Mayan Ruins

Before making the long bus rides across El Salvador and Honduras to reach Nicaragua, we visited two significant Mayan ruins. The first was Tikal which is located deep in the jungle in the north of Guatemala. Then on the way back to Guatemala City we took a quick detour across the Honduran border to visit Copan Ruins.

Although Tikal is definitely not the easiest destination to reach, it is worth the effort. Once one of the largest Mayan cities, sometime in the 10th century the city fell into decline. Surely it didn't take much time for the jungle to reclaim the stone structures. It was almost 1,000 years later that the western world would learn about it's existence. Now the city and wildlife inhabiting it can be explored with an extensive trail network of limestone roads that were used by archaeologists during excavation and restoration. The highlight of the ruins are the well restored temples rising above the tree canopy.

A day's travel to the south across the border of Honduras lies the ruins of another great ancient city. Although the temples are not as high as Tikal's, Copan has some of the best preserved stone carvings from the Mayan era. With lawns spreading between a highly concentrated layout of buildings it is hard not to try imagining what it would have been like to be in that space over a millennium ago.

To see photos of Tikal click the play button below for a slideshow which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.

To see photos of Copan click the play button below for a slideshow which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.

Semuc Champey

After leaving Monterrico we made our way to the far north end of the country to visit the Mayan ruins of Tikal. While it is possible to get there in a day with a very long bus ride from Guatemala City, it is best to break this journey up with a stopover in Semuc Champey which is located, almost literally, in Guatemala's middle of nowhere.

Consisting of a series of fresh water pools, what is not immediately apparent is that they sit above a massive limestone bridge, almost 1,000' in length. Beneath the picturesque cascading pools and landbridge flows the Cahabón River.

Offering a great place to hike around, swim and relax, this stop is well worth the detour.  For more photos, click the play button below to see a slideshow which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.

Here is a video of the fun to be had, including an underwater cave:

Antigua and Monterrico

Situated outside of Guatemala City is the old capital which is simply called Antigua. Filled with colonial architecture both restored and in ruins, Antigua has a rich urban texture very different from other Guatemalan cities. While it offers many museums, markets and cafes to visit, one of the best things about Antigua is simply walking the streets and taking in the sights, especially early in the day as the morning light changes rapidly.

After a few relaxing days in Antigua we headed for the coast to the town of Monterrico.  Besides beaches, a hot sun and hotels with pools, Monterrico offers great opportunities to view wildlife.  Each evening at sunset, the local turtle conservation organization releases all the baby turtles that have hatched that day.  For $1.50 you can hold and release your own baby turtle. Although only a small percentage of them will survive in the wild, it is a beautiful scene as they all waddle their way into the waves.

Also nearby is a nature preserve that encompasses the extensive network of mangroves. It is best viewed in the predawn hours by paddle boat when the birds awake. Although we unfortunately did not have a clear view of the volcanoes, the activity of wildlife was well worth the early wake up.

For photos of Antigua, click the play button below for a slideshow which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.

For photos of Monterrico click the play button below for a slideshow which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.

Here are a couple video clips of the wildlife in Monterrico:

Lets go Fly a Kite

Around the end of October it is common to see lots of kids flying kites around Guatemala. This is because on Dia de Todos Santos (All Saints Day), which is celebrated on November 1st, it is believed that one´s ancestors come down from the heavens and through the kites in the air it is possible to communicate with them. While most towns start selling small paper kites, the town of Sumpango goes quite a few steps further, building enormous bamboo frames with intricately decorated paper collages that pay tribute to those that have passed.  The ones on the "smaller" side (measuring up to 30' in diameter) they actually attempt to fly, while the largest of these kites are on display for everyone to enjoy their beauty.

Although most of the kites are never able to make it in the air, often crashing into the crowd observing the spectacle (see video below), every once in a while they are able to get these enormous crafts to fly.

Click the play button below for a slideshow which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.

Here are a few video clips from the day:

-Kite crashes with terrified screams coming from the crowd:


-A successful flight of an enormous kite:



-Raising of a kite for display:

More Volcanos

So with a basic understanding of Spanish, we left Xela to begin our travels. However, before we departed town we climbed a volcano closeby called Santa Maria. Leaving shortly after midnight we arrived at the summit before sunrise to find cows occupying the top of the peak. How they got there are how they will get down is still a mystery.

