Coban, Feb. 7, 2009

The sky looks a little brighter, but maybe it´s wishful thinking on our part. After all, we are in an area of cloud forest, so we should expect misty weather. We traveled here yesterday, fretful that we would end up alongside the road, baggage in hand, hoping for a ride from some kind person. Thankfully, that was not the case, and we limped into town on our minibus. As the driver pulled into the garage, I could see a sign of relief on his face. He had been driving the last 5 hours with a burned out clutch that made a grinding noise every time he shifted, and because of the many speed bumps in the villages, he was constantly shifting. A couple of times he had to stop in the road and turn the motor off altogether, then start it back up and proceed. We crossed on a ferry at Sayaxche, and it took about 6 cars, powered by an unusual setup for a ferry. The driver sat in a round kind of boat that was attached to the side of the ferry which swiveled as he ran the outboard motor according to the direction he wanted to go.
When we reached the other side, our driver stopped and had 7 people transfer to another bus to lighten the load on ours. I guess he thought it would help with the mechanical problem. I´m not sure it did as it took an extra hour and a half to travel to Coban.
Along the way, the countryside became rolling hills with cattle ranches, and palm trees dotted the landscape. We also saw pine tree plantations underplanted with corn. We passed through many Mayan villages and saw ladies dressed in native garb of bright skirts and camisole tops covered with lacy square shaped blouses. There were lots of dogs around, and we fed a few of them from the window leftovers of our lunch. The hills gradually became low mountains, and the road turned twisty and steeper. There were many corn fields on the steep hillsides with banana trees at the bottom. There were also several coffee plantations along the way, providing Coban with some of the world´s finest coffee, begun by German immigrants in 1880´s. They also grow a large share of the world´s cardamon and export 90% to Saudi Arabia and other middle eastern countries where they mix it with their coffee. That actually employs more people than do the coffee plantations.
This afternoon, after walking around the market with vividly colored fruits, vegetables, and flowers, we traveled a short distance out of town to Vivero Verapaz, an orchid nursery with many thousands of species. We enjoyed seeing monja blanca, the white nun orchid which is Guatemala´s national flower. There were also hundreds of species of miniature orchids that had flowers almost too small to see. I spotted a magnifying glass in the pocket of Juan, our guide. We were sorry to have missed the national orchid show which is held here in Dec.
We are staying in a 400 year old former mansion which has atmosphere but no heat. We survived the first night with an extra blanket. There are antiques everywhere along the inside courtyard which is planted with tropical flowers and trees. The restaurant Casa de Aruña which we keep going back to is a feast for the eyes. It also has a center courtyard covered with orchids and tropical plants. It´s painted a beautiful Mayan red, the same color that covered the ancient pyramids which we visited in Tikal. The food is delicious, and the inside part of the dining room has a fireplace to take the chill off the damp mountain air, which gives a truly cozy feel.
It seems to be getting brighter outside, so we think we should look around more of the town before going to dinner. Tomorrow we´re off to Antigua, the old colonial capital, which is about a 4 hour drive, assuming the bus doesn´t develop any problems!