On Volcan Pacaya

Abandon all hope – A misty hike – Moods of a Volcano – Toasted Marshmallows. (Map this!)

“Lasciate ogni esperanza, voi ch’intrate” (Dante, L’Inferno, Canto 3), I said to Neena, as we left the safety of the ridge and stepped onto the crunchy lava. The newly formed earth was brittle and ceramic in nature and covered an underlying layer of molten rock. In sections there were rivers of lava flowing, as if thick red molasses had formed rock upon contact with air.. Working our way towards one of the rivers, we stepped over white-hot stones that melted the baskets on my ski poles and partially de-laminated our hiking boots.

Moods of a Volcano

Evening	Nightfall	Late night	Morning

It had been a hike through a misty and rainy alpine forest up the side of Volcan Pacaya in Guatemala. As we neared the top we heard thunderclaps and a light rain started to fall, so we prepared for a good drenching and no views of the mountain. It appeared that our bad luck in weather was following us and had infected our small party of five – four clients and one guide.

Lava Flow up Close

As is natural with Guatemala this endeavor was tinged with an undercurrent of danger – robberies can occur on Pacaya but according to our guide the probability was low. After setting up camp on the ridge overlooking the lava fields we turned on our headlamps to head onto the troubled land. Our guide from O.X. Expeditions, Kevin, located a suitably close area of flowing lava and we descended a steep trail towards it…

And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,
As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing…
–Kubla Khan

Camping by the lava	Matt melting his shoes	Kevin roasting marshmallows	Morning

The heat was a palpable thing, like being next to a brick oven, next to a Comal, next to a Tandoor. One in our party, Matt, decided to toast marshmallows on the lava and came back scampering when the heat melted his tennies. During his hasty exit all the marshmallows slid off his stick and onto various articles of his clothing and the surrounding barren landscape! It was up to Kevin the guide to save the day! Using a backup supply of marshmallows he gingerly made his way to an appropriate spot and returned with them perfectly toasted. Yum!

San Marcos
Shores of Atitlan

Upside down – Gas Stations with guns – Power Vacuum – Stochastic processes

Just as the book is always better than the movie, pictures can’t do justice to a place. But sometimes the commonly expressed sentiment in the first sentence is turned upside down. In this upside down world the movie is better than the book, and the pictures not only do justice to the place but actually improve it.

Guatemala is a difficult place to be, and the beautiful pictures belie the stress and tension we feel here on a daily basis. Many travelers say that this place is no more dangerous than the other countries in Latin America but the impression here is rather different. Armed guards are everywhere, not just at banks and jewelry stores, but at fast food restaurants and gas stations. Hotels have multiple barriers between the entrance and the areas where the guests live. Armed robbery is commonplace as are carjackings and kidnappings.

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The rule of law here is weak and stepping into the power vacuum are narcotrafficantes and organized crime gangs. Judges can be intimidated, police can be bribed, and criminals can negotiate for their freedom. The main roads are dangerous but the smaller roads are also dangerous – it is very difficult to determine what the best security measures are!

Reading the local newspaper one is treated to gory tabloid spreadouts of the latest carnage. A multiple homicide here, a kidnapping there, violent demonstrations, the list goes on… The locals here jokingly refer to the periodical Nuestro Diario as the Muerto Diario. After a while it just wears you down!

So what is it that makes Guatemala so violent and other places not so? There is much more poverty in India, parts of Mexico are impoverished and it is a Latin country, but neither make the traveler feel so unsafe. Is it the big difference between rich and poor? Unknown, I guess there have to be some places in the world that are required to be unsafe, a probabilistic distribution that is natural and normal.

Searching for the
quetzal

The quetzal – Headdress of the kings – Our quest – Familiarity breeds contempt. (Map this!)

The Resplendent Quetzal is a beautiful, evasive bird prominent in Mayan art. It belongs to the trogon family, which boasts some very colorful birds. The Quetzal, a turquoise green bird with a brilliant red breast is very hard to see inspite of that. The prominent feature is its tail, upto three feet long, that gives it its distinctive flying profile.

Stucco work, Palenque

The Quetzal was revered by the Maya, its long feathers worn proudly by kings. Quetzal feathers were a prized item of trade. Along with jade, they represented “all things of value”. It is hard to miss how popular the Quetzal feathers were, they are everywhere in Mayan art. In stelae scattered around Maya sites in various stages of destruction, we would often look for the long, distinctive feathers in the headdress for orientation. The feathers in the headdress represented protection of the gods and distinguished a king from the common people and the nobility. The Mexican deity “Quetzalcoatl” or feathered serpent, seen in the great pyramid of Chichén Itzá, also shows the influence of the Quetzal. Surrounded by myths and mysticism, represented on pyramids, pottery and murals, we developed an interest in actually seeing it.

