carysmthomas-blog - Tumblr blog

carysmthomas-blog · 11 years

Photo

Llyn Atitlan, Guatemala (2)

#Lake Atitlan #Guatemala #Central America

1 note · View note

carysmthomas-blog · 11 years

Photo

Llyn Atitlan, Guatemala (1)

#Lake Atitlan #Guatemala #Central America

7 notes · View notes

carysmthomas-blog · 11 years

Text

Llyn Atitlan, eli haul a gwestai neis

Tra o'n i'n dysgu Sbaeneg yn Antigua, es i am benwythnos i Lyn Atitlan. Rhyw ddwy awr o'r ddinas ddiwylliedig, mae Llyn Atitlan heb os nac onibai yn un o'r llefydd prydfertha dwi erioed wedi gweld. Yn fframio'r llyn mae tri llosgfynydd - y tri fel cewri yn cadw llygaid dros yr holl bentrefi hardd ar hyd y llyn.

Os ydych chi'n bwriadu ymweld a Guatemala mae'n hanfodol aros am o leiaf wythnos, er mwyn i chi weld yr holl bentrefi. Yn anffodus, ro'n i ond yn gallu aros am noswaith. Felly, es i draw i bentref o'r enw Santa Cruz La Laguna, i aros mewn lle o'r enw Isla Verde (www.islaverdeatitlan.com). Mae'r pentref hyn yn agos iawn i dref Panajachel, sef y prif dramwyfa i'r llyn ac yn gyfleus i fynd i Santiago Atitlan i ymweld a Maximon - y Duw Maiaidd sy'n smygu ac yn yfed coca-cola'n ddi-stop.

Mae'r llyn yn waw, waw, waw. Roedd Eurig a Branwen, fy mrawd a'i wraig, wedi bod yma yn 2007 a wedi dwlu ar y lle. Fe ges i orders i fwcio gwesty neis. Hynny yw, i wario mwy na fy ngyllideb normal o $15-20 y noswaith (sy'n eithaf lot am backpacker). Roedd Isla Verde yn costio $49 y noswaith (sy'n rhesymol i bobl normal fi'n gwybod) ....ac yn werth y doleri ychwanegol.

Mae'r lle yn hollol anhygoel, gyda hummingbirds yn hedfan o amgylch yr ystafelloedd a blodau egsotig yn tyfu o'r nenfwd. Fy "stafell" am y noswaith oedd caban, gyda chawod awyr agored, lan ar y bryn. Allen i fod wedi aros am wythnosau. Wel, allen i fod wedi aros am wythnosau os o'n i'n teithio gyda phartner, gan fod lefel y rhamant yn Isla Verde yn uchel iawn. Mae cyplau dros y byd i gyd yn dod fan hyn i briodi.

Dyna'r broblem wrth i chi gynyddu'ch cyllideb: prin yw'r teithwyr annibynol. Y fwy chi'n talu, y fwy mae rhaid i chi baratoi eich hun am ramant. Economeg sylfaenol.

Fi'n caru teithio, ac yn ddigon hapus i deithio'n annibynol. Fi'n hoffi'r sialens o fynd o A i B dan liwt fy hunan, heb gymorth neb. Ry'ch chi'n cwrdd lot fawr o bobl newydd ac yn dod ar draws y sefyllfaoedd mwya ffantastig. Ond mae yna brydiau, wrth gwrs, pan mae'n gallu bod yn annifyr.

Gelynion y teithwraig annibynol yw: eli haul a gwestai neis. Fi'n gallu teimlo'n annifyr iawn pan dwi angen defnyddio eli haul neu dwi'n aros mewn gwestai neis.

Fi'n gallu ymdopi'n iawn gyda eli haul hylif, ond mae'r eli haul mewn ffurf "deodrant stick" yn stori arall. Dwi wedi dod nol gyda phatrwm hyfryd diolch i "Boots Factor 50 Water Resistant Sunscreen Stick". Hefyd, tra o'n i'n aros yn Isla Verde, dim ond cwpwl arall oedd yno, felly doedd dim lot o gymdeithasu. Helo BillyNoMates!

Felly, os ydych chi eisiau mynd i Lyn Atitlan, ewch am wythnos, prynwch eli haul hylif ac aroswch yn Isla Verde. Ond peidiwch anghofio llyfr da.

#lake atitlan #Guatemala #Central America

0 notes

carysmthomas-blog · 11 years

Text

La receta por Chocobananos

Mi comida favorita en Guatemala, o toda Latino America, fue el Chocobanano. Pues, mi dulce favorito. Esta es la receta....

1. Pelar cuatro bananos.

2. Poner un bastón dentro cada.

3. Congelar los bananos en el congelador hasta duro.

4. Despues los bananos son congelado duro, derretirse uno bar de chocolate (chocolate negro, chocolate con leche o chocolate blanco).

5. Embadurnar los bananos en chocolate.

6. Despues rodante los bananos en manís (o coco) volver a el congelador.

7. Una vez que duro, comer.

Muy facíl! Y delicioso!

