San Ignacio, Belize to Copan Ruinas, Honduras

Day 6-San Ignacio to Tikal, Guatemala
Last night after leaving the internet cafe, Jonathan, Jorge and I met up with newlyweds Kendra and Chris; we went to Faya Wata...a bar in San Ignagio that we heard might have karaoke but instead had live regea. I had the best pina colada ever! On the way home the taxi driver gave me step by step instructions of how to cross the border today, so I am set. This morning I left Parrots Nest after thanking Marcus and Toa for a wonderful stay. The wait for a taxi was long, so I was late to meet Jorge, Chris and Kendra *newlyweds from St. Louis* and the wait at the ATM was even longer..it must be payday. We took a cab to the Guatemalan border . At the border I change my Belizian dollars for Quetzals, forgetting that I needed $37 Belizian dollars to exit the country, so I had to borrow money from my travel buddy Jorge to leave Belize! Finally, IO got out of there and they made us pay to get into Guatemala! I thought about the quetzal thing for an hour and still have no clue how the exchange rate is working. Jorge brokered a deal for us with the mini-bus driver to take us to the fork in the road on the way to Tikal, where we waited in the blazing sun for another mini bus to pick us up. It cost $5 QZ each, and I gave the guy a $100 QZ, which took all the change he had. We had lunch in El Remate, a lovely town by a lake, and my tortilla soup was excellent. The restaurant was right on Lago de Peten Itza, so afterwards we put on our suits and took a swim the water was so refreshing and we saw Maya and Naomi, who had stayed at Parrots Nest. There was also an elderly Guatemalan man washing himself in the lake. At 3 pm we caught a bus to Tikal; the landsape in Guatemala is beautifula nd I so enjoy looking out the window. In Tikal I am staying at the campground, which is a large, grassy, area for tents and hammocks. At around $7.50 US tonight I am sleeping in a hammock outside the Tikal ruins. Jorge and I spent 2 hours inside today and I watched the sunset from Tower 4; on the way out we were seperated and my heart beated fast. The guards here carry gunds and there have been stories of rape, so my worst fears entered my mind!! I busted out my pepper spreay (which I am still not too sure how to use; one of my guy friends must teach me when I return to SD( and took off running towards the exit, where I meet up with Jorge and a guard. Whew!! For dinner, we treated ourselves to a BIG meal at the nearby restaurant and I had a Banana Milkshake. There are only so many QZ left though, so tomorrow I pray for an ATM in Flores.

Day 7-Tikal, Guatemala to Copan Ruinas, Honduras
This morning I woke up at 5"15 am when the US hippies, Maya and Naomi, said "are you awake?" Well, I am now...thank you! Jorge and I went into Tikal at 6 am to see the Grand Plaza, and there was fog everywhere; it would have been a waste to pay off the guards to come in early and watch the sunrise *this country is so corrupt*. We had paid a man named Enrique to watch our bags and reserve us a spot on the 8 am mini bus to Flores; when we arrived at 7"53 am he said the bus was already gone. Just as Enrique was ready to givbe us our $ back, the bus pulled back around. The driver was the "Romeo" of the town and pretty soon we were off to Flores, with stories of his women. Along the way we picked up about 20 ppl, all fitting in a 1990Dodge mini van. We arrived in Flores at 9"30 am and bought tickets on the 10 am bus to Chiquimula, a town near the Honduras border..we paid $12 US for the "nice" bus, which is really an old US Greyhoundbus and will take 8 hours to get there. Jorge ended up standing for the first 3 1/2 hours as it was packed. Along the way we stopped every 30 minutes so the ticket taker could stop to see his "girlfriends" in each town, even once stopping to have a beer. All I had eaten was an ice cream bar at the bus stop, so finally 5 hours into the trip, in a little town outside Zacapa, Guatemala, I got some watermelon slices for $3 QZ each. In the beginning I had set next to a Holland tourist headed to Rio Dulce; the day before 4 Belgian tourist were kidnapped there and she was worried...Our bus was soon stopped by the Guatemalan police who searched the bus and by then I was already beginning to sweat. I was thankful Courtland had talked me into bringing myIPOD and turned it on and dozed into a nap. When I woke up I enjoyed the countryside . After Rio Dulce, I taught my new travel buddy Jorge how to play Go Fish for a while until we got to the border town of Chiquilmula, Guatemala. That was the dirtiest town I have ever been to-all the men were drunk*it was 6 pm on Sat* and had no shirts on. It is no place for a single white female, blonde, from the USA..I don't care what the Lonely Planet book says. Their cat calls didn't bother me, as I get that in the states, but there is really no reason to hang out in that town. We got the last 2 seats on a shuttle to Copan Ruinas, where we met 3 women from the USA. I CANNOT belive they were traveling alone. On the way to Honduras, I watched the sunset over the mountains and felt the fresh air; how magnificent. 5 miles from the border our driver told us there would be no taxis or shuttles tow town and he would take us to Copan Ruinas for $15 US/pp...he is CRAZY...that is the same price as Copan to Antigua. After some negotiating for the whole group, Jorge talked him to $7 US/pp. At the border, the Honduras Immigracion moved very slowly and then simply wrote my name in a notebook, with my passport number-oh', so secure! As soon as we were back on the the road the Honduras police stopped us and told the driver he had to ay to let us passs-the driver tried to make us pay, but the police said "NO!! You must pay" So, I felt it was pretty fair...not like MX. We didn't even have to get out of the car. In the end the driver wanted $60 QZ or $3US from us...WHATEVER MAN!!! I have been traveling for 12 hours by now and smell worse then when I finished the marathon last year. Just get me to that Copan Ruinas town! After arriving tonight , we went to Cafe Via Via to see if they had dorms, but they were full, so we headed to the Green Apple. There were only 2 beds left...after some negotiations they were both $4 US, so I got the big double at the same price. I am sharing a room with 2 guys from Mexico City, who are very nice. FINALLY THOUGH..A SHOWER! My mother might disown me if she saw me right now..I stink! I scrub every piece of my body. There is a party tongiht in town, at the Plaza Square, so we head over. We get some pig kabobs with tortillas, beans and salad from the Honduras woman, and 2 beers-I haven't eaten anything but ice cream and watermelon *but don't worry, mom, I took my medicine!* So this food and beer goes down quickly and I soon head back for seconds. I attempt to order the beers, but the Honduran men are so focused on flirting with me that this could take all night, so my traveling buddy must take over. Finally, we head to Cafe Via Via, which doubles as a nightclub, for one more drink to celebrate our hard travels. I LOVE this town' it has a wonderful colonial charm. All the men have on cowboy hats and there is music blaring, dancing going on. If the people were white with Southern accents I would think I was in Texas at a street dance. Tomorrow there is a huge market and procession for Holy week, as well as the crowning of a beauty queen, so we will watch that before heading to Copan.

