Help available on alternative energy or greenbuilding project in Guatemala....

Ultimately, I would love to try homesteading here in Central America; building a cave home or earthen home to direct those activities using the vast, yet underused, natural resources, would be economical and logical.  With the added threat of near-future-extreme-weather in our daily news, it makes sense to plan a shelter that can withstand heavy rains, the baking sun, rising water levels, and public energy interruptions -- no matter what, or who, generates them. 

There are several excellent sites on construction and fine-tuning these types of "green" homes, and basically............ I've always been swept up by hobbit habitats !

I've done enough researching on the internet -- I need hands-on experience.  Having grown up with a building contractor for a father, I know enough not to jump right into building my own house with limited experience.  I am excited to learn about all aspects of construction with natural resources, with my two strong hands, alongside a more experienced greenearthbuilder willing to share his/her knowledge.

I have skills and knowledge of plants, gardens, organic composting, as well as water and soil management.  My partner is an ace woodworker and a handyman with mechanical processes. We would be interested in hearing from you and can offer more information as needed at psorensen69@msn.com !  Thanks!

Agua Azul : The most beautiful place on Earth!

Traveling from San Cristobal in Southern Mexico toward the Guatemalan border, we opted to take a few days to travel the loop up into the mountains visiting Agua Azul and Palenque.  This is really where we started seeing the indigenous (native indians) going about their daily activities in the traditional indian garb, from tending the sheep and chopping firewood for cooking, to weaving on looms just off the side of the road. 

Although their lives consist of simple, yet laborious tasks just for basic survival, central americans always seem to make time for entertainment...............(how often do you see this in the states?)

After winding up steep mountains on a good road for nearly an hour and a half, we reached a sign for our first destination: Agua Azul.  We paid a toll for the nice road, and another fee about a mile later (totalling a whopping 7.00 US for two people) before reaching what we knew must be our destination.  It was not a "park", simply a beautiful area where merchants set up booths to sell food and souvenirs to the people bussed in from the city.

Contrary to what we'd understood, there were two options for lodging onsite:  an economical group of rooms containing a bed and nightstand (with a window) sharing showers and bathrooms (15.00 US per night), and a more expensive tile floored room with multiple beds and seating for 30.00 per night.  At first, we were only shown the more expensive rooms (after all, we were tourists and so would only want the best......), but once we started walking away upon hearing the price, we were shown the other option which was adequate, and.............. looked right out onto the water! 

And what water we saw!
The translucent, turquoise carpet of water cascades down the rocks for as far as the eye can see in either direction, spilling over ledges and carving out tunnels and pools in the limestone rock.  The constant roar of churning water and rising mist create an unmistakable energy in the air: a beautiful,
pure sensation that swells your heart with respect and awe. 








Waterfalls are very nice to look at, but this is an invitation to explore  every nook and cranny that has evolved through years of water movement; an experience rather than a two dimensional picture........a chance to be in that blue lagoon from fantasy land!

There is a strong allure to be a part of the clean, cool water; walk the ledges that define the pools, dive into the white froth, immerse oneself in it's
graceful power of creation.

For some strange reason, the rocks and height fail to instill a sense of danger that one tends to feel at other natural creations of water and rock.  It's almost a soothing, tranquil embrace that expresses the positive energies of this destination, compared to the roaring, dominating, raw power of  a Niagara Falls experience.






The simple fact that people can enjoy this area with all of their senses (get into the water and scramble up the rocky faces, balance easily along the well defined pool ledges or dive into the froth from varying heights), allows an interaction with spectacular nature that is all but lost in the "more technologically advanced nations of the world" where people must be protected from themselves!  There were no guards or authorities; there were two or three signs at particularly steep drop offs where erosion had played a part in changing viewing platforms, and a roped off area that was quite safe for inexperienced swimmers and small children.  Nowhere did I see groups of people drinking and getting high before attempting a stupid maneuver designed to keep ambulances in service!

We met one Mexican jumping off the rocks; this was his first time visiting, although he didnt live far from the falls.  Hard to imagine!

The further we explored, the more waterfalls we saw.  They just went on and on..........

