August 5, 6 and 7 - The Epic Trek!
Saturday August 5 - Day 1
The morning did NOT begin well!
I was up most of the night suffering from...well, let's just say I was sitting on the toilet most of the night. By 4am, I was certain that I would not be going on the trek. I was plotting how I would deal with it. When my alarm went off at 5am, though, I got dressed, shouldered my pack and headed downstairs to the Quetzaltrekkers office. I had taken some pepto bismol and decided to push forward and "let the chips fall where they may," so to speak.
They made us a nice breakfast, I didn't eat much, and we started off with an urban hike through the mean streets of Xela to the bus stop.
We hopped on a chicken bus that took us up up up to a small town where the paved road ended and the bus stopped. We pulled out bags off and started the hike.
The first few hours were quite brutal! The trail went up and up. Eventually we emerged from forest into cornfields and we could see a ridge that we were told is the highest point on the pan-american highway. We reached a spot that the guides refer to as "Alaska" to take a break, when someone said "Whoa! Look at that!" There was a double halo around the sun, none of us had ever seen anything like it.
We continued up and down but mostly up until we reached the "first view spot." The guides were blown away - they had both done this hike half a dozen times and never had a view all the way to the lake! We were extremely lucky with weather this day and, as it turned out, the entire three days.
The next section went through a valley with a cloudforest climate. The flora was really different, the trees and flowers were so cool, I wanted to stop and just look around the whole time.
When we stopped for lunch, I took out my binoculars and watched for birds, including a larger than I have ever seen hummingbird with a golden underbelly - perhaps a Rufous hummingbird?
After lunch, we descended through forests of pine and beech. We passed many groups of men, women and children either harvesting wood or carrying large bundles of wood. The wood is used as fuel for cooking as well as construction. They were typically wearing traditional clothes, and sandals on their feet. Young boys had machetes strapped to their belts - in some cases the machetes were so large that they dragged along the ground! Women and girls routinely had giant loads of wood on their backs. They always offered us a cheerful "buenos dias." We were huffing and puffing, carrying our backpacks, dressed in expedition clothes with hiking boots. They must have been laughing at us!
We descended the ridge through a steep cornfield and emerged onto a dusty dirt road. We continued along that road, crossed a river, and walked up to the small village of Nueva Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan. (The "Nueva" is because the old town was destroyed by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The new town is above the river valley.)
Our guides purchased some watermelon and pineapple at the market as we passed through the center, and when we arrived at our "homestay" at the home of Senora Faustina, we relaxed with a snack of fruit and (for the rest of the group) ice cold beers. The view was still amazing even after a full day of incredible views. The house and village were quite charming, Faustina has a really nice house that she supposedly built up over the years for her own family, and after her kids moved away she began offering it up to Quetzaltrekkers for our overnight stay. They bring two groups per week through, so it is a steady business. (So, it is a really more of a "homestay" than a guest house.)
As we watched the hummingbirds and the sunset from the comfort of Senora Faustina's porch, we took turns in pairs using a Temazcal at a nearby house. This is a "traditional mayan sauna," and of course I did not take photos but I will describe it a bit...
There are many variations, but the temazcal we used was a small, low structure made of mud brick walls and corrugated metal roof. The floor consisted of wooden planks with large gaps, so any water poured onto the floor drained through. An open fire was kindled inside, and a metal bucket was set next to the fire. The doorway had a tarp draped across it, and there was a low bench at the far end. Inside the temazcal there was another large bucket that received cold water from a tap. Finally, there were two plastic buckets, a small one for "transfer" and a large one for mixing. When the temazcal was "ready," the hot water was nearly boiling. We had to crawl in on our hands and knees, and it was dark and smoky inside! That took some getting used to.
In addition to "sweating" in the sauna, you also bathe in there. We were instructed to transfer some hot and some cold into the mixing bucket until the temperature was to our liking, then pour it over our heads. Then we soaped up, etc., and rinsed with another bucketload of mixed water. We were also instructed to stay inside as long as we wanted to. I found the whole experience to be incredibly refreshing, especially after our long day of hiking. It was tougher for the taller people in the group, though!
After the sunset, our guides emerged from Senora Faustina's kitchen with a huge pot of spaghetti for dinner. Right on cue, the electricity which had been out of service since our arrival switched on and we had light! We ate and sat around for a while, then headed off to our beds - small mattresses laid out on the floor - for some well earned sleep.
