5) Nebaj to Todos Santos

 I went on my third expedition with Quetzaltrekkers just after the first of the New Year, shortly after finishing my studies at Utatlan. This is the longest of the treks offered by Qtrekkers, and hands down a favorite amongst the guides, that is, minus rare lunar eclipse hikes. This adventure begins not at the trailhead, but with a pleasant 3 hour chicken bus ride followed by a lovely 2.5 hours minivan experience. The minivan shuttles here are similar to the chicken buses (roof racks overflowing with backpacks, boxes, and giant bags of stuff) except for some reason, generally speaking of course, the seats are more beat up and uncomfortable than those of the busses and the minivan drivers don't drive as wildly out of control. In fact, many of the minivan operators drive extremely slow, too slow for my comfort. There is a limit for a safe cruising speed on every road, and minivans often stay well below that threshold. Regardless of minivan or bus, you are putting your life in their hands. Buses simply get you where you're going much quicker and their air horns are much louder. 

We arrived safely in Nebaj, a small mountain town. We spent the evening exploring the market and cemetery, then called it a night. We started the trek early the next morning walking straight out of town. From here on out, the details of the four day trek are a bit fuzzy (sorry, but it's not because of liquor, mushrooms, or any mind altering drugs, it all just kind of blends together). We would walk for 5-7 hours each day, stopping for a lunch of veggie sandwiches. As some of you know, I am a big meat eater, but I actually quite enjoyed the smorgasbord of veggies piled high on a homemade bun with bean spread and ranchero sauce. 

The highlands of Guatemala are quite different than anything I had imagined I would find in this beautiful country, and walking through them was a great way to experience them. Basically, the highlands are a high mountain (hence the terms 'high' and 'lands'), plateau-ish area with lots of small mountain peaks and valleys. I was amazed at the diversity of the landscape, by how many different microenvironments we walked through, and now I am going to do a sub mediocre job of describing them for you. Most of the mountains are covered in green stuff such as trees and shrubbery. We walked through a boulder field atop a mountain peak that had some of the most unique rock formations I have ever seen. This photo looks like a rugged mountain range rising high in the clear, blue sky. However, it is a close up one of the unique rocks in this boulder field. Ha! Fooled you! We stopped at a beautiful cattle ranch with green grass and happy, healthy cows (again, a rarity in this country) to buy some cheese. Side note: they had deer, goat, and dog heads that had been dried, mounted on plaques like hunting trophies, and hung on the walls outside the main house. I have included a few more beautiful photos of these trophies in my photo album for your viewing pleasure. 

 

We got up way too early the second morning, somewhere around 4 am, after trying to sleep 15 or so backpackers in a small, one room schoolhouse with a not-so-soft concrete floor. It was a rude wake up call and I was very much grumpy, but there was nothing I could do but start walking. We kept hiking, up and up, and then we continued hiking in the dark. I think they said there were 82 or so switchbacks on the trail. We were doing this so that we could watch the sunrise from a pseudo summit viewpoint. Once I was fully awake, I was surprised how much fun I had hiking by the light of my headlamp so early in the morning. Without being able to see what lay ahead or behind, all I could do was focus on the present moment, the small patch of trail that lay before my eyes. Now that I think about it, this is a good philosophy in life: not forgetting where you've been while also keeping future possibilities in the back of you mind, but putting most of your focus, heart, and energy into getting the most out of the path that lies right before you. The sunrise was nice and breakfast was bland, but the journey to get there is what stands out in my mind. I shall see if I can apply this philosophy while on this wee journey. I guess I got off track for a moment there, but those special moments and little life lessons are making this journey so wonderful, they are one of my favorite aspects of traveling. I have already picked up a few gems along this journey of self discovery, which makes me excited for how much more I will learn along the way. Back to the walk...

We walked through tiny villages, some apparently abandoned. Many were far from any other civilization, only accessible by foot or by helicopter. Of course, I was shocked when I actually saw a helicopter in what I thought was the middle of nowhere. It seemed like every village had at least one helicopter parked somewhere nearby, often with goats resting beneath its shade. Occasionally, we'd see kids playing inside the cockpit, pretending they were flying. We even saw a few young boys on top of one chopper, one of them dangling from the large propeller blades. I never thought I would see anything like that in rural Guatemala, and I didn't because there weren't any helicopters. Too bad, it would make getting around in those parts much easier. Actually, these were incredibly poor areas. The shacks were tiny and so simple, but there wasn't the filth found in the slums of large cities. These people seem to live very simple and peaceful lives, living off the land. Apparently, most of the land in the highlands is owned by the government and these locals are allowed to set up home where they please. Most had small flocks of sheep and/or goats that they graze, which leads me to believe that many are nomads. So, some of the 'abandoned' villages likely had returning habitants. When we were enjoying the view from that unique boulder field I previously mentioned, which happened to border one of these small villages, a herd of goats ran through the middle of our group. What I found to be so cool was there bells, each made out of an old refried bean can with a piece of metal dangling in the middle, making a very soft rattling sound with each step. You could say I heard the herd. If I ever have a goat or large dog or medium-sized child, I'm going to make a refried bean can bell for it, and I shall have pride when I hear my refried bean can bell jingling jangling in the back yard. However, I need to live in the now, for my refried bean can bell time will come. Venga lo qué venga.

