The 30 Mile Trek

We just finished our three day thirty mile trek from Xela to Lago de Atitlan. The day after we finished might mark the laziest day of my life not including extreme illness, where as the trekking might mark the hardest physical thing I have ever done.

We left to hike a full eight hours after a delicious meal of hot chocolate, banana cinnamon pancakes, and a heap of fruit. It was complete uphill for hours to the top of a mountain that was a perfect view point for many cities in the valleys and volcanoes. We strolled through rolling hills of wild flowers and passed the highest point in Guatemala. The trail then lead us through a hilly rain forest area and down slippery switch backs. We came out in foggy cornfields for a while and then we took an abandoned road which seemed never ending. Eventually, the road did dump us at our sleeping spot for the night. It was a deserted government building ever since Hurricane Stan. It provided us with a free dry cement room for sleeping. Before calling it a night, we went in groups of three to a ¨sauna¨. It was essentially a cement pueblo with coals in someones backyard. We walked past and changed in front of some turkeys and then crawled on our hands and knees into a sweltering hot dog house splashing muddy water on ourselves for relief. We then walked back a few blocks, and devoured piles of pasta before passing out.

We got up early again to hike another 8 hours. But, this time we were starting extremely sore and covered in insect bites, sweat, and dirt. We hiked up, down, and around a dirt road with a heavy amount of trash on it and then past fields of crops. The views were similarly amazing to the first day: lush green hillsides, crops growing up steep slopes, a few tin roofed houses scattered about, and a magically fast moving clouds in a bright blue sky above. We munched trail mix and then raced up ¨record hill¨. More or less, it was a vertical mile. We barely managed to do it in 26 minutes, and the record is supposedly 9. Following record hill, there was little relief. We walked up muddy steps, gravel slopes and through clouds and more jungle terrain. Post lunch we went through a town where kids would poke out of fences and corn to greet us. We then splashed through a river dozens of times in pouring rain. When the small rain drops started I deemed it not worth it to put on a raincoat and within minutes it was not worth it since I was so soaked. I was defiantly wrong. I became so wet and dripping that when I had to pee, I choose to pee my pants for a solid minute. With one more climb up a mucky hill and a short stroll on a road we were at Don Pedro's house where we had a full dinner, tasty strawberry shakes, and a cozy fire before bed.

The final day we awoke at three in the morning, which is one of my least favorite hours of the day. All we were forced to do though, was walk brain dead 45 minutes up to where we could see the lake, all volcanoes, and all waterside towns. We had a few rewarding and relaxing hours in which we watched numerous shooting stars, sipped hot drinks, watched the sunrise over the lake, saw Volcan Fuego erupt, and had a meal of mosh. Once it was a reasonable hour of day we did our final trekking downhill for a few hours. We passed some smelly coffee plants, went under platanos trees and were finally at the lake eating pineapple. We had lunch at a women's weaving co-op to conclude the many miles of pain and joy and then parted ways.

Pictures 4

Half way through the second eight hour day of hiking and at a spot where you can see part of the Pan American highway.

View from our hotel roof.

The sun rising over Lago De Atitlan.

Corn fields on day two.

Some of the many animals for sale.

Cows at economic prices!

La Laguna Chikabal (Sunday)

Our adventure began and then almost ended within forty minutes. We asked at least ten people for directions and then waited for a bus in the ¨correct¨ spot without seeing one for twenty minutes (which is rare). Turning home we asked an eleventh person, and our luck turned around. In an hour we were at the base of La Distancia and the beginning of our hike as no pick ups had passed yet.

We walked up the angelic farming community that was decorated with clothes drying on every roof, fence, and line. Walking up we also had a view of all the small towns nestled in valleys below lush green hills and mountains whose peaks were adorned with clouds. A pick up truck then roared behind us so we hitched a ride in the back to cut off a mile or two. After a bumpy ride we were at the trail head and on our way. On our way at a very slow and steady pace that is, as the trail seemed like practically a 90 degree angle. We staggered our way up and came to the view point eventually which was just magnificent. It is a old crater from Volcan Chikabal that then somehow filled with water in the past. Fog sweeps over it frequently too, creating a eerie but magical feel. We then moved on to descend 600 stairs down the side of the foliage covered crater. At the edge of the lake there are crosses and flowers on stakes coming out of the water as it is a sacred Mayan site.