Sunday August 6 - Day 2
We awoke after a semi-restful night. The village is very small, but every home has at least one dog in the yard, and the night time belongs to the dogs. Faustina's dog, "Teddy," was chained up in the yard and when the howling began, he pitched in with barks and whines. Somehow the locals are oblivious but as tired as I was, it kept me up much of the night. Between 3 and 4, the dogs gave way to the roosters. Then, at 5am the chicken buses started, and as they drive through town they blow their horns to alert any possible passengers that they are coming. ARGHHH!
We walked the short distance into the village center, where we dropped our packs outside the "comedor" where they were awaiting our arrival. We were treated to an awesome and very filling breakfast. They had also prepared our lunch, which the guides loaded into the canisters for later in the day.
After that wicked good breakfast, we made our way down the road and then up the road and then...it was a long road hike, but still really interesting with some great views. I loved seeing the different agricultural crops as well as the wildflowers.
We reached the lowest point of the day, the start of a section the guides call "record mountain." The first part is called "record hill." The guides set up a timing system with synchronized watches, and everyone got to time themselves going up this very steep section. I managed it in 16 minutes, the guides did it in about 10 minutes, the slowest person in the group took about 30 minutes. It was a killer hill, and the trail was very narrow, so I think that they do this challenge to get people to keep moving through this section.
After "record mountain," we crossed the "cornfield of hope" into "ice cream village" where we stopped for a break at a tienda where everyone bought...you guessed it...ice cream!
After the nice rest, we descended a long road where kids threw rocks at us. That was weird, and according to to the guides, unusual. After a long descent along dirt roads, we stopped for lunch at the first "stream crossing." At this point, my stomach problems came back and I was pretty miserable! The road danced with the river for about an hour, and the nine stream crossings involved total submersion of the feet, so we all either changed to water shoes or bare feet. I had borrowed water shoes from Quetzaltrekkers, but several people did this section barefoot. I think it took about two hours, but it seemed like infinity to me as I was mostly focused on keeping my shit together.
At long last reached the "cornfield of death." Yes, that's really what the guides called it, but thankfully it was pretty short and I had regained my composure so it was not as bad as it could have been. The trail then emerged onto a high quality paved road that led us to our destination for the night - Don Pedro's house in the village of Santa Maria la Visitacion!
At Don Pedro's house, we all ate together at a big table, and we all slept on the floor of the same big room. In between food and sleep we had a small bonfire and s'mores. There were some crappy guitars there, I grabbed one and led a singalong. The group was quickly becoming a tight bunch of friends!
Monday August 7 - Day 3
We woke up at 3:30am, quietly packed up our backpacks and snuck out of Don Pedro's house into the darkness. It was about a twenty minute hike to the "mirador" (viewspot) where we dropped our bags and set up for breakfast. Another pair of people with flashlights arrived right after. I was surprised that "locals" would come out at this hour, and it was only after the sun came out that I realized it was tourist police. They stayed with us until we reached the bottom of the hill several hours later. Our guides explained that this is a service they provide to Quetzaltrekkers to keep them safe, as they do this hike twice a week every week.
We could see the lights of San Pedro and San Juan, and the moon reflected off the lake. Off in the distance we could see other lights from other towns. To the south there was a red light on the horizon, which looked to me like a cell tower in the distance. Our guide looked at it and said "that's Fuego volcano erupting." I doubted it, but she was really confident. I took out my binoculars and was amazed to see that it was a volcano erupting! I could distinctly make out a lava plume that changed over time. (Unfortunately it was not something I could photograph.)
We hung out there for about two hours while the sun came up. It was really awesome.
Eventually we had to go. Our hike continued through a huge coffee plantation to another viewpoint called "the cross" for obvious reasons.
After this break, we reached the bottom and said goodbye to our police escort. We signed out of the "park" we had just walked through and continued through the streets of San Juan to the coffee plantation headquarters.
And...still one more thing to do! We climbed onto a pickup truck for a short ride to a restaurant in San Pedro. Here, we dropped our packs for the last time and ordered food for lunch. While we waited for our food, we changed into bathing suits and went for a swim!
We ate our excellent meals, then our bags arrived and we repacked ourselves. And finally...we said our tearful goodbyes!