Besides the sunrise and views of the other volcanoes in the distance rising above the floor of clouds, another highlight was seeing the highly active neighboring volcano Santiaguito erupt twice.

We then headed to Lago Atitlan which is a couple hours to the east. Surrounded by volcanos (which we saw atop Santa Maria), the lake itself was created by a massive eruption creating a caldera and displacing ash as far as Florida and Ecuador. With towns and villages around the lake, some accessed only by boat, it was a nice place to kick off our Guatmalan sights.

Photos and Video:

Click the play button here for a slideshow of Santa Maria which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.

Eruption of Santiaguito at 8x speed:

Timelapse of sunrise:

Click the play button here for a slideshow of Lago Atitlan which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.

Month #1 - Language School in Guatemala

Okay, we are finally posting the first travel updates. While we were studying Spanish for the first four weeks, we were rather busy with class time, school activities and more studying. Although we have a very long way to go to being conversationally fluent, we are feeling good about our ability to get by in our travels.

Now that we have finished our studies for the time being and should have more free time, we hope to post more often. Since there is a month long backlog we have broken this post into four parts, one for each week. Click on each week's link below for photos.

Some Highlights (There is much more than listed here)

•PLQ, the language school, attracts beautiful people! Lots of great conversation and learning was had. There is so much more to read and explore.

•Increased understanding of economics at the personal, local, and country level. As well as the relationship with Northern countries through conferences, conversation, reading, and homestays.

•The Love Project is happening!

•Of course the volcanoes and the hikes- Even though Rosie sprained her ankle (the left one this time) we saw Chiapas and the lush Guatemalan landscape from the highest peak in Central America at 13,850’.

•The Mountain School- we spent a week here for classes

•The textiles are stunning

•Increased empathy for English language learners

•People greet each other in passing by saying "Buenos dias, Buenas tardes/noches", or just "Buenos/as". 

•The sense of community that can form on a packed (no personal bubble) microbus.

Week 1: Xelaju Futból, Salcajá, Cooking Class, Cerro Quemada Volcano 

Week 2: Totonicapan ceramics collective, Futból w students and teachers, Cemetery tour, Efrain Bamaca

Week 3: La Escuela de la Montaña and Chichabal Volcano & Lake.

Week 4: Fuentes Georginas and Tajumulco Volcano.

John Muir Trail and Yosemite photos

Things are going well in Guatemala. We have finished our first week of Spanish lessons here in Xela and are enjoying the afternoon activities organized by the school.

It took a little while but here are our photos from the JMT and our week spent in Tuolumne with the Mazamas. There are lots of them but hey, this is over a month of content in one of our country's most beautiful regions.

Click the play button below for a slideshow which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen or you don't have the time to view all of them, click here for direct link to the photo album in Flickr.

Okay, sorry for the delay in posts. We know we have some catching up to do and will hopefully get our JMT and Tuolumne photos up soon. For those of you who were wondering, we did indeed complete the JMT. After hitching from Mammoth Lakes to Tuolumne, we walked into the wilderness permit office at 4pm to see what they had available for the next day. While they were sold out for the following day, they did have an opening if we left then and there. Not expecting to leave so soon we did a quick gear and food sort in the parking lot and without skipping a beat were on our way to finish the last 20 or so miles into Yosemite Valley. Before reaching the valley however, we camped near Half Dome so that we could get up at 3:00 to catch the sunrise on Rosie's birthday. This experience, along with sleeping on top of Mt. Whitney, was definitely a highlight of the trail.

On Half Dome for sunrise on Rosie's birthday.

From the valley we then shuttled back to Tuolumne where we met up with friends and Mazamas for a week of trail stewardship and climbing. After the first two days of trail building, eight of us took off for an overnight adventure climbing a four pitch route on Dozier Dome the first day, camping at Lower Cathedral Lake and getting an early start to climb Cathedral Peak the following day. Having to shift from backpacking mode to climbing mode, this 800' climb took a good portion of the day. However, it was a great time and it is easy to see why the route is one of the 50 classic climbs of North America.

Cathedral Peak from the base of the route at sunrise.

Danny hard at work.

