RO: Daca in primul articol despre Guatemala ne povesteau despre Antigua si Xela, ei bine, in cel de-al doilea, Mihai si Emi ne spun totul despre urcarea pe varful Tajumulco si toate experientele impresionante traite. Recunoastem, ne fac pofta sa vrem sa vedem Guatemala cat de curand! 

EN: In the first article about Guatemala our friends Mihai and Emi were talking about Antigua and Xela, but now, in this second one, they tell us everything about hiking Tajumulco peak and all the experience they had in that trip. We have to admit that they tempt us to go to Guatemala pretty soon!  

*** EPISODE 2 ***

RO: A doua zi, am incercat sa mai rezolvam din problemele organizatorice si ne-am mai invartit prin oras, dupa ce ne-am si facut o rezervare la Xela Adventures, pentru urcarea pe Tajumulco unde avea sa ne insoteasca si o nemtoaica, Sam. In dimineata urmatoare am fost luati de la hotel si dusi la sediu unde ne-au dat echipamentul necesar pentru urcarea pe munte, inclusiv geci groase de iarna, manusi si caciuli. Ghidul nostru, Carlos, se uita la mine si ma intreba daca ce aveam pe mine e singura pereche de trening pe care o iau pe munte. Raspunzandu-i ca da, a incercat sa imi sugereze ca sus, la 4000m, noaptea e foarte frig. Bineinteles eu, ingamfat, i-am zis ca mie unu’ nu imi e niciodata frig la picioare si pentru mine nici notiunea de colanti purtati sub echipamentul de schi nu exista. “Ok, amigo“. Dupa ce realizam cate lucruri urma sa caram dupa noi si ingrijorati fiind ca nu vom face fata urcarii la altitudini mai mari de 3000 m cu ditamai bagajele in carca (noi neavand experienta montana) decidem sa inchiriam si un animal de povara. Am plecat de la sediu cu masina si ne-am dus la terminal-ul de bus-uri, de unde am luat un chicken bus. Sam, nemtoaica, cam nedumerita asupra acestui “tour“. Pentru ea era prima oara cu chicken bus-ul si ramasese cam perplexa. Ambele autobuze pe care le-am luat au fost mai pline decat cele pana in Xela asa ca puteam sa ne amuzam in liniste si de localnici si de nemtoaica care nu prea intelegea ce era cu haosul acela si care din cand se uita putin cam speriata inspre noi 🙂

EN: Next day we tried some of the administrative issues and wandered around the town, after that we booked a trip at Xela Adventures for hiking the Tajumulco volcano, where a German girl, Sam would also join us. Next morning we were picked up from the hotel and taken to the office to get the appropriate equipment for climbing the mountain, including winter coats, gloves and hats. Our guide, Carlos, was checking up on me and asked me if that’s my only pair of trousers for the day. I confirmed him and then he tried to suggest me that up at 4000m it gets really cold during nighttime. Of course, perky as usual, I told him that I am never cold and that I never wear leggings underneath my ski equipment. “Ok, amigo”. We realize how many things we have to carry and worried that we won’t cope with the high altitude (more than 3000m) and tons of luggage, we decide to rent a pack animal. We left the office by car and went to a bus terminal, from where we got into a chicken bus. Sam, the German girl, was a bit confused by this “tour”. It was her first experience with a chicken bus and she was quite shocked. Both buses that we have taken were even more crowded that the one to Xela so we quietly enjoyed the locals and the German girl that did not understand what was all that chaos and was looking a bit frightened towards us.

