ChristieBears.co.uk  
 View Shopping Cart
 Checkout
  Currency Converter
 CATALOGUE
 Home
 News
 Gallery
 Contact
TEL: 01446 790090
 Bears For Sale  
 Teddy Bear Kits  
 Patterns 
 Paw Pad Materials  
 Mohair 
 Joints 
 Eyes 
 Noses 
 Fillings 
 Haberdashery 
 Sounds 
 Airbrushing Systems  
 Tools 
 Stands 
 Teddy Bear Passports 
 Reading & Viewing  
 Miniature Bear Making  
 Needle Felting  
 Beads For Bears  
 Special Offers  

Product Keyword Search


WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS SAY:

Letters from a Small Bear (Chapter 3)

.....Paradise!
.....Paradise!

James and I have finally made it to Central America. It is a fascinating place and we have met some interesting people along the way.

Personally, I think James is the most interesting; he is forever getting himself into scrapes. The last one happened at the end of December when we crossed the lower part of Mexico to a place in the mountains called San Cristobal. It is a nice little colonial town and a pleasant place to stop for a few days after some hard riding.

I was having a well-deserved rest and James was amusing the locals by spinning some fireballs around himself when he lost his concentration and dropped the fireballs.

This is the art of Poi, which he had been taught by a nice Canadian that we met. Poi was invented by the Japanese and it is basically twirling around two balls on strings. It sounds very simple, just holding one string on each hand and twirling the balls. In practice it is very difficult to stop the strings getting entangled and a ball hitting you!

James Mastering Fire Poi

James mastering the art of Fire Poi.
Moments later his trousers were on fire!!!

James had managed to master Poi but one evening tried Fire-Poi – where the balls are soaked in petrol and set alight for the performance. It was spectacular to see the fireballs making patterns in the darkness around James’ body.

Of course he did not get it quite right and one hit his leg and set his trousers on fire, leaving a big hole in them, much to the delight of his audience. Thank goodness James was fine and only his pride was singed.

The journey through Mexico was 3000 miles of hard going, but most of the people were really friendly and some of the towns were amazing places, virtually unchanged for hundreds of years. Central America can be a violent place and you have to take care.

One morning James woke up hearing a noise outside the tent. He poked his head out and found himself staring down the barrel of a shotgun. Fortunately it was a local policeman, checking out the strange tent, and there was an amicable outcome.

From San Cristobal we went on to Belize, an English-speaking country on the Caribbean.
It is just like Jamaica, with crystal waters, tropical fish, stingrays, sharks and lots of people with dreadlocks going ‘yeah man’ and ‘alright’ at everything.

One day James was taking photographs of me on the beach and as the sun began to set, everyone gathered in one place to while away the evening. Not wanting to miss out, James took me and the camera along with him.

He thought he would feel a bit odd carrying a small, pot bellied bear, but he could not have been more wrong. People would not leave me alone and I was introduced to everyone and passed around to shake paws and pose for photographs.

Tolly is probably the first and last Christie Bear to be kissed by a 16st Rasta
Tolly is probably the first and last Christie Bear
to be kissed by a 16st Rasta

Two of my best friends were huge muscled and dreadlocked locals who wanted my company most of the evening. James even got a photo of one of them giving me a kiss. I am probably the first and last Christie Bear to be kissed by a 16 stone Rastafarian.

From Belize it was on to Guatemala, mystical home of the Maya. We stopped at a place called Tikal, which is a forest-covered Mayan ruin deep in the jungle. It was fabulous to walk around it at dawn, seeing the temples in the mist.

After Tikal we struggled up and down some really big mountains to the south of the country and arrived at an amazing lake called Lago de Atitlan. This is set in a steep circular valley surrounded by active volcanoes and James says he has never been to a more beautiful and relaxed place.

The highlight of this part of the trip was travelling back across the lake to the main town. It was a sparkling morning and across the deep blue water we could see a volcano erupting. Magical.

From there we rode down to the Pacific coast – breaking our current top speed record, reaching 52 miles per hour on a bicycle. It was hot, flat and steamy.

Soon however, we were in El Salvador, a country emerging from a 36 year civil war. Paranoia was evident as the officials refused to stamp my passport, even though James showed them that I am only a small English bear.

This was similar to an incident that occurred on the Guatemalan side of the border, where James was told to take me to the quarantine office because I am an animal. It was a bit crazy and quite scary, but as usual James kept me safe and we were soon on our way to explore the countryside.

El Salvador is a beautiful country and there is a volcano with a cloud covered rain forest at the top that James wanted to walk around. We were struggling to get up the volcano on the bicycle and it was getting very late, when a group of police drove by in a truck. They stopped to talk to us and then gave us a lift to the top!

They were very kind at let us put up our tent outside there police station – a safe place to be in El Salvador. The sunrise and sunset were quite breathtaking viewed from there.

We also climbed an active volcano nearby – that was another great experience and luckily it didn’t erupt when we were there.

It was a short ride to Honduras, where we had to cross the border and go back into Guatemala. The Customs people there were really nice. James introduced me to them and they stroked me for a long time and would have liked me to stay. Of course I am on important business, as I explained, raising money for bears in the wild, so they stamped my passport with a special stamp and even put a little message in it as well.

James diving with Whale Sharks
James diving with Whale Sharks!

We are now on the island of Utila, just off the north coast of Guatamala and we are having a short but well-deserved rest from bicycling. James’ dad, Dave has been to visit us and it was good for the boys to get together.

James is learning to scuba dive now, ‘action man’ and he is loving it. The highlight so far for him was when four dolphins were swimming around and over him. He says he wishes I had been there too. I think I prefer to lie on the beach, thanks very much.

Another highlight was swimming with whale sharks. James swam close enough to touch one and he says it was huge.

Unfortunately, James is not very well at the moment – he has had a bad infection in one tooth. He has had root canal treatment done with limited success, but the dentist is going to look at it again. It is a problem trying to get things like this done in a third world country.

James’ sister Tanya is with us now and she is looking after him. They have been doing their dive masters course and now that they have qualified, it is time for us to move on. Tanya will stay behind a while longer and we will be sad to leave her.

I am looking forward to South America as Peru is where Paddington Bear comes from. I wonder if we will meet any of his relatives.

First of all, the southern end of Central America has to be negotiated: Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. The bicycle has been serviced; our bags are packed, so it is on to the next adventure.

Until next time, adios amigos…..

Tolly and James

Top of Page
 
 Previous Page
    About us    |    Links    |    Mailing List    |    Information    |    Accessibility    |    © Copyright Christie Bears 2007 Website by Daly Design
UK Distributors of German Mohair Fabrics by Helmbold