Viento del mundo (el segundo parte)

When I last left, I was going to sleep in Xecocon, which I did. The next few days I will condense into images, rather than many words, mostly because they do better justice to the beautiful scenery than my written meandering.

We awoke before dawn to hike up some 90 switchbacks, 3.5 horas of invigorating work, to rest here, and watch el sol rise...

We then saw these things along our way...


















Entonces nosotros dormimos, barely, on a dirt floor in an old barn in Canton Primero. Not so remarkable. But, oh what was to come...

this next day was my favorite. We hiked through so many different zones, the vegetation and scenery went from altiplano, to massive rock formations, to old growth forest. We hiked up two hills dubbed Hell Hill and the Bitch, rightfully so. And this day too produced the most baby animal sightings yet. I saw baby dog, baby pig, lamb, baby fowl, baby goat...and spoke to all of them in my best spanish. I tried to take pictures of them all, but they were hard to capture. Take my word on their adorableness, especially the piglets...

Despues hitching a ride encima de a dump truck filled with gravel,

this night was spent in La Ventosa, the home of Geranimo y familia. We were so warmly recieved, with beds, mashed potatoes, tortillas and la temezcal. La temazcal, or chuj in Mam, is a type of sauna in which the indigenas use as their ducha. It consists of an adobe brick igloo, some hot coals upon which to pour some hot water for steam, and a basin of cold water to rinse with. It is possibly the best thing ever after three days of climbing.

La proxima mañana subimos a La Torre, the highest non volcanic peak in all of Central America. And from there we went down, en mi caso slid down, a Todos Santos de Las Cuchumatanes.

Estas son las vistas ví este dìa...

Los demàs salimos la proxima mañana para Xela, pero me quedè en Todos Santos por una semana de clases. Todos Santos es un pueblo de 3000 personas settled in a valley of the Cucuhumatans. Practically every person, inclye los hombres, wears traditional traje....beautiful traje. The colors they use here are stunning, deep purples and tealsand maroons. My Todos Santos madre weaved these brilliant textiles, so I was given the chance to see the process. The family also grew mushrooms, mi verdura favorita. And I can vouche that the papas here are the best in Guatemala.

I woke up todas las mañanas knowing I was in the mountains, not by memory or sight, but by a more abstract sense. And the feeling and sights in the middle of the night, being in Guatemala, in that valley, in those mountains, under that sky, rivaled some of the better ones in my life.

I will spare you the deatils of my first bout with a Guatemalan parasite, except that of course it was going to happen in a place with no more than an outhouse for a bathroom. Mi madre aqui was very madre like though and insisted I sweat it out in the chuj, which I did.

So this ends my two week trek through the Guatemalan highlands. I am not sure exactly how much ground I covered, but it is a really impressive and large number of kilometers. Again I leave you all with my unwavering love and best wishes and sincere anticipation to give you all loads de abrazos very soon.

Viento del mundo (parte uno)

Salcaja

San Andreas Xecul
Nebaj

Xexocon

Canton Primero

La Ventosa

Todos Santos

Huehuetenango

Chichicastenango

San Pedro Laguna

Esta es una lista de todos los lugares he visitado estas dos semanas. Había más, pero no recuerdo los nombres. Para razones obvios no hablo sobre cada pueblo, pero creéme, todos eran iluminaciónes.

Myself and the Questzaltrekkers started our journey in Nebaj, a pueblo in the highlands that was hard hit durante la guerra civil. Los guerilleros lived escondidos en las montañas de los highlands and as a result of their presence their, as well as their pressures on the campesinos to join their cause, los soldados del ejercito punished the townpeople both directly and indirectly (if you can call it that). To set examples they made the indigenas kill their own, as a pledge of allegiance, as well as ordered every able bodied hombre (o muchacho) to join the civil patrols. The guerilla luchadores were not innocent either, they too had their own examples to set, punishing those who, forcibly, had joined the army. What ended up happening was hermano contra hermano. Es una historia muy triste.

Aqui es el cemetario en Nebaj, y un mural honorando las vidas perdidas...

We stayed the night in Nebaj at a hostel owned by a man named Don, a chain smoker and ex pat who has lived in Guatemala por 25 años. The name is Popis. You should stay there too if you get to Nebaj. He makes a great pesto and panqueque.

The next morning nos levantamos a las 6 and began the long walk. This is where we are heading, los Cuchumatanes...

We walked and saw native plants, we walked under the bluest sky, we walked and dipped in the clearest river, we walked and I talked to every animal, in spanish, we walked and talked and shared our lives, we walked and learned the story of the land, we walked and stopped at a queso finca, we walked and ate ice cream, we walked and greeted the locals.

