Matthew's web log

 This entry is likely one of my most anticipated entries since it’s about finally going camping with L’.  It’s also a bit longer than my usual posts, but I’m sure my loyal fan club has built up their stamina.  Feel free to pace yourself.  If you want to skip to the photo album, scroll to the bottom of this entry.

Saying that L’ enjoys camping is like me saying that The Simpsons is just a tv show- it’s a gross understatement.  While L’ has a shirt titled "Bed & Breakfast" with a picture of a sleeping bag and a skillet above a campfire, I normally think of camping like my Aunt does: a Holiday Inn without cable tv.  I am definitely out of my element when it comes to camping.

We left the Bay Area Friday afternoon and headed to Strawberry, California.  This gets us most of the way to our destination and breaks up the drive.  Since we wanted to get going fairly quickly the following morning, I didn’t have time to look for any fields.  The Strawberry Inn was a clean and comfortable stop for my last night on a regular mattress for two nights.  After checking out of the hotel, we grabbed some snacks across the street and headed out.

When people asked me where we were going camping, I either replied with "I don’t know", "The middle of nowhere", or "Somewhere in the Eastern Sierras".  While all were correct, I now had a better idea of the destination having consulted the map.  We were heading towards Bridgeport for lunch and then to the trailhead parking area.  En route, we stopped at some scenic overlooks such as the Donnell Overlook, Sonora Pass, and Leavitt Falls.  These were all very scenic and broke up the morning drive.

We stopped for lunch in Bridgeport (a small town off US-395) and then picked up our permits at the ranger station a short distance away.  I learned that if you want to spend the night in the wilderness, you’ve got to sign up because they limit the number of people in the area.  Theoretically, a ranger could ask you for your permit while you’re out in the wilderness, but this didn’t happen for us.  I found it disturbing that the rangers at the station were on a first name basis with L’.  I get food around the corner from home every week and they don’t remember me.  More evidence that L’ is one of a kind (and nuts).

I only had a few concerns about the whole backpacking thing: wearing a heavy pack that strains my back, adjusting to the altitude, sleeping on the hard ground, and pooping without the benefit of 19th century indoor plumbing.  As the story develops, you’ll see how these come into play.

With permits in hand and a photo taken with a bear, we drove to the trail.  Where we parked was at about 8000 feet of elevation.  The area we were heading to to set up camp is at about 9000 feet and 3 miles in from the trailhead.  We unloaded all of our stuff from the car and L’ hid some extra things in a bear can away from the car.  There are these containers that are bear proof for storing anything with a scent.  To avoid a bear ripping the the door of the car, it’s wise to not leave the bear can inside the car or trunk.  It was now early afternoon and we were ready to go.

L’ took care of packing the backpacks.  We borrowed one for me (thanks GG) while L’ chose one for herself from her extensive collection.  As I was unloading them from the trunk, I was amazed at the weight of L”s backpack.  Before going on the trip, I had said to L’ that I’ll go camping, but she gets to carry all the heavy stuff.  I had no idea there was this much stuff and I was impressed she could hike with her pack on.  (Some have commented that letting her carry the heavy stuff is not "macho" or that I should show off my strength and carry lots of stuff.   To those people I say- "What’s wrong with you?" and "Enjoy your hernia. ").  With everything ready to go, we waived goodbye to the car and hit the trail.

We were on our way up.  I could tell that we were not at sea level, but was doing okay.  L’ is much more used to the altitude and carrying a backpack.  After we had gone for a bit, I needed to stop.  My back was uncomfortable and I was getting hot.  L’ took a look at my pack and made some adjustments.  This shifted the weight towards my hips (where it is supposed to be) and off my back.  I was now much more comfortable.  I had some snacks on the way up, but since I was a little stressed about the whole weekend, I wasn’t excessively hungry.  After periodic stops on the hike up and lots of photos, we made it to the area where we wanted to set up the tent.  L’ had been here before and had already selected our spot.   We lucked out that no one else had already taken it.