#chocobananos #Central America #Guatemala #antigua

2 notes · View notes

carysmthomas-blog · 11 years

Photo

Antigua, Guatemala (2)

#antigua #Central America #Guatemala

1 note · View note

carysmthomas-blog · 11 years

Photo

Antigua, Guatemala (1)

#antigua #Guatemala #Central America

3 notes · View notes

carysmthomas-blog · 11 years

Text

Alicante is better than Antigua. And other bold statements.

I know. This is controversial. The very idea is ridiculous. And it very clearly demonstrates why I'm not a travel journalist. Nevertheless, I can honestly say that I preferred my time in Alicante - on the Costa Brava no less - to my two (somewhat long) weeks in Antigua, in Guatemala.

I know. What nonsense is this? Guatemala is the destination of dreams. It's a stunning, beautiful country, bursting with colour. There's the bright green fields of coffee, chocolate and corn; the thundering, smoking black volcanoes, which you really hope will spout a spectacular (but safe) amount of blisteringly hot lava for the holiday snap to end all holiday snaps; and the embroidered purples, blues and reds adorning its (very short) inhabitants.

And Antigua? Well, it's rightly known as Guatemala's cultural heartbeat, as it's got art, history, architecture and other cultural wonders coming at you from every which way. They love a festival. And they particularly love a procession. With brass bands, I believe. It's such a great city that it always makes it on to those Lonely Planet 'places to see before you die lists'...those lists beloved of once-upon-a-time-travellers-now-turned-parents-and-prisoners-of-small-children.

And it deserves all the praise that it gets. Even in the rainy season Antigua is spectacular. There's cobbled streets, intricately decorated churches that look a bit like wedding cakes, an iconic clock archway underneath Semana Santa superstars and a food market that's so busy it almost makes itself claustrophobic.

In essence, it's a colonial town, but with volcanoes as a backdrop. This is also the case with Nicaragua's Leon and Granada, but here they're in high definition and ready for their close up. Get a clear blue sky (I think I had about three of these) and you will stop and stare. It's stupid beautiful.

I spent two weeks here in total (well, apart from two days in lovely Lake Atitlan (I will write about this again)), so I could learn Spanish. Antigua is not only a gorgeous place to visit, but THE place to learn Spanish. All of my friends said so. All who learnt Spanish in Antigua raved about the place. This needs to be remembered, as you read on.

Ruth, my friend and Spanish mentor in Alicante, gave me the name of her old school. Given that she's a genius and speaks perfect Spanish, I booked myself in and paid $360 upfront for nine days. Most schools offer one-to-one tuition. I really wanted to get some good Spanish under my belt, so I opted for the full seven hour day. So, Maria* and I got to know each other pretty well. Certainly as well as any couple of toddlers (my current dwindling level of communication in Spanish).

However, my eagerness turned out to be my undoing - and the reason I prefer Alicante. The fact of the matter is that I did not enjoy my Spanish classes with Maria. They were a chore. There...I said it.

Perhaps I should have been more assertive. I'm 39-years-old and a paying customer. I should have said "I want to be able to do a, b and c by next Friday". Instead, I kept on telling myself that she was teaching me Spanish in a very organic, natural way. Practice, practice, practice.

But six days in, I realised there really wasn't any structure at all. There was no focus. And by that stage I didn't know how to raise the issue! Maria, who was really a lovely woman, just chatted with me between 8am-12pm, frequently asking the time and whether I'd like to go get coffee. In fairness, we'd do a little grammar. About 30 minutes. But I did quadruple that in Alicante.

The 2pm-5pm session would usually involve a walk to the church or word recognition games with other teachers and students. But that would mean I would learn the sum total of perhaps 10 words in three hours. It just seemed a waste. And particularly so when Maria, who was also evangelical, got me reading out of religious magazines. Very odd, but doubly so when she'd look into the distance, trance-like.

It was just bad luck. Choose your teacher well. Don't pay upfront. And don't be timid - speak up! Don't go on the mitch for a day, like I did!

So, for me, I definitely preferred a more focused five hours in Alicante, with class mates who'd help you out when you got stuck. I laughed more. And had more energy to do stuff.

In Antigua, it all got a bit much. Doing nothing for hours is energy-sapping. And when you've no energy, even one of the most beautiful places in the world can start to look tired.

*Maria - not real name

#antigua #guatemala #Central America #spanish lessons #alicante

1 note · View note

carysmthomas-blog · 11 years

Photo

Playa El Tunco, El Salvador - mwy o ddarllen na syrffio

#playa el tunco #el salvador #Central America #tornado

5 notes · View notes

carysmthomas-blog · 11 years

Text

Syrffio dros batrwm y carped

Un o'r rhesymau ro'n i eisiau teithio i Ganolbarth America oedd i feistroli syrffio. Wel, nawr, mae 'meistroli' yn air enfawr...yr oll ro'n i eisiau neud oedd magu’r gallu i sefyll, a syrffio reit lan i'r traeth. Ond, ry’n ni’n siarad am rywun sy’n cwympo dros batrwm y carped o leia unwaith yr wythnos. Fi prin yn gallu cerdded lawr stryd heb gwpl o trips ar y ffordd.

