Yesterday, I jumped off a cliff, over a waterfall, and into a fast flowing river. And oh, yeah, this was inside a cave in the middle of the jungle.
But first, I digress.
The day before, Jen and I caught a north-bound chicken bus. According to our guidebooks and what we could gleam by talking to people at the hostel, there were about five different buses at different times heading north up the only highway. We stumbled up to the dusty main street about a half hour before the bus we were planning on taking arrived. A man, eying our full packs, approached us and asked us where we were going.
“North,” we replied, not really knowing how to describe where our next stop would be.
He pointed to a completely full bus idling on the street. “That is the one you want,” he told us and walked with us over to the bus. We threw our packs in a compartment in the back and got on through the front doors. The bus was packed, in the usual Guatemalan style, with at least three times more people than there was seats. However, as we got on, a man offered his seat to Jen. I stood for the next few hours, leaning into the other men standing in front of me as we go up and down hills.
Twice, the bus is pulled over at a military checkpoint and all of the men are ordered off. I followed them and we waited outside while soldiers board the bus and search it. The soldiers, who are young men, boys really, carried large rifles and had important but somewhat bored expressions on their faces. Jen, who remained on board, later tells me that the squeeze the bags and look under a few seats. After about ten minutes, we are allowed to get back on and the bus continued on its way.
We asked the bus driver to let us off at the Finca Ixobel turnoff and the bus rumbled to a stop a few miles south of the town of Poptùn. We saw a sign that indicates the Finca is a good 5km down a dirt road. As the bus pulled away, we noticed another figure standing along the side of a highway. He is dressed in baggy shorts, a t-shirt, and carries a small day pack.
The Finca Ixobel resembles nothings so much like a summer camp for backpackers and a independent travelers. The Finca (which means Ranch) occupies a large amount of land. In one huge clearing are a half a dozen "tree houses", little cabañas on stilts and while they are not literally in the trees that are at least at the same level.
To be continued...