We proceeded to setup the tent which is pretty easy.  We unloaded some stuff inside that we would not need now.  It was getting later in the day so it was time for dinner.   We pumped water from the lake (the pump filters the water for drinking) and began cooking.  Since as soon as the sun goes behind the mountain it begins to cool off quickly, we wanted to be sure we’d be done with dinner and in the tent as close to sunset as possible.   

As I got comfy in my sleeping bag, I was glad that it was not that cold out.  I didn’t even zip up the sleeping bag most of the way until the middle of the night.  It was windy so I popped in ear plugs so I could sleep.  When nature called in the middle of the night, I was surprised how bright it was out from just star light (it was right around a new moon) and how much colder it had gotten from when we went to sleep. 

I slept okay, but as expected, it’s not the most comfortable accommodations for your back.  By mid morning we got up and started breakfast.  I had my usual cheerios while L’ made her coffee and hot cereal.  Today we were planning on doing a day hike to West Lake.  Since L’ didn’t think taking me from sea level to 9000 feet in less than 24 hours was enough, we were going hiking today that would take us to nearly 10,000 feet.  I begin to wonder if, contrary to her claims, maybe she was  trying to kill me?  I was feeling a little better at the altitude but still wasn’t that hungry.  Fortunately, my very slight headache from the previous night was gone. 

After breakfast, we packed up things for the day and headed out.  It was again sunny and pleasant.  I was feeling the altitude a bit more on this hike.  It’s "only one mile" as L’ would say, but uphill and a decent workout for us normal folks.  We figured out that my water pack was the issue behind some of my discomfort since it was limiting how much water I could suck down.  Because the valve was malfunctioning, it was causing me to suck in air a lot of the time which is rather unpleasant.  After fixing that, I downed a whole bunch of water and felt a lot better.  It’s incredibly dry here and you’ve got to drink mind boggling amounts of water. 

We made it to West Lake, coming very close to 10,000 feet in altitude during the hike.  The lake was pretty and we had some lunch, wandered a bit and then headed back to camp to make dinner.  I was feeling much better and we dined on some macaroni and cheese and our secret stash of wine.    We again went to sleep shortly after sunset.

The second night was much cooler, but I was still warm enough in my sleeping bag.  It was again windy, but I slept okay.  It’s not exactly my new plush mattress, but I could still walk upright in the morning so it couldn’t have been too bad on the back.

This morning we had our breakfast and packed everything up.  After taking a few last photos, we started the hike down that would take us back to the car.  While the packs were slightly lighter now since we had less food, going downhill was the main cause of a much easier hike.  We made it down in about an hour and a half (more than twice the pace of our ascent along the same trail).  When we got to the car, we saw a few guys who we saw hiking up a few days ago.   They graciously offered us some beer.  L’ was driving so she declined, but I was happy to accept and surprised that these guys were able to keep beer cold in their car for two days (and proving that L’ has at least one thing to improve on next time).  I figured a celebratory drink was well deserved after two nights in a tent.   We loaded up the car and returned to civilization.

Since I had yet to make it to Yosemite after living in California for 9 years, L’ opted for the return route that would take us through the park.  We made a few stops before getting to Yosemite- the RV park for a bathroom stop (ahh, indoor plumbing!) and a 5 minute timed shower, Mono Lake for a photo op, and the Mobil Station for lunch in Lee Vining.  Yes, the gas station has this great restaurant next to it.  It was good to be clean, sitting down, and eating well.  After lunch, we drove through Yosemite making several stops including Toulumne Meadows and Olmstead Point for a view of Half Dome.  We then headed back home after a fun and adventurous weekend.

