A Fast Internet Connection, PLEASE!!!

Another private shuttle ride transported us from Tikal Guatemala to San Ignacio, Belize. It wasn’t a difficult ride, only 2 ½ hours, which we planned for our hotel check-out time of 11 am. It would have been a bit faster if it had not been for border control. We went through Guatemala Passport Control just by giving our passports to our driver who was able to get them stamped without us being present. Belize was different. We filled out a form, went face to face with the Passport people who stamped our US books without even looking at us. There was another form to fill out, but that was painless. Next was Customs where there is only a “Goods to Declare” line, but no “Nothing to Declare” option. After being asked if I wanted to declare anything, I was waved through. 


Arriving in San Ignacio, Belize had me questioning Ron’s decision. Why here? Well we were booked at the White House, or Casa Blanca, so that should have been the answer to my question, but I still had lingering doubts. Oh, I get it. It sounded so good in the tour guide. But we are here for 5 nights, overkill for sure. 


After signing in, we were shown to our room. It is one floor off of the ground level. There is a large living room area immediately apparent. To the right is a waist high dividing wall with built in cases with glass windows. There is a vast collection of porcelain figures that look like someone’s private collection, but the focus is a combination of women in 18th century dress, old valentine statuettes, and elephants next to Madonna (not the singer). Beyond the wall is another living room set, dining room table with 8 chairs, and a full kitchen. Our room is at the end of hall, far away from any traffic that may disturb our sleep.


The first thing I did after getting settled was trying the Tigo Internet stick bought in Rio Dulce. No signal! When I went to ask reception, they said that it ‘should’ work, but if it doesn’t they do have WiFi and she gave me the sign on info. Later, I found a note on the refrigerator that shows other services all listed in US dollars: WiFi $2.50 a day, Laundry $10.00 a load and A/C $25.00 a day. The WiFi is so slow, I am actually wishing for a 56k modem. It would be faster. Who ever heard of a download speed of 13.4kb/s in this day and age?       


We walked to the new bridge, the old bridge, the river and all over downtown. That took a whole 2 hours, including going into stores. Okay, it is Sunday so not everything is open. Still, the thought of 5 days here is worrisome. 


Across the street, almost directly across from Casa Blanca, is a restaurant called “Let’s Go Eat” which is the translated name. The real name is in Mayan. The crowd was so great that we had to wait for a table; well worth the wait. As we were ordering, the couple who was on our tour at Tikal, the meditater and the Mayan illustrator asked if they could join us. We agreed and it turned out to be a very pleasant experience. He teaches in a junior college in CA on the Mexican border. She is a psychologist. Conversation was delightful causing me to tell Ron, I retract my nasty thoughts from the morning of the tour. 

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Mayans Didn't Have Electricity Either

In order to leave the Rio Dulce, we have to hire a private driver to get to Tikal. Public transport is not existent without major routes, changes of buses, and hoping for connections. Manuel, who we presume is the manager, was able to make the arrangements for us. It will cost us a hefty 140,000 quetzals or 140 Euros, but the drive is 4 hours one way and the driver will return after dropping us off, most likely by himself.

After taking the 9 am boat shuttle from the hotel to town, our driver was waiting for us. He did not speak English and Ron opted for the front seat, so he had some practice refreshing his Spanish. With my nose in a book, I looked up every few pages to assure myself there was nothing spectacular happening with the scenery as we drove. That was until the fourth look out the window; we came across a small herd of about 7 – 9 Brahma cows strolling down the highway completely unattended by any humans. They looked like they were running away from home or the slaughter house, but it were the later, they were too emaciated to make more than a few hamburgers at most.

We arrived in Tikal, a national park and protected UNESCO World Heritage site. For two nights our residence is the Hotel Tikal Inn, one of three hotels within the park situated in the jungle that surrounds the Mayan ruins located in this part of the country. Again, we have a lovely little bungalow, but there is one problem: electricity. None of the lights or electric outlets in our room functioned. When we brought this to the attention of the front desk, we were informed that there is only electricity from 6-9 pm and 6-9 am. Aside from those times, the entire park is dark or as light as nature allows, but not electrified.

Okay, this creates a problem because my little netbook is old, but still reliable, yet it only holds a charge for 2 hours before needing an AC/DC fix. One or the other, but I have no idea which it is. I figured I would whip out my Tigo Internet stick and spend two hours on the Internet, then recharge the battery when electric juice is turned on. Well that turned into problem number 2. They do not get a Tigo signal here in the park, so the USB stick doesn’t work.

The bright side alternative was being advised that there was free WiFi in the lobby; the password is prominently taped to the counter. For everything there is a catch. Although I am happy that I can download my e-mails, there is a but or two following. The first BUT is that the WiFi only works when the electricity is turned on, which brings us back to those limited hours of availability. But 2 is that the WiFi only works in the lobby of the hotel, not on the grounds and certainly not in the rooms. Bummer! What a conundrum!

Adding to this mix, dinner is only served during these hours also, creating a number of agenda items to be covered in a short period of time. Add battery juice to the computer in the room. Run into the lobby to download e-mail and do whatever Internet things need doing, eat dinner, and then run back to the room to charge the battery one the computer on last time before 9 pm. It is going to be interesting.

