http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Central America Caribbean , Guatemala , Norte en-us Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:12:05 UTC Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:12:05 UTC It is midOctober now the nadir of winter in San Mateo. Outside it'schilly. Inside it's glacial. I've learned to appreciate manythings this year butter fixed prices and most recently indoorheating. Houses here aren't even insulated. For most families thisisn't a problem because they cook on wood fire stoves. These keeptheir kitchens relatively warm indeed most Mateanos spend the wi http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/blog-337631.html So I'm down to two weeks in Guatemala before heading back to the U.S. Denial hasn't yet hit me but it probably will in my last few days. So to give an abridged version of what I've been up to since getting back from Ecuador and Peru...I headed straight to the region of Alta Verapaz in the north of Guatemala to do some volunteer work in the 3 weeks before my trek is supposed to start. This place i http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/Coban/blog-244298.html So leaving Coban a medium sized town for the north and more rural part of Guatemala took me to places where most tourists whizz past on the highway without stopping kinda like Bakersfield or Compton. It took me to the town of Chisec for a bus change and then to the town of Raxruyjah Rayroohaah. Being in two towns with absolutely no tourist appeal let alone tourists and no interesting i http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/blog-76090.html So I'm going to write three blogs at once just because thematically it makes mor sense and you'll get to see more pics. Plus I'm tired and would much rather sit at a computer than get on a bus. Although I pretty much have to.So Sunday I got up ate davenned packed and caught the boat to Panajachel where I wrote my last blog entry. I then took aBus to SolelaBus to Las EncuentrasMinibu http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/blog-75736.html Rio Negro is located in the northern part of the municipio of Rabinal on the border with Alta Verapaz. This community was especially hardhit by the violence of the 1980s through which it lost over half of its original inhabitants. One of the five massacres that affected the community took place on March 13 1982. Monday morning I left for Rio Negro with a group of survivors and human rights http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/blog-47583.html As I sit here writing this a storm is brewing outside... After a hot and sunny day the sky is black with clouds the air dusty from the strong winds and the booming thunder is threatening us with rain. I rushed to bring in my stillwet finally clean clothes that are now hanging a little everywhere in my livingroom but it still hasnrsquot started to rain. When it does start it looks lik http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/blog-46118.html Since the last time I wrote I spent about two weeks travelling with my parents and my aunt Irene then went back to Xela for a few days then came and settled in Rabinal where Irsquove been since apart from the weekend or two in AntiguaGuate.Travelling with my family was great. It was good to see faces from home even though I see Ben and Jackie regularly and it was equally as great to be http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/blog-46117.html Irsquove been here in Rabinal since last Wednesday and I have yet to find more longterm living arrangements in this village of about 10000. So I am staying at one of the two lsquohotelsrsquo here where I have three um make that two roommates that I know of. Let me explain... Rabinal located in the department of Baja Verapaz at about 1500 meters lower than Xela has a much war http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/blog-36047.html The New Year symbolizes a new beginning a time to start anew thus the resolutions ambitions and wishes. However probably a legacy of lsquoschool yearrsquo January 1st has mostly felt as the middle of the year the only new beginning being the approaching winter semester. This year however the New Year was announcing a new beginning my leaving the comforts of Xela and moving to Rabinal http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/blog-35354.html So I arrived in Lanquin after two long bus rides one bumpy as hell and made it to this place called El Retiro. Its a lodge with bungalows and dormitories for travellers just outside of Lanquin on the side of a crystal clear river. The reason I came here was to visit Semuc Champey which is a series of natural pools and waterfalls that you can swim in. There are also tons of hiking trails around http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/Coban/blog-27823.html When the big man pointed at my glasses our guide Fernando quickly snapped a few inches of twine from a rope hanging nearby neatly removed my glasses from my head and tied the two ends of the cord to the arms of my glasses. As he handed the modified glasses back to me I knew we were in for a better than average adventure.Ten minutes later we arrived at the mouth of the cave. A large pool of http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/Semuc-Champey/blog-6617.html Caving in Semuc Chempey with nothing but a little flame to guide us We left Lanquin somewhere around 9h00am and got to the little hostal Santa Maria the only one in Semuc Chempey around 10h30. We could have just toured the pools till somewhere around two and taken the shuttle back to El Retiro but we had been told that the Santa Maria offered a caving tour at 3h00pm that was not to be missed. http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/Semuc-Champey/blog-6259.html So we've been hanging out in Lanquin at this place called El Retiro for the last few days. It is one of these places you encounter every once in a while when travelling located in a slightly out of the way place in an idyllic setting where some gringo came years ago discovered he didn't want to leave and decided to open a hostalguest houseretreat. There is usually one particular attracti http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/Lanquin/blog-6257.html As we drive through the dusty little streets of Lanquin the shuttle driver asked us whether we were on our way to El Retiro the hostal we were planning on staying at. We smiled and nodded sheepishly knowing what predictable gringos we were. Dropped at the top of the small hill we made our way towards the thatchcovered roof of the main building. The place was a series of small wood bungalows s http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/Lanquin/blog-6208.html Having been back in Guatemala for a week and a half now and having reacquainted myself with the vagaries of long distance public transport I feel it is now appropriate to present to you myGuide to Guatemalan Bus TravelorRiding the GalloBut first a word on etymology or is that bugs. The standard form of travel in Guatemala has been named by gringos the chicken bus. For those of us who gre http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/Lanquin/blog-6039.html Coban is a beautiful city. Old colonial houses a national parc and a small finca right in the centre of town which is surrounded by lush rolling green hills and countryside. But something was off about Coban. Somewhere along the line it missed the mark. The place was a business centre for exporters of coffee cacao and cardamom so noisy trucks seemed to rumble through the town from dawn http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/Coban/blog-6038.html Caldo de CalzadoI'm finally starting a special section I've been thinking about doing since I began this trip. The section will be devoted to my discovery of this country's cuisine. Since my trip is pretty low budget you can bet that most of the stuff I'm writing about will be too. But food and drink are the things I'm likely to splurge on too. My other weakness is for the weird stuff. If http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/Coban/blog-6036.html After spending Monday recovering from dragging ourselves up and down the volcano we set off yesterday morning for the Biotopo de Quetzal. A hairraising two hours careening around corners on the best paved road in Guatemala had us on the outskirts of Guate city where we had to disembark for reasons of an urgent biological nature. So noon found us standing by the side of the highway in the scor http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/Coban/blog-6035.html We left Quetzaltenango in the morning but not before stocking up on bus food at this tiny Mennonite bakery on the way. Don't remember exactly where it was but it was only open on Tuesday's and Friday's from 96. We got there at ten minutes to nine and got to watch them unloading the trucks. If everything they unloaded tasted as good as the stuff we bought I should have robbed the whole store. http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/blog-5979.html Semuc Champey some say is the most beautiful area in Guatemala I think this claim may be true though it is hard to give the accolade to just one area when there are so many so beautiful. Both guide books Rough Guide and Lonely Planet included information on Semuc Champey including the general advice that it is better to take a tour. Tours all cost 35 way too much for a savvy budget travelle http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/Semuc-Champey/blog-63.html Heading straight for Tikal in one trip seemed a little excessive. We took a bus trip to Coban a town of some 40000 people in the southern highlands. The area is reputed to have some of the best scenery in all of Guatemala. After 5hrs coach journey from Antigua I was tired and had a headache from drinking too little water during the day the bus dropped us off at the bottom of a steep hill. At th http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Norte/Coban/blog-62.html