I’ve pruned my 300 pictures down to just the most brilliant ones which can be found here:

http://www.sanjoseabrams.com/photos/BackpackingAug2008/

P. S.  (Warning- body function alert; squeamish readers stop now).  Astute readers will now know how my initial concerns about camping came into play during the adventure, with the exception of pooping in the woods.  While not nearly as convenient as the loo, it wasn’t too much of an issue.  And while MW said I should enjoy the great view compared with a normal lavatory, I don’t multitask well enough.   And to Maverick, the bears now have their answer, and it’s a "yes!".

With another three day weekend on the calendar, we tried to figure out where we should go.  One possibility was to head north to visit some of the parks closer to the Oregon border. There are a bunch up there, but it would be a lot of driving.  After the fires broke out around the state, we felt that driving far only to be inside of a mesquite grill wasn’t the best idea.  Instead, we went much closer to home by visiting Marin, just over the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s a pain to see things around there as a day trip, but staying up there was very convenient.

On Friday, July 4th, we went to the Marin County Fair.   The main interest here was to catch a performance of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.  I’ve missed these guys in New Orleans and when they’ve been in town.  After a lengthy, but quickly moving line to get in the Fair, the PHJB’s set was just beginning.  They were a lot of fun. An added bonus was one of the guest musicians, who they introduced as a director of a popular movie from last year, The Simpsons.  I figured they were joking, but it’s true. The director of the Simpsons Movie plays jazz.

 After the PHJB’s first set, we wandered around the fair checking out the environmental exhibits and relaxing.  We took a brief stroll outside the fairgrounds to get a closer view of the Civic Center, which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.  Unfortunately, tours are only given during the week, but the building was neat. It’s huge and at the top of the hill. I think FLW has a real future ahead of him, except for the fact that he’s dead. The remaining part of the day was spent wandering, listening to music, dinner and fireworks. We then walked back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

On Saturday, we took advantage of one of the area’s state parks and visited China Camp State Park.  Prior to heading out we passed a NY Deli next to the hotel and I spotted the big sign that said they had egg creams.  Those who know what egg creams are know how yummy they are.  Residents of Californa will know that they are an uncommon site in these parts.  Naturally, I told L’ that we should stop or go there for breakfast the next day.  Always thinking ahead, she realized that tomorrow would be Sunday and they might be closed.  To avoid that possible tragedy, we stopped after our breakfast.  While still good, the egg cream was disappointing and not nearly as good as ones that I have made.  Nonetheless, I was now ready for today’s hike.

It was a bit hot, but we still did a short hike. We were glad to again see blue sky after the smoky skies we’ve been having in the Bay Area.  The hike was nothing spectacular but the exercise was good.  Our next stop in the park, the old fishing town, was better than the hike.  It was run by the Chinese where they caught shrimp that they sent back to China.  Today there is even one descendant of the original residents living there.  The walk on the water was cooler and a nice wind down.  While at the hotel for much needed showers, we consulted Zagat’s for dinner recommendations and found a highly rated Italian restaurant in San Anselmo.  The dinner was great and the dessert exceptional.  I highly recommend visiting Cucina Restaurant.

 Sunday was another busy day.  We had some breakfast in the room (getting our morning requirements of cheerios (for me) and coffee (for L’)).  Since we were in San Rafael and had visited two California Missions on our previous weekend adventures, we felt obligated to stop at the one here.  Mission San Rafael is the second most northern and second to last founded. It’s mostly a reconstruction at this point though.   Not a whole lot to see, but worth a quck stop. After grabbing a couple gigantic sandwiches for lunch, we headed to Point Reyes. I had been there once before with my parents and this time we did a completely different part of the park.  It was a lengthy hike, but not too strenuous at about 7.4 miles (which is a one day record for me).  Despite being in a National Seashore, we didn’t make it to the coast.  It would have been a couple miles down hill and we had just come uphill and did not want to add any more elevation change to our day.  We stopped for lunch at our highest point and then took a stroll back down to the car.

