This is normal, right? 

Pictures of the trip are posted.

For the next stage of our trip, we traveled with our friend Ruth from the 2nd trek to a place called Semuc-Champey. We started on Tuesday morning by taking the bus from Xela to Guatemala city. We stayed at a nice hostel called Dos Lunes for $12. The only choice for dinner in that neighbourhood was a El Salvadorian restaurant where we ate stuffed tortillas called pupusas. It was already dark and after dinner Julie and I had trouble finding our way back to the hostel. The problem was that every building in the neighbourhood is surrounded by a security wall complete with razor wire. This makes individual houses hard to recognize in the dark. Eventually we asked a young guy out walking his dog for help. He took us to his friend's hostel (not the one we wanted) where luckily his friend seemed to know where we wanted to go. So the friend got changed out of his pyjamas and all four of us walked around until we finally found Dos Lunes.

The next morning we set out by bus for Coban which was the next step on our journey to Semuc-Champey. The ride took forever because the bus was very slow climbing the steep and twisted roads through the hills. Also, we stopped to pick up all the passengers from another bus that we came across broken down on the side of the road. From Coban, we took the last microbus of the day to Lanquin and stayed at the beautiful El Retiro hostel.

El Retiro consists of a bunch of unconnected huts beside a fast moving river. The action revolves around the bar hut where reservations are taken, drinks and meals are served, and people hang out. The only room available was a Q180 hut for three with private bathroom. It was very deluxe. We spent the remains of the afternoon swimming in the river. You could also walk five minutes upstream along the bank then jump in the river and float with the current back to the beach area. This was fun but the rocks made it hard on the feet. A popular alternative is to rent an inner tube for this activity.

The next day, we took a microbus with about ten other people from El Retiro to the park at Semuc-Champey, about 10km away. The park is a government nature preserve but just before the park there's an "independant" attraction that was worth stopping (and paying) for -- some caves that this guy allegedly discovered only 10 months ago and named Santa Maria. You pay your money, change into your bathing suit and provided water-shoes, receive a candle for light, and follow your guide underground. The caves were the coolest thing I've seen. This was not disney world -- there would be no light down there if it weren't for our candles, and you are climbing up/over the slippery rocks assisted by with a rope or rope ladder. The cave is an underground river so most of the time you are standing in or swimming through cool water. There were many places where you had to swim across a pool tens of meters long and too deep to touch the bottom in order to advance, while making sure your candle stayed out of the water. Because of all the water, it wasn't possible to bring a regular camera and so I don't have any pictures of the inside of the caves.

The stone was really cool. The cave floor was usually sandstone that even when wet had super good traction. The walls were sharper but possible to climb. The height of the cave varied from 10m to places where you had to watch your head as you squeezed through. It was like a bouldering cave only in real life! We spent probably an hour in the cave and I estimate we advanced at least 500m underground before turning around. At the furthest point, there was a small pool of water and our guide encouraged us to climb about 3m up the cave wall and jump into it. I went first, and it turned out the pool was only barely deep enough for this to be considered safe.

Our guide was the only one tough enough to proceed through the cave barefoot and he also equiped himself with an electric headlamp in case all our candles got wet and went out. The only information about the caves he offered was to periodically point out rock formations that looked like parts of the human body. We saw two pairs of breasts, a penis and an enormous vagina.

After the caves we headed across the river to the Semuc-Champey park. A bridge spanned the river and we were encouraged (again) to jump off it into the river maybe 7m below. Julie scraped her knee on the bottom but otherwise it was pretty fun.

The park was pretty great. It is build around a section of the river that actually eroded a tunnel under itself and now most of the flow is diverted underground for a stretch of maybe 1km. Some water still passes above ground and forms nice pools and waterfalls to swim in. All of this is in a deep canyon that you can hike to the top of and look down from the mirador on the whole thing. We spend a couple hours swimming and hiking there until our microbus took us back at 3. That night at El Retiro we signed up for the BBQ dinner and it was the best meal of the whole trip.

