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Lake Atitlan Adventure Weekend
Okay so we're in to the second weekend here and it's the set trip that GVI do. Really looking forward to this, kayaking and cycling. Got up early again on Saturday and plodded down to the main shop to load up on the bus and meet our two guides. Rucksacks, bikes etc on the bus we set off for a two hour drive stopping at a little restaurant place, could be the Guatemalan alternative to the motorway service station. We stop at the top of a huge hill and find this is where we start the bike section of the trip. Bikes assigned, headgear on and getting used to the bikes we start our 20 mile cycle section. We start as we mean to go on which is a huge steep drop down a massive steep road when we all realise that it'll be cycling by brakes. We hit the difficult hill early on and I just about get to the top and I call it quits and push the last 50 meteres up. So annoyed I didn't get up. At least my chain didn't come of which happened to the others.
We continue to cycle along small flat and uphill sections through various villages with more big downhill dips. Eventually we stop off at our lunch point and see the first time Lake Atitlan and it's an amazing view. Unfortunately we get all the children who are doing their best Del Boy impersonations trying to sell stuff. You can only be polite for a short while. After lunch we start off and about 20 minutes later we come to the steepest section of the trip which is a 35% gradient continually twisting downhill. Newllands valley descent into Grange is nothing on this bit. After a bit of caution I decided to go balls to the wall and bomb down with little use of the brakes. It had to be the best bike ride ever. We cycle into Panajachel and rest up for a few hours which consists of 2 beers and a cocktail before getting on the water taxi to our Lodge which when we get there to my surprise is run by a lovely Norweigan bloke Terje and his wife. He was so chuffed to know I was Norweigan. We had a lovely dinner, 4 course meal. I was just content with having a huge bowl of Brocolli, Mangetout and Green beans in front of my face. After a few drinks headed for a chill in the hammock and a last drink.
The next day was our Kayaking section and David the guide decided against the hike. He took a group on a walk along there once and was ambushed by 2 guys with machetes. I didn't care I prefered the kayaking. The kayaks were a little on the unstable side and having a camera on the kayak decided to go with caustion as we didn't exactly have waterproof bags or sacks to guard against water damage. It was a great paddle, spectacular scenery, hot and calmish water most of the way. Entertainment came courtesy of Alex who took 12 dunks into the water, how I do not know but he just couldn't keep afloat bless him. Anyway afetr kayaking back to Panajachel for food before the trek home to Antigua. Fantastic trip!!
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