 To break up the drive home, we made a brief photo-op stop along the coast for some views of the beautiful California coast.  I even managed to stay awake for most of the car ride as L’ perfectly handled the windy road.  We made it home for another much needed set of showers.  Lacking food in the house, I suggested we get some pizza.  Instead of ordering in, we went to a AAA recommended pizza place in San Carlos.  As my local friends know, I’m the keeper of the Pizza Power Poll and I let Speederia Pizza take a challenge at the undefeated champion, Giovanni’s.  This is the best challenge to date.  To not bias the local jury pool, I won’t unveil my winner, but I let’s just say I impressed L’ by finishing off my half of the pie.  We then went back home for an egg cream and food comas.  Another long weekend was in the record books and it was back to work on Monday.

 View all the photos from the weekend:

http://www.sanjoseabrams.com/photos/MarinJuly2008/index.php

In another installment of my springtime ritual, I went to the East Coast to visit Grandma in New York and friends and family in Florida  Taking advantatage of a direct flight, I flew the red eye to New York for a few days in the Big Apple.  These were filled with enterntainment, good restaurants, and a stop to see Grandma and Aunt Karen.  We enjoyed the Natural History Museum which I think is one of the better museums to visit as a frequent visitor to the city.  It’s huge and to read even some of the signs, you could spend days there.  We also checked out the Lower East side for a trip to the past when it was an immigrant communtiy filled with members of the tribe.  Despite numerous trips to Manhattan this was my first time going up the Empire State Building which coincided with the best weather during our stay in NY. 

Florida was expectedly hot and humid although bearable for most of the time.  We went to the new location of Parrot Jungle which was fun.  I saw a couple friends that still live in Florida and celebrated Mom’s birthday with a couple good dinners.  The week went by quickly and then it was back home to California where I returned to work.

The photos are online   The album includes some pictures that were taken by others.

http://www.sanjoseabrams.com/photos/NewYorkandFlorida2008/

With a three day weekend celebrating our presidents, it was a good opportunity to do some California site seeing.  I rarely do local touring, but this time we spent three nights down in San Luis Obispo (known locally as "San Luis" and abbreviated SLO).   Leaving after work on Friday, the traffic was not too bad.  We stopped for dinner at the Gilroy outlet mall and then had clear sailing down 101.  We arrived at our accomodations at the Peach Tree Inn around 9:30.  The hotel name reminded me of my time in Atlanta where every other street is named peachtree.  The hotel is more than adequate- they have honey nut cheerios for breakfast, a friendly staff, and free wireless. 

Saturday is the first full day of activities.   We head a mile down the street to downtown and explore the Mission.  Many California cities were started as missions.  This one dates from 1772 and was the fifth one in California.  It is adjacent to the creek.  The grounds are scenic and our first attempt into the church is stopped because there is a service going on (we learn later that it was a funeral).  It is an unusual "L" shaped church.  L’ asks one of the people there if the purple decorations are for lent and he replies that it is.   Glad that we expressed interest in the building, he takes us back behind the office and shows us part of the exposed original beams of the building.

When we’re done exploring the Mission, we wander around town and stumble on a small museum inside of an old building.  There’s an exhbiit on the history of the Chinese in town, which dates to the 1800s.  It’s now after noon and we break for lunch.   Most importantly, following lunch I visit one of the many candy shops in town and purchase some much deserved fudge. 

Since L’ is an avid hiker and we’re near the beautiful California coast, we head to the Montaña de Oro State park.  Adjacent to the coast, we hike around.  I slow down the pace by stopping to take a photo every ten seconds.   This also is the second attempt at using L”s GPS to later geotag the photos.  Look for the "See Map" link on the photos from this part of the trip.  After a couple hours in cool, windy weather, we head back to the hotel for a quick nap before dinner.   We have dinner, wander around town a bit, but it’s cold so we head back to the hotel and crash.