The great thing about outings in Mexico and Guatemala, is that the whole family joins in.  The old great grandparents are there in their swimming clothes soaking in the water next to 3 or 4 family members and their children, a multi-generational activity that men and women participate in.  There was no subtle swimming suit modeling show or personal agendas being pursued.  It was all about enjoying, by taking part in, an intoxicating natural scene, no more, no less!

Found the ropeswing!

The limestone that edges the pools and waterfalls is stable to walk on with sandals since the pH of the water discourages algae and other plantlife from growing in it.  That is one reason the water is so clear.  We did see some tiny fish, but none of any size.  Most of the pools we explored weren't very deep; some of them were only a foot deep  in most places.

It was surprising how few people we ran into  along the water, considering the number of empty busses in the parking lot.  It is very possible that many of the people bussed in were running the tamale booths and selling the handwoven fabrics that make up the indian ensemble.

There were so many areas to explore, it was easy to discover your own special pool and natural garden.

Sometimes there aren't enough words........See it Now!

Panacam Adventure

Eli was eagerly pulling us along the trail into the dense, tropical forest of Panacam Natural Reserve.  The narrow trail wound steeply up between tree ferns and pink polka dot plants; we could hear a stream splashing down the steep gorge, and birds moving in the trees above us.  The plants glistened with rain from last night's storm, even though it was almost noon.  Small lizards darted across the path before us, sometimes right in front of our dog's nose, but he didnt even have time to react before they were gone!  Besides, we were on a mission and he was focused.  He didnt realize what was awaiting him, but he knew that we were relying on him to pull Jonny's 200+ frame up the mountain!  We soon reached a beautiful little waterfall where we cooled our heels for a minute -- and it was cold!

Climbing into Panacam Natural Reserve near Lake Yojoa.

This was truly a mountain stream-- coldest water in Honduras!

 

It took some persuading to get Eli to join us in the water... but eventually he succumbed to the temptation of .........Fetching the Stick!

Jonny waits for Eli and I.

Soon we crossed over the suspension bridge and continued on our journey toward the alleged waterfalls.   This was actually Jonny's second visit to the nature reserve, and although he compared the area to Silver Creek Falls in Oregon, I found it hard to imagine even half of those hikers attempting to scale the terrain that Panacam presented!  This was not for the faint of heart.  By the time we reached a second stream and suspension bridge, we were ready to cool off again.............

Jonny tries to shame Eli into the water by questioning his malehood......

Finally we arrived at the waterfall; it was beautiful. 



The Panacam Nature Reserve is located near Lake Yojoa in Honduras, and holds bragging rights to some of the most spectacular views in the area.  The trails are divided up, so you can choose to take the shorter routes, longer routes, or the entire loop.  The map at the lodge provides distances and locations of each leg of the journey, and also elevation changes.  There are accomodations available for groups (groups with lots of money), and the location is somewhat remote to offer the utmost in tranquillity. 



We visited the  Yojoa area in August, which is the rainy season.  It is still moderately sunny for part of most days, but you can count on some sort of squall blowing in later in the day.  Consequently, we saw very few tourists during our 4 day stay, and none at Panacam!



Once we had conquered the first leg of the loop, we were confident that we could handle the rest.  I would strongly recommend that if a person felt very fit and started early enough in the day, they should follow the trail the rest of the way.......slowly and with lots of drinking water. 




The view changes as altitude increases -- not just the views of the valleys spread out before you, but the huge trees with the limbs spreading out, supporting a thousand bromeliads, ferns, and tillandsias!  No matter how I did it, I just couldnt seem to snap a picture that captured the intensity of it all.  It reminded me a bit of that recent movie with the planet of huge trees supporting the blue flying creatures...............if you've seen it you know what I'm referring to.

This path placed us right on the ridge of the mountains, with steep drop offs to each side  and incredible views!  It was unreal.

Here you can see Lake Yojoa in the distance.

Wow!  What a View!

It did actually shower on us a little, but luckily the heavy canopy kept us and the path from getting too wet.  Unfortunately the camera battery died just as we got to some really cool plants, and we spent lots of time at the end of the trail in a steep descent via manmade steps next to dripping, moss and fern covered walls of rock.  We made it back to the lodge in about 6 hours from starting out.  It was quite an effort, but definitely worth it!