RO: Ajunsi la baza urcarii (2800m) ne pornim si dupa putin timp, trecem in fata unui grup destul de galagios. Trebuie sa spun cateva cuvinte despre ghidul nostru, Carlos. Era si el maruntel ca restul, bine legat (toti au o forta uriasa fata de statura lor). Omul ghida turisti inecati, de vreo 15 ani pe cam toate varfurile din Guatemala. Se lauda ca urca muntele in maxim o ora jumate daca nu are rucsac , si cinstit vazandu-l cat de agil era, il cred. Ne povesti ca marea problema a celorlaltor tururi e ca folosesc voluntari . Adica europeni cu impresii de oameni de munte, care au urcat de 3-4 ori pana in varf si acum sunt lasati sa ii conduca pe altii. “Mare greseala , o sa ii vezi cat de pregatiti sunt de munte de fapt. Adu-ti aminte de ce iti zic cand o sa ii vezi in tabara si in ascensiunea spre varf“. Carlos ne-a impus un pas destul de alert. Nemtoaica, hai sa ii zicem pe nume, Sam, nu prea facea fata, si cand am ajuns pe la vreo 3400 incepuse sa aiba dureri de cap de la altitudine. Noi nu aveam nimic, dar am decis sa facem o pauza si sa mancam ceva scurt cat se intrema ea. Ne-am scos batoanele proteice, Carlos si-a scos sendvis-ul cu sunca si branza, si Sam, sfarsita, gafaind, a cerut si ea gustarea ei… doua rosii… era vegetariana. Stapanirea necesara pentru a nu rade niciunul din noi 3 a fost greu de ascuns, dar la un moment dat nu am mai putut sa ne abtinem. Saraca, sleita de puteri, incerca sa faca rost de forte noi mancand… rosii. I-am oferit din mancarea noastra asigurand-o ca nu fusese atinsa de carne, dar a zis ca nu e nevoie. Dupa o pauza de vreo 20 minute am continuat drumul, avand niste privelisti uimitoare pe partea dreapta asupra intregii Guatemale – dupa cum sustinea Carlos 🙂

EN: Once we got at the base camp (2800m) we started hiking and soon we passed by a noisy group of tourists. Now let me tell you a few words about our guide, Carlos.  He was short as the rest of Guatemalan people, but with a good physical condition (they all have an incredible force compared to their height). This guy as guiding tourists on all Guatemala peaks for 15 years. He was bragging that he can hike the mountain in maximum 1,5 hours with no backpack and honestly, seeing how skilful he was. I do believe him. He told us that the biggest problem of the other tours is the fact that they are using volunteers. Meaning European guys that consider themselves mountaineers, have climbing the mountain three of four times and now they are allowed to lead others. “Big mistake, you’ll see how well prepared for the mountain they are. Just remember what I’m telling you now when you’ll see them at the base camp and ascending up to the top”. Carlos has set quite a fast walking pace. The German girl, Sam, was not coping too well and when we got to 3400m she started to have headaches from the altitude. We were feeling fine, but we decided o have a break and eat something while she was recovering. We started eating our protein bars, Carlos was eating his cheese and ham sandwich and Sam, left out of powers, huffing and puffing started to eat some… tomatoes. She was vegetarian. We could barely help laughing but at some point we could no longer resist. Poor her, completely out of strenght she was trying to recover eating tomatoes. We offered our food, assuring her that it was never touched by meat, but said that is not necessary. After a 20 minutes break we continued our hike, having some amazing views of the entire Guatemala on our right part – as Carlos kept telling us 🙂



RO: Pauzele au inceput sa fie din ce in ce mai dese deoarece Sam inainta din ce in ce mai greu, dar tot am reusit un timp decent, ajungand chiar, spre satisfactia lui Carlos, primii in base camp. Aici am avut ocazia sa ne alegem noi locul unde sa punem cortul. Intre timp ni s-a alaturat si Justo, un localnic de 27 ani care stia mai bine decat Carlos muntele si care era stapanul magarului care ne carase bagajele. Ne-am facut tabara si Carlos m-a trimis pe mine si pe Justo dupa lemne. Dupa vreo 30 minute ne-am intors cu destule lemne cat sa ne tina pana dimineata, si Carlos scosese niste paine, sunca, branza si legume pentru o mica gustare. Au aparut si cei la la Quetzal Trekkers (voluntarii) cu un grup destul de mare de oameni care au inceput imediat sa faca galagie spre nemultumirea lui Carlos si a noastra.

EN: Our breaks started to be more and more often as Sam was barely going forward, but we managed to reach the base camp in a fairly decent time, to Carlos’s satisfaction. Here we could choose the place where to install our tent. Meanwhile, Justo, a 27 years old local joined us, and he actually knew the mountain better than Carlos – he has the owner of the donkey that carried our luggage. We set up our camp and Carlos sent me and Justo to find firewood. After 30 minutes we came back with enough firewood to get us through the night and Carlos prepared some bread, ham, cheese and vegetables for a small snack. After that, the Quetzal Trekkers (the volunteers) have arrived with a pretty large group of people that have soon became noisy, disturbing us and Carlos. 