So after four weeks of very little external stresses and demands, we returned to Portland with a week and a half to prepare to shift gears yet again. After a visit from Heather and Felipe and saying some goodbyes, our last days were mostly filled with running errands around town, (often to what felt like the same places multiple times) and taking care of the last things we needed to deal with at the house. Finding ourselves again packing for a trip we weren't quite sure how to pack for, we hoped to pack up a few days early to give time to adjust what we plan to take with us. Of course it wasn't until the night before that we finally had it all laid out. We both were still able to fit it all in one large and one small pack each. Perhaps in a separate post we can describe with more detail what we brought with us but we were both able to keep it between 40-45 lbs each.

Just as we did with the chickens back in June, the last thing we did before we left for the airport was take our car to live on a farm outside Portland (saving a bunch in insurance by getting it off the road). Seven hours later we arrived in Guatemala City where we were picked up by our hostel. Now as we cruise through the Guatemalan countryside on our way to Xela (Quetzaltenango), we finally have a chance to relax a bit and do some processing. Well, Shane processing and Rosie catching up on some precious sleep.

JMT: Muir Trail Ranch to Whitney Portal

We have now finished the southern +/-200 miles of the JMT! After carrying nine days of food we made it to the summit of Mt. Whitney on the evening of 8/31.  Although it was a bit chilly we camped out on the highest point in the lower 48 states and saw an amazing sunset and sunrise.  We are now working our way back to Yosemite to finish the last 20 miles of the trail we had to skip at the beginning.  Photos to follow once we have a computer access in a couple weeks...

JMT: Reds Meadow to Muir Trail Ranch

After nine days on the trail we took a "zero" day here at Muir Trail Ranch to give our legs a break and soak in the hot springs. We have traveled over 95 miles; almost half way done! We are heading out this morning for a nine day stretch with hopes of a Whitney summit and existing around the first of September. Some smoke in the area but the forecast calls for it to clear soon. Until next time...

JMT Leg 1: tuolumne to reds meadow

Beautiful!  We are 4 days and 35 miles in.  So far so amazing!  After a stop over at Reds Meadow and a quick trip into Mammoth Lakes for supplies, we will be heading back on the trail in the AM.  Lots of gorgeous views, awesome terrain and superb backcountry camp sites.  This morning we got to soak in a hot spring and enjoy civilizations greatest amenities; ice cream and beer.  Until next time...

The Enchantments

Shane recently returned from 5 days in the Enchantments with Aubrey, Steve and Mike.  Rosie had the unfortunate luck of impaling her foot with a rusty nail while we were packing up to leave town.  After getting an updated Tetanus shot she made the decision to stay in town and make sure her foot healed so that she would be ready to hit the JMT.  Now after two crazy days of errands and last minute preparation for the JMT we will be hitting the road in the morning to head to California. If all goes well we will be starting out on the trail Thursday or Friday and be on the JMT for the following three weeks, followed by a week of climber trail stewardship with the Mazamas in Tuolumne Meadows in the north end of Yosemite NP.

Mountain goat resting in the Enchantments

After hiking in to Lake Stuart and setting up camp for the week, we set off on day trips to Horseshoe Lake, The Core Enchantment Zone via Aasgard Pass and the ridge above Lake Stuart for views down into the Eight Mile Zone and the surrounding area.

Click the play button below for a slideshow which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.

Here are a couple video clips from the trip:

Bugaboos!

To head south you need to start in the north, right?  On the 4th of July we crossed the Canadian border to drive toward Bugaboo Provincial Park in SE British Columbia to meet up with Kyle, Laura, Micah and Phil.  After the steep hike in with a week's worth of food, we found ourselves settling in at the Conrad Kain Hut.  The hut is located above 7,000' in the basin below Snowpatch, Bugaboo, Crescent and Eastpost Spires which all tower a few thousand feet above.

Bugaboo Spire with Howser Towers and Pigeon Spire beyond.

Over the next five days we climbed, scrambled, hiked, traversed, rappelled, photographed and explored the impressive granite peaks and immense glaciers in this alpine wonderland.  Already dreaming of the return trip someday.

Click the play button below for a slideshow which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.

Here is a sneak peak of some GoPro footage. It starts with a sunrise timelapse taken on our last morning before hiking out, then goes back to the group climbing the West Ridge of Pigeon Spire and about half of Rosie and my traverse of Eastpost Spire. No promises if or when a more polished and complete version will be done.