Guatemala 2018

Saturday10November

Waking up at the Estancia de la Virgen hotel where dinosaurs came to cool off by the pool... 

Our small room.

We are going to leave Chisec, but before that, we will withdraw money from the ATM. A huge queue stretches along the bank wall. It's Saturday, probably the best day for customers to make administrative requests or other things. Online banking is surely not one of the privileges of Guatemalans in 2018."According to a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 83% of Guatemalans lived in poverty or extreme poverty in 2017" © Wikipedia

Right next door, the market is in full swing, huipiles and cowboy hats cross and re-cross under the stalls' umbrellas.

To the hustle and bustle of onlookers wandering through the market are added the shrill cries of wild boars letting it be known that they hadn't asked to be there...  

Here are some well-tied wild boars whose only option is to conspicuously squeal their discontent...

We leave Chisec to reach the city of Flores late in the evening. We don't take the most direct route because we want to pass by Laguna Lachua, a large nature reserve magnified by its lagoon... So here we are at the entrance to the jungle of Laguna Lachua where two reptiles mischievously welcome us...  

We came here thinking the parking lot was right next to the Lagoon... We were sorely mistaken, it will take us more than an hour and a half to reach the swimming spot! The vegetation is lush and the humid heat is not to be outdone... This gives us a foretaste of the 5 days of trekking that await us soon... 

After an hour's walk, a pontoon extends its arms to us, but it's not the final destination. A good opportunity to take a break nonetheless...

My eye will be less drawn to the expanse of water than to this magnificent butterfly that came to show off in front of my lens... This superb orange lepidopteran is a Julia butterfly (Dryas iulia).

Come on, another 2 kilometers to fully enjoy the lagoon that's making us wait...

That's it, we're here! The water is translucent, the setting superb, the temperature excellent! Without a second thought, I put on my swim shorts to quickly splash around in the green waters of the lagoon.

But time is running out! And we are expected tonight in Flores. So it will only be a short fifteen minutes of splashing around that I'll get... We resume our 90-minute walk back to the car... Hard life on vacation!  

The famous Psychotria elata in the shape of lips.

A lizard Holcosus festivus.

We've been driving for 3 hours and are only an hour from Flores where we need to meet the Carmelita community office, who are waiting for us to settle the trek we're supposed to start tomorrow... But here's the thing, we have to cross this river via a ferry, and there's a serious traffic jam...

We are approaching the river, but there is only a small ferry that can transport about ten cars. It's not moving very fast...

When our turn comes, we regain hope, we've been waiting for an hour but we're still on time. But... Of course... the ferry breaks down!   Finally, we'll cross an hour later, and arrive too late in Flores... Never mind, we arrange via WhatsApp and postpone the trek's departure by 24 hours... Phew!