Just as we decided we should leave to ensure a ride back to Xela it started raining and within five minutes it started pouring. We were drenched in minutes and only had one concern: to keep our cameras dry. This was only slightly possible if we were to run. We hustled it out down the steep muddy slope that now had a river running through it with little ability to stop if necessary. We made it to the base of the hike and huddled under an aluminum roof shelter ringing out shirts, hair, camera cases, etc. Our luck got better though, as the same commendable family that gave us a ride up in the back offered us a ride down this time in the car despite there being eleven people in total. With all eleven stuffed in the inside of the truck they also then extended the offer back to Xela. Gladly accepting I rode back with a women I did not know on my lap and Zoe on the gear shift for an hour. We stepped out of the car in Xela exactly where we needed to be and walked home a few blocks shaking and shivering. Sadly, showers here are cold for the most part but I made due by cozzying into bed for a while.

Midwives and a Clothing Hunt (Saturday)

We had two early morning mini bus rides to Concepcion to check out a midwife center. We met with two middle aged midwives, one who started the building of the clinic ten years ago after the end of the war. A few mayan women with the idea of providing some of the only prenatal and conception care, raised money by selling crops and hand woven products. After two years they were able to build a one story house. The first birth they were forced to boil water to sterilize a machete and a string from a mayan skirt that one of the women was wearing to cut and tie off the umbilical cord. All went well though and the clinic has just boomed with business since then. It is now a three story house that is impeccably clean and thoroughly stocked with medicines and herbs and home to 300-400 births a year. The women are very knowledgeable and I feel as though I would prefer having a child there than any american hospital. They use many homeopathic remedies that include dandelions, fennel, peach leaves and more. They also talk to the baby while massaging the womb to encourage the baby to get into a easy position for birth. Once the baby is out they then will do a extensive massage and scrub of the women and then let them sit in a sauna area to relax.

After returning to Xela in awe of the clinic Zoe and I headed to the markets. Our favorite was Minerva where there are heaps of clothing in each stall for a flat price staring at three quetzals (maybe 40 cents?) . It was a mix of a thrift store and goodwill outlet hunting but everything was insanely cheap. All the clothing was clearly rejected from the us. Many things still actually had value village or target super clearance tags on them. With a decent amount of digging we made out with a golden yellow american apparel dress and a disel t shit.

Pictures 3

Mayan memorials on the side of the sacred lake
One of the many trees growing strait out over the lake
Lake in a volcano crater- La Laguna Chikabal.
View walking through La Distancia to La Laguna Chikalbal

Birds in the market/on side of the street
A midwife in front of the clinics herb cabinet

Language School and Beyond

I have had a week of spanish school now and huge regrets for not sticking with spanish in high school. Throwing spanish books out windows freshman year has finally come back to haunt me. I am able to construct some almost understandable phrases though, and my host family is very patient.

There are two kids that are seven and nine in my family that are always around and generally another thirty adults and their kids will storm in the house around five at night. I learned quickly from the swarm of people chanting outside my door and the many chairs in rows for a ceremony, that my house´s second purpose is a evangelical church. It adds intrest every night, but means dinner may be delayed to 9:15 and then is only apple sauce soup or beans that you have to shell in a salty liquid. Besides the family antics, there is much to do at the school. On any given day there is a political conference, salsa dancing lessons, news in Guatemala from the week, a graduation feista on friday, and trips to surrounding areas.

An hour ago I learned the basic steps to salsa, although not with extreme grace. I was corrected many times by the teacher, once being not to jump so much. To get the point across, she pointed at her boobs said ¨no¨ and jumped. In the end I was left with much hope and desire to be a pro by the end of three months.