In the morning we headed back by microbus to Coban, where we split up with Ruth. With no spanish-speaking friend we were lost and lame but eventually found the bus terminal just in time. The LP map was useless because of the combination of the following three reasons. 1) All cities are layed out in a grid system with numbered streets and avenues. For example, you might be standing at the corner of 2A calle and 3rd avenue. 2) Cities are split into different Zonas. Road names are unique within a zone, but may appear in multiple zones. So, in the earlier example, there are actually multiple intersections with that address, probably one per zone. 3) In Lanquin, the city is very small but still has many zones. This means that there are identically named intersections, in different zones but within five minutes walk of each other. This means that even if you figure out what intersection you are at (there is only a 50% chance that a given street corner is labeled) you still don't know where you are on the map!

Back in Guatemala city, we had trouble finding a place to stay. We just kept giving our taxi driver address after address out of the LP, but guesthouse after guesthouse that we visited was full. You might think that it might be more efficient to use the phone for this search ... In the residential neighbourhood around the airport in Zone 13 many ordinary looking houses are actually hotels that cater to those with US$20 and an early flight. Finally, by referral we found a place that was not in the book, but was only a 5 minute walk away from the airport door. Now we could relax and spend our remaining Guatemalan currency. Actually we were out of money so we walked to the airport ATM, took out Q500 then took a taxi to Zona viva to spend it on dinner. First, we checked out the mall and found it to be exactly like every other mall in the world. Unfortunately/fortunately most of the stores were closed because it was good friday eve. In the same neighbourhood there is an Italian restaurant called TreFre where, with a little effort, we spent Q400 on dinner. The food wasn't that great -- my allegedly "Inferno" pasta wasn't even spicy.

Back at our guesthouse, we watched a neighbourhood easter procession. At the center of the crowd was float carried very slowly through the streets by a dozen people in robes. Behind them was a marching band, and behind them dangled an electric generator powering the whole affair. All this was surrounded by clusters of people walking with the parade, and some like us watching stationary from the sidewalk. I spent the rest of the evening reading 20,000 leagues under the sea while Julie was wooed by the guesthouse's 17 year old night watchman.

Killer-Mosquitos tormented me during the night. I slept with the light on to better catch them when they started buzzing around my head. Guatemalan mosquitos seem faster and louder than Canadian ones.

At 5 something in the morning we headed out to the airport. One funny GUA airport observation is that you can choose the currency of the departure tax at GUA airport but the nominal amount is fixed. In other words, the fee is *either* Q20 or $20. That's a factor of 7.5 difference in real value between the choices! I guess some people are just really dumb and pay the dollar version.

Saturday we woke up at 0430 after a night of no sleep due to the loud hostel sex taking place in the next room. Again, we used the ipod as alarm clock which means sleeping with headphones in or in close proximity to your ears, with volume at maximum. There were over twenty people signed up for the Tajamulco trek and we filled the two pickups that took us to the bus station. After a 1 hour ride in the dark, we arrived at San Marcos and ate breakfast at a very long table that could accomodate everyone.

Afterwards, another chicken bus took us to the base of the volcano at 3200m. There wasn't much there so we just started hiking. Immediately the altitude was noticable. I noticed that my breathing was much heavier than normal given the trail. We walked for about five minutes just to get warmed up, and that was all it took for two people to decide that they weren't going to make it. The rest of us did introductions as they walked back to the road to wait for a bus headed back.

The hike to our camp wasn't really far and was at a pretty reasonable incline compared to many parts of the first trek, but it was really hard because of the thin air. For the first half of the day I just felt always out of breath. Lunch was the usual chips, salads, peanut butter and bread and we played some frisbee afterwards. Walking was tough after lunch. I was climbing just baby steps at a time and breathing hard for each one. Usually I hike at the front, right behind the leader, but this time I think I was almost the last one to arrive at the camp.

