Diarios de motocicleta - “The Motorcyle Diaries” – Guatemala style!

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Marvin and Michael - play adventureros!

It’s not often that the internet lets you down, inasmuch as it simply doesn’t list anything meaningful about a place you have just visited. Well, last Sunday during a relaxing weekend in Chahal,  Alta Verapaz, Guatemala at the hotel of my good friend Marvin I had an opportunity I simply could not turn down.  Even if it meant riding pillion on a just roadworthy motorbike, but hey, this is Guatemala, the majority of vehicles on the road are un-roadworthy by UK MOT standards, so nothing new there. Actually they are un-roadworthy by any standards, I have yet to ride in a vehicle where any of the dials work, or the lights function correctly (always assuming that there are any lights too function …….) but things are changing a law has just been passed banning the import of any car, bus or lorry more than 10 years old. Hmmmmm! 

 The talented - Gael García Bernal.  He is thinking about the brakes...

San Agustin, Chahal, AltaVerapaz, Guatemala - in all its glory!

Marvin had been tipped off that a guy was selling some Mayan artefacts that he had come across in some caves in a very remote and mountainous part of Chahal, so we went to have a look. It was a lovely sunny morning and I had envisaged a gentle ride, little did I imagine that I/we would be taking part in a grand adventure!  Firstly we collected a three-litre Pepsi bottle of gasoline, apparently we were going to be guided to where we needed to be by a guy from the next Aldea (Village) of San Agustin, Chahal and we needed to give him petrol for the journey.  He was on his motorbike.

Our trusty steed!

Could almost be an english country lane!

This was a good as the track ever got

Can’t say I was too happy with the offending three litres between my legs as we bounced along the road to San Agustin, trying to hold-on, control my wayward baseball cap and the bottle….. anyways, we met up with Miguel and off we went.  I thought three-litres rather excessive for our jaunt, having of course no idea just how far we were going to be going.  There is one road into San Augustin and two out and off we headed, Miguel said he would wait for us at each junction to show us which way to go, as there were no signposts and indeed for much of the journey only a very pitied and rocky track to follow. It wasn’t long before we were bouncing along, like two guys completely out of their depth in terms of technique required to say upright and cope with the extreme gradients, rocky terrain, dust and a rather grumpy motorcycle.  But we didn’t fall off or hit anything. What neither of us realised what that the community of Verde Valle was in fact in the mountains and was a good 25 kilometres distance, and whilst I think two other “roads” branched off, for almost the entire journey we hardly saw another house, hut or sign of human habitation. Occasionally you would glimpse a hut in the trees or on a promontory in the rocks.

The scenery was simply spectacular, incredible, awesome …..  with every bend in the track, a new vista opened up, of either jungle, or areas that had been cultivated (by  hand of course) and we passed fincas (farms) of beef, horses, cardamom, maize, peppers and also managed forests of teak and pine.  Between them it was simply rocky mountains and jungle. The track was obviously thousands of years old and you could make out caves in the rocks and our path was absolutely determined by the occasional river valley or the need to circumvent and massive rocky outcrop. 

Isias, Miguel, Marvin

Of course, no water, electricity, sewage, transport (except for a daily truck you hitched a ride on the back of) and hardly any signs of life, amazing. Marvin drove the bike with more fortitude than precision, considering this type of terrain was completely new to him, and whilst we came close to catastrophe, as we lost our balance, a couple of times we didn’t actually fall off.

Note the stairs up the hillside

Eventually, we started to see signs of civilisation, a football pitch (of sorts) some huts and all of a sudden we rounded a bend and were in the middle of Verde Valle.  The road ended abruptly on a promontory and we were left standing admiring a view over a valley to some far flung huts.  This was the end of the road for the bike from here on in it was by foot. It was only once we got off the bike that Marvin and I realised what a strain the journey had been, we were both tired and Marvin’s arms ached from absorbing all the bumps and steering the bike.  But no time for shilly-shallying …as Miguel was waiting for us along with Isias, whose house we were going to as he had the artefacts for sale. 

Down one side of the valley over a stream and them up the other side, to reach his house we followed a mud path and I was astonished at the number of steps that had been cut in the hillside for access.  This path actually led to about half the huts making up the village, which consists of about 60 families so probably around 300-400 people in all.  It was all absolutely breath taking, literally, we were very high up after all and well  above the cloud line!

The artefacts

Teh jade axe heads were of note!

