La Ruta de Maya - Guatemala pt 2

Leaving the noisy, dusty towns of Chicicastenango and Santa Cruz del Quiche behind, we head north, into the mountains. From Santa Cruz, the mountains - Guatemala's largest - beckon in the far-away distance. The road, formerly bone-jarring dirt, is now paved, but this makes the ride no less exciting or terrifying. Our driver, an affable fellow named Fidel, seemed like a gentle soul when I spoke to him at the bus station. Behind the wheel a different story emerges. Fidel, I suspect, harbours a deep-rooted dream to be a NASCAR driver. Unfortunately, he has only a mini-van - loaded with 15 passengers - with which to manifest that dream.

You'd never suspect a loaded minivan can be the fastest vehicle on a winding mountain road, but Fidel ensures this is so. Uphill, downhill, around blind corners - all these are to Fidel suitable passing situations. Tanya and I grip the seats in front of us with white-knuckled fright. Rest assured, when we bring our clients back here, Fidel will not be at the wheel. I cross myself in prayer and look forward to Matt's laid-back 'we'll get there when we get there' driving style when we got back to Antigua.

We arrive in Nebaj to the hustle and bustle of a crowded Mayan town. A Mayan ceremony is in progress on the steps of the town church. We transfer to the bus bound for Acul, and load on with about 12 Ixil women and their children. Their huipiles and colourful headdresses are a sight to behold - intricate, bright and tied in Escher-like impossible knots. A girl of about 6 sits in front of us, eating mango and staring straight at us. Tourists are not common in these parts. No one on the bus seems to speak Spanish - we are in Mayan country now, and Ixil is the lingua franca here. It's a fascinating language, full of glottal stops and grunts, yet beautiful in its own way. I sit in this bus, surrounded my descendants of a thousand-year-old culture, and am once again in awe of this wonderful world.

The van climbs further into the mountains, leaving the urban sting of Nebaj behind; soon we are in the pastoral beauty of the Guatemalan countryside, and it's beyond stunning. The mountains are green and lush; we pass small villages that look unchanged from the time of the Maya. When the driver stops and yells 'San Antonio' I feel as if he might as well have said 'Paradise!'

Everywhere is green. A quiet creek meanders alongside the road, and a small Australian shepherd comes out to greet us, tail wagging. The driver points up the road at a beautiful hacienda up the hill. I'd pictured a small, simple farm with a few rustic shacks. This is a scene straight out of The Sound of Music, only far less cheesy.

The valley is ringed on 3 sides by steep mountains. As we stand on the road taking pictures, a group of Mayan men, heading home with horses and machetes in tow, greets us with a friendly wave. We grab our luggage and set off up the driveway to start the next chapter of our Guatemalan journey, in the heart of Ixil country...

La Ruta de Maya

After a whole lot of preliminary work, 1 missed connecting flight, 1 lost piece of luggage, we finally made it to Guatemala. My fiancée Tanya and I are in the land of the Maya, and so far the country has lived up to the 'enchanting' label most of our friends and acquaintances have placed on it.

We're here ostensibly to set up a new trip for Sacred Rides, but also to explore this fascinating country in advance of having our first child this spring. From what I've heard, infants tend to have a detrimental effect on one's ability to travel to developing countries (but a positive effect on one's happiness!), so we decide to get a good Latin American jaunt in before little Pancho/Panchita joins this world.

We arrived last Thursday, and headed straight to Antigua, a stunning colonial town an hour from Guatemala City. We met my Guatemala partners from Old Town Outfitters - the people who are helping us set up our new tour here. Our plan was to have dinner, discuss the bike trip (which will run from Mar. 6-14), do a sample ride, and then head north into the highlands for 2 weeks.

On Friday, Luisa and Matt took me for a fantastic first ride above Antigua, through picturesque villages and along smooth singletrack trails. Although the ride was short - about 2 hours - it gave me a good taste of what's in store when the rest of our riders show up. We also met some people from Maya Bike, an organization with which we will be partnering both through Sacred Rides and through Bikes Without Borders, our non-profit organization.

From Antigua we headed to Lake Atitlan. The pre-trip hype described this as one of the most spectacular lakes in the world, and it didn't disappoint. The lake is sapphire blue and ringed by giant volcanoes, the largest of which is almost 4,000 m high. The town we stayed in, Panajachel, is an old hippie haven from the 60s, now host to hordes of tourists of a different stripe, but it still manages to maintain its laid-back feel. We didn't stay long enough to fully appreciate the lake, but we'll be back in a couple of weeks when we come ride around the lake.

We decided to forgo the frequent shuttles in favour of the local 'chicken bus.' Even the locals call it the chicken bus. The ride through the mountains is stunning and scary: the roads have been carved out of the hillsides somewhat haphazardly, and there's a switchback about every 100 metres. Crammed into a 40-seater bus with 60 people makes for an interesting experience. One that I don't think we'll repeat, in spite of its charm.

Last night we stayed in Chichicastenango, so that we could get up early for the famous market that takes place every Sunday and Thursday. People started streaming into town on Saturday night from the surrounding countryside, bringing their wares - ornate masks, beautiful shawls and huipiles (shirts), weavings of every sort, and as many tomatoes as you can pack into the back of a pickup truck in between a family of 15. By 9 o'clock a festive air had overtaken the main square and excitement was beginning to build for the market day ahead.

We woke at 6 am to the sound of a thousand roosters, a cacophony that would have sounded almost symphonic had they not forgotten to tune up before squealing. We headed to the market, which was already in full swing. The front steps of the iglesia were covered in flowers and people; incense burned in every direction and inside a mass was getting under way. The cofradias, or religious brotherhoods, were readying themselves for the Sunday parade. Spirituality in these parts is a mix of Catholicism and pre-Christian Mayan rituals, tending toward the Mayan side of things. Every woman was dressed in the bright huipile and colourful skirts typical of the Maya. The market not only crowded the main square, but spilled at least 3 blocks in each direction. The whole city became a giant market, and it was electric.

Tomorrow we head to the highlands, to a town called Nebaj and a small cheese finca, or farm about 3 km north of Nebaj. Matt from Old Town Outfitters tells me the mountain biking in this area is sublime, as are the mountains. Time will tell.

By the way, our first mountain bike trips to Guatemala will take place next winter. If you're looking for a great reason to escape the cold northern winter... join our mailing list (at left) and we'll keep you posted as to the first dates.

Guatemala-Bound

We're on our way to Guatemala in a few weeks to add yet another incredible destination to our roster of trips. Combining epic riding, Mayan culture, volunteering in local school projects, and volcanoes and lakes, our new Ruta de Maya trip will nicely sum up what our 'community-based' focus is all about: riding great trails while giving back to local communities.

We'll spend 3 days riding the in Antigua area, 3 days in the Lake Atitlan area, plus 1 day of kayaking, and 1 day of volcano hiking. Joining us will be writers Andrew Findlay and Stephen Ripley, plus award-winning photographer Patrice Halley, along with two women from the UK.

We still have two spots left on the trip if you want to join us. Because this is a scouting trip, we're offering it at a significant discount: just $750 for 8 days of incredible riding and other activities, including hotels, meals and transportation.

E-mail us at ride@sacredrides.com or call 1-888-423-7849 if you're interested in joining us.