Trek Through Guatemala

From Maya Pedal I began my journey through Guatemala. Below are the stops I made:

Lago de Atitlan -
The boat ride across the lake was beautiful. I sat in the front getting splashed and singing Sound of Music tunes that were drowned out by the wind and the motor. The lake is surrounded by volcanoes and small villages, one being San Pedro where I was headed to meet a friend from high school. At first glance I was intrigued by the town...hippyville with a bakery...perfect! However, a few minutes into it and I began to experience unexpected culture shock: expats! The shore of San Pedro is filled with bars, restaurants, hotels and shops catering towards or run by people who seem to be running away from reality. In order to avoid insulting anyone's choice of lifestyle I will simply say I found the environment to be very draining and depressing.

Guatemala City -
Everyone warned me about the dangers of the city so I got off the bus with my stone face on, but soon I realized that it's just like anywhere else...people are people, and if I'm paying attention things will be okay. I stayed in a cheap hotel above a small cafe where I treated myself to a slice of chocolate cake and wrote in my journal as I watched the city walk by. Two older women ran the cafe and listening to them chat kept making me smile.

Coban-
The bus ride to Coban was long, but I have found that being smooshed between Guatemalans and watching the countryside whiz by is a delightful way to travel. In Coban I walked through the town center and found it to be quite different, more modern, than southern Guatemala. That night, after the long bus ride, I was in the mood for a jog....it wasn't long into my trot that I found a gym. I was intrigued so I gave the women 10 Quetzales so I could check it out. Well, it was my lucky day because I was just in time for the aerobics class led by a ripped Guatemalan man in a unitard! I was taller and sweatier than everyone in the class, but it was so much fun workin' out to peppy Latino beats with the locals.

Flores-
My travel plans were to make my base camp in Flores for a day trip to Tikal (the infamous ruins); upon arrival it was clar that Flores deserved more than base camp status...it was my first glimpse of paradisde, which made me wonder if I deserve such an incredible adventure. With that said I would like to thank my Uncle Mike and Aunt Anita for their unbelievable generosity...thank you for making this all possible.

Tikal-
I went to the ruins with the dynamic mother-daughter pair from Norway. Katrina has a short mohawk with a huge dragon tattooed on the side of her head, which she claims was more painful than giving birth to Sofie 6 years ago. I met them in San Pedro and again in Flores where we swam together in the lake as the sun set over the water...lovely. The two of them are quite lively and heated during arguments, but it was neat listening to them speak Norwegian. Together we climbed up the Mayan temples, hiked through the jungle, and watched the monkeys swinging through the trees. Fact: the ruler in Tikal from 682-734 was Ah Caucau, aka Lord Chocolate.