I had a headache and helped setup the tent in a daze. Just as the group was heading up to the smaller summit to watch the sunset, it started to rain and we all changed our collective mind about doing that. Instead some people played cards in one tent while our guides cooked dinner in our tent. It was really cold up there, but the stove kept our tent really warm. I didn't care to go outside after dinner and went right to bed. However, there were a bunch of other groups sharing the camp site and our Guatemalan neighbours' partying kept everyone at least half awake until late.

When I left the tent during the night to pee, the sky was clear and you could see the clouds that rained on us earlier way off in the distance. The cool part was that you could see lighting flashing inside the storm cloud from so far away but just the faintest sounds of thunder reached you.

We woke up in the dark again the next morning to climb to the summit and watch the sunrise. I was surprised at how fine I felt, and didn't have any trouble doing the final scramble to the top. It was freezing and so windy and Julie stole my toque. There wasn't much up there at the top but rocks and the volcano crater. The best thing to do at 4220m was shelter yourself from the wind behind a big rock, eat the provided cookies and look down at the sea of clouds.

The rest of the day was uneventful -- I felt fine for the easy hike back down. Lunch was BBQ chicken at the same restaurant as the day before. There were extra plates served for the people who dropped out. Also there was a really deluxe bathroom with toilet paper and soap!

Today we're going to start towards a place called Semuc-Champey with our friend Ruth from Oakville, ON.

After spending the last week getting 1) fat on cheap plentiful food and 2) slothful in hammocks by the water, we are about to embark on trek #2 to Tajumulco, the highest point in Central America at 4220m. Again we are staying at Casa Argentina, the Quetzaltrekkers base.

The chicken bus ride back from San Pedro was fun. The first point of interest was the three-point turns required to navigate the switch-backs that climb up the mountains surrounding Lake Atitlan. Then, at the transfer point, Julie was almost left behind but jumped into the bus through the rear exit as it was pulling away. We later realized this is a standard manouver for chicken bus passengers and especially operators. The money-collector and baggage assitant routinely entered and exited the passenger compartement through the "emergency" exit, even while the bus was moving at top speed. Once onboard, we were left standing in the aisle because each seat already had three occupants. This situation didn't last long enough to lose it's novelty -- after half an hour there was room to sit down. Because we are so lame and can't speak Spanish, we only were able to make it back to Xela by bus with our friend Max's help. There are, however, more expensive shuttle bus alternatives.

The book stores in Xela are a paradise compared to San Pedro. I finished "Life of Pi" a long time ago and today picked up "The Zen of Motorcycle Maintenance" So far the book is fine -- lots of good observations about how to be effective at fixing things that I think apply equally well to motorcycles, computers, and software. I tolerated the philosophy at first, but now I'm beginning to think it's all bullshit.

Only one week left!

We've been lazing around San Pedro for the last couple days but today it's time to leave. This town has it all - plentiful fast Internet, great cheap food, cheap accommodations, the lake, great weather every day, but I must get back to Xela for the next trek on Saturday.

Let’s talk about food. There is a restaurant called Alegre Pub where we have eaten 50% of meals. For breakfast there I have the Full Monty which includes 3 sausages, 4 pieces of bacon, three eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, toast, coffee and orange juice. It costs over $5 but is so worth it. Breakfast hobbyists take note.

One thing lacking in San Pedro is bookstores. There are a few, but at each one all the good books are not for sale but only for lending. I’ve been hesitating for the last few days because I don’t want to be in the position where it’s time to leave but I’m only half-finished my book and can’t take it with me.

This morning there was an earthquake. Too bad I was still in bed and too groggy to fully appreciate it. Maybe we'll get another, or maybe Seattle has one coming!

The trek is over and we are here in San Pedro on the lake. We arrived yesterday after two and a half days of hiking. Our group consisted of two Canadians, two Israelis, three Germans and our two guides from Quebec and Ireland. We left Xela early Saturday and took the chicken bus out of town into the hills. The roads were steep and narrow and it was amazing to watch the school bus navigate them. The bumpy ride and the grinding of the bus' transmission reminded me of high school field trips. We had pasteries and an egg for breakfast at the end of the road before getting started on the trail. Initially the trail was steep and soon we were high up looking down at the outskirts of the city through the haze and smog.