Destination: Finca Bosque

Lush green leaves of banana trees, avocados, limes and coffee greeted us as we drove down the twisting road leading to San Pedro and Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.  The skies were blue, although fast moving clouds were filtering through the volcano peaks and seemed to roll down the steep slopes across the lake toward us. 

After nearly an hour of negotiating deep potholes and steep, hairpin turns, we arrived at our destination.  As the thunder rumbled, we could see the rain ahead of us, then closer, until finally engulfing us while the wind whipped the surface of the large lake.  What an arrival!  And what a change from the oppressive, sticky heat and humidity of the hotsprings!

We had climbed over 3,000 feet, then driven down the steep mountainsides to end up at about 5,200 ft of elevation.  Needless to say, it was a little shock to climb out of the pickup in a tank top and shorts.......

The lightning varies, but the storms occur fairly regularly every afternoon during the rainy season (March - Oct.).

The huge lake within this group of 3 volcanos is actually a caldera, similar to Crater Lake in Oregon, although much deeper with no known outlet.  In the past few years the lake has risen --some say by 12 feet in 5 years --swamping bars and restaurants, boathouses and docks, so that only the roofs are left on the water surface.  Rumor has it, the water level was much higher only 60 years ago, which explains why most of the smaller villages are located up on the steep mountainsides!

Main dock in San Pedro; $3 fare to villages across lake every 20-30 min!

Lake Atitlan is a big, beautiful lake traversed hourly by boats ferrying people from one village to another; canoes and kayaks and wood fishing boats -- even scuba divers  can be found in the cool water shadowed by the volcanoes.

Stinky chickens rode with us on the ferry from Santiago to San Pedro. 

Swimming at the tiny San Marcos dock.

Fisherman in wooden boat.

Throughout the small villages dotted around the lake, 4 different dialects of the Mayan language are spoken by the natives, in addition to Guatemalan espanol (which is different from Mexican or Honduran espanol, by the way) ;  numerous gringos from all over the world have opened bars, restaurants, hotels, internet cafes and massage spas for the tourists that visit every year.  There are guided tours up the volcanoes, and horseback tours through the banana/corn/coffee plantations, zip lines to ride across the canyon, and endless bed and breakfast options with their own unique twists.  People of all ages and nationalities call this area their home, and everyone seems to live at a relaxed pace (except of course the bus drivers who rule the roads at 90 mph)!

 Corner of the lake looking down from the road.

Many natives here who do not grow coffee, grow row crops such as cabbage, tomatoes, onions, cilanto, radishes, etc. in the rich dark soil bordering the lake.  Corn grows just about everywhere else: especially on steep hillsides suitable only for mountain goats and sure-footed natives!

Typical truck headed to market on the main highway--look at the size of those carrots!!!

Larger than life!!! 6'6" next to 3 month old corn.

San Pedro is one of the larger small towns around the lake; it has a bank (and bank machine), a good central market, and a large selection of dry goods in the local "tiendas" there.  Most of what we eat is found at the open air market: beef, chicken, pork, rice, beans, vegetables, spices, herbs, strawberries and blackberries, fruits, knick-knacks, eggs, shaved ice, choco-bananas, tamales, tortillas and hot dishes.  The market is only open until about 2pm, so its important to get there early.



 All of the other important items, like toilet paper, flour, cereal (kelloggs is everywhere),  jello, alchohol and pop are in the small stores there.  Its difficult to find good dairy products; a few well rounded tiendas have some items, but there is a really good dairy delivery truck that goes around the villages with bagged milk, real butter, yogurt (which is popular), cheeses, cream, etc..

Tuk-tuks barely fit down the maze of paths between buildings.

San Pedro is full of bars, restaurants, and rooms for rent by gringos, mostly.  In the middle of town is a large area that is accessible  by paths, (similar to golf cart paths), creating a sort of maze leading to the touristy restaurants, etc.  Many people walk or use the local tuk-tuks (3 wheeled taxis) to maneuver the paths through town.  The other alternative is walking up these incredibly steep roads...... which I have also done!

This little bed and breakfast is termed a "coffee boutique", and is indicative of many lodgings between the towns, that have combined small plantations with tourist  accomodations.  They tend to be very relaxing and personable, with just a few guests.  Many offer a variety of accomodations from basic bedrooms with shared bathrooms, to full cottages with eateries on site.  This one in particular, Finca Bosque/Gilbert's Hideaway, grows coffee and provides kayaks to use on the lake.  Guests who visit in fall may enjoy helping to harvest the coffee by hand.  There is also a small bar/eatery with a pool table and horseshoe pits partially completed, and a sauna on site. 