Dinner is tasty, but only moderately hot. We wonder if they use electric for the cooking and not gas. There is a summer camp feeling having lights out at 9 pm. No one gets to do any reading in bed unless you brought your own book light or flashlight. But hey, we are going on a 4 am tour to see the Mayan ruins at sunrise, so we need to get to bed early anyway.

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Rolling Down the River Without Proud Mary

We love this hotel, but there is one drawback - no WiFi. The computers they have, they request are not used for anything other than e-mail to give other guests a chance at them. This is really limiting because I cannot even load blog posts on a stick to upload. Being dependent on the computer for multiple reasons, this is like tying one hand behind my back. 

The other disadvantage is that one is pretty dependent on having meals here as the town is a boat ride away or an hour’s walk. As towns go, this one is a village, not really inducive for traipsing there for a meal. Hence we hostages have breakfast at our hotel like most of the other hotels along the river or swim to another shore to dine. Hardly worth the time, energy, or efforts. Our hotel does offer free boat shuttle services 4 times a day; this is still not an incentive. Alternatively, the prices at the hotel are incredible reasonable and the food quality is above average, so it turns into a win-win.

The weather cleared, so we decided today is the day to take the Rio Dulce boat tour. The cost is 200 quetzals each, but it lasts from 9:30 to 3:30, making twenty Euros each a bargain. When it showed, there were already a number of people on board, but after we joined we still picked up 4 more people filling the boat to the max. Not a single life jacket in sight. Due to the weather, the water was choppy, causing the boat to act like an amusement park ride, jumping up in the air and then doing belly flops slapping the water with angry force. Needless to say, we bounced and flopped and slapped our seats in unison.

We cruised along for half an hour before we came to the Castillo or old fort. That is the amount of information we received. There was no opportunity to get off the boat to take a closer look and after snapping two photos, we were turned and already off to the next destination. At 10:30, we arrived at a stop off point, but hardly anything enticing. There was a small pool of thermal waters where one could swim, a restaurant and bathrooms. They were selling giant dead starfish purportedly for a decoration. Needless to say the only attraction for us here was the opportunity to use a bathroom.

Back on the boat, we passed numerous cormorants and pelicans resting on old abandoned boats. We whizzed by small islands of vegetation; the scenery was interesting. However that old song sung by Peggy Lee “Is That All There Is”? Questions my mind could not answer were can I really withstand this butt abuse for 5 more hours? How many pelicans can one witness sitting about before they are no longer a novelty? Where is all of this leading?  Does this tour come with a commentary in any language?

Just as I was mulling the questions over one more time, we landed at Livingston. Relief, a diversion from cruising the river. This was short lived when the boat Capitan told us we had 3 hours here. Three hours for what? This pueblo is a postage stamp. What we learn, on our own, is this village is composed of the Garifuna people. Slave ships from Nigeria were shipwrecked on St. Vincent in the Caribbean where their intermarried, creating a new culture of West African and Caribbean traditions.

When you arrive at the Livingston boat dock, we quickly learn that all the shops and restaurants lining the main streets are owned by Guatemalans along with a few Chinese. What I later learned through my own research was that Guatemalans swarmed here during their own wars as this area was safe. They eventually bought up the best of the area from the Garifuna people. Garifuna people have been relegated to the side streets and the edges of town, living along the shore. 

What we thought would be an excellent diversion when a parade appeared from a side street as we were heading to the dock, turned into something very different. Masses of people were following a pick-up truck that had music playing from speakers on the roof. The crowds were holding umbrellas to shield themselves from the elements. It wasn't until the truck passed that we discovered a coffin was the cargo the truck was hauling. This was a funeral parade. I was so relieved we held off on taking any photos.  
 

One of the foods that is available everywhere is tapado, a Garifuna coconut-based soup overflowing with seafood and shellfish, two reasons while I did not try it. I don’t eat fish. We walked the town up and down the main street and over a couple of side streets too, but we usually try to avoid complete residential areas for fear of making locals feel like they are on display. Only one place gave any indication of wanting to share the culture of the area and this was a small business that had the history on a banner in Spanish and in English. However, it was difficult to tell what the business was, presumably a café, but lacking the accoutrements to provide such services. We read the history and moved on.

 We found the church open. It was plain, but had statues of saints on either side decorating the walls. Each saint was decorated in real clothing like someone played dress up with them. For some it was obvious that they were combining Catholicism with their own cultural beliefs. As the history stated, there are still Garifuna shamans which play the central role in the community regardless of other influences. Still, it was a long 3 hours waiting for the boat to return us to our respective hotels.

As 2:30 was approaching, the weather started turning; the sky was getting heavy with rain, clouds were darkening. A half hour before the boat was scheduled, the rain let loose. It was pouring rain. Most of our group huddled under awnings for cover without any intention on buying the product or services sold by the awning owners.

When we assembled on the boat, all grateful to be leaving, the wind had kicked up, the rain was coming in buckets and the water was rougher than before. Within minutes we were all soaked to the skin. The force of the wind and rain kept most of us covering our faces for protection. By the time we reached our respective hotels, we realized there was a positive and negative to this boat experience. The bad news was that just about all of us had the fillings in our teeth knocked loose. The good news was that those of us with hemorrhoids were cured.

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