Hola Guatemala - again.
The border crossing is incredibly easy. All we have to do is pay departure tax
at Mexico, & get our passports stamped. We keep our vehicle papers as we
are returning to Mexico. Once in Guatemala we get our wheels fumigated (Haha),
passports stamped & a sticker for GR2’s windscreen. No photocopies required
(they do all that) & at the cost of 160Q(A$20). All done in less than an
hour.
We head off through a
massive gorge to our first stop – Huehuetenango. Our aim is to get some
Quetzals (local cash). We must have tried every ATM in town, plus queued inside
numerous banks. No joy!! We end up changing Mexican Paso’s. By the time we
leave it is getting late & we are on the look out for a spot to camp. We are
heading up a massive mountain range & all spare land is cultivated. Finally
we spy a picnic spot next to a Comedor/ restaurant & ask. Yes that is fine.
We settle in before it rains.
We have a long drive ahead
of us & have read that it is spectacular, but there have been huge slips
& the road may be in a bad condition. The first 100km are great. Good seal
& great scenery, with the only drawback being lots of topes in villages.
But once we cross the river near Uspantan the road changes. There are massive
slips, & we drive over sections that have been cleared by hand. In fact in
most places they are still shoveling stones. The road deteriorates further into
potholes & finally bedrock. Very slow going for the final 50km. At one
point the whole mountainside has slipped away leaving only a hand hewn track. Finally
we reach Verapaz near dusk, & eventually the main road. We stop at the
gorgeous San Rafael Hotel & I ask if we can use their carpark. As a bonus
it is free! More rain again, & we still have that leak.
John is still not feeling
great, so after our huge drive yesterday we decide to slow up a bit & do a
few touristy things. First stop Coban & the supermarket. Then an ATM – we
love that sound as money flicks through the machine. Off to find the Coffee
Finca – when we do find it, we discover the tour is temporarily closed. So we
head off to find the Orchid tour. Hello, there is a height barrier over the
bridge. We are beckoned into a car yard to turn around, and amazingly it is a
wrecking yard. The owner’s son Peter speaks great English, so he, his father
& John spends most of the day chatting about car & truck imports. It is
great to see John sparkle again. We get the guided tour of both yards, &
then I’m taken to the Orchid place. It too has closed so Peter arranges for a
friend of his to take me to see his orchids. So I get a personal tour of Orquigona.
A very special place where they save many species of orchids. Many are saved
from logging areas & replanted & tended here. Back at GR2 John &
Peter have sorted out the leak in GR2. They have replaced the seal between the
cab and the camper section. Before we
leave Peters yard I use his Wifi to update our website (so it was a pretty
rushed one with not too much proof reading – my apologies) It is getting late,
so we head out of town to stop overnight at a petrol station. They even set up
a row of witches’ hats to stop any cars driving beside us – how thoughtful.
Our next destination is
the famous Semuc Champey (in fact we have driven a long way to see them – so
they better be good!) The last 10km to Lanquin is a pretty rough. It is a
further 10km into Semuc with a track too narrow for us, so we decide to go by
local transport (standing in the back of a ute) and leave GR2 in town. The
limestone pools are magic. Very slippery to get in to & I am not too keen
on all the fish that keep nibbling my toes, but the spot is drop dead gorgeous.
Amazingly we don’t climb to the Mirador (John really doesn’t feel well). A nice
quiet night in the Hotel La Recreo carpark for 50Q($7).
Again a huge driving day
as we head back to Coban & then south through the mountains to Guatemala City
(in fact there was no way of avoiding it) & on to Antigua. Here we can camp
in the tourist Police compound/goal for free. We are so close to town we can
walk to a restaurant for dinner. The next day is spent doing the Lonely Planet’s
walking tour, somehow managing to explore every nook & cranny, plus lots of
churches – in use & in ruins – it has suffered from many earthquakes over
the years. We both love the old town with so many of the buildings in a
semi-ruined state - especially the convents and churches. It must have been
some place in its day.
Can you believe it -I am devastated!
We are not climbing Volcan Pacaya. John must be sick. We stay another night
& so get to eat out some more, & on Monday morning go to the local
markets only a street away. The local ladies wear such a kaleidoscope of
colours here – it is a true visual feast. After buying enough fruit & veges
to last a week we head off to our next destination – Lago de Aititlan. Only I
choose a back road – very scenic, but lots of topes, then very steep &
winding. This road too has suffered damage. At one point the bridge has washed
away & we ford the river, & at another there has been a landslide… the
road worker tells us in perfect English – dangerous, drive very fast!!
We find a camp spot just
past Panajachel, right beside the gorgeous lake, surrounded by Volcanoes for
50Q (including Wifi) – magic. The next day we walk into town to catch a local
lancha/boat around to the lakeside village of Santa Cruz la Lagona. It is a
very steep walk up to town, but what a find. There is a local cooperative
called Amigos de Santa Cruz Foundation, where the ladies learn to sew, children
get better schooling, & sex education is taught. They have a small
restaurant overlooking the lake. Best hot chocolate ever with ginger &
cardamom. I want to buy some of their weavings, so we are taken up, up ,up the
hill to a ladies very simple hut. I chose a few & the girls show us their back
strap looms. Then catch the boat back to town & enjoy a local set menu
lunch, before walking back to GR2.
After 2 nights in this
gorgeous spot it is time to move on. Up the
mountains & through the town of Solola. The church is full of locals
(even on a Wednesday) & there are men, as well as ladies, in ethnic
outfits. Our next destination is Fuentes Georginas, but we have to drive
through the city of Quetzaltenango to get there. Road signs within a city are
as rare as hen’s teeth & we end up snarled in tiny, one way streets,
finding low overhead bridges. After reversing out of a street which means I
have to hop out & get rid of all the cars!! a local teenager hops in to
direct us out of town (there was no way we could have done this one on our
own!). Finally out & on towards our hot pools. But just as we turn off onto
our final 11km on a tiny road – mist rolls in – it thickens to pea soup fog. It
is a very slow drive, rewarded with a lovely soak in the hot pools. Then we have
another soak the next morning. I don’t
think we have ever seen hot water flowing down such a huge rock face before.
Our original plan was to
visit local markets on our way back to Quetzaltenango, but after yesterday we
decide to bypass the city & head to the border. It is a magic drive back
down the hill (no mist this time) as the villagers are out harvesting carrots,
radishes, onions, cabbages & potatoes. So we have to stop and shop. We have
a long slow drive through lots more crazy towns with no road signs. Eventually
we reach the border – Hola Mexico. Although this time they check our food – we
lose our eggs & fruit to the fat border officer (he failed to see the food
sitting on the bed – he only looked in the fridge)
Adios Amigos