Day 8-Copan Ruinas/Copan
I was woken up at 5 am when my Mexico City roomiwes left-then I awoke at 8 am to a new hippie girl on the bottom bunk. When did she come in? I think about making oatmeal and decide to eat at the market instead. At the market the colors of fruits and vegitables are so beautiful. I get eggs and black beans with tortillas and a PEPSI *did I mention that PEPSI is everywhere here?* Jeff Gordon could be an ambassador to Central America. All of this costs me less then $2 US. Over breakfasts I talk with the mother of the cook; she is the town midwife an hour and a half away. She has delivered 65 babies in the last 5 years and also works in the coffee fields for less then $2 US/day. Everyone in the town works in the coffee fields and the coffee owner basically owns the whole town. After breakfast I wait for the Holy procession; it is supposed to come at 10 am, but doesn't arrive until 11"30. It is so beautiful; all the village people are holding things that look like corn stalks and I follow everyone into church, where I listen to the beginning of mass. Afterwards we walk to the site of Copan, where the ancient city once stood. The remains that are left are unbelievable; the carvings of the ruins are so intricate and detailed...they must have spent years on them. Stela C is my favorite, with a turle shaped altar. It is so hot here though and I have re-applied my SPF like 4 times. I still look Latina and everyone begins a full Spanish conversation with me. On the way out we see a family of Guacamayas and I come up close as they eat their pineapple. I get close enough to touch and take my photo with them!! They are amazing...We also meet up with the 3 American women again and they said their tour guide was a "bullshitter." It sounds like money well spent to me. As we walk back to town there is a gathering on the right side of the road so we head over. Turns out it is a cockfight ring so we stay to watch *I know some of my friends will not agree, but I got a lot of photos for you to send to PETA.* These are the top men in Central America here; every weekend the cockfighting changes towns; we tell them we are journalists sent to Honduras on a story, so they allow us to get up close and personal and take lots of very good photos...even holding some of the chickens...who knows what kinds of diseases I picked up today. Anyway, there is so much money running through this place, while right outside people are working for nothing. We have some beers while we take our journalistic photos and this way all of the men in Honduras think I am important and don't mess with me; I am like a queen. Tomorrow there is a rodeo and then the queen will be crowned we have found out so I will stay tonight and another night before heading to Antigua. It's great! I wasn't even going to come to Honduras, but now I love this town...it's so cute and the architecture is amazing. Tonight I headed to the bank to take out some more Lempiras and it said invalid transaction...apparently I have taken all the money out of this country. The money is Central America is so out of whack, but it's so cheap here I can live forever. I sent my laundry off tonight and it was only $2.50...the last time I did that in SD it was $60. Talk to you later.