Sunday is our second full day in SLO.  Following breakfast, we head to Morro Bay.  I had seen online that there was a parade of "Tall Ships" on the waterfront.  It turns out to be just a couple, but it was neat to see recently built ships that look like old sailing ships.  Morro Bay is beautiful, but a bit spoiled by the not so scenic power plant in the background.  I did not see Mr. Burns running it. 

After viewing the ships, we head up Hwy 1 and L’ spots a windy road to get us to Paso Robles.  It’s a fun and beautiful drive towards Paso  Robles.  Arriving in downtown Paso Robles, we have lunch and browse just for a little bit.  We then do a wine tasting at the Sylvester winery.  Nothing great, but a couple of the wines were pretty good and we pick up a bottle. The winery has a couple of old railroad cars on site that we explore before hitting the road.  We drive by an old Adobe and L’ wants to stop and check off another California historical landmark.  The adobe is more or less abandoned now, but it has a ~150 year old cemetary adjacent.  After visiting, we head back to SLO for a stop at the Madonna Inn.  This is the super tacky, over the top Inn that is now pretty famous.  We’re not staying there in the caveman room, but I make sure to time our visit so that I can get my money’s worth of the waterfall that serves as the men’s urinal.  The bathroom and decor live up to their reputation.  We then head back to the hotel for a quick stop followed by dinner at Novo downtown (quite good, another good recommendation form Lonely Planet).

Monday morning we check out of the hotel and make our way to Hearst Casle in San Simeon.  Unfortunately, the weather has taken a turn for the worse and it is now overcast and breezy.  San Simeon is on the coast off Hwy  1, but we stop off in Cambria for lunch at Robin’s (another Lonely Planet recommendation).  Lunch hits the spot and we make it to the Hearst Castle visitor center with plenty of time for the afternoon tour we’ve already booked.    The tour starts with a bus ride up the hill for a guided walk around the castle and into some of the rooms of the castle.  While there are multiple tours availalble, we only do the basic one that shows you the highlights.  After the tour and bus ride back to the visitor center, we grab some hot drinks and snacks.  Our tickets include a movie about the castle, but it doesn’t start for a while and you can’t jump in during the middle.  We decide to just hit the road. 

A few miles north of the castle there are a couple vistas to see the elephant seals.  This time of year is breeding and frolicking time.  The seals are very active- much more than when I saw them at Año Nuevo last year.  I’m able to take lots of photos of great seal action.   Since the weather is not the greatest, we then head back up along the coast making minimal stops.  If the weather were good, I could see wanting to stop every ten minutes for a great photo op.  Since I know I’ll be back, we just stay on the road and head back toward home.  We get back in time for dinner, unpacking, and preparing for going back to work after a great three day weekend.

For all the photos, see the following link:

http://www.sanjoseabrams.com/photos/SanLuisObispoFeb2008/

All of the trip reports and photos from last month's Belize adventure are now online.  The main index page is here:

http://www.sanjoseabrams.com/photos/Belize2007/index.html

Enjoy reading and viewing the photos.  The trip reports all have musically based titles so have fun figuring out the songs and artists.  You can comment at the end of any of the specific trip reports or leave a comment below.

And if that's not enough, Lonnie's photos are online at:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=982r7rrd.7z4u1nel&x=1&y=8mlb5t

Happy New Year!  Or as they say in Belize, "Happy New Year!" (they speak English here).  

Today we have a late afternoon flight which gives us part of the day to explore the Belize Zoo on the way to the airport.  The hotel picks us up before 10 so we can stop at the lobby to check out.  As I expected, the bill is wrong.  They've added a daily fee and tax onto the room rate, even though my confirmation indicates all taxes and fees are included.  There are some other charges that are wrong and we're surprised that the excursions we booked have tax added to them (since they didn't mention that when we booked them). On the third try of the bill, it's reasonably correct.  After a mix up with the transportation to the airport and zoo, we're on our way.

