Hiking Through the Highlands of Guatemala: Day 1

It was becoming obvious that I hadn’t managed to outwit the cold. I’d barely slept again, thanks to noises through the room’s rickety window, and had woken up sore, groggy and sniffling. It wasn’t a full-blown sickness though, and I was hoping it wouldn’t get much worse.

But today was the day for the long-awaited hike, and under the weather or not, I was going!

The day started quite early. Our pick-up time was 6 AM, and I was ready by 5.55, but the van arrived closer to 6.30. Nick and I, staying in the same hostel, squeezed into the last 2 vacant seats, bringing up the total to 10. Our first stop was the tour agency’s office, where we sorted out our stuff – things that we would not need for the next 3 days would stay behind and be driven to our destination to meet us later. We also picked up some gear (I obtained a single hiking pole) and food supplies for the next 3 meals.

The plan for the next few days was thus: We were going to hike approximately 42 kms over 2 nights and 3 days through the Guatemalan highlands, starting from Quetzaltenango (Xela for short) and ending at San Pedro la Laguna at Lago de Atitlán. Accompanied by guides Rudy and Jose, we would trek through cloud forests, coffee plantations, cornfields, and sleep in homestays in remote villages. This trip was one of the reasons I’d chosen to visit Guatemala and I was in fact quite surprised by how little attention it received compared to the sought after overnight hike to Volcán Acatenango.

We started at around 7.30 AM with 500 m of straight uphill that I was not mentally prepared for. Immediately, I started lagging behind everyone else. By a lot. It didn’t help that I had a bunch of heavy things – my camera, a tripod and extras like first aid, sleeping bag liner, plenty of water etc. The van had dropped us off at the outskirts of a community. But a few minutes later, we had left the paved road and entered a dense jungle. The trail snaked up a hill to 3050 m, the highest point of the trek, through lush green trees and lots of turn-offs. Occasionally, we crossed someone going the other way.

At the top, the thick foliage gave way to farmlands and open skies. The sun was beating down full force but the warmth felt glorious after the chilly early morning start. Here, everyone had paused for a quick break – and to wait for me to catch up. From where we sat, we could see little towns dotting the countryside all around us.

The rest of the day was relatively easier and mostly downhill. We crossed various small communities, switched back and forth between steep muddy trails to dirt roads with the occasional pick-up truck, hiked within a cloud forest full of fragrant wildflowers, passed a coffee plantation and at one point, enjoyed a lovely snack break with a view of the volcanoes Acatenango, Fuego, Atitlan, San Pedro, Toliman and Agua, rising above the clouds.

Lunchtime brought us to a clearing in the cloud forest. Today’s route was through particularly remote areas, so we carried everything we’d need for lunch, dinner and breakfast the next day. At the start of the hike, the guides had distributed these supplies to all of us. Now, we brought some of them out, and they put together for us a delicious spread of cheese, tomatoes, guacamole, onions, peppers, tortilla chips, cucumbers, mayonnaise and whole wheat bread. And ham for the meat-eaters. It looked like a lot of food, but we were a hungry bunch and it was gone in no time!

We continued this way in the afternoon – with a snack or water break every 2 or so hours. One of the stops was at another remote village with a little shop for pop or bottled water, and chayote and granadilla trees around it. We asked to buy some granadillas and at a grand price of Q5 for 3, Jose climbed up the tree to fetch some. Getting to eat fruit that fresh was a rare treat for all of us!

After some more narrow downhill trails through the cloud forest, we were at the lowest point for the day: a river crossing at 1500 m. We had descended approximately 1500 m through the course of the day. All that remained was the last stretch up the side of a hill, to the community of K’omonoj, where we would be spending the night.

K’omonoj was a cluster of a handful of homes, unconnected by a road, only the trail. We crawled in shortly before sunset, around 5 PM. The homestay was an idyllic array of lawns, avocado, coffee and macadamia nut trees, pet cats, a dog, flowering plants and some basic cement structures. We would sleep in 2 of those structures, in sleeping bags that were already waiting for us. They also offered a temascal – a traditional Mayan sauna and hot bath for Q15. Alternatively, there was a cold shower.

No prizes for guessing what I went with.

While we waited for the temascal to warm up, our hosts gave us a tour of their orchards and we snacked on some macadamia nuts from the tree. I tried a younger, green one, and was surprised to find that the nut portion tasted just like a coconut!

The homestay also had beer for sale, and cats wanting to sit in our laps (not for sale). Soon, we were sitting around outside, chatting, drinking, sharing stories, and getting to know everyone in the group, and our hosts, better.

The temascal was a brick enclosure with a tiny doorway that you have to crouch to get through. Inside was a heap of charcoal, a bucket of cold water, a bucket of extremely hot water and an empty bucket to mix the two in. Only 3 of us had signed up for it, so they put us in there together. I came out of it feeling like I’d managed to melt some of my congestion away. At least, for the time being.

Dinner preparations were underway. Jose and Rudy were putting together a simple but delicious meal of pasta and tomato sauce with squash. We huddled inside the kitchen, drawing some warmth from the traditional wood-burning stove, where the hosts were making tortillas for their own dinner. In these remote villages, indigenous Mayan languages such as Kakchikel reign supreme, and it was interesting to learn that some of them spoke about as little Spanish as I did!

After the early start, the long walk, the relaxing sauna and finally the big bowl of carbs, I was tuckered out.

I guess everyone was, because we were in bed by 8.30 pm.

That’s when the drums began.

Read about the next day here!