There were lots of ups and downs in the trail the first few days, but day 3 was spent walking through a plateau of incredibly dry grassland. Apparently, their dry season truly is dry, months without any precipitation. We walked along a dusty road for hours, carving our way through fields of tall, dead grass surrounded by rock walls topped with aloe plants. The last day we climbed El Torre (that's Spanish for 'The Torre'), the highest non-volcanic point in Guatemala and maybe even Central America, for a mediocre view. One of the locals joined us on this portion of our trip and told us about the recent past of Guatemala while resting on the summit. As some of you know, there were many years of bloody, civil unrest here in the 80's and early 90's. He told us how it changed the country and how it impacted his family directly. One night when the family was sleeping, the militia broke into their house and captured his uncle and a few other of the village leaders. He watched while 2 of these leaders, also dear friends of the family, were murdered in front of everyone. Then, he described in great detail how his uncle was brutally tortured as an example to anyone in the village considering opposing the militia. Basically, he was burned, beaten, strung up, strangulated, and finally stabbed in the back to puncture his lung. The family was sure he was dead when they brought his body back to their home. However, within minutes he had regained his consciousness. Within 2 hours he was sitting up on his own and trying to stand. Miraculously, he recovered without complication and is alive and healthy today. It was truly a moving and almost unbelievable story. I knew there had been civil unrest, but I had no idea to what extent the bloodshed and damage had been committed in this country. 

It's a very sad story, though quite mild to what has happened and is happening in so many other parts of the world. I feel honored to hear it from someone who lived through it. Why is it in our human nature to turn on each other and dedicate our lives to killing each other? I have no concept of what it is like to live through something like this, to live in mortal fear, asking myself each and every morning if this is the day that I am going to die. So sad, so surreal, so powerful. It kind of gives me that depressed, futile feeling, and I don't like it. Most of us have no idea what that fear feels like, and I hope that we never will. However, these sober thoughts should make us exceedingly grateful for all that we have. We are all so incredibly blessed living in the Western world, and especially in the States, in so many ways. I cannot believe some of the things my eyes have seen in the past 3 months, observing how most of the world actually lives. This subject is an entire blog post all its own, and I may share my heart when the time is right. What I am trying to say is that I am beginning to see how much I take for granted on a daily basis. It brings me to my knees in thankfulness.

We then spent the rest of the day descending into the pueblo of Todos Santos. Many of these high mountain Mayan villages have their own style of clothing, setting themselves apart from nearby villages. While most of the differences are subtle to the untrained eye, the men of Todos Santos have taken it to the extreme. They all wear bright red pants with light colored vertical stripes. Often they have white shirts with light blue (almost denim) jackets and small, round, white top hats with a thick, blue belt resting above the brim. What really took me off guard were the young men. Some were in traditional attire, but they had their baggy red pants magically suspended below their butts. They were also a bit pimped out like our brothers in the hood, hanging out in small groups and listening to wrap music, likely talking about ´the bros and the hoes´. Talk about a clash of cultures! It's amazing how our music has infiltrated the world, but I'm too tired to go off on that soap box right now. So, I bought myself a pair of those striped red pants. Yep, somehow I found a pair that fits! One day, if you're lucky, you may see me on the dance floor in Argentina, busting a sweet tango move in my baggy, red pants.

After a night in small, prison, concrete cell-like hotel room, I had to get up super early again (notice a common theme here?) to catch the 5am bus back to Xela. We were told that the first bus out of Todos Santos is always spacious, and that we would all get our own seat. I spent the 3 hour ride atop a pile of dusty burlap bags behind the back seat while most of my amigos were packed like sardines, some of which were 'keystoning it'. I was actually fairly comfortable, minus the broken exhaust pipe blowing fresh diesel exhaust straight into the bus. I never did get sick, but I sure felt like crap by the time I got off that bus. Had to change buses in Huehuetenango for another multi hour joyride, but we made it home safely.  

