Kiwis Chasing Quetzals

This was supposed to be a training hike, but with the cancellation of a tour group it became a fun trek up the hill behind Xela. Cerro Quemado - burnt hill - is 3300 metres of wrecked mountain, blown apart many thousands of years ago when it was estimated to be 6500 metres high and the highest mountain in the Americas Starting at Casa Argentina we had a 10 minute walk through town to the bottom of the hill, then it was up, up and up, first through pastures, then pine-rhododendron forests the trail winding through random volcanic rocks, steam vents and itchy ivy. The crux of the problem was the final ascent up through a corkscrew cave to the summit, where we had amazing views down on Xela and further to the east a massive ... read more

Went to visit lake Atitlan with the kids from the home (hogar) a couple of weeks ago. We all piled on a chicken bus with the kids literally swinging off the rafters!Stayed at the house of the ´mum´of the hogar and got up at 4.30am to see the sunrise over possibly one of the most amazing looking lakes in the world, surrounded by cone peaks of volcanoes.Great for swimming too, although had to fish out a couple of the kids who have no idea how to swim but none-the-less launched themselves off the jetty! ... read more

The weekend started the usual way, 4.45 Quetzal Trekkers HQ. Eager clients, frazzled guides, a 10 minute ride to Minerva with Victor. Victor is a softly spoken Guatemalan pick-up driver, our main man, Minerva is Xela's biggest bus terminal dominated by a grandiose Parthenon like structure, one of many constructed by a past dictator whose headless statue graces one of our local parks. Our ride with Victor is a fun way to start a trip, hanging on the back of a pick-up zooming through the early morning streets. The only other people about are shady figures setting off fire crackers in doorways, their silhouettes exposed by sparks of gunpowder. The rumour mill suggests this is a friendly birthday custom, but on edge clients still start. This weekend is different however, Penny and I are sneaking off. ... read more

Time is passing in Guatemala, The trip to Tajumulco in the weekend went great (muy bueno). For me (Jamie) it will probably be the 1st of many as this is the trip I have been assigned to guide for the Quetzal Trekkers. Tajumulco is the highest point in Central America, 4220 metres. ... read more

So away we go chasing Quetzals. Quetzals while being the basic unit of money in Guatemala are also large trogons of Central America and South America having golden-green and scarlet plumage and long tails. The latter are beautiful birds virtually impossible to find the former are common gold coins which are virtually worthless. So far we have merely managed to get our hands on a few of the coins. We arrived in Xela (Shay-La) yesterday pretty shattered. The twelve hour flight from NZ to LA went without hitch. I (Jamie) was stoked with the new Air NZ entertainment system, plenty of games including who wants to be a millionaire... We also got to watch the Southern Traverse 2005 for the humour value. Arriving in LA we decided to visit Santa Monica beach, much to our surprise ... read more