Weekend warriors

Ok.  I finally have something exciting to share.  I didn´t waste any time after school let out, and I headed up into the mountains on Friday afternoon with my new buddy Beau (yup, he´s from Georgia).  We hopped a chicken bus to the happening town of Huehuetenango despite warnings from everyone at the school and Beau´s medical program he´s working with.  This would be Beau´s first ride on a chicken bus (a re-painted US school bus that is the standard mode of transportation around here), and he was excited to see what it had to offer.  After watching some great music videos (one guy was a dead-ringer for a latin Rick Astley), the driver switched it up and put in a movie.  As the opening credits rolled, we watched anxiously to see what we´d be treated to on this ride.  Finally, after the suspense had built, the title flashed across the screen: Snakes on a Plane!  Could this day get any better?

Huehue turned out to be a great little town, and we had a blast running around trying all sorts of new foods.  We bought some ice cream cones and went to the park to watch a bunch of kids breakdancing.  Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.  I couldn´t believe my luck when Beau suggested an 8:30 bedtime.  Talk about a great travel partner!

Bustling streets of Todos Santos.  Check out the sweet clothes!

Anyway, we arose early the next morning to catch another 2 hour bus to the tiny mountain town of Todos Santos Cuchumante.  The bus ride itself was one stunning view after the next.  I was wedged in between an old Mayan woman and a tiny old cowboy, so I wasn´t able to pull out the camera, but it was amazing!  You´ll just have to imagine.  Our tentative plan was to spend a few hours in Todos Santos, and then walk for five hours across the mountains to reach the even smaller town of San Juan Atitan.  After a great breakfast (carne asada for bfast!?  Oh yeah!) overlooking the market in town, we set off up the road to start climbing the mountains.

Beau and our new friend.

Beau had done a little research back in Xela on the trip, looking for some kind of map or route desription.  All he found was a report from two folks who had tried the hike, got lost when the fog rolled in, and then had to spend the night huddled together for warmth in the mountains.  That was all the encouragement we needed to begin climing haphazardly along old dirt roads and trails to the highest point we could see.  Of course, we ran into an old man and his horse walking along the same road, and though he didn´t speak much Spanish (Mayan culture is strong up here, and most people speak one of many indigenous languages), we gathered that he was heading to the same place we were.  At least we were on the right track...

Got to be one of the dorkier pictures of me

We continued on up over hills, down through forested river valleys, past tiny farmhouses, finally stopping for lunch at a pleasant clearing near a small stream.  Our friend with the horse caught up with us and we shared some bread and snacks with him before moving on.  Finally, we crested a hill to see views of the town of San Juan.  Another hour or so took us into town where we were able to hitch a ride down to the PanAmerican highway just before it started to pour rain.  The road down was fantastically steep and winding, and I thought our old cowboy driver might have a heart attack on the way down.  We made it in one piece, and of course, only had to wait about 3 minutes before catching another ride back into Huehue.

When we finally rolled back into Huehue that evening, we checked into a nice little hotel and sat down to recap the day´s events.  Who should walk around the corner, but our buddy Shawn who we´d met at school in Xela the week before.  He and his girlfriend were staying next door!  We hung around with them for the evening, and hopefully I´ve made a new hiking contact in North Carolina.  Appalacian Trail, here I come!