Nebaj to Todos Santos 6 day hike

Well we are back from 6 amazing days of experiencing the finest that Guatemala has to offer. We just completed a 6 day tour with Quetzaltrekkers, a non profit organisation that has volunteer guides from around the world and all the profits go to a school and dormitory from homeless children. If you want to know more about their work check out the website
www. quetzaltrekkers.com

Anway we started on day one by travelling 6 plus hours in a crowded chicken bus to a small place in the mountains called Nebaj, north east of Xela. The bus journey is up there in my top 5 worst bus journeys! the combination of an uncomfortable posture that i couldn´t change, a puching competition for space with a small guatemalan man, driving over a landslide, bad smells, loud reggaeton music and dust, mmmm.

By day 2 we were all hanging out to start walking. We walked over a small ridge line, getting a little lost along the way, and then down the most spectacular valley, bush bashing the entire way, to end up in this pictuesque, swiss alps style valley complete with a cheese factory! After lunch we continued on through a few villages, some of which had almost lost their entire community during the civil war through death and burning of buildings. In on village the curch was the only building left standing after the army paid a visit in 1982. that night we stayed with a family and enjoyed their meal in their one room house and their thermalscul- not sure of the spelling but it is a mayan sauna. They make little tiny mudbrick huts and light a fire in there and then take out the wood, leaving the coals and a few buckets of water ranging from very hot to damn cold. The combination of the very hot water over your head followed swiftly by the cold water was a winner!

Day 3 was the hardest day of hiking when we ascended 800m in a few hours in the morning to the plateau. The climb was made harder by the fact that we had to carry a lot of water with us as their was no water on the plateau. While i was struggling along at the back of the group a mayan man was walking beside me and carrying all the water for his family for the week on his back, probably about 20L or more! and then he overtook me!...

The plateau was beautiful. some people thought it looked a bit like Australia and it definately reminded me of parts of the overland track in Tasmania. We stumbled across some inquisitive children from a Quiche speaking village who had a ball looking at themselves on the various digital cameras that everyone pulled out. That night after walking along the plateau we stayed on a school grounds outside on the concrete under the stars and built a fire and toasted marshmellows.

Day 4 we had breakfast down by a river in a valley and again climbed out of the valley and along a dirt road through more villages and then on through a plain as the light filtered through the dark clouds and made the dry grass plains look golden. after one last climb we ate a very late lunch in a comedor- very suspicious looking meat and toilet literally in the pig sty. a short bus ride later and we arrived at our second family house to eat and sleep the night.

our last day of hiking we ascended to the highest non volacanic point in guatemala, El Torre, at 3800m. At the top, our guide, a man named Geronimo, whose house we had stayed in, told us about his experiences during the civil war. It was a very mystical place, with the clouds below us, to listen to the hardships of the mayan people during the war. To end the hike and get to our last detination of Todos Santos we descended 1300m in the afternoon down a steep steep ravine, all the while slipping and sliding with our packs.

Todos Santos is an amazing town and quite well known for its traditional dress. The mem wear bright red and white striped pants, combined with a White, purple, pink and blue striped jacket with a huge wide embroidered collar. All the men, even the little boys wear it, it is like a uniform and makes the whole place seem a bit like a clown school, said of course with the upmost respect.

So that was it. i wish i could describe it better. joff is currently learning how to make a hammock so tomorrow while i finish waeving my scarf at weaving school he can add his bit and some photos to give you more of a picture.

love to everyone, min xxx