The Belize Zoo is a little more than an hour from our hotel and thanks to the quick pace of our driver we get there with plenty of time to explore it.  It's not huge, but is well planned with cute signs and all local animals.  I'm glad to get a lot of use out of the zoom lens and get some good animal pictures.  It's hot and sticky today and unfortunately, I won't be showering for quite some time.   We contemplate stopping for lunch, but our driver says most things are closed for New Year's so we just go the airport.

There's no line to check in, but it still takes awhile.  I guess that's TACA for you.  We're pleasantly surprised to learn that our tickets already include the Belize departure tax so that saves us about thirty bucks each.   We go to the upstairs restaurant for lunch. This is the smallest international airport I've been to with just a handful of gates and flights. 

Goofing off in the airport for a bit, we board our flight that connects through El Salvador, like our outgoing flight.  The flight is on time, we connect to our SFO flight and depart on time.  I watch the latest Die Hard movie on the plane, snooze a bit, and make some additional trip notes.  We land in SFO about twenty mintues early which I'm thrilled about since it's already 11pm and I'm going to work the next day.  Customs and passport control are uneventful, we grab our bags and are picked up.  I get my car, drive home, and make it to bed just after 1am (feels like 3am thanks to the time change).   Another fantastic vacation is over and the real world comes crashing back tomorrow.

We have a final action packed day to the cave of Actun Tunichil Muknal, normally referred to by the acronym ATM.  Only discovered about twenty years ago, it contains some of the only intact Mayan artifacts (such as pottery, skulls and skeletons).  To get to the artifacts, you swim, wade, and climb with a head lamp and helmet on your head.   From the furthest point in to the cave that we go to the entrance is about an hour trek without stopping.  This is certainly one of the most adventurous things I've done. 

The entrance to the cave starts with a twenty foot swim.  The water is 73F according to our guide.  We're in water a few inches to chest high for much of the journey.  We press on and get to the dry part and stop for a bit.  Our guide is somewhat knowledgeable, but L' is starting to despise his condescension.  I didn't notice it at first, but he frequently would ask us if we knew something about the Maya that of course we didn't.  That got annoying, but I was able to ignore him easier than L'.  She thought about turning back to avoid pushing our guide off a stalagmite, but chose to continue on.  I was glad because if she's unhappy then I won't enjoy it as much.  

The cave is very neat with the usual interesting formations.  Since there is no natural or artificial illumination in the cave, we pause and turn off our headlamps.  It's completely dark.  You can't see your hand in front of your face.  Eyes open or closed looks the same.  Very eerie.

While we're stopped at the start of the dry part, we take off our shoes and get our cameras from the dry bag.  There are various artifacts along the path such as pottery and a skull.  Somewhat further in, we reach the last room of our trek which has a complete skeleton sticking out from the ground.  It's eerie and neat at the same time.  We then head back, stop to put our shoes back on before the wet part, and exit the cave about an hour later.  We change into dry clothes and get in the car only for it not to start.  When we're about to take another van back, the car finally starts and we head to the hotel getting back around 630.

We take much needed showers and since it's late, we eat at the hotel which is decent food and good Mai Tais.  We pick up some hot sauce as souvenirs and return home to pack up.  Tomorrow the vacation concludes, a new year starts, and many changes appear on the horizon. 

After three long days in a row, we set a slower pace today and awake for 9am.  Lonnie has his airport transport at 10 while L' and I plan on hiking around Chaa Creek.  We cab over after breakfast and hike around.  We see several birds- if only for a moment.  I'm unable to get any good photos of them.  No monkeys here.  It's very hot and sticky.  After a couple hours we're ready for naps.  The resort calls our cab driver who takes us back to the house.

I lie down and almost immediately fall asleep while L' reads.  The week's adventures finally catch up to me and I snooze for an hour and a half.  L' assures me that I was sound asleep.  We head into town for dinner at Hannah's again.  This time the lamb chops are a bit over done, but still not bad for $7US.  We cab back home and pack up for tomorrow's early start and trip to ATM. 