The morning did NOT begin well!
I was up most of the night suffering from...well, let's just say I was sitting on the toilet most of the night. By 4am, I was certain that I would not be going on the trek. I was plotting how I would deal with it. When my alarm went off at 5am, though, I got dressed, shouldered my pack and headed downstairs to the Quetzaltrekkers office. I had taken some pepto bismol and decided to push forward and "let the chips fall where they may," so to speak.
They made us a nice breakfast, I didn't eat much, and we started off with an urban hike through the mean streets of Xela to the bus stop.
We hopped on a chicken bus that took us up up up to a small town where the paved road ended and the bus stopped. We pulled out bags off and started the hike.
The first few hours were quite brutal! The trail went up and up. Eventually we emerged from forest into cornfields and we could see a ridge that we were told is the highest point on the pan-american highway. We reached a spot that the guides refer to as "Alaska" to take a break, when someone said "Whoa! Look at that!" There was a double halo around the sun, none of us had ever seen anything like it.
We continued up and down but mostly up until we reached the "first view spot." The guides were blown away - they had both done this hike half a dozen times and never had a view all the way to the lake! We were extremely lucky with weather this day and, as it turned out, the entire three days.
 |
| Our destination visible in the distance - Lake Atitlan |
 |
| Drew getting his first look at San Pedro, Atitlan and Toliman volcanoes, with the trail ahead of us. |
The next section went through a valley with a cloudforest climate. The flora was really different, the trees and flowers were so cool, I wanted to stop and just look around the whole time.
When we stopped for lunch, I took out my binoculars and watched for birds, including a larger than I have ever seen hummingbird with a golden underbelly - perhaps a Rufous hummingbird?
After lunch, we descended through forests of pine and beech. We passed many groups of men, women and children either harvesting wood or carrying large bundles of wood. The wood is used as fuel for cooking as well as construction. They were typically wearing traditional clothes, and sandals on their feet. Young boys had machetes strapped to their belts - in some cases the machetes were so large that they dragged along the ground! Women and girls routinely had giant loads of wood on their backs. They always offered us a cheerful "buenos dias." We were huffing and puffing, carrying our backpacks, dressed in expedition clothes with hiking boots. They must have been laughing at us!
We descended the ridge through a steep cornfield and emerged onto a dusty dirt road. We continued along that road, crossed a river, and walked up to the small village of Nueva Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan. (The "Nueva" is because the old town was destroyed by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The new town is above the river valley.)
Our guides purchased some watermelon and pineapple at the market as we passed through the center, and when we arrived at our "homestay" at the home of Senora Faustina, we relaxed with a snack of fruit and (for the rest of the group) ice cold beers. The view was still amazing even after a full day of incredible views. The house and village were quite charming, Faustina has a really nice house that she supposedly built up over the years for her own family, and after her kids moved away she began offering it up to Quetzaltrekkers for our overnight stay. They bring two groups per week through, so it is a steady business. (So, it is a really more of a "homestay" than a guest house.)
 |
| We arrived very hot and sweaty! |
 |
| A view of the village |
There are many variations, but the temazcal we used was a small, low structure made of mud brick walls and corrugated metal roof. The floor consisted of wooden planks with large gaps, so any water poured onto the floor drained through. An open fire was kindled inside, and a metal bucket was set next to the fire. The doorway had a tarp draped across it, and there was a low bench at the far end. Inside the temazcal there was another large bucket that received cold water from a tap. Finally, there were two plastic buckets, a small one for "transfer" and a large one for mixing. When the temazcal was "ready," the hot water was nearly boiling. We had to crawl in on our hands and knees, and it was dark and smoky inside! That took some getting used to.
