Tuesday, June 9 - This morning, we are scheduled to meet our driver at 9 AM. We got up at 7:30 and headed downstairs for the continental breakfast. The Biltmore Express had a few tables and chairs set up very close together, making it a little tough to get through to the buffet. We managed to get coffee. I saw bread and cold cuts, and gathered the makings of a ham and cheese sandwich. I also had some pineapple and an orange juice. Sheree had a snack bar and orange juice along with her coffee. We checked out and sat down to wait for our driver, who arrived early in a Mitsubishi SUV. We learned his name is Sergio, and we loaded-up the SUV. Sergio turned out to speak perfect English, which gave us a bit of relief as we were not guaranteed an English-speaking driver.
We told Sergio that before heading out of Guatemala City we would like to hit an ATM, and stop to load up on water, and, if possible get a few nighttime beverages. Sergio asked the desk to point him to a nearby ATM, and we learned that the ATM is at the Westin, around the corner. After getting some Quetzals, we headed to the supermarket, which, it turned out, is a Central American division of Walmart. We were able to get water, beer, wine, Coke, and even a bottle of rum. But, they did not have any ice chests available. Sergio seemed reasonably certain we could find another store with a cooler.
We headed to the ruins at Mixco Viejo. On the way to Mixco Viejo we passed through the Guatemala City suburb of Mixco. In Mixco, we found an Ace Hardware store that had coolers. The prices were high, but a six-pack size cooler set us back about $10. We picked up two and we headed out to Mixco Viejo.
The road to Mixco Viejo seemed long, but beautiful, up and down mountains and around switchbacks and through villages. We were quickly reminded that distances in Central America couldn't be covered as quickly as they can be in the U.S. We saw many women dressed in traditional Mayan clothing. Just as the ride seems to be too long we arrive at Mixco Viejo.
Mixco Viejo is amazing. We have seen nearly all of the "major" Mayan sites in Latin America - Chichen Itza, Tulum, Palenque, Tikal, Copan, etc. This site has no one incredible photogenic feature, but the setting is incredible. Mixco Viejo is a mountaintop fortress. I am reminded of photos of Masada. The cliff around the site drops off at least 500 feet to the valley below. The site appears to occupy about ¾ of a linear mile on the mountaintops.
Sergio pointed us in the direction of the ruins, and we were off on our own. Only one other small group was at the site. They were also Americans. We crossed paths with them a couple times, but we were virtually alone. We spent about 1 ½ to 2 hours at the site, and we hiked back to Sergio and the SUV.
It was a fairly cloud free day, and the heat and humidity had me sweating through my shirt. I found I had to take my time when hiking up the hills, and I was already thinking about our volcano hike next week. I hoped that guide would let me take my good old time as we try to climb San Pedro.
When we arrived back to the SUV, we found that we were parked in by some repairmen. But, Sergio had been chatting with them, and when we were ready to leave, after having downed a bottle of water, Sergio asked them to move and we were on the road.
Sergio was excited because the repairmen told him of a beautiful sugarcane plantation and museum that we could visit in the direction we were headed. It sounded worth looking into. Sheree and I were both ready for lunch, and we assumed Sergio was heading to a restaurant. We were wrong. Sergio had planned a route to have us avoid Guatemala City on the way to our hotel. What an adventure that was!
For the next several hours, we traveled on roads that went from excellent highway, to areas partially blocked by landslides to areas that were totally washed out. Now we saw why we needed the SUV for this part of the trip. We traveled across two stream bed crossings and over a beautiful bridge spanning the Rio Negro. We eventually arrived in Salama. It was about 3:30 and we were beyond hungry.
In Salama, Sergio took us to a Pollo Campero. We had wanted to try Pollo Campero on our last trip, but as the meals were all included, we never had the chance. Pollo Campero was fine. It also had Wi-Fi, and we were able to use our iPod Touch to send Brendan an email. After Pollo Campero, it was too late to visit the sugar plantation, so we headed off to the hotel.
Sergio made a wrong turn on the way to the hotel, but checked his itinerary and turned around to head toward the correct mile marker. We got stopped at a construction zone, but eventually made it to the Hotel Ram Tzul on the road to Coban in the Department of Baja Verapaz.
Ram Tzul has a beautiful lobby. The main lobby/restaurant/bar building is a giant bamboo lodge. The rooms are separate cabins. We were away from heavily populated areas. There is no TV in the rooms. There is also no A/C and no ceiling fan, and it is very warm. But, we were told, at this altitude it will cool down very quickly.
We enjoyed our dinner at the hotel. I have something called Bell Creole, a chicken breast will red bell pepper, pineapple, banana slices and bacon. The combination seemed a bit strange, but the flavors were great. The soup was also excellent - a yellow vegetable soup that reminded me of acorn squash. There was no black pepper on the table. Instead we were given a red, roasted, dried pepper as a condiment. The chili pepper really added some zing to the soup.
Sheree had Cak-Ick, the local turkey stew that is a specialty of this region. It was a feast for one, with fried turkey pieces, along with a spicy broth, and a selection of vegetables. Sheree could not finish it, and she let me have some. It was excellent.
We never did buy ice for those two coolers. I asked for ice, but the hotel did not have much. They gave me a couple pieces, which I was able to use to cool a Diet Pepsi. When it cooled off, I poured equal amounts of Diet Pepsi and 5-year old Botran Rum into a glass to make a diet Cuba Libre.
It did cool off, and the rain started up. It rained heavily. We had planned a hike on the hotel premises for the morning, to visit a waterfall. We realized that we might have to reconsider if the rain keeps up.
Adventure Life is always an excellent choice when planning complicated, extreme, or exotic vacations or expeditions. They provide friendly professional services and advice and are enthusiastic and encouraging in helping us to prepare and thoroughly enjoy our trip. They handle all the details which greatly reduces the stress of planning a difficult trip. I'm very impressed with Adventure Life and definitely recommend them to friends and family.
Scott Trochim
2 days ago
The response from Adventure Life to my first inquiry was prompt and promising. I worked with Jamie Broeckel, Trip Planner, via text, email, and phone calls- always extremely responsive and thorough with information and explaining the process to arrange a private tour for me to Malaysia Borneo. Within about week, the booking was complete and I made decisions because of Jamie's great customer service , friendly manner, and overall competence on behalf of the company's travel expertise. Now I have an itinerary, additional Trip Planner Assistants, several links for vital information for traveling to Maylasia, etc. Still many details for Sept. trip, but now the heavy lifting is done and I can enjoy the rest of the anticipation and research!! Thanks Jamie- you are amazing!!!!
Susan Campo
4 days ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
5 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.