It seemed like such a good idea, rather than an
uncomfortable bus ride from Xela to Lago Atitlan, we would hike there. Get to
see some Mayan villages up close, meet more people, get some exercise and
support a good cause, we had both done D of E, how hard could it be...
The answer was bloody hard.... it turns out that 5
years behind a desk is not the greatest training for hauling oneself and a 20kg
pack over 3,000 metre
high mountains.
The first day is the hardest (supposedly), we started
off at around 2,500
metres and climbed for 2-3 hours through jungle and pine
forest. After cresting the first "hill" we walked through a rebuilt
Mayan village (the original had been destroyed by one of the hurricanes to hit
this area), and then descended through cloud forest. The views in the morning
were stunning. Unfortunately as we were in the first week of the rainy season
(it starts on the 1st May every year without fail) in the afternoon we were walking
through cloud and rain, and so didn´t see very much of anything. The first
night we "camped" in a old municipality building. The facilities were
basic, however the local temazcal was kept hot for us. The temazcal is a local
version of a sauna / steam room / bath all in one. They are supposed to clean
you both physically and spiritually. Forget the beautiful pine-clad saunas of Scandinavia,
this is a stone and wood hut that is tarred on the inside, which is about 3 feet high, however, after
a long day’s walk it felt brilliant.
The second day started off with a surprising breakfast
of eggs, beans and tortillas. The weather was clear and we were able to see the
town that had been just a grey cloud the night before. The second day was
billed as being easier, with a short hill - the "record hill". Supposedly
some insane Israeli´s and one of the guides have run up this near vertical
path (with packs on) in just over 9.5 minutes. We decided it would be unfair to
show them up so we strolled up in a more refined 20 minutes. After this
particular bit of climbing our guides informed us we would have a generally
flat bit for the next couple of miles. WARNING - when trekking, all guides lie,
and “generally flat” means uphill for the next 2 miles! After recovering
and munching on cookies from the school the trekking firm supports, we started
to climb down to the river. From here we walked along a winding river (crossing
it 17 times) and then arrived in Santa Clara early in the afternoon. By this
point Stuart was doing his impression of the Dad´s Army marching... That
evening we stayed in the house of one "Don Pedro", he laid on a fine
spread and even sang us some local folk song round a fire. The evening was
complete when we discovered we could use the hot shower... trekking in style!!
The last day we were up at 3.30am in order to walk 2 miles to a Mirador
overlooking Lago Atitlan so we could watch the sun rise. The clouds stayed away
and we watched the lake come to life below us. After mosh (porridge) for
breakfast, we set off on our last little walk (remember guides lie!). About an
hour in we stopped for an optional "little" climb up to La Nariz (the nose), a peak
which forms part of a Mayan face in relief if looked upon from afar. The top is
a sacred site for some Mayans where they leave offerings: the story goes that a
Mayan god fought another ages ago and was defeated. After he fell, his face
turned into this mountain, his arms the ridges to either side and his navel the
volcano on the other side of the lake. From then on it was all downhill, a very
long way down hill! We reached the bottom and spent a couple of hours on the
beach before being picked up by boat to take us the last few miles to San
Pedro.
