Central America Travel

Chickos!

I'm back. Back in Guadalajara for 2 days. Weird how that can already feel like coming home. How much I wanted to leave this place in the beginning, how glad I'm now that I can still spend some time in between the travels. Seeing Frida, going to Yoga together and enjoying with all my heart our last salsa night in Mexico. Just quick doing some laundry getting everything repacked, in order for the next day to take the flight to San Fransico, where my fellow-Amsterdam-lover Sandra will pick me up to show her world to me, like I did with her in Amsterdam. Isn't that the beauty of having world-wide friends? Amazing how places can be so different on the same freacking planet!

Speaking of... our travel. Note that I will be writing this while I'm eating my final mexican guacamole and taco's :(. 

We started with Chiapas (South of Mexico), in San Cristobal. From there we went to Palenque; the Jungle with Mayan ruins. Met some more of Jennifers many friends haha. The struggle with the mosquitos began, but we lost the fight soon. The humidity was so high that everything you put on your body, went nicely down with the hugh amount of sweat you produced.  I began, misunderstanding the fact why people build concrete houses, when it gives such a good feeling to be surround by only green.

Entering Yucatan followed, with the cities Merida, Cancun, Vallediod. We rented a car to see all the beautiful cenotes, Mayan ruins, dreamy islands and to further our trip to Tulum. Guess what, this girl who sucks driving in Amsterdam, can rock the mexican road without being stopped by the police. Oeff, we survived that. Anxiety wasn't increased due to me driving, but more of being involved in the mexican corruption. Four too European looking girls in a car, are dollars signs for the police. 

Arriving the last destinations in Mexico; Tulum, Bacalar and Chetumal, got us sad about leaving Mexico. Who would have known, that first this country was one of my fears and now my second home. When we got on the boat from the Mexican coast to one of Belize's islands, we felt like the first time leaving your home country and entering a scary new country. But no anxiety needed, wauw Caye Caulker, what a dream Carribean Island. Man, I love that vibe. Everyone has a big smile on there faces, the funny Carribean english accent. It's a mix of Latin and Reggae culture. The people express a new level of freedom. But even in paradise, things can go wrong. Jennifer got really sick and we had to see a doctor. We weren't the first turists with those problems. With medicines and a strong will, we got on the boat to Belize-City and got the bus to Flores in Guatemala.

Seeing so much from only sitting in a bus, is one of my favorite parts of travelling. So many differences, Belize and Guatemala are poor in the eyes of the western world. But I refuse to look with those eyes. It is heartbreaking to see childeren without shoes or proper clothers, but I also saw strong communities surviving on there own. Having there villages build by themselves. Living in the most sustainable way, being outside every day and creating there own food. Isn't that how life was supposed to be? People find it sad to see people without new technological developments, but why can't we look at the 'modern' human and see how poor they are while sitting inside all day looking at a screen!

Unfortunately, the thing that made me so much more happier while being abroad, can also cause a lot of devastation. Nature and it's earthquakes, volcano erruptions and water flooding. While we were in the bus to Antigua; beautiful city next to two volcano's, shocking news about the erruption was yelled through the bus. "Raise your hand if you're planning to go to Antigua?" Almost the whole bus raised there hands. " Okay, I highly recommend you NOT to go. There is toxic air everywhere, burned or even dead people are broad to the city. It is not a pretty side. So let's go go to Atitlan the lake". The bus was completely silence. We could only nod to agree with the bus driver. While driving to our new destination, we needed to cancel anything we arranged in Antigua. The tour to climb the death volcano next to the errupted one, our hostel, busses and make new desperated bookings. More bad luck when we arrived after 13 hours in the bus. FUCK the hostel was on the other side of the lake and no boat was leaving at that time. We knocked on random hostel doors to ask for a bed. There were only 3 left, but we were with 4. Due to losing; rock, paper, scissors, I had to sleep in the hallway. But Oeff, we didn't sleep outside that night.

Further, our plans to go to Nicaragua got canceled to. Now the travel advice was changed from orange to code RED, due to the political unstability. Okay, change our flight, try to get money back from already booked accomodations. Pff okay, we are going nowhere anymore. We stayed 9 days at the lake to catch our flight from Guatemala city. The volcano kept errupting smoke and dirt, which could cancel our flight, but luckily we all got on our plane. After saying goodbye or hasta luego (see you later) we seperated after 6 months. Au that is painful. Jennifer and Sofia went to Costa Rica, Jennifer to New York and I went back to the place where it all began: GUADALAJARA, la ultima vez. Me trataste bien, me encantó y nos vemos: México!

Besitos,

Julissa

PS; make sure to see our foto's from Chiapas, Yucatan, Belize and Guatemala! You can find new video's and some group pic's in GDL. Disfruta!