Buenos Dias

We got a 19 seater shuttle out of Flores to Coban, along the way the driver managed to squeeze 40 or so small Mayans in. Each row was designed to fit four little people. Charlie was fine but Chesta was having problems with the lack of allocated space before the driver started to shoe horn more passengers in.  Chesta certainly got a few strange looks, mostly from the wide eyed kids who possibly hadn´t seen a white giant before. He tried to break the ice by offering our sweets to an awestruck girl, but she silently took the whole bag and continued to stare, cradling the bag on her lap.

The drive was exilhirating, in the same way that Alton Towers is exilhirating. The shuttle bus drivers race each other along the routes, overtaking at any opportunity and outdoing each other with horn volume and frequency. Magic. Coban is in the mountains, and the scenery is incredible when you get into the region. It was last area to be conquered by the Spanish (by default) and has a reputation for being fiercely independent. There´s also alot of guerrillas who settled here after the civil war. So we really weren´t ready for everyone to be as friendly as they are - most people we passed in the street would say good morning or afternoon. There´s alot of guns, machettes and roads in Coban. We saw a guy guarding an egg shop with a pump-action shotgun.

We got a taxi to a smashing hotel called Hotel Monja Blanca (opened in 1888 and named after Guatemala´s national flower). The people were friendly, if a little Nun-like. Coban has a coffee plantation, and a cafe that serves 52 different types of coffee. We had a tour round the plantation and some of the best coffee we´ve ever tasted at the cafe. And saw a church with lots of burnt Mayan offerings. But that´s about it. Nice place to visit for a couple of days, but we wouldn´t want to live there.