Guatemalan Highlands

Hi friends,

Well, as min said below, she is finishing her scarf off while I put up some photos from our trip with Quetzaltrekkers.

I was disappointed that I was not able to get up the highest point in Central America last weekend. I was sick from something I ate the day before, and the stress of carrying a pack, a very windy six hour bus ride, getting up at 4am, and thin air from the altitude made me vomit and feel very week. So we turned back and left the group to continue without us.

Fortunately Quetzaltrekkers transferred our payment over to the 6 day trek and I recovered to take part in what I am sure is going to be the highlight of our entire trip.

Sorry about the layout of these three. Here is a view of the valley we climbed on day 4. Mules and Donkeys were used a lot to transport the wheat and corn that grows there, as there were no roads. In fact, our trip took us along the ´main road´ between villages....

This is the typical terrain we hiked in. Rocky, dusty and dry. After saying that however, the geography did change dramatically. From lush green forested hills on day one, to river gulleys, steep climbs through pine forests, Alpine plateaus, Mayan cemetaries, Dry roadless villages, And rocky ravines....

These guys owned the tienda (shop) that we bought a drink from while one of the group was sick and waited for a ute to pick her up. They were busy with their horses that were walking around on the wheat they had cropped. This was done to separate the germ from the stalk. then they would throw fork loads into the air. The wind will carry off the stalks and the germ would fall the the ground. After that they ground the wheat to flour to make bread... A long process, and it was surreal to be there in their village while it was going on. Luckily they accepted a photo. Lots of Mayans don´t appreciate us taking their photos. The ones you see here are rare, and I cherish them.

Quetzaltrekkers made a CD of photos from everyone on the trip. So if you are interested, I can show you more when we get home