RO: Din pacate timpul trecea si se lasa o ceata din ce in ce mai deasa asta incurcandu-ne planurile de a privi apusul de la inaltime. Justo imi spune insa ca nu e nicio problema, ca o sa se lase ceata mai pe la 4, si o sa mergem pe un varf ceva mai apropiat sa vedem apusul. Asa a si fost am plecat primii din tabara, cat inca era ceata, si am ajuns sus unde efectiv am ramas toti fara cuvinte. O priveliste care iti taia rasuflarea. Eram deasupra norilor si ii vedeam exact ca in avion. 50 minute mai tarziu a aparut si satra galagioasa. Se prinsesera si ei ca plecasem si se luasera dupa noi. Am coborat in base camp dupa apus, ultimii (Carlos stia drumul si pe intuneric) si ne-am asezat in jurul focului. Din cele 4 grupuri, noi eram singurii care mai aveau foc. Restul cam inghetau de frig. Pe deasupra, Carlos s-a apucat sa ne pregateasca si o portie de paste destul de consistenta, alt plus, ceilalti mancasera pe la pranz niste sendvis-uri reci, si acum rontaiau la snickers. “V-am zis ca astia nu sunt buni de nimic!”. Justo mustacea si el 🙂

EN: Unfortunately as the time was passing a thick fog started to appear and we realized that it will be impossible for us to see the sunset. Justo told us that this should not be a problem, as the fog will start to disappear around 4, and we’ll go on a nearby peak to see the sunset. That’s exactly what has happened, we left the camp while it was still foggy and got up on the mountain where we were simply speechless. A breathtaking view. We were above the clouds and were seeing a view exactly as the one from the airplane. 50 minutes later the noisy group has arrived. They saw us leaving and decided to follow us. We were back in the base camp after sunset (Carlos knew the path even during night time) and we gathered around the fire. From all the four groups, we were the only ones still having a fire. The rest were quite freezing. In addition, Carlos prepared us a generous portion of pasta, the rest of the groups only ate some cold sandwiches at lunch and now just a few snacks. “Told you that these people know nothing!”. Justo was also smiling 🙂 

RO: Ne-am pregatit de culcare nu inainte sa apuc sa trag niste cadre cu Calea Lactee peste varful Tajumulco. Era 8 seara si ne-am bagat in pat. Trezirea urma sa o dam la 4 si un sfert pentru a incepe ascensiunea pe varful Tajumulco si a prinde rasaritul de sus.
Initial tupeist, ma bag in sacul de dormit si raman doar in hanorac si pantaloni. Hai ca se face nitel mai frig, trag si geaca pe mine. Ma uit la ceas, era abia 9 . Ma gandesc cu groaza ca frigul inca nici nu a apucat sa se instaleze si regret acum amarnic ca m-am dat viteaz in fata lui Carlos cand a incercat sa imi sugereze ca n-ar strica sa am un trening de rezerva. In cort mai eram cu Emi si cu Sam. De la ele nu se auzea nimic. O sa fac tot posibilul sa nu le deranjez acum si sa mai indur nitel. Ma pun pe o parte si incerc sa imi reglez temperatura. Ce sa reglez , ca imi era FRIG domne’ si mai stateam intins si pe pietre parca. Trag si un hanorac peste picioare doar doar m-oi incalzi. Cateva ore mai tarziu ma uit la ceas in speranta ca era dimineata si ce sa vad.. era abia 11. Long story short nu am inchis un ochi toata noaptea de frig si oase intepenite de la pamantul tare. Cand Carlos a dat trezirea, la 4, m-am ridicat si le-am intrebat pe fete cum au dormit. Ce sa doarma, ca amandoua statusera pe intuneric, in frig, asteptand sa se faca odata dimineata. Ele trecusera prin aceeasi experienta ca mine dar niciunul nu a zis pas ca sa nu ii deranjeze pe ceilalti. Nedormiti, infrigurati si buimaciti de bezna de afara am iesit din cort unde ne astepta vesnicul vesel, Carlos.

