It would have been faster to drive, but...

Three days and 45 kilometers later, we are back in Xela (pronounced Shay-la, in case you were wondering...). The trek, as it's called, was awesome. The terrain and views were varied, the food was good, and the group of people was laid back.

We started out the first day with a two hour uphill hike. It was good to get it out of the way, and it was during this hike that Cheka, Phoebe and I discovered that according to Guatemalan tourist trekking standards, we are pretty fast! We kept pace with the lead guide. The hike up was on a rocky trail through the woods, and it reminded us of East Bay hiking trails (it's funny though, because a girl from Pennysalvania said that it reminded her of the trails where she lives. I guess even when away we are all looking for home.). At the top of the hill we stepped out into the grass lands. It is just now starting to hit the rainy season, so the grasses were all brown and dry. Ana, one of the guides, told us that these grasslands stretch all the way from Alaska down to Chile. I never think of climates as running horizontally, but I guess they do! Pretty cool. From the grasslands we hiked through a couple towns. First we hit Nueva Xitinamit (sounds a little like saying shit in the mist, although if you say it with the proper accent, it doesn't), which was rebuilt after Hurricane Mitch. From the towns we hit the woods again. I found that mostly I looked at my feet in an attempt not to trip, but when I did look up it was lush green plants of varying shapes and sizes and the occasional purple, pink, or orange flower.

We spent the first night in an abandoned medical clinic in a town called Santa Clarita. I do not recommend sleeping in abandoned medical clinics. There was no electricty or water (reminded me of Casa little...), and we slept on the floor of cement cells. Dinner was good though. We all ate in the "kitchen" which was the largest room, and the only room that had a bed, which served as our kitchen table. Although the accomadations were less than five star, we had a good time. The best part was that we got to use a temescal (home made sauna) in someone's backyard. The guides kept saying that we could clean up in the temescal, although it was beyond me how sitting and sweating more would make me clean. But the temescal was awesome. The room was small, maybe five feet by five feet, with a low ceiling and hot stones heated by the fire below. There was a spigot of cold water and big barrel of hot water and we mixed them together and cleaned up. Hands down, it was one of the best sauna experiences ever, although it was weird to step out and realize that wow, we were in someone's backyard.. .We fell asleep the first night to the sound of church bells, and woke up the next morning to the sound of church bells. In between I had an elaborate dream about a company that creates beautiful beds with soft pillows and elaborate bedspreads. It's a service that you purchase for your friends as gifts, and it sneaks into houses to set them up. It's a bit of a practical joke service too, because as nice as the beds are, they are also shortsheeted. I note this mostly because the next day was April first, so it was a pretty apt dream...

Sunday morning we ate a typical Guatemalan breakfast of eggs, beans, and rice (and this weird hot drink made of bananas...), and set out on the road again. We started off walking along a dirt road with cliffs rising to the left and steep almost vertical mountains rising to the right. Kids from the town we walked through ran out asking to have their pictures taken. After a couple of hours we hit a river where we took a little rest, and then climbed up one of the nearly vertical mountains. It was tough, but there was good cloud cover, and it's actually really rewarding to climb such a mountain. From there it was more little towns, dusty roads, and green plants. We hiked through cornfields and had lunch and a nap (all 17 of us...) on a grassy place by a river. Much of the second day was spent hiking up hills only to hike down them. We came into a valley where we crossed a the same river not one, not five, but fourteen times. This was actually one of my favorite parts of the hike.

We spend the second night with a family. They cooked us a wonderful meal and we spent the evening roasting marshmallows and hanging out with their four boys, ranging in age from 1 and a half to 13. The thirteen year old played the guitar, including a Guatemalan verion of Ode to Joy. Pretty cool. We woke up the next morning at 3:30, and walked along a paved road to a lookout point over Lago Atitlan, where we watched the sunrise and ate breakfast. From there it was two and a half hours of downhill with an optional hike up a hill called Nariz Del Indo, which looks like a nose. From there we had spectacular views of the lake, as well as the joys of having hiked up yet another steep hill. We swam in the lake, I collected more shells (this time taking care to cover my back, which had, by the way bubbled and peeled. Yuck.), and then hopped on a lancha over to San Pedro. After lunch we left most of our group in San Pedro, and then hopped in the back of a pick-up truck for the two hour ride back to Xela. We were lucky in that there was no road construction, and less lucky in that it poured. Apparently we are trying to make the trip between Xela and the lake as many ways as possible. We have taken a chicken bus, walked, and now ridden in a pick-up. Next I am planning on taking a boat.*

Overall, the trip was well worth it. I hadn't been backpacking for years, and this has definitely renewed my interest in it. What was interesting about this hike though was the purpose for the trails. In the states all the trails I've hiked on are there as fire trails, or specifically there as hiking trails. These trails, while looking pretty similar, are actually in use by the people leaving near them. We pulled to the side of the trail several times so that local folks could get by with their huge loads of firewood or corn, which they carry tied to their heads. It definitely put our trek in perspective.

We got back to Xela around 5 and settled into our apartment (great place with a kitchen!), and dined on yet more papusas and atol. Yum. Today is a simple day with simple errands of internet, shopping, and trying to find volunteer opportunities and good things to put in our tummies.

*Note: There is no body of water that connects Xela with the lake.