I do need to take a moment and mention a little bit about group I joined for said walk in the lands of highness. Our guides consisted of two gals from the States and young guy from Australia. They were lots of fun and all wore those goofy, cheap, colorful sunglasses. About half the people in the group were from the States, the rest from Europe along with one lone Guatemalan. Two of the gals who have been living in Guatemala brought their dogs with them, a German shepherd and a rescued street dog. I usually don't have a problem with dogs, but these got on my nerves quite quickly. Neither was well trained, or at least they didn't listen worth beans. There were a few times that these dogs started chasing the cows on the trail and fighting with the local dogs in the villages, but no discipline or control was exercised. I almost disciplined their dogs for them, but I didn't think that would go over well. One gal didn't even bring a leash for her dog! Seriously people. These lovable canines would weave their way through our legs while we walked in single file line. They would then stop suddenly in the middle of the trail, turn around, run back to their owners, turn back around after checking on said owner, then start weaving their way back through us again. This happened throughout the entire trip. It was not a problem when there was lots of room for them to run, but much of the trail was tight and steep and I nearly tripped a few times. A number of remarks were made in the presence of said owner, but nothing changed. 

Anyways, there was a commercial fisherman from Alaska, one of the last guys I'd ever expected to see abroad. His name was Gus and he made me look small standing next to him. Apparently, he had visited Vietnam and Cuba in years past, so he had a bit of travel bug in his blood. I also met a really cool gal from NY who has moved to Nicaragua and now runs a surf camp on the Pacific coast. I plan to visit her at some point on this journey, perform some spays and neuters for her community, and do a lot of surfing. I did spend a week at a surf camp in Guatemala, and I will talk about that experience soon enough, so don't get the surf camps confused. So many surf camps, so little time. To my surprise, Captain America also joined the trip and he brought his harmonica with him. He was an amazing man that could do almost anything. He was also a walking/talking/singing encyclopedia, extremely knowledgeable on so many topics. He sure knew a lot about a lot of things, and he told us about them. However, hiking in peace and quiet was not part of his repertoire as he had no off switch. Let's just say he kept things interesting, not a dull moment. There was also a German couple who tagged along to take pictures of the trek. However, they were not very friendly and they didn't have to pay anything because they were doing a photo documentary for publicity's sake and they had their own guide so they could hike ahead of us and we carried all their food for them for some reason. Of course, there were no hard feelings amongst the group. Of all the people on the walk, I really connected with a Guatemalan named Pablo. Pablo is just a cool, quality guy. His father is Egyptian and his mother is Indian, but he was born and raised in Guatemala. As you can imagine, he was quite a mix of cultural, lingual, and spiritual diversity. We are of similar mindset and temperament, therefore we had some incredible conversations, most of which were in Spanish. Actually, we would hang in the back of the group and talk as we walked. Not only was it refreshing to get away from the annoying dogs and ever-present superhero, but I learned heaps of Spanish. Have you ever met someone that you immediately connect with and you carry on a friendship like you've known each other for a long time? This was one of those experiences, one that I truly value. When I think back to that trip, I remember most the good times that we had. Another life lesson: It's not so much where you are or what you are doing (working, traveling, studying, etc), it's the people you are with that will make or break your experience. Enough said. 

4) EPIC Lunar Eclipse and Full Moon experience on Volcán Santa Maria

The most epic adventure I had with Qtrekkers was hiking the volcano Santa Maria during the full moon and lunar eclipse. This was definitely one of those special experiences that I will always remember. We started hiking around midnight in the light of the full moon. Shortly after the eclipse began. At first just a sliver of the moon had darkened, but within a short time the entire moon had turned a deep orange color. It was so peaceful hiking by the light of the moon, stopping regularly to watch the shadow of the earth creep across the face of the moon. By the time the eclipse was full, I had to turn my headlamp on because there was simply no moonlight for hiking. Approximately a third of the way up the volcano, we stopped for a long break. I left the group and found a quiet place to lie on my sleeping pad in the tall grass and watch the stars. To my pleasure, I saw 5 or 6 shooting stars between the volcano and the eclipsed moon. 

We resumed our hike to the summit. It was quite a huff as we climbed around 3,500 - 4,000 vertical feet. Xela sits at 2,335m and Volcan Santa Maria summits at 3,772m. I think this was the first time I was really affected by the elevation. I would find myself exhausted and breathing hard after only 50-100 steps, but after a short rest I would be fully recharged. I continued this pattern to the summit, resting every few minutes to marvel at a form of the moon I had never seen before. At approximately 4am, after about 4 hours of hiking, we approached the summit as the eclipse waned. I was exhausted and was not prepared for the view I was about to experience. 