EN: Before going to sleep I managed to photograp the Mily Way over Tajumulco peak. It was 8 PM and went to bed. We wanted to wake up at 4:15 to start hiking Tajumulco and see the sunrise from above. Very confident in the first place, I went into the sleeping bag dressed in my sweatshirt and trousers. It seemed to get colder and colder so I put my jacket on me as well. Looking at the clock, it was barely 9. I start to panic thinking that the cold is not even set and I regret that I ignored Carlos when he advised me to get some more clothes. I was staying with Emi and Sam in the tent and I was not hearing anything from their side. I tried not to disturb them and bear the cold as long as possible, I turn around and try to adjust my temperature. Ha, what was there to adjust, I was simply freezing to death and on top of that it seemed like sleeping on rocks. I added another sweatshirt over my feet hoping to warm up. A couple of hours later I check my clock hoping it was already morning but… it was just 11. Long story short I couldn’t sleep all night due to the cold and my stiff bones from the hard ground. When Carlos woke us all, at 4 AM, I woke up and asked the girls how did they sleep. Not a chance of sleeping for them either, they were both awake in the the dark and cold, waiting for daybreak. They had exactly the same experience as I did but none of us said anything because we didn’t want to disturb the others. Sleepless, pinched with cold and dismayed from all that darkness we got out of our tent where our cheerful guide Carlos was waiting for us.  

RO: Am pornit spre varf. Sam se simtea destul de rau asa ca ne-am oprit cam la fiecare 5 minute. Intre timp ne uitam in sus. “Uite-te la ei , habar n-au pe unde sa o ia. O iau pur si simplu drept, in speranta ca vor ajunge in varf“. Intr-adevar, vedeam frontalele oamenilor din celelalte grupuri. Erau imprastiate pe tot versantul. Am ajuns sus, unde fiind inca semi-intuneric nu puteam distinge prea multe lucruri. Cam la vreo 20 minute apar si restul grupurilor, destul de terminati. Plecasera inaintea noastra… Rasaritul ne-a lasat masca. Am stat toti patru (Justo ramasese jos in tabara sa aprinda focul si sa ne faca ceva de mancare) inmarmuriti, uitandu-ne la soarele care rasarea dupa niste munti din departare. Carlos ne-a chemat si ne-a aratat si umbra varfului, conturata pe alt munte de la vest.

EN: We headed towards the peak. Sam was feeling quite bad so we had to stop every 5 minutes. Meanwhile, we were looking at he volunteers. “Just look at them, they have no idea what is the road. They simply go straight hoping to get to the top”. Indeed, we could see the lanterns of the people from the other groups. They were scattered all over the versant. We got up to the top where we couldn’t see much due to the darkness. After 20 minutes the rest of the groups also arrived, quite exhausted. They left before us… Sunrise left us speechless. All four of us were mesmerized (Justo remained at the camp to light the fire and prepare something to eat), just looking at the sun that was rising from behind some mountains at the distance. Carlos called us and showed us the shade of the wind, nicely contoured on a mountain from the west. 




RO: Drumul de intoarcere a fost mai linistit, am putut sa povestim de toate cu Carlos. Ne-am mai dat drumul la limba dupa ce ne vorbise numai in spaniola pana atunci. Legandu-ne acum o camaraderie, l-am intrebat cum vede el prezentul si viitorul Guatemalei. Putin intristat, mi-a raspuns ca nu prea vesel. Ajunsi la baza muntelui si asteptand autobuzul de plecare, m-a luat deoparte si mi-a aratat intr-un magazin alaturat urme de gloante.
– Astea sunt de doua saptamani. Sapte morti. patru localnici, doi politisti si un trecator.
– De ce s-au impuscat?
– Pentru apa. Exista doar un mic izvor pentru patru sate. Se omoara pentru apa… Statul nu face nimic. Si oamenii sunt prea saraci sa sape puturi. Mai ales ca 80% din ele sunt sapate degeaba pentru ca nu dau de apa. Uite gloante si in casa de peste drum , alea sunt mai vechi, de vreo doua luni.
Am ramas blocat, nu prea stiam ce sa zic. Dar Carlos si-a reluat mina de om genuin vesel.
– Dar uite-te in jur ce frumos e. Moartea vine peste toti, cand vrea Dumnezeu, dar pana atunci ne-a dat asta sa ne minunam, si arata spre vaile si muntii din jur. Se uita la Justo care imi confirma dand din cap.

EN: The way back was easier, so we could talk nineteen to the dozen with Carlos. We practiced our Spanish pretty well after talking only in Spanish until then. Now being quite closed, we asked him how does he sees the future of Guatemala. Sadly, he told me that not very bright. At the base of the mountain we were waiting for the bus and he showed me some bullet holes in a nearby shop. 
– These are from two weeks ago. Seven dead people, four locals, two cops and one passer by. 
– Why the shooting?
– They fought for water. There is just a tiny spring for four villages. They just kill for water… The government does nothing. And people are way too poor to dig for water wells. And 80% of them are made for nothing because there is no water. Just look at the house across the road, those are also bullet holes, from two months ago. 
I was shocked, I didn’t know what to say. But Carlos returned to his genuine cheerfulness. 
– But just look around, how beautiful everything is. Death will reach us all when God will want so, but until then He gave us this to marvel at, and he shoes me the valleys and the surroundign mountains. He looks at Justo and he also confirms by shacking his head. 

