great job when I ordered Spaghetti Pesto... (heeheehee). Then we showered up and packed up and got to bed, hoping to get some sleep before our 5:30 a.m. departure. We were picked up, taken to the proper airport in Flores, and checked in on time, so Sandy and I ran out and got some breakfast at a coffee shop next to the tiny airport. Fabulous! That orange juice lasted about 12 seconds, and the cappuccino only a little longer because it was hot. My cinnamon raisin bun is not pictured. See?

I just had to take a picture of this - I don't think I've ever seen it before - an EMPTY airport terminal!!!

And off we went homeward!

Mixed jungle photos

A couple of coatamundi playing in the lawn by our hotel. They seem to come out in early morning and early evening. See how raccoon-y they are?

 The ceiba tree! Juan says the fuzzy things near the top are bromeliads, which act as "sunscreen" for the branches when its own leaves fall off. Juan says the termites are getting to this ceiba tree, so its time is short. Fun fact: dry. fallen leaves smell the same in the jungle as they do at home! I was surprised to notice that.

 Towards the bottom of a younger ceiba tree - the thorns protect the tree as it grows:

I think this is a rattan - after the spiny layer is peeled off, it's made into furniture!

 See any Ewoks? Rumor has it that part of Return of the Jedi was filmed here.

 I think a Stormtrooper ran into that fallen tree over there...

 These little bees are called "damsels". They are stingless, harmless, and were considered sacred by the Mayans. To be surrounded by damsels was a sign of good fortune, and their honey was prized.

The damsels' little honeycombs sit on a window ledge at the Tikal Inn. There is a poster above the combs explaining what damsels are, and asking guests not to harm them:

 Found some flowering ginger plants on the hotel grounds:

 This is the hotel's "laundry room".

 And the hotel's electric wiring, laid over tree roots:

 I have no idea what these friuts are, but they looked cool. I put my hand in the picture so you could see how big they are:

 There were lots of gorgeous hibiscus (or jamaica) bushes and flowers all over in Guatemala. Mmmmm, jamaica...

 Some more fruits I found when wandering by myself. I have no idea what these are either:

 I loved the colors on this plant! Again, no idea what it is, but it's cool:

 One more random fruit - this is the one that looks like a little brown mango from the outside. While we were on our sunset tour, Juan told us what all the fruits were, and there was one that looked like a tangerine on the outside, and like a white pomegranate on the inside. Juan said that one was safe to eat, so I got my free jungle snack after all, but not only do I have no idea what it's called, I didn't even take a picture of the darn thing before I chomped it up...

 Did I mention that on the first night at the Tikal Inn, we saw the sidewalk moving, in a very Indiana Jones-y sort of way? The moving floor turned out to be about a billion leafcutter ants, carrying shreds of mango tree leaves back to their anthill. So the hotel had a mango tree, but the darned ants ate all the flowers, so there isn't any fruit now. This time, they tried to stop them from getting to all the leaves by wrapping the tree in plastic. The poor li'l ants left their leaf shreds inside the plastic and gave up. Here, Sandy checks out the pile of green leaf-cuts left behind:

 Up close - that's a lot of wasted ant work!

 Juan showed us several leafcutter ant trails through the jungle. He says they never go back to pick up abandoned shreds; they'll just cut new ones. He showed us a couple of places where something must have startled the ants. "Drop everything and RUN!" he said, in an ant voice. And then the little scattered pieces go to waste. "Poor little ants", he said. We like this guy!

 I love doorways into the jungle! This one is from the Plaza of the Lost World, where the shaman types who communicated with dark spirits (via the use of hallucinogenic drugs) spent their time. We also visited the Palace of the Bats, where one lonely bat hung from the ceiling in late afternoon. Something awesome about several of the structures, including the bat palace: some of the wood used to support the stone and stucco (yes, the Mayans invented stucco) is the original wood! That's some old trees!

We saw lots of toucans flying around, but not many sat still enough for good photos:

 This is the original view used in Return of the Jedi - from the top of Pyramid IV. The smog is from farmers slash/burning their fields to plant new crops. Juan says it gets much worse before it gets better, and sometimes the sky glows yellow.