Coban

Friday at 2.30pm our trip started with three Guatemala people, two (very irritant and stupid) Danish people and our guide with family. The shuttle wasn't in best seating condition so when we arrived in “Biotopo de Quetzal” we were pretty beat. We stayed in the jungle if you so want to put it. We had a shack with two beds in it. Camilla and me were starving so we went for the local food (beans, cheese, creme, eggs, tortilla and chamille tea) and afterwards went off to bed. Chelsea skipped dinner and went straight to bed. It was a real adventure and we love the survival kit from Chelsea with all the bug spray and such so we didn't get eaten alive. We still had our flashlights in the backpacks which came in handy to go find the bathroom on the upstairs level since the lamp was broken to illuminate the trail o) The next morning we were up early and tried to spot the Quetzal but no luck! We went for a walk on a nature trail and got sweaty really quick. Some of us had breakfast there and others didn't. Afterwards we went on to Coban. We made a pit stop there for breakfast which was okay. From there we went on to Lanquin and dropped our stuff off in the hotel. We girls all had our own beds this time (Camilla and me shared the night before; was glad though to have packed my inlet). We changed into bikinis and put sunscreen on and off we went of Semuc Champane. Since the road had gone from highway to dirt road we were pretty much shaken through. Now we got a four wheel drive and got to stand in the back of the van for the next 10kms which was good fun. Half the group went of for a swim the other half opted for more exercise and we walked up the “Mirador”. We were pretty much dead when we reached the top since it was something like 40 degrees Celcius and the feeling of your sweat just dripping isn't exactly the best feeling ever. We enjoyed our fresh fruit and water that we had bought (slices of mango, melon, coconut etc. per plastic sack 1 Q)! The view was really nice and we were looking forward to go for a swim. The first spot we found was a nest with fire ants – arrrgghh! The next dry spot was close to our group. We bumped into Mathilda and Emily who were there also but not organised. On the way back it started drizzling a bit and we were a bit cold but not for long. Our legs were still shaking from the walk and than in the truck back we picked up some locals and they of course just sit on your feet and think none the worse of it. Chelsea and me were like almost hugging each other and I got to stand in front and my arms were killing me. It was good fun though! Back in the hotel we just fell onto our beds and wouldn't move for the next hour. Camilla was the brave one to go test the shower here (hadn’t showered the night before since that thing looked like “please let me electrecute myself” ). It was freezing cold water but hey it could have been worse. We were clean and hungry actually we were always eating like there was no tomorrow. The whole group ended up in the same restaurant not as if that tiny place had that many o) The Danish guys were so annoying for various reasons they threw our bags on different seats because they wanted our seats more than their own, talked down on the locals, threw their trash around and were the rudest people we have ever come across. The whole trip would have been even better without them. After dinner we walked back to the hotel and bumped into an American. We chatted for a bit and than went off to bed. These two nights we were in bed like 8-9pm which is like the earliest in ages. Sunday we could sleep in a bit. Actually there must have been a thunderstorm or something since Camilla told us that she had to get up and close the window we hadn’t heard anything only saw that everything was wet. After the best breakfast ever consisting of pancakes and fresh fruit we continued on. The tea wasn’t drinkable since they thought they needed to pure lots of chlorine into the water so that our stomachs would be okay. We poured tons of sugar into the tea to make it at least drinkable o) All our meals were never more than 20Q which is like nothing. On the way back to Antigua we stopped to have a look at some water which was unfortunetely very polluted and than stopped again for lunch. We got back to Antigua somethimg like 7pm. We hopped out right at the school of Appe because we wanted to have a look at the carpet that they were making which was really beautiful. The carpet is made of colored sawdust and lasts for maybe 20 minutes but is something that people put money, time and effort into making for Eastern (Semana Santa). Camilla wanted to have the huge nachos at “ Monoloco” so we went. Elmer was working and saw me and we rearranged our date for Monday. We got home by 9pm and chatted a bit with Ema and Mario before going to bed. We were pretty beat and were really grateful to be back HOME and in our beds again. All the tourists walking around in Antigua are annoying it is going to be even more crowed this week. We don’t feel like tourists since for us this all home!!!