The day before we went to one of the surrounding towns which beautiful in some areas but quite run down and scattered with trash in others. After leaving Antigua it became clear how the extreme poverty still seems to be in a similar state as before the war. While standing in the field where weaving was being done, a little boy just pulled down his pants and squatted to use the bathroom. We meandered on to the oldest in church in Guatemala which had dogs and fruit in the old cement work. Last stop was a large loom in someones house along with wine and spoodi taste testing.

Wednesday we headed to Fuentas Georginas hot springs which can be best described as natural steaming hot tubs in a rainy cloud forest. The hotest pool had water drizzling down rocks peaking out of foiliage that felt boiling if you were to touch it. The second and third pools were moderate luckily and allowed us to soak for a few hours.

The begining of the week was just as full of adventures and talks, but it is almost time for the fiesta so I am off.

Pictures 2

A large weaving loom in a house. A full length of fabric takes 10 hours to make.
A little boy accompanying his dad- a chicken bus driver. The boy would hand him a rag every so often to wipe the sweat off his face.
Weaving in a field
Las Fuentes Georginas-hot springs

The beautiful courtyard at our school.

Chicken Buses

We took chicken buses to Xela today with high hopes. The ride could not be described as comfy, but it was an experience. They are all old school buses that now have every inch painted in bright colors with perfect lettering telling you where they are headed. Although they are older buses, they have no troubles hauling ass past any and all other cars and trucks on the road by driving in the other lane of traffic while leaning on the horn. Also, while driving the money collector will climb onto the roof to secure baggage. On the inside, every bench is cramped with a minimum of 3 people and the maximum is unclear. Next to me there was a family of 7 perched and piled on one bench. The chaos never settled down within the 4 hour ride, and instead increased whenever we stopped. At most stops you could guarantee that up to 10 vendors would jump aboard and then swim through people to advertise their product. Many people on the bus still managed to doze off. Most gazed straight ahead and one mother breastfed her kid along the and bumpy and long ride. Eventually we did arrive to Xela alive, and then walked a mile or two to another cozy hotel. And we will be planning on taking more chicken buses in the future!

Pictures 1

Juan (our guide) and his acrobatic dog Ela
Street in Antigua with one of the many volcanoes behind it
La Recoleccion church/convent
Church/convent rubble to climb and the intact arch in the backround
Some newer chicken buses

Monterrico Mangroves

We went on our one and only legit tour yesterday compliments of mom, and it was fantastic. We drove outside of Antigua about an hour in which our guide blasted an assortment of reggae until we reached the tip of a mangrove. It was lined with barges made out of a planks nailed together with only a small motor mounted on the back. We squeezed the kayaks in between two barges and headed on our way. The flimsy barges passed us frequently with people or cars along our journey. The main path of the mangrove was probably 20-50 feet wide and had plants of all sorts along the sides shooting as many roots down into the water as branches up to the sky. We twisted and turned to follow the path and only had to turn back once. We also spotted and then talked to a few guys in a dingy with scuba masks on who were making a living by diving down in the reeds and muck to harpoon fish with these gun like things.

Coming to the end landing for barges and us, we hopped out and then strolled through Monterrico and along the beach. Me and Zoe braved the waves for a while before and after lunch. The last stop was a turtle, iguana, and alligator nesting ground. We saw some sea turtles born that day which were only a few inches long and all scurrying about in a garbage can only an eighth full of water. After looking at all the creatures, we paddled back up the mangrove, drove back, and had a quick dinner before a early bedtime.

Antigua

The 105 days started in the Seattle airport with 23 pounds in a backpack and being asked if I was traveling as an unaccompanied minor by the check in clerk.

Moving past that though, we made it to Antigua, Guatemala just fine and picked out the cheapest hotel possible. The total came to 2.50 per night, which we were both a fan of. We have settled in very nicely to our vibrant blue room and the torquise courtyard which always has a flow of other young travelers with backpacks from all over. The courtyard is usually busy with baton and ring juggling, guitars accompanied by singing, a little girl on a tricycle, a spray paint artist, a puppy, and people sitting under umbrellas jotting down notes, planning adventures, and learning spanish.

We are off exploring Antigua today and then kayaking through mangroves to Monterrico tommorow before language school starting on Monday (which I am desperatly in need of).