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Change of plan occurred between when I last wrote and now. We were unable to go on the trip up Volcan Tajumulco. We decided instead to do a 3 day trek from Xela to Lago Atitlan the next stop on our voyage.
This involved an early start of 6 30, which didnt go down well with Simon and Myself (Simon in Particular), who both had dicky tummy´s from a meal we ate a few days before. After a good few trips to the toilet and a good few Imodium we were ready to roll!
Catching a small pick up truck we headed to our start point. Bags hoisted onto our backs we proceeded to trudge up a small path to the beginning of one of the toughest hills of the trip. The 2 hour climb was gruelling at that time of the morn, and yes.....the sweating started again, and didnt stop for the next 3 days. Upon reaching the top of the hill we passed through a small village where the funds from Quetzal Trekkers (the guiding organization) help to improve. After a section of walking through cloud forest we reached our stop for lunch where the guides put out a great range of food including peanut butter salad, bread etc etc. From there we headed down steep terrain to our first stop in Santa Catalina where they were holding Semana Santa celebrations, by dancing around in masks. That evening we went into a Te Metzcal, which is the Guatemalan equivalent of a sauna, which from the outside looked like a very small dog kennel. Crawling in we all crammed on the bench and sweated ourselves clean until we could bare the heat and the smoke no longer. That night was a good nights sleep afetr a hard days walking.
The next day we woke around 7 ish to a bright Guatemalan day, which promised to be warm. We donned our clothes and packed our bags and headed to the comedor over the road for a traditional breakfast of eggs, beans, rice and tea. After breakfast it was yet more downhill down a road until reaching our next big hill which turned out to be an even bigger slog than the last. Three quarters of the way up, puffing and panting there were some stunning views, which were absorbed before the final push to the top where we dropped down slightly and had lunch and got our sleeping bags out for an hours sleep on the side of a hill. After a good hours kip we awoke and carried on trudging down the hillside making our legs feel like jelly until we hit a river valley, where taking off our boots and donning our flip flops we proceeded to cross the river around 10 times in different places. The next step was a short uphill climb to a small village called Santa Clara where we stayed the night at Don Pedro´s house, and played card games with his kids. One thing about Guatemalan children is that they are very friendly and will run out of houses to say hello.
After a good nights sleep we woke at 4 30 to head to El Mirador, a place to watch the sunrise over Lago Atitlan. We whipped out our sleeping bags and watched the sun rise over the lake which showed some stunning scenery. The rest of the trek was descent, which I personally hate, so the thought of swimming in the lake at the end of the trip was the only thing keeping me going. We finally arrived in San Juan at around 11 am and had a nice refreshing swim in the lake before chilling on the beach.
Unable to move and very sore we lay for a while. The Trek was tough but highly recommended!!
Simon Howard and Fran
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