Yn ol y we, mae Canolbarth America, yn enwedig Costa Rica, Nicaragua ac El Salvador, yn wych am syrffio achos mae’r dwr yn dwym (felly dim wetsuit), mae’r tonnau a’r ‘swell’ yn gyson a’r ‘whitewash’ yn dda ar gyfer dechreuwyr. Cyn ifi adael, ro’n i’n gobeithio treulio rhyw bythefnos yn dysgu syrffio a datblygu cwpwl o moves! Hmmmmmm.....

Dwi di bod wrthi’n ‘syrffio’ neu ‘trio syrffio’ ers sbel nawr. Fi di cael gwersi yn Iwerddon, Sri Lanka, Lanzarote a Portiwgal. Ac ond wedi sefyll unwaith…yn Sri Lanka. Er doedd e ddim wir yn cyfri’ achos do’n i ddim yn gallu dal ton heb help yr athro.

Os ydych chi'n hoffi syrffio neu eisiau dysgu, dewch fan hyn. Er falle nid 'slap bang' yng nghanol tymor y glaw, achos mae hynny’n effeithio eithaf tipyn ar uchder y tonnau. Yn y diwedd, wnes i ond cael 4 gwers.

Yn Panama, roedd y tonnau’n fflat, felly doedd dim pwynt cael gwersi yn Bocas del Toro. Ond gan amlaf, mae’n costio oddeutu $30 am wers fan hyn, sy'n debyg i brisiau El Salvador. Mae prisiau gwersi yn Costa Rica yn ddrutach eto, ac oherwydd hynny (sai’n gweithio ar hyn o bryd, cofiwch!) ro’n i eisiau aros tan Nicaragua. Dyma y wlad rhata am wersi - $15 am wers. Hanner y pris!

Yn Nicaragua, mae’r tonnau yn dda trwy’r flwyddyn, yn enwedig yn San Juan del Sur – mecca i'r surf dudes ma. Felly, ges i 3 diwrnod o wersi yn San Juan a llwyddais i sefyll. Wahei! Chaware teg i Jose, fy athro, oedd yn amyneddgar iawn.

Edrych nol, fe ddylen i fod wedi aros yn San Juan del Sur, ond ro’n i eisiau gweld mwy o’r wlad. Ro'n i hefyd wedi darllen am le o’r enw Surfing Turtle Lodge, wrth ymyl Leon, lan yn y Gogledd. Crwbanod a syrffio – brilliant! Yn anffodus, roedd y mor yn wyllt! Rips, rips a mwy o rips. Lle hyfryd, ond nid y lle i ddysgu syrffio. Neu nofio i fod yn onest. Wrth lwc, weles i un crwban, oedd yn lwcus iawn, digwydd bod, gan fod rhai wedi bod yn y Lodge am bythefnos a heb weld crwban tan y noswaith imi gyrraedd.

Felly, ar ol siom y Logde yn Poneloya, es i ‘mlaen i Playa El Tunco yn El Salvador. Hmmm. Unwaith eto, roedd y tywydd yn wael! Mor wael, ifi weld tornado! Fi’n gwybod!! Roedd hyd yn oed trigolion Playa El Tunco heb weld shwd beth o’r blaen!

Os dwi eisiau bod o ddifri am y syrffio ma, mae rhaid dechrau cymryd sylw o’r adroddiadau tywydd. Ry’ch chi’n meddwl ma’r surfing dudes ma’n cwl iawn, ond maent i gyd yn nerds tywydd yn y bon.

Er gwaethaf imi ond cael un diwrnod o syrffio gyda Marcelo fe wnaeth e ddysgu patrwm syrffio pwysig imi: “Carys, all you need to do is believe you can surf. All you need to remember is four steps. Count aloud. And spend time practicing on the carpet.”

Felly, er gwaetha’r diffyg balans dwi nawr yn eithaf ffyddiog wnai clicio gyda’r syrffio 'ma. Yr oll mae rhaid ifi wneud yw ymarfer syrffio dros batrwm y carped.

#Central America #surfing #san juan del sur #poneloya #playa el tunco

0 notes

carysmthomas-blog · 11 years

Photo

0 notes

carysmthomas-blog · 11 years

Quote

Land as slim as a whip, hot as torture, your step in Honduras, your blood in Santo Domingo, at night, your eyes in Nicaragua touch me, call me, grip me, and throughout American lands I knock on doors to speak, I tap on tongues that are tied, I raise curtains, I plunge my hands into blood: O, sorrows of my land, O death-rattle of the great established silence, O, long-suffering peoples, O, slender waist of tears.

'Centro America' ~ Neruda

#central america #nicaragua #jaguarsmile #neruda quote

5 notes · View notes

carysmthomas-blog · 11 years

Photo