Our temporary cottage on Lake Atitlan.

Currently there are two houses on the property, the one-bedroom cottage we are staying in, and a soon-to-be-completed house that will sleep 4-6.  A smaller unit nearby will offer basic bedroom accomodations.  The entire property is probably 2 acres or so, and right on the lake! 

The view of the lake and neighbor's garden, from our second story patio off the bedroom; Gilbert visits frequently.

We  are enjoying the change of scenery, and look forward to the weather drying out so that we can jump in the kayaks without fear of being drenched!  

Near the front door is this huge elephant ear (Colocasia) against the coffee, with a banana tree popping up through it all!  An awesome little table and stools are nestled under the elephant ear.

Leaves on paths provide protection from the hard rains around the courtyard near our front door.

Too Darn Hot!

That's right, after only 5 weeks of sunny weather, I'm conceding defeat to the heat!!  I'm told it only gets hotter...........




Beautiful scenery like this on the way to Acapulco from Zihuatanejo.

Zihuatanejo was awesome; we had enough amperage to use our A/C in the trailer, and a little shade in the late afternoon over our bbq.  Then we visited Acapulco:

Although the huge crashing waves of Acapulco are a considerable draw for many, the "rainy season" of April through August is not the time to be there!  Actually, this was my second time in Acapulco, and I looked forward to sharing my discoveries with Jonny.  After a fairly long, but easy drive, we arrived in a small, neighboring town where we found our campsite.  The trailer park in Pie de la Cuesta was beautiful; we parked right next to the beach wall, with palm trees all around........ but no air conditioner!  The breeze coming off the pounding waves nearby made daytime tolerable, but our fans were unable to draw any cool air in at night.  I spent part of the night sitting outside in the camp chair, and the other part sitting on the couch in front of our large fan.  Jonny was able to adapt to the heat enough to sleep on the bed, but even the dog and cats were suffering in the heat.  The next night we moved both fans into the bedroom to no avail!

We walked along the beach, noting the few people brave enough to face the dangerous rip tide along the steep, gritty beach.   For $5 US we sat under a palapa, then bought a couple drinks, each had a massage and bought a souvenir mask for a total of about $100 US.  Hmm.  The eatery and bar along the main drag where I had good memories years earlier, were closed or had changed hands, leaving only pricey establishments.









Cooling off in Acapulco.





Jonny gets a much needed massage.



Driving in the city itself, either with or without a trailer, was frustrating.  It was a dirty, crowded town with a beach you can only look at.  To top it all off, we missed a sign directing heavy loads onto a side route and got stuck with a fine leaving town.  We both agreed that Acapulco is highly overrated!



Driving in Acapulco....





After two nights of miserable heat, we made our move toward Puerto Escondido, a destination of about 380 kilometers (or 240 miles).  We traveled about 150 miles the first day, and finally settled on a small eatery near the edge of Pinotepa Nacional.  After partaking in some food and drink at the small restaurant, we engaged the owner in conversation (he spoke English fairly well), and he offered to let us stay at his fenced in lot adjacent to Rancho del Mar. 



The owner of Rancho del Mar, Luis, offered to let us park our trailer in his parking lot for the night.  It was a great offer since we knew of no other spot in the area; it was fully fenced which offered some security.  Pinotepa Nacional, Mexico.




Rodeo talents practiced in the field next to the eatery.



Ochta, a patron of the bar, was very friendly and bought Jonny a Victoria beer;  he taught us a few words.



 He had showers and bathrooms available; it seemed as though work had begun on accommodations, but never been completed.  We dry camped there for the night, without fans, in the almost stifling heat -- it rained and stirred a slight cool breeze.  There was an incredible lightning show prior to the brief rainshower that night, and I was able to tolerate the couch directly inside the open door.  It was fortunate for us that Louis allowed us to stay for the night because we didnt have many other secure options.  He agreed he would be open to future visits from Rvers making the run between Acapulco and Puerto Escondido.  The next morning we started out for Puerto Escondido, and the opportunity for A/C (we hoped)........