After viewing the artefacts, I left Marvin to do his negotiations.  He, Miguel and Isias, slipping in and out of a mixture of Spanish and Kek’chi, after about 20 minutes he returned and announced that we were off for a walk to see the local waterfall, probably about a 20 minute hike. It all started well we followed a well defined path down the side of another valley to the river bed and walked along the side of the river, which was constantly being joined by other tributaries some dry, others fast flowing streams. And then, the path just went to the river bank and ended. 

The track to the waterfall

OK, who removed the track......?

Confident

Getting sodden, had fallen in to my knees already!

Less confident

Now, in the 6 years since I broke my leg, one result of that experience has been a marked diminution in my confidence especially when needing to balance, the next bit of the journey was going to present something of a challenge.  But, these days I am not afraid of asking for help, and occasionally called for Marvin to come back, wait for me, show me where to jump next and give me a supporting hand.   I know realise what those silly stick things are for – you know “walking poles”- I so regretted laughing at people using them and so wanted a pair to magically appear.  (Definitely will need a pair for next years jaunts in the Andes!) 

But just before I arrived attyhe waterfall, I was able to just sit for 5 minutes and take in my surroundings, the others had gone on ahead, and it was just me, the river and the jungle.  So many sounds of animals calling out, or moving in the undergrowth, the sound of the water tumbling over the rocks, the dappled sunlight, it was a moment to savour, and a moment to revere Mother Nature all  sadly cut short by Marvin telling me I had to make it to the waterfall as we were going to go back by another route. So even if it meant getting soaked up to my knees, and I did, I made it to the waterfall. And I felt so good, having achieved this.   

In the footsteps of the Maya!

I dont seem to look so happy, although I was!

Miguel, Qa'wa Mek (me), Isias

After photos, Isias plunged into the undergrowth and we were off, getting caught up in vines, slipping down muddy paths and getting very close to nature and then, hey presto we were back in the river, there was no “other route”, the diversion was simply that, a diversion, to avoid a large boulder which the guys though would be too much for me in the reverse direction!

Adventureros in close up!

Jungle flora!

 The village school is supported solely by the community, the government gives no money for education here. Expecting the children to go to the government school in San Agustin. How?
Marvin and I are hatching an idea to do some kind of project here at the end of 2013 when I am back in Guatemala, during the long vacation mid-october to mid-January.  And I fancy living in this wonderful but "basic" community.

 The local shop, where we enjoyed some lovely warm seven up and buns!   A shop in the middle of nowhere, with only a path leading to and from it.

We were back at Isias’  house within 20 minutes the whole journey probably taking a little over an hour thanks to the old guy!   Then it was back to the bike, and yippy the 25 kms back to San Augustin.  As we we slipping around on one very precarious hill, I “gently” asked Marvin why he didn’t use the brake as I felt that he was using too much traction constantly using low gears, it was only at this point I realised that the brakes actually didn’t work (or hardly so) and that Marvin had been controlling the bike by using the gears alone . . . .  a hero!   Deeply impressed, if a little worried that we could have been so close to turning into a flying machine on these mountain tracks, it was shortly after that, that the bike started to slip and slide all over the place, and we sedately ground to a halt in a shallow ditch (without actually falling off I might add)  and we saw that the back tyre was completely flat.  Providentially, there was a phone signal so Marvin could call help, and also the daily truck came along, and Marvin insisted I rode back to the hotel standing with the other folk like cattle going to market.  Another unique experience.

Adventurero!

Isias

Homeward bound

One hour later as the Euro 2012 final was drawing to a close (3pm-ish in Guatemala) and I was finishing my second beer, the hero of the hour appeared with his bike on the back of yet another truck.








This type of occurrence is so common that it invited absolutely no comment!  Just as well for Marvin in his Italy football shirt as he managed to avoid the embarrassment of his team loosing 4-0 to Spain!

Oh yes, Valle Verde is remote, but Isias told us he was born in San Domingo, which is a further 15 – 20 kms into the mountains and there is no road to get there, just a path.  I have already told Marvin that one day we have to make that trip and see what remote really means and  I can try out, what will be my new “walking poles,” he he!

And finally, Miguel managed the walk to the waterfall in leather boots with absolutely shiny grip-less soles, and managed to not get a single drop of water on them,  conversely my walking shoes are currently out side my room, sodden, they stink and sadly are most probably ruined!  But the adventure was worth the ruination!

 If you want to try and see the route on Google click here > San Agustín Chahal, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala ....... basically you will befollowing the road from San Agustin (Seamay) in a south easterly general direction, you get the idea of the remoteness!

But a great day courtesy of my friend Marvin .... muchas gracias!