Puerto Arista, Pacific Coast of Mexico

Esteban watching the big waves
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

We had planned that it would take us an entire day to reach our destination in Mexico, the quiet Pacific coastal village of Puerto Arista in Mexico. In fact it took us more than 7 hours just to get from Xela to the largest town over the Mexican border (Tapachulas) and then another 4 hours on a bus to Tonala. On arrival in Tonala it was obviously too late to continue on to the final destination and so we had to find accommodation for the night. Little did we expect that we`d bump into a lovely Mexican called Octavio who offered us a room in his apartment with his family for a very economical price. Not only did he make us feel completely at home but he also prepared breakfast and an early lunch for us before we set off, without accepting any compensation. We decided that we would stay at his again on our return. Arriving in Puerto Arista in the hot midday sun we quickly found accommodation (cabanas) and headed off for the beach. There we discovered that we were perhaps the only foreigners in the whole village and had the beach, restaurants, etc. to ourselves. And how beautiful the beach, warm the sea, great fun the rough waves and kind the people. We spent 3 days enjoying the sea and on the last day we hired a Quadbike and drove up the beach towards the turtle sanctuary. Before arriving we discovered a mother turtle digging a hole in which to lay her eggs. We informed the people of the sanctuary and watched as they collected the eggs for incubation. The eggs are a delicacy in this region and can be sold for a good price, therefore the eggs were not safe there on the beach. Also a group of vultures were loitering with intent!

Generally Mexico is more expensive than Guatemala but the sleepy village of Puerto Arista was far more expensive than we had imagined, and Esteban was charged a surprise fee to enter Mexico. All this left a big hole in our pockets so we had to head back to Guatemala after this short but sweet stay. We stopped off at Octavio`s on the way back and spent a great evening with him and his friends before setting off the following morning on our very long trip back to Xela (15 hours in all).

Here are the photos.

DISTANCE TRAVELED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 30,890KM

Xela (Quezaltenango) and the Ghost Village of Viejo Palmar

Ruins of the Palmar church (both sides)
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

Esteban and I reluctantly moved on from warm Lake Atitlan to the cold mountain town of Xela. I took him to the hot springs that I`ve mentioned in my previous Xela post. On the way there we almost gave up and turned back as we were being overcharged for transport, that was until 3 young Guatemalan`s offered to give us a lift there for free. So we spent a relaxing afternoon there with our new friends and walked part of the way back to the next town through misty hills, fields being harvested, passing local women carrying huge heavy stacks of firewood uphill, until we hitched a lift on a pickup truck.

A highlight of our stay in Xela was our visit to a ghost village I had heard about near to the sub-tropical lowlands of Reu. Viejo Palmar (Old Palmar) is located at the foot of an active volcano and is sometimes subject to lava flows, but in the 90s it suffered relentless volcanic and earthquake damage, forcing the villagers to flee to the nearby villages and to found the new village of Nuevo Palmar. The main draw was to see the spectacular and rare site of 30m ravine running through what was the village centre (caused by a lava flow), with the remains of the village church on both sides of the ravine. A subsequent earthquake caused a local river to divert its course and now runs through this ravine and in between the two extremities of the church. It was a fascinating day trip from Xela, made even better by having got to know some locals; I even got to ride a horse bareback for 5 minutes – about as much as my boney bottom could bear!

Here are the photos.

DISTANCE TRAVELED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 30,090KM

Lake Atitlan

Lake Atitlan
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

Having already been to Lake Atitlan for Christmas I was able to show Esteban all that I had discovered, which was not at all boring, as I´d been a little bored here alone and so being able to do it all again with Esteban made for a much richer experience.

In the photos you´ll see the traditional (Mayan) but touristy market of Chichicastenango and lakeside villages of Panajachel, San Marcos and San Pedro, with its beaches and coffee plantations in amongst the gringo bars, restaurants and hotels.

Here are our pictures.

DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 29,890KM

Happy New Year from Antigua, Guatemala!

This is how I spent New Year´s Eve, with Esteban in Antigua, Guatemala. I wish you all the best for 2008!

In Antigua with Esteban

Guatamala City behind us
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

Between Christmas and New Year´s Eve I picked up Esteban from the Airport in Guatemala City and we headed straight for the UNESCO protected city of Antigua, where I had spent the previous days awaiting his arrival. Initially, Antigua was for me just another very attractive colonial town, but with Esteban´s arrival it immediately became a very special place, where we spent some lovely days together, including New Year´s Eve (see next blog) and doing a guided tour of the active Volcano Pacaya (this photo), with its constant lava flow and regular activity.

Here are our photos.

DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 29,700KM

Merry Christmas from Summery Guatemala!

My first summertime Christmas
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

I spent Christmas in San Pedro on the stunning Lake Atitlan, where I had a traditional English Christmas dinner listening to Christmas carols to get me in the spirit, a spirit that had been lacking up until that day, due to the heat, swimming in the lake, sunbathing, all things that a Brit does not easily associate with Christmas!

Here are a few more (funny) pics.

Into Guatemala and to Quezaltenango (locally known as Xela)

Guatemalan intercity busses
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

Crossing the border into Guatemala was both a stressful but rewarding experience: firstly with my 20kilo backpack and a 8kilo rucksack I had to take 2 minibusses to get to the Mexican border, then a taxi over to the Guatemalan border, where I had to charm the customs officers into not charging me an unofficial, unreceipted payment to enter the country (I was warned about this in advance). From there I took a tuc tuc (motorbike taxi) through a very crowded market to the bus terminal, where I had to squash myself into a Blue Bird (ex US school bus) for a 3hr trip to the next big town of Huehuetenango (Hue-hue-ten-ango). But on setting off I noticed the promising landscape into which we were driving – lush mountains, volcanos and rich in traditional (Mayan) culture. From Huehue (a traditional village in the north-west) I moved south to Quezaltenango (Xela); a more wealthy, modern town, close to some interesting Mayan villages, where I spent a few days visiting volcanic thermal springs and just relaxing.

Here are the photos.

DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 29,206KM