Chichén Itzá

We have tried twice, unsucessfully, to see the quetzal. The Monteverde cloud forest in Costa Rica is ground zero for spotting it. Lacking familiarity with the associated Mayan stories and myths, it was “just another” beautiful bird for us, we lacked the drive to see it. On this trip, at “El Ranchito” near the Biotopo de Quetzal in Baja Verapaz in Guatemala, we were a bit too early to see it, the fruit trees that draw the quetzal were not flowering yet. The quetzal doesn’t stay in one place, its habitat is dictated by the availability of the various species of avocado, making it hard to spot as well as preserve. Today, it is on the endangered species list.

The quetzal feathers frame the kingly figure in Kabah, Yucatan

Colorful as it is, the resplendent Quetzal is by no means the most beautiful bird. The Indian peacock, for example, with its amazing tail feathers, iridescent blue-green colors and a royal crown, would arguably be considered “more” beautiful. It has its association in mythology too, Lord Krishna wears its feathers in his crown and it is associated with the Hindu God Kartikaya. The peacock on top of the Moghul ruins in New Delhi during dusk is one of the most beautiful sights to see. But, somewhat fortunately, the peacock is relatively easy to spot. One hardly has to go on a quest to see it.

Maasai Mara, Africa

I remember, in Africa, after our curiosity to see a lion was sated, spending days in the Okavango delta in Botswana looking for the Pell’s Fishing Owl, a bird rarely seen. After five days of searching, we were finally able to spot it sitting high up in a tree. The thrill of seeing the majestic lion, the awesome elephant, the graceful giraffe give away, after a while, to a strong wish to see the rare.

Familiarity breeds contempt and repeated visits invite disrespect. The tribal women of the Malaya Mountain use the abundant sandalwood as fuel. -Old Sanskrit saying

If the quetzal were as common as the colorful keel blled toucans or the equally resplendent wild turkey, would they have been as revered? If the wild turkey were rarer that it is, would we see Mayan art with kings proudly wearing its iridescent feathers?

Moon Rise, Tikal

The birth of a bird watcher. On eating Shredded Wheat. Sunrises and loud forest canopies. (Map this!)
For additional pictures of Tikal click here.

The Tree of Life

I have always been interested in wildlife but I was never much of a bird watcher. This changed when Neena came into my life, since she had been interested in birds as a child and had been on numerous bird watching trips. When you meet someone there is always a possibility that what they do or say might change you and when you love someone that possibility is even greater. My cousin Swati gamely tried to eat Shredded Wheat because her boyfriend (now husband) adored it. Love makes us do strange things, beautiful things.

Swati tried for a week to choke down shredded wheat until she finally confessed that she couldn’t stomach it (It’s an acquired taste – I’ve always liked it). At first squinting at those tiny things through binoculars was a bit tedious, but that is what my beloved liked so I must like it too. Then, slowly, a transformation took place. The deep green and yellow of a Bee-eater, the unfeasibly large beak and spotted patterns of the Pied Kingfisher, and the strange head-dress of the Hoopoe took a hold of me. Just as Neena had captured my heart the birds of South India cast bewitching spells and had me entranced.

Red Lored Parrots

Tikal is a bird watcher’s paradise. Atmospheric ruined temples and green jungles are what brought us to Tikal but it was the birds that kept our interest. Getting up at 4:00AM we scaled Temple IV to see the sunrise and as the rays of our star warmed the jungle it erupted into cries and calls of birds. On a tree covered with bromeliads we counted at least five cereal box Toucans. Red Lored parrots flew in and out of the canopy, with the cacophony that is common to all parrots.

Sunrise at Temple IV

We met some travel photographers at Tikal who told us that nature photography was a quiet solitary pursuit, hiding in blind or a tree for hours until the right animal comes around at the right time. I was reminded of this when we climbed into a rickety tree platform out in the jungle where we sat for hours scanning the surrounding jungle for any life. Sitting in one spot, the birds slowly revealed themselves – a Hooded Oriole here, a lovely Cotinga there. The highlight was when Neena spotted a Collared Aracari feeding in the trees, along with another large bird which flew off before we could identify it. How fitting is that – ending the with a tale of the one that got away?

Oropendola	Gran Plaza	oolKha Phau?	Temple IV