In addition to "sweating" in the sauna, you also bathe in there. We were instructed to transfer some hot and some cold into the mixing bucket until the temperature was to our liking, then pour it over our heads. Then we soaped up, etc., and rinsed with another bucketload of mixed water. We were also instructed to stay inside as long as we wanted to. I found the whole experience to be incredibly refreshing, especially after our long day of hiking. It was tougher for the taller people in the group, though!
 |
| View from the porch. Pictures never really capture a sunset! |
Sunday August 6 - Day 2
We awoke after a semi-restful night. The village is very small, but every home has at least one dog in the yard, and the night time belongs to the dogs. Faustina's dog, "Teddy," was chained up in the yard and when the howling began, he pitched in with barks and whines. Somehow the locals are oblivious but as tired as I was, it kept me up much of the night. Between 3 and 4, the dogs gave way to the roosters. Then, at 5am the chicken buses started, and as they drive through town they blow their horns to alert any possible passengers that they are coming. ARGHHH!
 |
| Loaded with kids going to school and women bringing their produce to the market. Bags and people on the roof. |
 |
| Hiker's Breakfast: Rice, beans, omelette, pancake, banana, tortilla, sauteed carrots and jalapenos, coffee. |
We reached the lowest point of the day, the start of a section the guides call "record mountain." The first part is called "record hill." The guides set up a timing system with synchronized watches, and everyone got to time themselves going up this very steep section. I managed it in 16 minutes, the guides did it in about 10 minutes, the slowest person in the group took about 30 minutes. It was a killer hill, and the trail was very narrow, so I think that they do this challenge to get people to keep moving through this section.
After "record mountain," we crossed the "cornfield of hope" into "ice cream village" where we stopped for a break at a tienda where everyone bought...you guessed it...ice cream!
After the nice rest, we descended a long road where kids threw rocks at us. That was weird, and according to to the guides, unusual. After a long descent along dirt roads, we stopped for lunch at the first "stream crossing." At this point, my stomach problems came back and I was pretty miserable! The road danced with the river for about an hour, and the nine stream crossings involved total submersion of the feet, so we all either changed to water shoes or bare feet. I had borrowed water shoes from Quetzaltrekkers, but several people did this section barefoot. I think it took about two hours, but it seemed like infinity to me as I was mostly focused on keeping my shit together.
At long last reached the "cornfield of death." Yes, that's really what the guides called it, but thankfully it was pretty short and I had regained my composure so it was not as bad as it could have been. The trail then emerged onto a high quality paved road that led us to our destination for the night - Don Pedro's house in the village of Santa Maria la Visitacion!
At Don Pedro's house, we all ate together at a big table, and we all slept on the floor of the same big room. In between food and sleep we had a small bonfire and s'mores. There were some crappy guitars there, I grabbed one and led a singalong. The group was quickly becoming a tight bunch of friends!
Monday August 7 - Day 3
We woke up at 3:30am, quietly packed up our backpacks and snuck out of Don Pedro's house into the darkness. It was about a twenty minute hike to the "mirador" (viewspot) where we dropped our bags and set up for breakfast. Another pair of people with flashlights arrived right after. I was surprised that "locals" would come out at this hour, and it was only after the sun came out that I realized it was tourist police. They stayed with us until we reached the bottom of the hill several hours later. Our guides explained that this is a service they provide to Quetzaltrekkers to keep them safe, as they do this hike twice a week every week.
We could see the lights of San Pedro and San Juan, and the moon reflected off the lake. Off in the distance we could see other lights from other towns. To the south there was a red light on the horizon, which looked to me like a cell tower in the distance. Our guide looked at it and said "that's Fuego volcano erupting." I doubted it, but she was really confident. I took out my binoculars and was amazed to see that it was a volcano erupting! I could distinctly make out a lava plume that changed over time. (Unfortunately it was not something I could photograph.)
We hung out there for about two hours while the sun came up. It was really awesome.
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| San Pedro town, San Pedro Volcano, with Atitlan and Toliman volcanoes behind. |
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| Sun coming up in the East |
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| Ever changing clouds over Atitlan volcano |
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| Pacaya in clouds to the left, Fuego erupting to the right |
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| Our trek guides Grace (New Zealand) and Charles (Quebec) |
Eventually we had to go. Our hike continued through a huge coffee plantation to another viewpoint called "the cross" for obvious reasons.
After this break, we reached the bottom and said goodbye to our police escort. We signed out of the "park" we had just walked through and continued through the streets of San Juan to the coffee plantation headquarters.
 |
| Delicious coffees all around! |
And...still one more thing to do! We climbed onto a pickup truck for a short ride to a restaurant in San Pedro. Here, we dropped our packs for the last time and ordered food for lunch. While we waited for our food, we changed into bathing suits and went for a swim!
We ate our excellent meals, then our bags arrived and we repacked ourselves. And finally...we said our tearful goodbyes!
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