We then landed here, Xecocon, where we would sleep in a building known as the community center. Many pueblos throughout the department of HueHue got together and created kind of an infrastructure to support tourism. Part of this is the community centers built to host both events and persons. Another thing I have to remark on here is the water, so clean. Clean enough to drink from the source. Es raro aquí.

Unfortunately I will have to leave you all hanging. This is a time consuming entry and I want to go play a bit. There is more to come soon. I love you all and am glad you like my stories and pictures. They are here for you like you are for me. xo

Una pieza de mi corazon

está en Xela para siempre. Pero, tengo que salir. If I can find paz in this crazy city, I know the rest of the country has plenty to teach me. I leave on Tuesday for a five day hike from Nebaj to Todos Santos. In Todos Santos I will study some more español for a week, whilst taking in the paísaje and las vistas. The village is small, and mostly indigena, so lots of spanish speaking to do! I will so miss mi maestro aquì, Alberto. He is un guia sabio and a great friend. I will too miss the city life. I cannot deny the part of me that loves the noise and chaos. I will miss the friends I have found here, both in the students and the staff: Carlos, Mynar, Freddy, Isabel, Blair, Andrew, Susana, Alison, Shai, Murtaza and everyone else who has leant to me sus compañia, muchas gracias. These three weeks and you have made a new home for me. I hope to come back again and again. Mucho gusto Xela. Mucho gusto amigos.

Encima del mundo

El fin de semana pasada, no puedo creer ha estado tanto tiempo, pero el fin de semana pasada subì al volcàn Tajumulco, el volcán más alto de todo de Centroamérica, posee más de 4000meters. ¡Que increíble! Aquí estan alugunas fotos:

Camionetas o chicken buses in gringo.
They are colorful, lively, blessed by our lord,
and los conductors son locos...all this for fifty
cents an hour.


















We at the beginning...




Up there, way up there, is where we go....




















Wild turkey, it did a dance!
On the way we saw...

Feet and flora at the top...

So, the deal is this...here where my feets are is our base camp. These feets are ones that have walked 7km uphill in very high alititudes. Era dificil, pero, las vistas eran...something else entirely. Despues de hicimos campamento, we climbed to the smaller of the peaks for the sunset....

























I find it really hard to get an acurate portrayal of the sun setting on this camera, so I will spare you seeing the twenty attempts I made....it was gorgeous though.












Dinner was had, bed was made, and we slept....I also have no pictures to convey how very cold it was, below zero, celsius, but still worth it. The next morning we woke up early, 4am, and walked the 1km mas to the top, for the sunrise.


Here are the ten peaks under which Xela sits, and from which part of its name is derived


and here is the shadow of santa maria

So, Tajumulco was so good. I saw a since abandoned guerilla camp, but not very animals because said guerillas ate most of them during the guerra civíl. The volcano is also in need of many more trees, because the then military run government destroyed loads of them trying to eradicate the guerillas. I am becoming a student of guatemalan polictics here as well, thanks to my maestros.

The group I went with are called Quetzaltrekkers, where all the guides are volunteers and all the money goes to the kids. They just started a sister branch in Bolivia, so those of you who find yrself here or there, look into it. I am looking forward to a five day trek with them from Nebaj to Todos Santos, to see some seldom seen Guatemala and speak some beloved and bountiful spanish.

Still love Guatemala, learning loads, seeing loads, doing loads. Still love you all too, even more so. I think I may try to swing a couple of more weeks than originally planned here, but I will see you all so soon.

Pues...

This is a little off subject, but its significance, whatever that may be, is heavy on me. I have been dreaming a lot since I arrived in Guatemala. Vivid, and some terrifying, dreams. I cannot recall the last time I have awaken, for so many days in succession, in such intense states. I do not know if the unfamiliar surroundings are the culprit, or something more intrinsic, but there they are and here I am.

Since Jack passed away, I have had very few dreams of him. More significant is the fact that in all of those dreams he is only in the form of an inherent, sensed presence. Sometimes it is just his voice. I have not seen him once since the summer of 2004, in life or dream. Last night, in my dream, we talked. Over the phone this time. The topic of conversation is inconsequential.

Today I have a dark cloud following me around. I am without much enthusiasm and lacking some serious spunk. Today I want to say I miss Jack. Today it is important to tell this to all of you.

pretty things to see

Here is Questzaltenango heading sur al centro



Here is Quetzaltenango from the roof de mi escuela


Here is a Pupuseria turned used clothing store. Pupusas are El Salvadoran deliciosos of dumpling, queso, cabbage, y carne si deseas.



Aqui son estudiantes de mi escuala en el pueblo dondè La Guardarìa esta. La Guarderìa = the daycare my school works with.

Trabajando en la estufa......

¡La estufa!

Donde construimos la estufa.....