Yo Hablo Español

Ok, stage 1 complete. 6 weeks of Spanish school in La Antigua Guatemala finished today and it feels great! It`s been a real challenge, I wasn`t expecting it to be so tiring and all encompassing. I feel like i`ve just emerged from solitary confinement, with the added bonus of being able to speak Spanish now. I`m not exactly fluent (yet) but I now understand the language structure and form and can hold a good basic conversation.

Next stop, Lago Atitlan for a week of Kayaking, Hiking and Chilling. Then I think i`ll punish myself with another couple of weeks of Spanish lessons in Quetzaltenango (Xela) en route to San Cristobal De Las Casas in Mexico and the beautiful beaches beyond...

Shreddin`Trail. Moto X.

After the previous days adventures on a mountain bike, we decided to hire some Motocross bikes and take them a little further than we went on the push bikes. With our guide leading the way, we headed to Volcan De Agua and (almost) scaled this beast in around an hour via a pretty technical track that took us up to 2700 metres, which was as far as we could get on the bikes. The landscape, views and terrain were amazing, making this a very good Saturday in Guatemala.

Shreddin` Trail. Pedal Power.

Last Friday afternoon I ended another savage week of studying with a Hike and Mountain Bike trip through some local jungle territory with a few people i`ve met out here. We hopped on our bikes and rode around 1km out of town to the base of a valley at the side of Volcan De Agua. Then we dropped our bikes in the back of a local guys pick up and he drove them halfway up for us whilst we hiked through the cloud filled jungle. When we got to him, we hopped in the back and he took us to the top of the hills. Next was the fun part, a 15 min high speed descent through the clouds and jungle which ended at a swimming pool at the bottom, where we sat back and enjoyed a couple of cold beers. A great way to end the week and start the weekend.

Press Pause Play

For those of you working in creative industries, this looks interesting. Press Pause Play, a film about the change in production, distribution and consumption of creative works.

Monterrico

After a month of being locked away in a Spanish-language-study-bubble I thought i'd take a weekend break on the Beach. Billed as the best beach in Guatemala and only 2 hours from my current town I hopped on a bus to Monterrico on the Pacific Coast. Having been told it was a cool place to hang out by many guide books and locals I thought it was a no brainer. I guess it depends what you think is cool, but for those of you that know Magaluf in Mallorca, i'd say that Monterrico is the Guatemalan equivalent. The outskirts of the village however were very nice and peaceful and this is where I spent most of my time.

Highlights were; the booming nightclub the other side of my (paper thin) bedroom wall, the immense amount of rubbish scattered along the beach and the masses of passed out drunken people on the beach. In short, it wasn't the chilled spot i'd been hoping for or led to believe - and if you ever make it to Guatemala, without question, avoid Monterrico (on the weekends atleast).

The one thing that made the trip worthwhile was getting up for another beautiful sunrise and hopping on a boat ride throughout the mangroves of the Monterrico nature reserve for a couple of hours, of which there are a couple of snaps above.

Roll on the Carribean coast.

Sunrise on Pacaya Volcano

It's taken me a while to get around to it, but i've finally uploaded a video I took at sunrise when I camped on Pacaya a few weeks ago. It was a beautiful spot looking down into the valley with Guatemala City, Antigua Gutemala and a selection of other Volcanoes and smaller towns covered by low early morning clouds. Check it out here.

Semana Santa 2010

Continuing on with my specialist subject, religion, last week I witnessed my first Latin American Semana Santa (Holy Week). Similar to in the UK where we stuff our faces with chocolate eggs for a reason only few understand, over here they have a week long of extravagant religious processions and events of which the entire community are a part of. Further to this, where I am in particular (Antigua Guatemala) gets flooded with tens of thousands of tourists, making the town a bit like a week long religious version Notting Hill Carnival, minus the Red Stripe, Jerk Chicken & Reggae Music.

The main features are processions where effigies of some dude called Jesus along with his wife and mates are carried around the streets day and night on giant wooden 'carnival float' type things. These are carried by local men (usually between 50-100 people per float) from Church to Church and sometimes from surrounding villages into town. The processions can last for hours and at times throughout the night and it's a great honour to be a part of one. Another tradition during this period is the Alfombras (Carpets), which are created on the cobbled streets and signify a variety of different meanings. They're beautiful, colourful pieces created using coloured sawdust (I think) and often also vegetables. They're also often shielded by barriers to protect them from drunken tourists walking across them.

All in all it's a really amazing sight and experience. To see such passion for a religion and to see the entire community functioning together to create what to me was a well planned, designed and executed integrated marketing campaign. A campaign that engaged the community for almost a year in advance, that had a beautiful identity and colorway that adorned the streets and houses, the TV Channels dedicated to pumping out processions from across the country, the magazines & newspapers dedicated to the cause and a series of events that drew hundreds of thousands of attendees. It achieved on a grand scale what is the 'Holy Grail' for brands today, community interaction and advocacy through to a series of engaging brand experiences across multiple touchpoints. I've never really experienced religion with such passion and being the non-believer that I am can't help but summarise the past week in such a way, so I apologise if this offends you in any way.

Sounds Interesting...

Saw this ad in a local English language brochure the other day. Sounds like I might hear something interesting. It reads:

The Light of God is in Everyone. Join us for a silent meeting in the manner of friends (Quakers) on the first Sunday of the month.

I didn't make it to the meeting.