It is hard to put into words what I saw. As I stood on the top of the volcano, I could see for countless miles in every direction under the intense light of the full moon in a cloudless, starry sky. Below me to the northeast glowed the lights of Xela. To the northwest I could see Volcan Tajumulco (4220m), the highest point in Central America. Past Tajumulco stood Volcan Tacaná (4093m), just inside the Mexican border. To the southwest, a thick layer of fog had crept from the Pacific Ocean over the coastline and had made its way up the valley bottoms between Santa Maria and Tajumulco, accenting the long mountain ridges. To the southeast rose the volcanoes surrounding Lake Atitlan and Antigua. Occasionally, I could see a small plume of smoke and ash spurt from Volcan Fuego in the far distance. This view was truly spectacular, truly breathtaking. 

Before I was able absorb the view, I put on all 5 or 6 layers from my pack as it was extremely cold atop the volcano. There were no clouds, but there's no question there was a cold wind was present. After taking in as much of the cold as I could, I curled up in my sleeping bag behind a rock. At the southwest base of Santa Maria is Volcan Santaiguito, the one I talked about earlier. From my resting place I could see part of the crater below. At approximately 5:30am, I looked over and saw a large plume of smoke rise towards the summit and gently float away. Pretty cool to see a volcano erupt from above. 

Just after 6am, the sky began to lighten and the sun began to rise. I had to move to the other side of the summit, facing into the wind, but it was worth it. I enjoyed a spectacular sunrise over the southeastern volcanoes of Antigua. The sky changed colors, from black to deep blue, then to pink and orange. After the sun had rose, I walked back to the other side of the summit where I witnessed the giant, triangular shadow of Santa Maria extending toward Volcan Tacaná in Mexico, just below a brilliantly pink northwestern horizon. If that wasn't enough, the tip of the shadow was almost perfectly aligned with the moon. Chance? I think not.

After the moon had set and the sun was climbing in the sky, we began our decent that warm December day. I was awestruck. All I could think about on the way down was what I had just seen. I couldn't believe it, it was truly a magical experience. I have seen some amazing views in my day, but this was different than the others. There was something very special, almost surreal about this vista. I cannot describe it, but I can feel it as I close my eyes. It makes me smile. I would do it again in a heartbeat if given the chance. 

I soon realized how fortunate I was to have this experience. The following day I talked to my dad who said he had trouble seeing the eclipse as it was a cloudy night back home. That would not be the first time I would hear about the clouds as some of my friends had a hard time catching a glimpse of the eclipse as well. I was also informed that Central America was the best place in the world to see the eclipse. All things considered, I would say that the stars (and moon in this case) were perfectly aligned. I will cherish this experience as long as I can. 

3) Volcán Santiaguito

During my 6 or 7 weeks in Xela, I went on 3 different treks with group called Quetzaltrekkers. They are a NGO who lead a number of hiking and backpacking adventures in the mountains and volcanoes of Guatemala and Nicaragua. There guides are all volunteers, mostly gringos, who work for no pay. All contribution and donations go to a few local schools for underprivileged students. They are probably one of the best run NGO's I have ever seen, with all funds going to the local people and not to those that run the organization. Not only that, but their treks are by far the most affordable adventures I have been on. If you are in the area, I would recommend joining them for a trek or two if you have the time. Their website is:  http://www.quetzaltrekkers.com/

The first trek, as previously mentioned, involved hiking about halfway up the southern slope of Volcan Santa Maria through the thick rainforest. We hiked for 3 or 4 hours until we reached out destination: a large, open mirador (viewpoint) that had been cleared of trees by the local cattle farmers. Never thought I'd see Holsteins grazing in the rainforest halfway up a volcano, but I did. In fact, these were probably the happiest cows I've seen in Guatemala. We set up camp on a number of semi-level steps in the slope. We were a bit short on tent space and I wanted to find my own place to sleep, so I Jerry-rigged a bivouac structure using my companions´ walking sticks. It actually turned out pretty cool, except that I was on a slope and slid down the hill will just the slightest movement. I squirm a lot to get comfortable, especially when sleeping on a 1.5cm foam mat. Every time I woke up that night, I had to crawl a foot or two back up onto my sleeping pad.

