{"id":530,"date":"2019-02-07T00:29:56","date_gmt":"2019-02-07T00:29:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goldenpineroasters.com\/store\/?p=530"},"modified":"2019-02-07T00:36:08","modified_gmt":"2019-02-07T00:36:08","slug":"2019-origin-trip-days-three-through-five","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goldenpineroasters.com\/store\/2019\/02\/07\/2019-origin-trip-days-three-through-five\/","title":{"rendered":"2019 Origin Trip: days three through five"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Day 3: Travel to Nebaj<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A late start to the day\u2026 we were still recovering from the long day in El Salvador yesterday<\/a>. After breakfast we headed out towards Nebaj, Quiche on the way to visit the Ixil growers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On the way to Chichicastenango. It\u2019s as fun to type as it is to say. \ud83d\ude42

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A quick stop for some fresh tortillas to go with the venison jerky Cesar\u2019s family made the night before<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Us here in the US are spoiled by our road system. Once we were off the PanAmerican Highway, it was narrow, two laned, sometimes completely falling apart roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Technically<\/em> we weren\u2019t supposed to pass. It didn\u2019t stop anyone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We drove through small village after small village just to stumble upon towns seemingly out in the middle of nowhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The bustling metropolis of Santa Cruz del Quich\u00e9. Yes, this is the main road through the town. Yes, vendors have set up shop in the middle of the road.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Overlooking the hamlet of Sacapulas, Quich\u00e9, Guatemala. That ribbon of light is the R\u00edo Negro<\/em>, where we stopped to pick up some black salt. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Even though Nebaj was only 70 miles away from Guatemala City as the crow files, it took us almost six hours to get there. We pulled in just before dusk, got a hotel, and wandered around the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the central plaza of Nebaj.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Day 4: The Maya Ixil Growers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Day four started off cold<\/em>. We were up at dawn and shivering because of very limited hot water for showers. As we drove from Nebaj to Santa Avelina, a low fog\/haze\/mist enveloped the countryside, only burning off when we hit the village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Leaving Nebaj. You can see the low clouds and haze we drove through to get to Santa Avelina in the background.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Santa Avelina is everything our trip to the Pacas Farm in El Salvador was not: all the families milled their own coffee, drying was done on rooftops or the street, and the Ixil cooperative was more compact in terms of bagging coffee. In short, a more rustic experience. When we toured the coffee farms there was no truck to take us there: only our feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n