Last Monday, I left Huehuetenango and chicken bussed it to Todos Santos ... a small indigenous village in the Cuchumatanes Mountains, the highest in central America.
The road to get here ascends 1000m (3300 ft) up a windy scenic road before plunging into the valley on the other side where Todos Santos sits surrounded by huge mountain peaks. Although it´s only about a 25 mile trip, it took 2 1/2 hours! The road is rough, the views are amazing, and once I got here, I took almost 130 pictures ... mostly of the scenery and none of them do this place justice. You need to see it for yourself. This village is populated by native Mayan Indians and was brutally terrorized by the Guatemalan military in the 80´s during the civil war.
The people here, however, are the friendliest I´ve met so far. It is almost impossible to walk by someone with out them saying hello, especially the kids who will literally chase you down just to say "Hola". I spent a lot of time hiking in the mountains and hanging out with the few Gringos that are here. Since I left Xela, I have pretty much been the only white person anywhere, which is weird. Today (Friday), I missed the last bus back to Huehue so I walked a short distance up the road out of town and stuck out my thumb ... 5 minutes later, I had a ride with the owner of the Todos Santos bakery who was headed to town to refill the propane gas tanks that power the ovens.
Once I arrived in Huehue, I jumped on another bus to Xela. Tomorrow, the spanish school I attended is renting a van to go to Monterrico ... Guatemala´s finest beach (which isn´t saying much actually). By taking the van, it saves me some time and aggravation by avoiding 4 chicken bus changes to get to the border of El Salvador, my next destination.