Today I just got back from a two day trip, hiking up a volcano that
also holds the title as the highest point in Central America,
Tajumulco! On Wednesday we left at 6am and started our climb around
10. It took us until 4pm to get to the site where we were to camp,
about 400 meters from the top. As I had never climbed before nor was
I wearing proper shoes {though mine held out through the whole trip!)
AND the altitude making it difficult to breathe, I found it to be
quite a difficult trek. We set up camp and ate like none other while
trying not to freeze and jumped into our sleeping bags by 7 just to
stay warm. This morning then, at 5am, we got up to do the final 400
m...one girl from our group was from Holland and she ended up staying
in the tent due to a massive headache that luckily had left the rest
of us during the night, but as her body had not yet acclimated itself
to the height {Holland being actually below sea level and us being up
at 4000 m was quite a strain on
her body..and everybodys for that matter) ANYhoots, I hiked until
there was about a half hour to go, and with no breath left in my
lungs, I sat myself down at about 4100 m to watch the sun rise along
with the German, while the remaining four made the treachorous climb
the rest of the way. It was cool all the same, but we were left
utterly exhausted...though we were not left to sleep the whole two and
a half hour ride home, bus #1 because the chickens wouldn't keep
quiet, and bus #2 because a guy felt the need to spread the
Evangelical word about believing in Jesus and the benifits of going to
heaven and the resulting suckiness of hell, all this at the top of his
voice for a good 45 minutes. so it is on the bus.
{by the way, somebody has felt the need to change all the punctuation
marks on this keyboard, so if theres a lack of puntuation, its due to
my lack of patience trying to find where all the marks went)
So all this adventure was done from a tour in Quetzaltenango {Xela),
where I am now. I had quite a time going from Flores to Coban, to
Sacapulcas, to Huehuetenango, to Xela {a 3 day trip). All the way
from Coban up to Flores, the shuttles we took were filled with other
tourists and whities all around. My return trip has provided quite a
contrast as I spent three days traveling, meeting only one other
tourist, a girl from Holland, when I was in Coban. Its cool, but
sometimes its nice to talk to other peeps about where theyre going and
where theyve been and what I should do next...but Xela is full of
other whities, so its been a nice break.
Tomorrow Im headed to San Pedro Atitlan, hopefully to spend some time
with the family that Amelia stayed with for 5 weeks as well as to
travel around the lake. An early departure equals more adventure, so
as early as possible tomorrow it is.
I have to go now...our little hiking group is having coffee or
something at 830pm as a last little goodbye after our huge adventure.
1 from Holland, 1 from Germany, 1 from Peru but U.S. residency..shes
the wife of the 1 Texan..and then there is 1 North Carolinian, and me,
the 1 Wisconsonite...we make up quite a group!
annemary
old bugbite scars that have almost disappeared 10
nasty animals in the past week 0..yes!