The reason we were there was to watch Volcan Santiaguito erupt throughout the evening and night. Santiaguitio is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. A few years ago it used to erupt every 20 minutes or so, but now it only erupts every 1.5-2 hours. I was hoping for massive amounts of lava to spew into the atmosphere, but all you get during the day is a soft rumble then a large plume of smoke and ash is released from the crater. It wasn't what I had expected, but it was still pretty cool. With the eruptions being so infrequent and short-lived, someone would yell 'Eruption!' at the top of their lungs in the middle of the night when they were woken by the rumbling. I was fortunate because all I had to do was open my eyes and look to the right to watch the eruption from beneath my bivouac fly while everyone else had to scramble out of their tents. Most of the eruptions were nothing to write home about, but there was one really good one where a number of huge, orange, glowing, molten rocks were thrown from the crater. They proceeded to roll down the volcano, occasionally exploding as they collided with the mountainside. I felt like I was fortunate enough just to witness this. However, my Dutch friend Sanders (who was a guide for Quetzaltrekkers 5 years earlier), happened to catch the eruption and molten rockslide all in a single 20 or 30 second frame with his fancy digital camera. It is definitely a wicked cool picture. You can view it in my photo gallery if you'd like. I witnessed a few other eruptions, but they were few and far between. The following morning we packed up camp and made our way back to Xela. 

 

2) Lago Atitlán

During the weekdays in Xela I dedicated myself to studying Spanish, trying to get the most out of my classes. However, the weekends were free and I found myself either relaxing at the lake or climbing volcanoes. Lake Atitlan is a high mountain lake surrounded by volcanoes. It is approximately 8km X 18km and averages about 300m deep. Atitlan, like most of the Highlands, is very rich in Mayan culture. It's a unique mix of people at the lake: local Mayans and Guatelmaltecos meets lots of Gringos and wealthy Guatemalans on vacation at the lake. 

My first lake experience was at San Pedro la Laguna. It's a small backpacker/hippy getaway at the base of Volcan San Pedro. I went with a group of Irish guys from the school whose sole intention in life right now is to get drunk. The most remarkable experience on this trip was the bus ride down to the lake. We were in a chicken bus. It was not as packed as it could be, but it was still full. We descended between 500m and 1000m down a very steep hillside with many hairpin turns that the bus could not make. Numerous times, the only thing separating us from tumbling off a steep cliff was the guard rail up against the front tire as the driver tried to maneuver his way through a 3 or 5 point turn around. A little nerve racking, but the view was nice.

My second experience was much more relaxing. The previous weekend I had gone on an overnight trek halfway up the side of Volcan Santa Maria to watch Volcan Santiaguito erupt throughout the night. On said trek I met an American couple who is on quite the journey themselves: they are driving from Alaska to the southern tip of Argentina in a very round about fashion. They have everything they own in a Chevy truck with a custom made utility box on the back. I think they have been on the road for about 4 or 5 years now, I´m not sure. They only intended on staying in Mexico for 8 months, but 14 months later they finally moved on to Central America. Anyway, she is a journalist and he is a photographer. Every now and then, they receive an invitation to stay at a resort for 3 or more days for free. They, in return, post a review of the resort on their website. If you are interested, here is the website of their epic journey: http://trans-americas.com/ This was a bit of a stroke of luck, but I bumped into them in the central park in Xela on a Thursday and they gave me an invite to come join them on one of their 'research/writing assignments'. The next day I found myself riding in a new Chevy pickup (a bit of culture shock after acclimating to the chicken bus experience) on the way to a lakeside resort near Panajachel, also known as 'Gringotenango'.

This lakeside resort has 4 or 5 bungalows for rent  I use the term ‘bungalow’ here lightly). These ‘bungalows’ were immaculate resort houses with all the amenities and each has a spectacular view of the lake. The smallest one rents for $150 US a night while the largest costs only $400. We were given the middle of the road, the Bamboo bungalow, usually priced at $300 a night. All I can say is that it was a sweet place (and an even sweeter deal). I highly recommend them, that is, if you are going to be at the lake for a few days and you have a few grand to burn. Then again, I can think of much better things to do with a grand, like ‘gift’ it so some Columbian debit card thief, but I will touch on that a bit later. Check out this place’s website if you’re interested: http://www.panzaverde.com/balamya/en/index.html  

The bungalow had an extra bed and bathroom downstairs, so I had my own space. I cannot say how happy I was to take a comfortable, hot shower again. It was the first time in over a month that I was warm during and after a shower. I pretty much spent my time relaxing in hammock, enjoying the beautiful view off my deck, or reading in a beach chair on the lake’s edge. The location was just perfect to watch the sun set behind the volcanoes, with a mirror image reflecting in the lake. It was a very pleasant, warm, and budget travel experience (I did have to pay for food). However, all good things must come to an end and three days later I found myself back on a chicken bus Xela bound.  

By the way, I will try to get a few pics up of the lake soonish. Keep checking back.