Backpacking Adventure 2010 – Week 3

The group's current location: Flores/Guatemala

This week’s blog entry is written by Alejandra, one of our guides for this Backpacking Adventure.

3th November This was my first day with the group so I tried to memorize all Danish names. On the way to Campeche we visited the best hat maker, Don Baldomero who showed us his wonderful job. The “Jipijapa” is the common name of the plant that hats and other handy crafts are made from. He told us that the children of Becal start to learn the “Jipijapa Culture” when they are 8 years old. After the hat maker we went to Pomuch to try the Pichon bread. But Pomuch is also very famous for its cemetery. The tradition is to remove the body of the loved one after 3 years and clean the remains. Due to this it is possible to walk through the cemetery and watch small uncovered boxes with remains inside but with flowers and woven blankets. 4th November According to the itinerary we made the city tour starting with the “Land Gate”, where it is possible to walk on the wall. Right in front there is the “Sea Gate”, a custom house for the pirates and buccaneers that wanted to cross the city. Then we entered to the Casa 6, a colonial house with period furniture. And after that we visited the cathedral. 5th November Because of the bad weather in Campeche it was impossible to go fishing. The destiny took us to Yax-Ha (green-water). The place is a nice Hacienda surrounded by lovely nature, horses and lot of history. When we arrived there, David told us about its history and the importance of this Hacienda. Later we started our Paintball challenge with 3 teams. David explained the rules and how we should play. We had a lot of fun! Everybody was very hungry at the end so we eat some chicken tacos with a delicious “Guacamole”. 6th November Early in the morning we left “El Pirata” Hostal in order to get to Palenque. 7th November We started the day with rain. I was afraid we couldn’t enjoy the visit to the archaeological site of Palenque but fortunately the clouds allowed us to see the magic of just 2% of this beautiful place. Our guide’s name was Salvador, better known as ”the cat”. He took us through the jungle and showed us some of the houses buried in hundreds of years. We visited the palace of the red Queen, learned about the Mayan numbers and how they could count just with three numbers. After that we drove to the Misol-Ha waterfall which is about 30m high. The local people say that cold water is very healthy and that it also helps with the circulation of your body system. So some of the guys and me swam and enjoyed the beauty of the Water (Ha) Fall (Misol). 8th November On the way to San Cristóbal de las Casas we stopped at “Cascadas de Agua Azul”. The water is blue since it has a high mineral content. This waterfall consists of many cataracts following one after another. Once again the water’s temperature was very cold so that we could just swim for a couple of minutes. A winding and long road took us after some hours to San Cristóbal de las Casas, located in the Highlands of Chiapas at an elevation of approximately 2,100 m above sea level; the main reason for this COLD WEATHER. 9th November It’s still freezing!!! Early in the morning we continued our Spanish lessons. The majority of the group already speaks more than a word. We walked around the city, visited Santo Domingo Church, San Cristobal Cathedral, Del Carmen Arch and climbed more than 300 steps to the San Cristobal Chapel. 10th November After practicing some Spanish, we visited San Juan Chamula. The town has an autonomous status and they have their own police force. The church of San Juan, the head town, is filled with colorful candles, and smoke. Along the walls of the church, there are statues of saints in large wooden cases, many wearing mirrors to deflect evil. The group could see how a Shaman practices their customs and beliefs. It was a nice experience!! After visiting the church the handcrafts market was waiting for us with very cheap prices. Now everyone has a new hat, gloves or scarf to wear for this cold in San Cristóbal de las Casas. 11th November After breakfast we took the road to Chiapa de Corzo, a nice town. This is one of the places where it’s possible to take a boat ride through the Sumidero Canyon. It is hard to describe the feeling of being so small between walls and 900m cliffs. During the trip we could see some pelicans, herons, crocodiles, vultures, waterfalls, caves and lots of natural formations. The group thoroughly enjoyed the trip and ate the famous giant quesadillas. 12th November Today I handed the group over to Cris again. The weather is still cold but everybody is ready for more fun in Guatemala!

Right now they should be on their way to Flores in Guatemala where they will experience further unforgettable adventures.

Catch up on them on their way through the Mayan World. Read about the different destinations, about their experiences meeting other people and about all the adventures on their way. In the following weeks we will publish articles about their tour right here in this blog. Check out our photo album, too.