Viva Centro America!!

Hello Hello Hello! Bienvenido a Guatemala!

 Flying into Guatemala City is quite a sight to see.  Mountains, volcanoes,  and greenness everywhere.  So lovely.

Well not so quickly though...It was quite an adventure to leave India.  We spent our last few moments with our Indian Mama, Rohini, and of course enjoyed her amazing home cooked food.  When we got to the airport, in traditional India style, the officials wouldn't let us in because we didn't have our ticket printed out. Classic. After some navigation we broke though the barriers and boarded the first of many flights back around the world.

Here is what we had ahead of us: India-Paris...with a 6 hour layover where Justin Biddle was meeting us with a bag of our clothes and some fresh Parisian treats such as warm baguettes with veggies and goat cheese. Thank you Justin!!!

Next flight: Paris-Los Angeles...with another 6 hour layover where Jess' folks met us with items for the next leg of our trip, and took some items we no longer needed.  It was quite nice to take a shower in a proper hotel bathroom, eat some food, upload some songs to our ipod and get ready for Guatemala.

And the next flight: Los Angeles-Guatemala City...oh wait, the flight has been over-booked... Would anyone like to give up their seats for $400 (each), a hotel voucher and food vouchers? Yes, please! We didn't hesitate.  We took the goods and in typical J&J fashion we also asked to be bumped up to 1st Class for the next flight.  Yay us!  We did the same thing again the next night, and were able to have dinner with Josh and Adira who were in Los Angeles.

If you look closely you can tell that Jeremy's smile is non-existent.  That is because India left him with a staph infection just above the lip and below the nose.  Nothing a trip to the local LAX clinic, a shot in the butt, and some antibiotics couldn't cure.


 We arrived early in the morning, hopped a shuttle to Antigua and started to soak in the goods...yes we mean food.  You can see our "small" nachos and one of many mango-heaven stands that Jessica has become so familiar with day in and day out.

Antigua is a cute city; it has a strong colonial feel, with cobble stone streets, many churches and volcanoes surrounding the landscape.

 Ever wonder what happened to you school bus? No need to wonder anymore.  Once US school buses reach 10 years old or 150,000 miles they get auctioned off.  Many of them end up here in Guatemala as the public buses.  Of course they are retrofitted OG style.  Pimped out engines (6 speed), larger tires, bigger seats, luggage racks, and of course some quality paint jobs.

 We liked hanging out in the plaza while enjoying street-food snacks.  We also ran into our friend Jordan F. in the plaza as he was taking a group of college students around the city.  We ate dinner with them in the town next day.

 Just above Antigua is a wonderful avocado farm that also has A-frame and tree house cabins.  All of the staff that work the guesthouse are foreigners (like us), but they are volunteering in local schools.

 Good beer + volcano view = GREATNESS. We spent a few days at Earth Lodge, recovering from jet-lag and hiking around the hills.

Just yesterday we returned from a trip to El Paredon Surf Camp.

The "road" leading to the beach.

From our stretch of beach we could see the sunrise (this picture) and the sunset over the ocean.  It was an added bonus that every time we saw the sunrise and set, we also saw a full moon rise and set.  Yeah, go Earth/nature/God/life!

The surf was nasty, but the mangoes were plentiful. It was a one horse town, no roads, just sand, and lots of mango trees for our visiting pleasure.  We wandered "deep" into town, maybe 4 blocks from our beach shack, and came across a house with mango trees.  We were quickly invited in to harvest more mangoes than we could carry.

Behold, Mango Mama in person! We returned on our second day and brought some friends with us from the surf camp.  Mango Mama greeted us by saying, "I've been waiting for your return!".  She never asked us for a cent, Jessica's perma-smile at the site of so many amazing mangoes in our bag was payment enough.  

In order to get mangoes from the trees one has to use a 30ft. bamboo stick to knock them loose.

Jessica with her mango bounty

Ok, we know you only read this blog for pictures of food. Here ya go:

Typical meal at the surf camp, cooked by Dina, and delicious.  This plate has fresh tortillas, chili relleno, rice, and fresh salsa.  Yummy x 10.

"Desayuno Tipico" includes frijoles, agucate, platanos, queso, tomate, huevos, pan, y cafe.  With a mango appetizer of course.

Guatemala so far has been a world apart from India.  We miss the sensory overload, the spiritual intensity, the constant connection with EVERYONE we encountered, and the uniqueness that can only be characterized by saying..."Incredible India".  Here in Guatemala we have experienced a new level of cleanliness, and a warmth and patience from people that is ingratiating and beyond welcoming.  Travel from place to place feels calm, the world seems quieter, and the nature a bit more green. The next leg of our journey takes us north-east to the ruins of Tikal, and then back south to Lago (Lake) Atitlan where we will settle in for Spanish school and connect with Jeremy's sister, Michele and her boyfriend Joe.


We miss you all tons and thanks for sending all of your love... We can't get enough!

Adios India

Hello friends! Sadly, it's our last day in India...though we can't complain too much as we will soon be on our way to Guatemala.

We are in Delhi now, but had a wonderful two weeks in the mountains of McLeod Ganj. We were also fortunate to meet some great people, and got to experience the town before the big tourist season starts. This truly is a special place, and often felt like a different country from the rest of India. MUCH cleaner (people even used the trash cans!), quieter, and very peaceful. Here are a few more mountain pictures to add to those from the last blog:

 It was cold, rainy, and sometimes snowy out, but there were a few days of blue sky. The mountains were incredibly beautiful.

Can't beat this view from our window... 

Unfortunately we missed the Dalai Lama by a few days. He will be making a political statement at the temple in McLeod Ganj on the 10th.  Still, we were able to enjoy the beauty of the Tibetan Buddhist culture.

 Prayer wheels and "Mani walls" abound in McLeod. Each has a mantra ("om mani pad me hum") written on them.

We also did a day-long course of meditation at a beautiful Tibetan center called Tushita. This Buddha watched over us as we continued on our path to enlightenment!

Our local friends....

 Food. Yum.  The food in McLeod was so good! These are momos, little Tibetan dumplings steamed (or fried) and filled with veggies. Amazing and cheap street food. We were very loyal customers.

We had lots of soup to keep us warm. This Tibetan soup is called Thenthuk.

We don't remember the name of this delicious treat, but it had so many amazing flavors and textures! Party in our mouth, thank you very much.

Fun fact about beer in India: The alcohol content can vary (between 3.25%-5.25%/!!). Hmm. Not so surprised...Sometimes looking for logic in this country is a futile effort.

 OK, we had to include this fun sign.

 Loser was meant to say "Losar," the name of the Tibetan New Year which was March 5th. Classic! But what else can you expect from a "club" named Black Magic?

We were randomly upgraded to first class for our last train ride in India. Look! No trash or insects or people sleeping on the floor! The doors to the cabin even locked. It was very comfortable and definitely a treat.

Needless to say, India has been an incredible experience. It's not always an easy place to travel, but every day was an adventure in itself. Thank you "Incredible India", we will be back!