RO: Autobuzul nu mai venea, asa ca il vad la un moment dat pe Carlos oprind brusc o camioneta zicandu-ne sa urcam in spate. Camioneta nu era acoperita, avea doar o sfoara pe margini de care trebuia sa te tii ca sa nu fi proiectat afara din masina atunci cand dadeai peste o groapa. Prea avea incredere Carlos ca sa nu ne urcam. M-am uitat la Emi si la Sam si am sarit in masina. Si ele dupa mine. Ne luaram la revedere de la Justo care traia in satucul acela. Mai eram cu inca 3 persoane in portbagajul pick-up-ului. Am continuat discutia asupra tarii. Mi-a zis ca inainte oamenii locului castigau bani din vanzarea de opiu. “La noi nimeni nu ia droguri, toti stim cat rau face, dar din altceva oamenii de aici nu aveau cum sa traiasca. Acum principala lor sursa de venit s-a dus, o data ce guvernul a pus politia pe ei. Dar uite acolo, alea nu sunt flori normale, ala e mac! S-au mai potolit autoritatile acum, dar tot nu mai e cum era inainte. Politia e ocupata acum cu alte treburi.”

EN: The bus was getting late, so at some point I see Carlos stopping a truck on the road and asking us to go in the back of it. The truck was not covered, it only had some strings on the edges which we had to hold on so that we wouldn’t be thrown away when going through a pothole. But Carlos seemed to trust this truck so we had to listen to him. I looked at Emi and Sam and then jumped into the car. And them after me. We said goodbye to Justo who was living in that village. There were three other persons in the trunk of the car. We continued our discussion about the country. He told me that some time ago people were earning money from selling opium. “Here, nobody takes drugs, we all know how bad they are, but that’s what people lived from here. Now their bread and butter is gone, once the government put the police to check them up. But look there, those are not normal flowers, that is poppy flower. The authorities are better now, but still not as it was before. The police is now busy with other problems.”

RO: Emi imi zisese ceva mai devreme ca in Guatemala sunt aproximativ 30.000 de politisti si 100.000 de agenti de paza. Agenti de paza care in unele cazuri nici nu pareau sa aiba 18 ani dar care aveau in mana un shotgun sau o mitraliera. Politistii nu mai faceau de mult fata valului de probleme ale tarii.
– Si oamenii nu fac nimic sa ii ajute?
– Ba da, acum vreo jumatate de an prin satul prin care urmeaza sa trecem doi indivizi au incercat sa violeze o fata. Satenii i-au prins insa, si le-au dat foc.
Am ramas paf in fata naturaletii cu care a zis-o, am crezut ca nu am inteles bine.
– Cum adica?
– Adica i-au prins, au turnat benzina pe ei si le-au dat foc.
Amandoi am ramas muti. Am inceput sa ma gandesc pentru cateva secunde la situatia generala a tarii. Nu aveam voie de fapt sa comentez. Scara violentei este mult deviata fata de a noastra. Oamenii astia sunt cu adevarat disperati. In Europa noi incercam sa ne gasim probleme modului in care traim, le inventam practic. Ei chiar le au, si le au la extrem. Si totusi toti sunt de o veselie covarsitoare incercand sa vada numai partile bune ale vietii lor.

EN: Emi told me that in Guatemala there are approximately 30.000 police men and 100.000 guards. Guards that sometimes seemed to be younger than 18 years but had a shotgun in their hands. Police was no longer coping with all the country’s problems. 
– And people do nothing to help them?
– Well yes they do, several months ago they tried to rape a girl in the village that we are reaching now. The villagers caught them and burnt them al. 
I was simply shocked seeing how normal everything seemed for him, I thought that I did not understand him correctly.
– What do you mean?
–  They caught them, threw gasoline on them and burn them.
We were both thunder stricken. I’ve started to think about the general situation of the country. I could not comment. The violence scale was so much different of ours. These people are truly desperate. In Europe we try to find problems in our way of living, we basically invent them. But they really have these problems, and they are taken to extreme limits. However, they are all so cheerful trying to see only the good parts of their lives. 

