Hue Hue to the Cumbre to Panahachel

Since I last left you I was in Comalapa, very relaxing, warm in the day and chilly at night. Since then I have been on at least 10 Chicken busses, and up and down the mountain a few times. On Saturday we left and headed to Hue Hue Tenango to meet up with some Peace Corps Volunteers for a soccer game and a despaetido, which is what is given to a volunteer when they leave after their 2 years of service in a village. As we traveled across Guatemala for 5 hours on the Chicken bus the landscape began to change as did the traditional clothes that the indigenous people wear. I found myself wanting to take photos at every turn, however there was never enough time and I feel a bit guilty taking photos unless I have permission. We arrived in Hue Hue right as it was getting dark and headed to the Peace Corps Apartment, which was a two room house filled with mattresses. That evening there was a celebration for a volunteers birthday, so the place was fairly crowded, we ducked out on the disco and stayed back with a few... Joe, Luke, Kat, Kyle and the two of us hung out and visited. What I found out was that many people decide to do this at different stages of their life not just straight out of college and many are about to head in new directions once they finish their service. I slept on the tile floor in Norms Mummy bag and found it to be very comfortable. The next morning we woke early so that we could catch the bus up the mountain to the locataion of the despartido. A volunteer named Tyler was having a celebraton in his honor for his two years in this village of 300 on the top of the mountain in the cumbre. We arrived to find a relatively flat futbol field, the bottom quarter had a slight slope which made the corner kicks really fly. The lines were drawn with saw dust and the gringos were about a foot taller than the mayans they played which might explain why they won 1-0. It was wild the entire town came out to watch and when anyone fell they was a quiet laughter that spread through the crowd and echoed in the valley. It might have been one of the most wonderful sounds I have ever heard, which reminds me of a saying my grandmother has in her house... eveyone laughs in the same language. After the soccer game and a round of SPF 45 we headed to the town hall, cinderblock rooms where school is held durring the week and were served caldo made with fresh slaughtered sheep and bbq sheep, tortillas, and homemade moonshine, cusha, made from potato, which we passed around while we sat in children's school desks. All the while a mirimba band was playing until the midday storms started in. We finished our meal and I had a conversaton with a guy name Luke who was about to leave and head to Harvard for Public Policy, at this point it was only sprinkeling, Chipi Chipi,and so Luke lent me his jacket to take my pack to Tylers cinder block home so that we could enjoy the dancing without having to watch my pack. The next thing I know, Norm has decided that we are going to head over to Mateo's house to spend the night, I didn't realize this would be a 55 minute hike in the Cumbre at 10,000 ft. Luckily most of it was down hill and since I have been walking so much I made it. I later found out that is a relatively short walk. We headed to Mateos, and it was absolutely amazing. In this area the Mayan's build walls of dirt held up by stones on both sides and grow plants in the middle. The dirt is chocolate brown and in the rainy season the ground is covered with moss and light grasses. On top of the wall they plant mostly century plants and Gallos a beautiful red flower that looks like it comes from a bulb of some sort... I will post pictures when I can... it was amazing. We arrive at Mateo's house, a bit nicer than most of the volunteers houses, and settle in for it is about to rain again. We make a light pasta and play cards all night. It is amazing what you will do for entertainment out in the middle of nowhere, that night we fell asleep to bill hicks, bill cosby and steven wright on a mix comedy tape. I woke up 4 hours later and stared at the ceiling. I might have thuoght that was aweful but as the sun began to rise I headed out doors for one of the most wonderful sunrises I have ever seen. The next morning, once everyone woke and had a light breakfast of oatmeal, bananas and raisins, Mateo, Norm and I had 45 minute walk to the main road to catch our ride back down to Hue Hue where we went to the market and had a bite to eat. Imagine a two and a half hour trip each way down and then up again just to head to the market. It was here that I started really noticing all the different groups of clothing from the Cumbre, my favorite is the outfits the men wear from Todos Santos which includes red and white striped pants. We ended up paying a vaquero to drive us to Adam and Liz's - two other friends of Norms's - house for 50 Q roughly 7 dollars, so that we would not have to walk anymore. We sat in the back of a pick up truck drinking a quart of warm gallo beer spilling it all over ourselves as the road was extremely bumpy. At this point I have made peace with the fact that my clotes are extremely dirty and my shoes, covered in mud, ruined. We make a small meal of re-barb chicken covered in lime and salt, roasted corn thrown on the coals, pico de gallo, queso fresco and fresh biscuits. When I get back I am making this meal as odd as it sounds. So that now brings me to today. We woke up at 6 and packed our bags, headed to the main road, caught the chicken bus and 5 hours later landed in Panahachel. Picked up a Bajan tourist named Phillip and showed him where to go. After finding a room for 3 dollars a night we cleaned up and headed out to send e-mails and for me to upload photos which I was once again not able to do. I wish you could see what I have been seeing. I think I am getting the best view of Guatamala, I have been to dinners in Adobe houses, visited with indeginous families, slept in rooms with dirt floors, cooked amazing meals on fire stoves and drank Mayan moonshine. It has been beyond my wildest dreams and everyday feels like three days because the experiences are so rich and plentyful. We are now off to hit the markets because I want a shoulder bag that I can keep in from of me versus a small backpack that is ripe for the picking. I hope all is well and hopefully soon there will be photos that will show you what I cannot explain.