3:45 a.m.

Today I woke up at 3:45 a.m. surrounded by 11 other people who had also spent 6 or 7 hours trying to sleep on the floor of what appeared to be Don Pedro and family´s multipurpose room in Santa Clara la Laguna. While you might think we woke up to barking dogs (we did a few hours earlier) or someone tripping over a sleeping body on the way to the bathroom (which happened around 1 a.m.), this time it was an alarm clock - meant to revive us at this unappealing hour so that we could hike to watch the sunrise over Lake Atitlan.

This was the third and last day of our backpacking trek from Quetzaltenango to San Pedro la Laguna through the highlands of Guatemala. Okay, when they say, "the highlands," of course that means there's some hight involved, but for some reason I was forgetting that this would imply climbing mountains. And also descending mountains. As it turned out, neither of these activities were favorites of mine; but what I did like was that we weren't traveling on hiking paths. These were paths that are used for transit between towns, and we passed plenty of folks carrying wood or chainsaws, as well as some folks with cattle or goats, along our way. And the paths didn´t just stick to the woods, but also passed through cornfields and town streets (we were a bit like a local parade) and groves of coffee plants.

The first night we spent in the municipal building of Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan, a town that supposedly was once more thriving, but was hard hit by Hurricane Stan in 1998. We had the municipal building to ourselves, so we hung out in the courtyard and took turns going up to a friendly neighbor's house to use their temazcal - a form of home sauna that you crawl into. The next day, we dined in a local comedor and headed back into the hills to Santa Clara la Laguna, where Don Pedro hosted us with what was said to be the best chicken in Guatemala. He and his grandchildren also entertained us with stories and songs.

I´m glad to report that we didn't miss the sunrise this morning. We were there for the whole thing and had our breakfast overlooking the lake. I would love to share pictures, but still haven´t found a way to upload them here - so I borrowed a picture of the lake from the Quetzaltrekkers website (the group that led the trek), just to give you an idea. And if you want to check out the route, it´s (roughly) here.

Now I´m in San Pedro in the company of four of my fellow trekkers - a New Zealander who's been traveling the world for 5 years and and plans to go home and settle down in 3 months, two Israelis who met up in Puerto Escondido (Oaxaca), and a Brit who's on his way further south into Central America. We are staying on the local strip, a small paved pedestrian path lined with hotels, cafes, and, luckily, a couple of laundromats. I have a feeling I'm in for an evening surrounded by intoxicated boys and possibly some lewd international humour; but however that goes, I will not be sleeping on the floor, and at 10 a.m. I will retrieve a bag full of clothes (mine) that are not covered in dirt and sweat, and that is a beautiful thing.