RO: I-am raspuns ca desi nu sunt de acord cu modul asta de procedare il inteleg, si sper ca in viitor totusi sa nu mai fie nevoie de astfel de metode. Mi-a zambit si m-a intrebat cum sunt conducatorii la noi in tara.
– Din ce am inteles cam ca la voi, analfabeti functionali, oameni care arata o rautate naturala fata de popor si care nu au in cap satisfacerea nevoilor lor. Este un trend general, nu numai la noi ci in intreaga lume asa-zis civilizata.
Asta l-a amuzat nitel.
– Noi ne-am bagat fostul presedinte si fostul prim ministru in puscarie, si astuia de acum ii sunt zilele numarate, a mustacit el uitandu-se la ceilalti trei guatemalezi din masina, care au dat din cap afirmativ.
– Noi doar un fost prim ministru si cativa ministrii, inca asteptam sa intre si un presedinte dupa gratii.
Au inceput toti sa rada cu pofta si am ras si noi de rasul lor.

EN: I told him that even though I do not agree with this kind of behavior, I do understand it and hope that in the near future this will no longer be needed. He smiled to me and asked me how are our leaders in our country. 
– From what I know, same as here, functional illiterates, simply mean to their people and thinking only on satisfying their own needs. That’s a general trend, not only here in Guatemala but also everywhere in the so called civilized world. 
That cheered him up a little bit. 
– We put our former president and prime minister in jail, and the one leading now will probably have the same faith, he smiled looking at the other three Guatemalans from the car, who approved his words. 
– We did that with a formed prime minister and several others, we are now waiting for a former president to be put in jail. 
They all started to laugh and we also laughed hearing them.

RO:
– Auzi Carlos, familia ta ce face?
Pentru prima oara am putut sa vad cu adevarat durere in ochii lui. O durere profunda
– E o poveste trista omule, am divortat de sotia mea acum vreo 4 ani, si fiul mi-a murit intr-un accident acum doi ani.
Au urmat cateva momente de tacere in masina. Nimeni nu stia ce sa mai zica.
Primul care a rupt tacerea a fost tot el.
– Vezi tu, din cauza asta, si din cauza rautatilor unor oameni, imi vine sa imi fac o casuta in munte si sa nu mai cobor decat pentru cele necesare.
– M-as bucura foarte mult Carlos daca ti-ai putea indeplini acest vis. Pana atunci insa hai sa vedem cum facem sa nu zburam din masina asta.
A ras cu pofta si a tipat la sofer sa mearga ceva mai incet cand da peste gropi.
Atmosfera s-a destins din nou, am discutat mai departe de Guatemala si minuntatiile ei, si de ce locuri am mai vazut noi.
Din truck am coborat intr-un terminal de bus-uri, am luat unul mai departe spre Xela unde Carlos ne-a lasat aproape de cazare. Ne-am despartit de minunatul Carlos care ne-a aratat ce inseamna cu adevarat sa fii guatemalez si cum ar trebui sa treci peste micile/marile probleme si sa iti vezi in continuare de viata oricat de tare ar da ea cu tine de toti peretii.
– Mihai ai doar o viata, traieste-o, d-aia ti-a dat-o Dumnezeu !
– Asa voi face, Carlos! Salut omule!
La cazare ne-am tolanit pe pat si am stat asa cateva minute rumegand experienta acestui munte si acestui om.

EN: 
– Hey Carlos, how’s your family doing? 
For the first time I could see real pain in his eyes. 
– It’s a sad story man, I divorced 4 years ago and my son died in an accident two years ago.
For several minutes no one dared to speak in the car. Nobody knew what else to add.
The first one who talk was also Carlos.
– You see, because of this and because of people’s malice I would like to build a house in the mountains and only come down for basic needs.
– I would really be happy for you Carlos if you could fulfill this dream. Until then, let’s see what we can do to stay in this car and not fly over the strings.
He had a really good laugh and screamed to the driver to slow down when passing over potholes.
Things were back to normal and we continued talking about Guatemala and its gorgeous places.
We got off the truck in a bus terminal, we got another bus heading to Xela where Carlos left us close to our accommodation. We said goodbye to Carlos who showed us what is like to be a real Guatemalan and how could someone go through all the problems and keep going on and on no matter how hard life could be.
– Mihai, you only have one life, live it properly, that’s why God gave you this life!
– That’s what I will do, Carlos! Cheers, man!
At the hotel we layd on the bed and stayed like that for a couple of minutes thinking about the experience of this man and mountain.