Semi-desertic Guatemala

by FERENC IVANICS
We hadn't really learned about the climate of Central America before crossing its boundaries. We thought that it surely would be a lush green tropical jungle all around us. Well, we thought wrong. A while back, in Belize, James Jr. told us that we would see some arid areas in Guatemala with cacti taller than buildings. And he was right.

When we entered the country we saw what we had expected: green, tropical vegetation, humid climate, rain. New, unseen species, a lot of them fruits. But as we moved inlandwards, vegetation become poorer and the air drier. By the time we arrived in Zacapa, we found ourselves in a semi-desert, with bare mountainsides, cacti and scrub everywhere.


The only thing that eased the heat (of course 100 degrees F and above) and the burning sun were the dusty gusts. Well, no problem, we weren't scared, after all we had managed to cross the Sahara desert as well. And to look on the bright side of it: we had left behind legions of bloodsuckers.

Food of the Gods

by FERENC IVANICS
We saw cocoa plantations in southern Mexico and Belize as well. But in Guatemala this strange-looking little tree is common as a garden plant. It's not the leaves that look surprising, rather its fruits. These American football shaped fruits appear on older branches and on the trunk.



Well, we have to confess that so far we haven't found really tasty chocolates on the American continent. Which is sad, since we both would love it. And when you walk 20+ miles a day, you must afford a luxury like fine chocolates. In Europe we consumed "enormous" quantities of cheap, but tasty tablets of chocolate. And here, we see these beautiful plants all around us, but there's no good chocs anywhere. It's a shame.

Natural Rubber

by FERENC IVANICS
Natural rubber is extracted from the sap of rubber trees. When we first saw a rubber tree forest, we immediately recognized it, thanks to the pictures we'd seen in story-books and on TV. But it's not the shape of the leaves... They make incisions on the bark of the trees and stick a bucket below. You cannot miss it.


We picked a small piece of the sap collected in the buckets: It's thick, yellowish, and really elastic. My brother, István said that its smell reminded him the scent of a recently opened pack of balloons. Yep, it smells like that.