We didn't find a summit at the top of the thing we were climbing, rather the landscape changed into grassy hills with sparse trees. We had a break from the sun underneath one of them. After the fields, we climbed up into a high forest. We had tomato salad, coleslaw and potato salad for lunch at a great spot that I think was the high elevation point of the day. Just at that moment the clouds moved in replacing our views with solid whiteness over the edge of the path. This wasn't disapointing because it really cooled us off. These clouds were low flying, close up, tangible things that you could watch float up your hillside and you could feel hitting you in the face. We left the forest and spent the afternoon descending through charred fields.

The first night's camp site was a soccer field close to a village. We played some frisbee there in the field while it was still light out, then our guides cooked spaghetti for dinner. Everyone carries a portion of the supplies and you have to dig them out of your pack when called upon.

We each had to bring along three liters of water but everyone's bottles were empty by the end of the day. To replenish these supplies we used a filter device with a hand pump to clean water from the village tap. It took about five minutes to pump 1.5 liters of water through the carbon and ceramic filter. After dark we toasted marshmallows and went to sleep probably around nine.

In the morning we hiked down the road to the next village. Breakfast was beans and rice and eggs prepared for us in a restaurant type place with an ancient and dirty health inspection certificate on the smoke-blackened walls. I found the food okay but the coffee awful. Apparently there were bathrooms in this town but when we talked to the guy about getting the key we found out that the toilet was so clogged with paper from the last trekkers that we couldn't use it.

Leaving the road, we walked through corn fields on a path that clung to the side of the valley. The next event on the trek was swimming in a stream at the bottom of that valley. This was refreshing but the climb back up the other side got us hot and sweaty again right away.

We had lunch at a nice green patch of grass outside a village near a laundry area. The trail was very dusty at this point. It was like walking on the moon and we had to space ourselves out so that you wouldn't be choking on the dust kicked up by the person in front of you. Despite this, we ended up with legs tanned brown with the finest dust.

The next stage of the hike (it was a long 25km day) was following a stream through a different kind of low forest. We crossed the small stream a bunch of times by hopping from rock to rock. Next we climbed out of the trees to a perfectly paved road that took us to town where we stopped for dinner. Dinner was one leg of fried chicken with rice and beans, ordered in advance and eaten in the courtyard of a restaurant/home with lots of kids and dogs. They had a poor toilet with no seat that didn't flush.

But we weren't done walking yet! It was dark but our campsite was still about 45 minutes away. We all turned our headlamps on and headed out of town, trying to ignore the couples that we revealed making out in every corner and doorway.

Finally we got to our campsite overlooking the lake and setup the tents in total darkness. Again we went right to sleep even though it was probably only 8 o'clock.

In the morning we had to wake up super early to see the sun rise over the lake. Unfortunately it wasn't that fabulous because of the mist. We couldn't actually even see the water until much later. Breakfast was called mush -- oatmeal mixed with leftover marshmallows, granola, chocolate, cinnamon, sugar and everything else we had lying around. It tasted pretty good but was hard to wash off our standard issue plate and spoon. It got hot right away as we packed up and started down towards the water. We basically walked straight down the mountain and landed on the beach after a couple hours. The water was nice but was defended by a border of mud that you could sink into up to your knees. After that, the bottom was sandy and suitable for standing frisbee playing. Further out, the shore dropped away very quickly and you could tell that Lake Atitlan is really deep. After an hour or so of swimming, a boat came and took us and our packs across the lake to San Pedro where we all ordered pizza for lunch.

