Going for a Hike

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In Quetzaltenango (Xela) now. Just got here this morning by chicken bus which is basically a gringo name for the public transit here. Old Bluebird school buses painted in flashy colors. Amazing scenery during the drive. Read lots of horror stories about these buses before I got here (cramped, like 5 people per seat and that sort of thing) but it wasn´t bad at all. They are cramped and have almost non existent suspension but not a problem for a 3 hour trip. Wouldn´t want to spend a whole day on one though. I´ll take the more expensive tourist buses for those journeys.

Lake Atitlan was nice. Panajachel had lots of stalls and markets with great Mayan goods really cheap. Too early in the trip to be buying stuff already though. Don´t want to be carrying it all the next 2.5 months. After 2 nights there Finland and i took a boat over to San Pedro on the other side of the lake. Nice relaxing place. Lots of garden cafes and restaurants away from the noise and fumes of traffic. We got a room in a 4 story hotel on the top floor with a huge balcony overlooking the lake. Spent our nights there watching the sunset and the lights of the villages lining the lake come on while enjoying some cheap rum and coke. The room was pretty run down and the toilet was worse but still decent bang for buck at about $6 / 40:- per night. There were cheaper places but the balcony was worth the extra couple dollars. Spent the days relaxing and hiking to nearby villages. Partied one night in the street with some locals. Shared some beers with them and they shared tamales with us. Their English was poor and our Spanish as well so it was an evening of a lot of pointing and body language. Good times had by all.

Would have stayed longer but this trek I´m taking starts tomorrow (Wednesday) and its the last one till after new year. With my schedule to be in Costa Rica in the end of January I had to do it now. So tomorrow we take a bus to Mayan village called Nebaj and start a 5 day hike through the mountains to another village called Todos Santos. We hike the highest non-volcanic peak in Central America and stay some nights with some Mayan families and others outside in our sleeping bags. We have 2 guides and a group of 7 tourist from all corners of the globe. It cost ca. $120 / 850:- for transport, guides, food, and accommodation. The company is a non profit organization. All the guides are volunteers and the profits are split between an orphanage and a medical clinic. Which is great.

Off to bed now. Early night tonight to rest up for the journey. I´ll have to wait till I get back to explore the city.

No more blogs till next week.

Don

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