(Posted while in Belize) 

Internet is slow and hard to come by (hotel computers are usually busy), but we're waiting for a cab so I  have a few minutes.  We've seen three major Mayan sites in the last few days.  They have all been spectacular, particularly Tikal yesterday (as seen in the original Star Wars movie).  The days have been long and we've been conching out pretty early.  Food has been fine, except for yesterday's dinner which took forever and wasn't good (at least we got ice cream afterwards).  Only two days left and we've got a big day tomorrow.   Weather has held up although we got rained on yesterday (not surprising in the middle of the rain forest).  All the guides have been fantastic and the trip has gone by quickly.  I have daily full trip reports for posting upon my return along with lots of photos.

We have an early wakeup for our 730am Tikal departure.  Tikal is the biggest of the presently excavated Mayan sites and is over the border in Guatemala.  If you asked me any time in the last thirty years if I'd ever be in Guatemala, it would have been an emphatic "no, are you nuts?", yet here we were. 

The tour arranges for the border crossing which is supposedly a hassle on your own.  We drive to the border, go through, have our passports checked, and then board a different van in Guatemala.  All of this is pretty painless and takes only a few minutes.  It's about two hours to Tikal from here.

We start at a small temple and take a jungle path on the way to Temple IV- the biggest one. Tikal is in the middle of the rain forest.  Our guide spots monkeys a couple times and we stop to observe.  I'm excited to finally see monkeys on the trip.   We see both howler and spider monkeys.  It's now raining a bit, but stops shortly.

We get to Temple IV which is awesome.  There are stairs to the top, so despite this structure being much taller than the ones we have already seen, it is an easier climb.  The view from the top is amazing.  You are above the canopy and can see several other large temples that poke through the trees.  This view is well known from the first Star Wars movie.  We get some photos in before the downpour begins.

We visit the other biggies at Tikal- the Jaguar temple and main plaza.  While hiking up and down Tikal, I nearly tripped and L' says "you can't kill yourself- that's my job!".  Nothing like the support of my friends.  Our guide pulls a red butted tarantula out of a hole.  The main plaza is breathtaking in scope and uniqueness.  I've never seen anything remotely like it.  With our tour of the site complete, we stop for lunch before our return back.  Lunch is pretty good and I hope it doesn't kill me.

I have lots of thoughts on the ride back.  Tikal is the most amazing thing I've seen that I had never heard of two months ago.  The sites of the last two days were great, but Tikal is really special.  The Mayans were really interesting.  They accomplished a lot without the wheel, cows, metal, or the arch.  They figured out much in astronomy.   Our European bias results in us learning little about these advanced, if savage, people.

On the ride through Guatemala back to Belize, it's clear this is a poor country.  People live in tiny shacks.  Tikal is a national treasure.  In the park, locals were dressed up because their visit could be the only one of their lifetime.  It costs $20US to get in, but $3US for locals- which I guess is a lot of money for them.  What can be done about this I don't know.   We learn later in trip, that Guatemalans are brought in to Belize to harvest some of the crops.  Even here, as in the U.S. and Costa Rica, the poorest of the  poor are brought in to do the hard manual labor.  

The ride back, border crossing, and drop off at the hotel is uneventful.  Lonnie takes care of his airport arrangements and we return to the  house.   A little while later we head to town for dinner at Martha's restaurant which is recommended in all of our guide books.  It's a major disappointment.  It takes well over an hour to get our food and it's not even good.  We are all pretty irritated.  We get ice cream to save the evening.  In the ice cream store I see they have some candy for sale.  Among the selection is "Nerds".  I ask L' if she wants some nerds and she replies "No, I already got two!".  Her quick wit is one of her endearing qualities and it's good that after a long day and irritating evening we can all still joke around.  We pick up groceries and taxi back to the house for showers and sleep.