Guatemala: A First Impression

It has been more than 16 years since I stepped into a Blue Bird School Bus, but more than the bus took me back to elementary school and my childhood. The third world smacks you in the face if you're not ready for it, and I was far from ready. I was immediately reminded of India. The border control is only there if you look for it at Talisman, where I crossed. One could easily easily cross without answering to anyone, just act like you know what you're doing. Every few steps, on either side of the border, men approached me to change my Pesos into Queztales. I was betting on being able to find an ATM on the Guatemala side of the border, but I had taken out some extra pesos before I left Mexico just in case.

The actual crossing was almost comical. Chickens ran back and forth. An old man was herding a few goats. I searched for the border control, and in between pestering from money exchange guys, I was able to find it. There was a 10 quetzal fee to enter Guatemala, and I asked if there was an ATM.

"No hasta San Marcos." Not until San Marcs he informed me.

I asked if I could pay with Pesos and he said that it would be 20 pesos. I paid, and then asked how to get to Panajachel, where I would be meeting my group the following day. It wasn't going to be easy. I had to take a colectivo (collective van) to Malacatan, from there I could catch a bus to San Marcs. From San Marcs I would take a bus to Solola, and from there another bus to Panajachel. I wrote down the names of the cities and the prices I should pay and headed into Guatemala.

Now I would have to change some money. The next guy who approached me offered me 170 Quetzales for 515 pesos. I knew from paying the customs agent that the exchange rate was approximately 50%, so I got him up to 250, felt good about myself, and then headed to the colectivo. I would later learn that he still made quite a bit on that exchange.

The colectivo took me to San Marcs. I got out and handed the guy a 20 for a ride that cost 5. He took the money and drove off. That was the real slap in the face. Ok, you're not in Mexico anymore I told myself. You only screw that up once. Time to remember what it's like to be in the third world.

I hurried to my bus, and here was the introduction to the famed Guatemalan Chicken bus. They're old US school buses. Some of them even still have the "God Bless the USA" stickers on the mirror that the driver used to keep an eye on the students. The second one I rode on even said "Blue Bird Midwest."

Could I have rode this same bus to school all those years ago? I couldn't help but play with the windows: just push in both the tabs and let it drop. It would have made my day if the driver had pulled out the stop sign at stops. Sadly, the stop sign was one of the few functions that was disabled.

The buses were outfitted with a steel frame on top and a ladder up the back of the bus. Some travelers had large bags of grains, fruits, and yes, chickens. The bus would stop just long enough for the passenger to get on. He or she would leave their pack at the back of the bus, and the guy who took your fare (not the driver) would grab the pack, throw it on his head, and run up the rear ladder (no hands) as the bus started moving again. He would then either swing down into the front door or sneak in the rear, not so emergency, exit.

I had to wait around in Los Encuentros for almost an hour before my bus showed up. They don't run on a schedule there; they leave when they're full. Not too much later I was in Panajachel after more than 30 hrs of traveling. I got my own room, had a quick meal, and went to sleep.

The next day I met the group, and we spent the next few days in Panajachel. Panajachel lays on Lake Atitlan and is surrouded by active and inactive volcanoes. Once, it was one huge volcano that blew and several smaller ones sprung up on the perimeter. It's one of Guatemala's most touristy cities. From what I gathered, you can take "outdoor" tours from here. I wasn't in the mood though, so in my spare time I enjoyed the comforts of such a city including delicious vegetarian meals, great coffee, and hot water showers.

Grand Teton National Park

So after my first day of mountain biking in area around Nederland, CO we hit the road from Boulder for Jackson Hole, Wyoming to pick up Greg. We finally had the crew together for a real hike. Unlike the picnic that was Greg's bachelor party, we headed into Grand Teton National Park for three nights. Despite our overall lack of fitness and aclimitization, we had picked a pretty serious route. About 43 miles and more than 8000 ft. of total elevation gain over a little more than two days.

The first night we hit the trail pretty late, it was probably past 6pm. We hiked in and made camp. The next morning, we got up a bit late and took our sweet time getting ready. The park is truly amazing, and surprisingly empty in the back country. At the designated camping areas you ran into a good amount of people, but otherwise you had the trail mostly to yourself. The valleys were filled with colorful wildflowers. We saw a deer family complete with buck, doe, and baby. The passes were around 10,000', and we had two that day. The second was picturesque was steep drops on both sides. The trail went along the ridge for a few hundred yards before dropping steeply. The wind was blowing pretty good, and it aroused a most breathtaking feeling.




We camped on a ridge above a lake that was surrounded by other campers. The next morning we got up even later. By the time we left camp it must have been past noon, but we hit the trail with a good pace and didn't break until we were over the pass. We stopped for a bit by a glacier lake. It was so cold that the still water was actually freezing. There was some talk about getting in, but no one had it in them. The water was amazing blue color, like that of the arsenic lakes in Bolivia, and the glacier rose above the mountain right behind it.

