This past week I was sent on a mission to explore the departments of Alta Verapaz and Baja Verapaz The Vereapaces). Two popular areas for sending our Habitat volunteers for house constructions, these 2 departments (of Guatemala’s 22 in total, for those of you keeping score at home) are roughly a 4 hour (to Baja) and 5 hour (to Alta) drive north from Guatemala City.
My mission was clear: visit the Habitat for Humanity affiliate offices in each of these departments, learn more about their general practice in how they receive and manage volunteer teams, and explore the area for potential new hotels, restaurants, and activities for future volunteers. Yes, having my employer foot the bill for a mini-vacation to review areas previously unknown to me was exciting. I was eager to hit the road, try new foods, and sleep in comfy, new beds, all while carrying the heir of a VIP, travel critic. This was going to be great.
Central Park in Coban, Alta Verapaz
Without fail it was fantastic, although much more exhausting than I had imagined. Unsure of what minute detail might further serve fruitful for future Habitat employees or volunteers, I took painstakingly detailed notes on what lied within each nook and around every corner, so as to leave no stone unturned in my exploration. Ok, so I am guilty of a bit of embellishment, but noting where future visitors to Coban - the capital of Alta Verapaz - can find the nearest ATM, for example, is by no means irrelevant. Try spending a week with a group of volunteers for a week fresh from the US and you’ll hear infinitely more ridiculous inquiries that would boggle you’re mind and flip your idea of common sense on its head. But more on that in a future post….
I reached Alta Verapaz (which, as its name suggests, lies above its neighbor Baja Verapaz) first via a direct shuttle from Antigua. Not only because the cost was on the company dime, but making the trip via public transport will only save you ~Q70, but could potentially cost you an extra hour and some good old fashioned Central American frustration via ambiguous directions, late buses, and discomfort. If you plan on making the trip yourself I highly recommend a private shuttle from Antigua, which you can find for about Q140. Anyhow, I reached Coban and was immediately pleased to find myself in its relatively clean and tranquil environment as compared to Guatemala City.
Having grown tired of the dirty and hectic hustle & bustle of Guatemala City via occasional visits and thoroughfares to other locales, I was relieved by Alta Verapaz’s cleanliness and quieter way of life. Sure, things around the neighborhood tended to close around 8 and 9 PM, which makes it hard for it to earn a slot on my “Top Places to Spend the Rest of my Life” list, but for a guy looking for a simple get away and some down time, this was just the place.
My colleague took me around and showed me the ropes, which included a 1.5 hour motorcycle ride out to the town of Lanquin. Meeting one morning in the office in my usual attire of shorts, tshirt, and flip-flops, Rudy started asking me strange questions about whether I had a coat when we discussed our upcoming jaunt. Given the usual 75 degree weather and sunny skies outside that morning, I grew a bit worried as I started to catch on to what he was getting at. Sure enough Rudy tossed me a helmet, which meant we wouldn’t be blessed with the comfort of a car for this journey, but rather the painful reality of a motorcycle, and as he tossed me my headgear he was sure to remind me how cold it will be when it starts to rain. Great.
Cathedral in Lanquin's town center
Fortunately for us, the rains held off for the entirety of that trip, but unfortunately taking the backseat of the motorcycle was even less comfortable as I had imagined. Sure, I felt a bit like Gael Garcia Bernal/Ernesto Guevara in The Motorcycle Diaries (minus, of course, the dashing good looks and the imminent potential to become a world famous revolutionary like Ché), but it was hard to go more than 10 minutes on the back of that motorcycle without my body falling asleep from the waist down.
Whatever discomfort I felt was fortunately soothed by the gorgeous landscapes that surrounded me as we whipped through the mountain passes that dipped, bent, and wrapped all around the lush green hills of the Guatemala highlands. Never having been to Switzerland, I cannot confirm, but began to understand why my colleague was telling me that this hilly region was known as the “Switzerland of Central America.”
The hills of the Verapaces
Making our last 10 km descent on a mountain “road” that lowers you into the town of Lanquin, I was relieved to finally stretch my legs and honestly a bit surprised to still be in one piece upon reaching our destination. If I was at all anxious about cruising on the back of a motorcycle at 55 MPH around mountain passes (or 90 KMH, for my Metric System using fan base out there), those worries quickly dissipated as I faced more pressing fears nosediving down this half gravel/half dirt “road” that can only be described as akin to the Aggro Crag on Nickelodeon’s Guts. As my driver bobbed and weaved through large holes and ditches, jostling the moto’s handlebars as if he were handling a Nintendo controller racking up points in a game of Excitebike, I cringed around every turn, left with nothing more to do other than trust that my driver was making all the right moves. I felt like after conquering that descent without a bad spill I deserved a Gold Medal and a celebratory victory lap draped in the American flag around the track as seen at the conclusion of every Guts episode.
The Aggro Crag
Without more time explore beyond a hotel and lunch, I was unable to take advantage of the parks and other sites in the Lanquin area; however, judging from what I took in from simply looking around, I can tell these sites must be breathtaking a worth a return visit. In and near Lanquin one can visit caves, Guayaja Park for canopy tours and ziplining, as well as one of Guatemala’s top destination spots, Semuc Champey, which is a close 10 km away. Not worth “squeezing in” such a trip, we decided against making the extra trip to Semuc and instead I hope to return for a weekend when I can devote more time to exploring this gem.
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