As soon as Connor and I reunited at the Weller household in the afternoon of June 6, we constructed a travel agenda for the days before the June 14th advanced HELPS team start date. These last few days were to be Connor's last free travel days in Guatemala, we had to make the best of them. Neither of us had climbed a volcano, backpacked, or seen the city of Xela at all during our trip. After doing a little research, we found a volunteer-based group called "Quetzaltrekkers" that offered a hike to observe an erupting volcano on Friday, as well as Saturday-Sunday trek to Volcano Tajumulco, a 14,000 foot volcano that marks the highest point in Central America. Our decision was made for us. By Thursday morning at 1:00p.m., we were on a bus heading towards Xela.
We arrived in darkness.. a kind local woman offered us a ride to Quetzaltrekker's office in the back of her husband's pick-up. After settling into a nearby hostel (Casa Argentina = 25 Quetzales = you get what you pay for), we reserved a couple spots on the "Santaiguito: El Mirador" hike, which required a 4:30a.m. wake time. We wasted no time in scurrying up to our worn mattresses for a hint of shuteye before the next day's hike.
Connor and I shared the hike with a few other women our age: one Canadan, one Brit and Missourian. The hike took about 2 hours to reach the prime viewing spot, where we enjoyed a fresh fruit and oatmeal (called "mash") breakfast. Our tour guide was a young, pretty Israeli woman who had volunteered for over 3 months with Quetzaltrekkers. During the hike, two dogs named "Santa" and "Maria" followed us all the way up, sensibly expecting the leftovers from our breakfast. While I felt like the hike was overpriced ($25), I had fun, and put confidence in the fact that my money was going towards a charitable cause (see www.quetzaltrekkers.com). The puff-of-smoke eruptions of Santaguito, which occurred about every 20 minutes or so, were somewhat under-impressive (see a video below to see for yourself).
After returning to Queztaltrekkers and booking our Tajumulco hike for the next day, Connor and I had a full day to explore Xela's tourist arractions. We ended up taking a half hour bus ride out to a beautifully painted church that Connor had read about in his guide book. The church was unlike any other I had ever seen. The outside was decorated with plenty of red, yellow, blue, and green paint. The inside displayed typical Guatemalan church characteristics; papier-mâché mannequins of Jesus, the saints, Mary, traditional pews, and the stations of the cross. There was, however, the usage of neon lighting above the altar (perhaps the most prominent part of the church), where in glowing green letters spelled out "Pescador de Hombres." While most gringos might have considered the neon lighting tacky, the Guatemalan mentality of "if it glows or flashes, its awesome" seemed to strangely fit in well with this sanctuary.
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| Meal on the Road |
We met up with our trekking crew at 5:00p.m. at the Quetzaltrekker's office. Our crew would be about 13-14 people hailing from Argentina, the UK, Guatemala, USA, and other countries. After the distribution of food, tents, tarps and other supplies, each person was outfitted for the trek. I was thankful to have my own backpack, rain gear, etc, (all I had do get from them was a sleeping bag and mat), but had I nothing, Quetzaltrekkers could provide for me, as well as everyone else. Everything from boots to flashlights was "borrowable" from Quetzaltrekkers at no additional fee; a handsome idea I might say. After distribution and brief introductions, we all departed for an early night's rest, preparing for a 4:45a.m. departure time.
The morning came early. By 4:45a.m. we were on a bus towards the department of San Marcos. By 6:00a.m., breakfast at San Marcos bus station. Somewhere around 10:00a.m. after another long bus ride, we finally arrived at the entrance of the way to Tajumulco. The climb took a good 4-5 hours, with several well-timed breaks along the way. While hiking, I got to know plenty of folks on the trek with many different entertaining stories.. another beauty of life on the road. We set up camp near the summit and had a delicious lunch and dinner, and went to bed early for yet another early rise.
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| Tajumulco, Guatemala, 14K+ ft, 5:36am, Sunday June 10, 2012 |
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| Connor and I descending Tajumulco |
On the morning of Sunday June 9, we woke at an early 3:30a.m. to finish the climb to Tajumulco's summit. The climb was cold, treacherous, but rewarding. We reach the summit around 5:30a.m., just in time to see the sun peak over the mountains towards Xela. One of our guides, Steve, pulled out his iPod and timely played "Circle of Life" from the Lion King soundtrack ("You just earned yourself a tip!" I said). It was very windy up top; it was a personal sacrifice to take a picture of someone else, as your hand would be numb within 5 seconds of exposure to the biting wind. Aside from several pictures, videos, and celebratory yelling when the sun split through the clouds, we also fortuned upon two unopened Gallo Beer cans. I couldn't believe that someone brought beers all the way up to the summit to just leave them there, but I wasn't complaining. I had a beer at 5:45a.m., on the highest point I've ever been on earth. Goood times.
After our descent back to base camp, we wasted no time in eating a quick breakfast and breaking down camp. We descended Tajumulco back to our start spot by the highway, and stopped at a "comedor" for some delicious eats prior to stuffing ourselves in an overpacked bus to return to San Marcos and, ultimately, Xela. Our timing couldn't have been better. We were back in Xela by 3:00p.m., and caught another overpacked bus directly to Guatemala City. Finally at 10:00p.m., we were ringing Ceci's doorbell. Ceci, clearly already having been sleeping, opened the door for us and welcomed us like a family member. She brought us into the kitchen where an order of Pizza Hut pizza and wings were waiting for us.
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