Kuxleqel and Good Friday

After a good sleep in the roundhouse we met Carl for a hike up "his" volcano. He climbs Kuxleqel at least once a week, picks up garbage along the trail and plants trees with the local community. He lent Holly a mountain bike, which was better suited for the steep 10 km ride to a friend's house where we started the hike through a peaceful pine forest. We ambled up the trail along with Dan, another American living in Toto, and Margarita, one of the local indigenous women in Carl's education program, who is studying to be a teacher. The trail eventually steepened (as all roads and trails in Guatemala do!) to the discreet peak where we had beautiful views of the surrounding volcanos, including the perfectly conical Santa Maria. The return bike ride was pretty fun for Holly and less so for Karl, and resulted in the sad loss of his Sumo wrestler horn (given to him by our friend Vanessa, and one of the biggest hits with any kids we met along the road). We were invited to a Good Friday meal with Carl's wife's family, then wandered the streets to see the alfumbras prior to the Good Friday procession. As before, the alfumbras were elaborate and beautiful, and a real treat to see.Read more