Fuego Y Agua

Struggling With The Weight Of The Cross, Semana Santa, Antigua

This is the first post of Spin Cycle. The second post is available here.

Hi I’m Robbie, I’m from Melbourne and I arrived in Guatemala four weeks ago looking for an English girl called Katherine.

It may strike you as a bit extreme for someone to trade continents, hemispheres and languages in pursuit of someone they met only once and whose surname or contact details they have never been entrusted with. Friends have gently (or brutally) pointed out that what I am doing in trying to find Katherine sounds a lot like common stalking. I disagree – there is nothing common about it. I prefer to think of it as an Intercontinental Grand Final of stalks. So yes, I do know what I am doing and how it must appear. I’m cool with it - if you give me the chance to explain a little more, maybe you will be too. Some of you may even feel you want to help me in my search.

I arrived in Antigua, a beautiful Guatemalan town of colour, smoke and magic during what I’m told is its big week of the year - Semana Santa. I initially struggled to find my bearings in a town enveloped in the incense, flowers and billowy purple robes of the procesiones that had taken over its cobbled streets. Crowds of hundred of ceremonially clad men, women and children became a swaying, musical river of humanity that rhythmically wove is magic through and between a seemingly endless series of ruined and restored churches. Caught up in this human current and with many of Antigua’s streets blocked off, I often found myself unsure of how to get back to my hostel. As I had yet to begin learning Spanish, I also couldn’t find the words to ask for help. My head was spinning from the profoundest culture shock – just three days before I had been taking a leisurely farewell walk from Fed Square to my home just off Lygon Street in Melbourne. Now it seemed I had entered a different world. I was confused, disoriented and over-stimulated. But I felt excited and alive again – buzzing on a feeling that coming here had been the right decision.

However, the exuberance of Antigua during Semana Santa is at odds with the misery and suffering of the week’s central character. When I first saw one of the (far too numerous to count) representations of Jesus with his Cross that are carried on the shoulders of boys and men throughout Antigua, I felt my growing euphoria briefly fade as I remembered my reasons for coming to Latin America. I looked upon the forlorn, abandoned and soon to be crucified Christ and thought “I know how you feel mate. You poor bastard.”

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Cachoira Sto Antonio, Brotas

Eco-tourism delights abound in the area around the city of Brotas in Sao Paulo State. The region is well worth the (mostly beautiful) drive of somewhere between 3½ and 6 hours duration (depending on the level of frustration and tedium served up by the traffic at the extensive borders of the Sao Paulo megalopolis) in a direction North-West from the state capital.

Horse-riding, rafting, trekking, river-rock sliding, rappelling, zip-lining, showering in waterfalls and bathing in the area’s distinctive singing sand are all fun activities located within about 30 minutes drive of the city centre.

The Pousada Do Lago is a family-friendly hotel near the centre of Brotas with facilities that include sauna, outdoor pool and tennis-courts. A few metres from the hotel is the excellent restaurant Casinho which serves some fabulous food and has a beautiful setting overlooking a lake that teems with a range of bird and other wild-life.

When staying in Brotas, it will be very helpful to have both a car and some Portugese. Brotas is a gem of a region and the Brazilians have had the good sense to largely keep it to themselves - the attractions and facilities are geared mainly to a domestic audience, so don’t expect the same ease of getting around (using English and public transport) as in other areas of Brazil.

Guest Blogger Luke Oldfield Writes About Life In Antigua, Guatemala

The strangest thing about being an expatriate in Guatemala is the feeling of belonging here.

“So how did you end up here?” is a question I am all too familiar with from working in a bar. Many people also ask whether I was just passing through Antigua Guatemala and fell in love with the place and ended up staying. Six months ago I would have said that it was nothing as romantic as that, but actually part of my university degree program (Spanish and Linguistics at Edinburgh University). Ten months down the line, my story has changed a little.