We made great time, about eight miles, to the trail split, and had a decision to make. Either we go eight more miles very flat or 13 miles and about 2600' of elevation. We chose the latter. It was the right decision. A few miles in we had a big climb ahead of us. You could see it just go up about 1500' straight with no switchbacks over a couple miles. This was the most incredible past of the hike. As you rose, there were great view of the lake we just come up from. After you rose about 500' another lake, completely off any trail, came into view. In front of you the valled dropped several thousand feet into the base of Grand Teton, a rocky giant that towers over the park and constantly reminds you how small we really are. The trail eventually to the mountain at hand, and switchbacks you over the top to almost 11000'. Then comes the long descent. 8 miles, and 2600' feet of just down. By the times we made it to campsite it was nearly dusk. We cooked dinner and walked as little as possible to save what was left of our legs.
The next morning We were all pretty sore. We hiked out a couple miles to the car that was moved for us for $40. We went to Jackson, had a good meal, said our goodbyes to Greg, and headed up to Yellowstone for some touristy sightseeing. The hike was one of the best of my life. And the drive back to Boulder was pretty good too. We took the state highways back as far as we could. There is just nothing in Wyoming. It's so refreshing to see almost no sign of civilization from a highway. I highly recommend you check it out.

Guanajuato and Oaxaca

So I should mention Guanajuato. It sits almost in the middle of Guadalajara and Mexico City. 20% of the worlds silver came from the mines around Guanajuato, and the money poured into the city. There is beautiful colonial architecture and amazing 18th century arches still support the city above an underground roadway that runs throughout the city. Words like quaint and charming are perfect for Guanajuato. The city is packed between green mountains and has an incredible history. Now it's a university town and really great place to visit.

From Guanajuato I headed to Mexico City and, after Mexico City I headed to the state of Oaxaca, and first, the capital city, Oaxaca. Oaxaca's ok. I spent two days recuperating from the craziness in Mexico DF. and took a nice hike through the mountains right outside the city. Then I headed to the beach. First Mazunte, then Zipolite, and lastly, Huatulco. I skipped the infamous Puerto Escondido.

My first time in Mex, I spent a lot of time on the Michoacan beaches. I have to say they trump Oaxaca's beaches, but I had a really great time here. Michoacan has some real virgen beaches with almost no development. It sometimes left you wanting a little more though, and I feel like you get that in Mazunte and Zipolite. The Michoacan beaches are prettier though, and the water esta mas tranquillo.

I saw the beaches in Oaxaca in order of increasing development. Mazunte has a beach lined with thatched roof bar/restaurants, some hostals and pousadas in the "city", but very few tourists (but expect a lot more tourists Dec-Feb). Zipolite is a little more developed, has some nicer places to stay, and more tourists, but not annoyingly so; there were maybe a total of 50-60 tourists in the city this time of year. And Huatulco has basically become a resort town, complete with high prices, 5 star hotels, and fancy dinners. Huatulco has calm, pretty beaches. The water in Mazunte and Zipolite is rough. The tide breaks high, and the undercurrent can pull you in if you get chest deep. You see surfers and lots of kids on boogie boards.

You can see the less touristy beaches in Mexico on the cheap. In Zipolite I was spending $7/night for my own little room, and about $8/day on food. Mazunte and Zipolite both have great a "traveler"scene and you meet people who are staying there a month. I highly recommend a trip there. It's definitely worth the 12 hr bus ride from Mexico City.

The Hostel Experience

So I've got no real plan for my travels through Mexico. I arrived in Mexico City at about 11pm on Sunday. I had some stuff I wanted to see Monday, then I thought I would hop a night bus out of town to Oaxaca. Well, apparently nearly everything is closed on Mondays here. I killed the day with a nice English girl, still planning on leaving that night. After dinner I sat with smokers in the front of the hostel. Two guys were playing guitar, and a girl was singing. It was one of those experiences that you knew was greater than the sum of its parts. She sang the blues like Janis Joplin (and had a damn good cover of Me and Bobby Mcgee).

The group got larger as the night continued. The Czech guy kept heading out to buy more beer that he shared freely. I thought I would stay until the party was over, then catch a really late bus out of town, but at 3 am when everyone else finally went to sleep I checked the bus schedule on the net to find that the next bus did not leave until 7 AM. I got a bed for the night, and slept a solid 5 hrs.

Teotihucan is the location of the Temple of the Sun (second to the Great Pyramid of Giza) and the Temple of the moon. I headed out there on my own around 10AM after breakfast and a shower. The hike to the top in the hot sun was not exactly the best thing to do after a long night of drinking and little sleep, but whatever. A Brazilian guy struck up conversation on the way in, and we walked the ruins together. He took a lot of pictures, but he was good fun and we got along well.

I checked out the murals in the Palacio Nacional, then got back to the hostel and slept for a bit. I had a nice dinner of two individual sized pizzas from Dominos and took care of some things before heading out into the rain for my midnight bus to Oaxaca.