Nebaj to Todos Santos Part I

Greetings to one and all! I have just returned from a beautiful trip through the Chuchumatanes mountain range with Quetzaltrekkers. We hiked about 50 km. (I have confidence that all you Americans can do the math) from the town of Nebaj to the town of Todos Santos. In total it took 4 days and we crossed through territory occupied by three different indigenous groups (each speaking their own language and practicing their own customs). A full account of this trip would take pages, but I wanted to share some of the photos and recount some of the highlights.

Amy

A boy working the fields

Moo cow, moo

Johanes

Stopping for a break on the first day

Ross

Patrick

Tanya

Christine

To get to Nebaj it was one weary day of chicken buses aka breathing exhaust while being crammed between two, possibly three, other people who are sitting in the same square foot as you. To put it in to perspective the the ayudante (the bus driver's helper) had to literally crawl over the seats in order to collect the fares. Point being, after traveling all day long in these conditions our bus had to pass through a hellacious construction zone that extended up and over a mountain. If I hadn't given up long ago being surprised about goes on when you ride a chicken bus, I would have been down right astrounded that we made it all. Anyway, I thought this sign in Nebaj was fitting given the situation. It reads "Danerous. Road in construction. Travel at your own risk."

A mom and daughter sitting on street in Nebaj (the outfits the women wore in Nebaj were so beautiful, I wish I had been able to get a few more pictures... but it can be hard to be discreet when you're one of 10 white-skinned people in town)