I am not the kind of guy to make solid plans. And if I do make plans I rarely stick to them. The plan was to go to Antigua and find a volunteer job for four months which would count towards my degree. I traveled down from Mexico City with some friends at the beginning of June 2007 for ten days and checked into a hostel in Antigua. They departed a few days later leaving me with a sense of “what-the-hell-am-I-doing-here?” I could not have imagined that everything would fall into place perfectly within just a few weeks. I secured a room in an amazing house, a great volunteer job and a few shifts a week in my favourite bar. In fact, as you may already have guessed I did in fact fall in love with the place. Change of plan. I extended my stay to twelve months.

The main reason I decided to stay is because of a bar. No, I am not an alcoholic. Café No Se is described in the Lonely Planet Guatemala guide book as “advertising uncomfortable seats, confused staff and battered books”. Ramshackle, downbeat and bohemian are words that spring to mind to describe it. I ended up working there after they set my shirt on fire and gave me third degree burns on my left foot leaving me and crippled for weeks. Yes, its that good. The best thing about No Se is the community vibe. Regulars, expats and locals come there almost every night. I lived across the street from the bar and one thing let to another. I was an addict within a week and became part of the No Se community.

Antigua is beautiful. Lined with cobbled streets and littered with ruined buildings from the 1773 earthquake. Imagine waking up every morning and going out onto a terrace with a view of 3 huge volcanoes under blue skies. I look at Volcán Acatenango and think about the incredible hike up to the summit (4000m) where I played guitar at sunset and camped out.

Antigua is a small town. I arrived here as a backpacker with no friends and only a vague idea of what I was doing. After working at Café No Se for six months and playing my own nights of music around town people know me. I am Luke. My romance with Guatemala and Antigua will come to an end in a few months. I have had an incredible experience and hope to come back some day.

I know I will be back some day.

Floating On The Singing Sand

One of the more distinctive attractions in the eco-tourism hub of Brotas in Sao Paulo state is Areia Que Canta ("The Singing Sand").

When rubbed in the hand, the eponymous sand (actually very fine quartz particles) produces a sound similar to that of a DJ scratching records - hence the musical moniker. The musical qualities of the sand are actually of limited interest, but the beautiful 10 metre wide natural pool in which the sand is located is a small slice of woodland paradise. The waters of this pool have the most amazing crystalline purity and floating in them is a true privilege.

In order to limit any potential damage from tourists transgressing into such a place of natural harmony, buoyancy vests are given to all who enter the waters so their feet do not tramp on the delicate sand at the base of the pool. However, visitors to this odd and wonderful attraction are allowed to dip their feet in the natural whirlpool of sand near the centre of the pool. The swirling of the sand feels really gentle, so women visitors may be surprised to find that their toe-nail polish has been removed after just a few moments of experiencing these sandy caresses. The whirlpool effect is apparently produced by the movement of an underground river, pumping 60,000 litres of water an hour just below the surface.

Floating above the singing sand is just one of a number of activities (including the most excellent river rock sliding experience) that one is able to do at the Areia Que Canta centre for a R$20 (about 8 Euro or $12) per person activity package (for more details visit http://www.areiaquecanta.com.br/).

The Territorio Selvagem team celebrate another great rafting experience

Amongst the many eco-activities in the Brotas area, perhaps the most exhilarating is provided by the superb rafting on the Rio Jacaré Pepira.

For about R$62 (24 Euro or $37) the excellent Territorio Selvagem operator provides pick up from your hotel (in a fantastic Mercedes former army bus), on-site training on rafting basics and an excellent (and exuberant) team that look after rafters both in the raft and along side it (through additional safety staff in Kayaks).

As is common in Brotas, tours are run mainly for the benefit of Brazilians so all commands are in Portugese - frente (row forwards), ré (reverse), parao (stop!), pisou (sit down inside the raft) and forte (paddle like bejaysus). The roughly 16km of rapids provide categories I-IV rafting with some spectacular drops and high-octane thrills interspersed with moments of great tranquility and close proximity to local wildlife (monkeys, etc) from the surrounding forest.

At the completion of the rafting course, you may be invited to enjoy some River Rock Sliding - this is an experience not to be missed.

To book or to find out more details contact Territorio Selvagem - http://www.territorioselvagem.com.br/