This was the end of the trek and we were supposed to then take the bus back to Xela. However it turned out that Monday was the first day of a nationwide strike in protest of CAFTA and we heard that all roads back were blocked. We sat around for about an hour uncertain of what to do until a the leaders finally decided that they would take their chances and get on the bus. We decided that since we didn't really have any plans, we would rather stay in beautiful San Pedro than risk getting stuck in traffic for hours trying to get back to the polluted big city. The only price was that Julie and I both left some stuff in the Quetzaltrekkers office that we would have to live without for the next while. Other people in our group left more essential things there like money and passports, but we were in a fine position to decide.

So as of now we are chilling here on the lake with some German friends from the trek, waiting for the three days of strike to pass. Our hotel is only Q20/night with beach access. The food here is also really good. Last night I had a super veggie burrito at Munchies and this morning I had a "full monty" english breakfast at the Alegre Pub. Today we might go canoeing or read in our hammocks.

Julie and I are on vacation here in Guatemala. Our flight out of Seattle left Wednesday at midnight. So naturally, the planning and packing for the trip started when I got home from work that Wednesday. The next few hours were spend mostly on a mini shopping binge at REI. $600-mini, that is. Purchases included (in decreasing order of necessity) sandals, hiking socks, rain jackets, a deluxe multi-tool, and finally those Motorola walkie-talkies.

The 12 hours of flying passed quickly because we were asleep most of the time. We had a connection in Houston's George Bush International Airport where the best breakfast option at 7am was Fox Sports Grill. We ate nasty omlettes and watched 50 TVs simultaneously air reports like "They hate the military. They hate America. Anti-war groups are active and recruiting in schools. Is your child a target? Find out on the next O'Reilly Factor." You are watching Fox -- We are watching Fox! ( hypnotized drone)

I purposefully planned our arrival during daylight hours so that, being fresh off the plane and very green, we would be less vulnerable to scamming. I think we partially succeeded on that front. Our taxi to the bus station seemed a bit expensive but the price agreed with the estimate in The Book. Our plan was to leave Guatemala City immediately for Xela and the trek.

Guatemala seems tame compared to Morocco or Nepal. I was shocked when our bus left promptly after we got on it and was headed to the desired destination. There's less swarming when you get off a bus or plane. The general public doesn't seeme that interested in tourists. Nobody stares, nobody really tries to sell you crap on the street, nobody tries to guide you to their hotel/restaurant/tour.

Security is a big thing here. At banks, stores, McDonalds', etc. there's one or more uniformed guards with a pump-action shotgun and a belt full of ammo. The cops patrol the highway and stopped our bus periodically for no particular reason. Unlike in Morocco, I didn't see any bribes change hands for the privilege of transporting us tourists.

Our hostel (Casa Argentina) in Xela is pretty deluxe I think. We have our own room for Q50/night. The showers are electricly-heated by a device that attaches to the showerhead. Hot water is way better than I expected but the funny thing is the device is powered by a wire that wraps around the water pipe, following it out of the wall. Seems safe to me!

Arranging the trek was easy since the Quetzaltrekkers agency operates out of our hostel. We just had our pre-trek meeting this evening in our courtyard and I'm pretty psyched about it. Of the three options, we choose the 3-day hike to Lake Atitlan because apparantly we aren't acclimatized enough to do the one to the highest point in Guatemala. Next weekend hopefully. All trips start on Saturday which limits us to only 2. Too bad because they also have a rock-climbing one.

So people really don't speak English here. In fact, students who want to learn Spanish come to Xela exactly because of this fact. I made a little cheat-sheet consisting of how to say 1. "How much?" 2. the numbers 1-100 and 3. "I don't understand." in Spanish. Being helpless Anglos sucks and it makes me miss Morocco where most people speak French. We've managed pretty well so far, however.

Office Essentials, in no particular order

• Earplugs
• Richard Stevens' UNIX Network Programming Vol. 1 3rd Ed.
• iPod mini (blue)
• Sopranos poster (season 5)
• 2 x *Non* Amazon standard issue LCD monitors

Looking out the window, you can see my mountain in the distance. It might be hard for you to make out through the gloomy Seattle clouds and rain.

It's fun to watch your boss's boss's bosses get richer.