Barefoot in Guatemala

I just returned from 10 days in Guatemala. Wore flip flops in the airports but was otherwise barefoot most of the time. I found the locals to be very friendly and they didn't pay much attention to my feet. It was only the other tourists who kept asking me if my feet were OK, especially during the hike up a volcano.

I must admit the volcano hike was challenging- the last hour of the climb involved steep piles of loose volcanic rocks and pumice. I just told people this was the secret to getting a free exfoliation. Even the tops of my feet had layers of skin worn off by the sharp, abrasive volcanic gravel. I got so close to the erupting, spewing lava that I was worried about rocks falling on my head.

The day after the volcano hike I went to visit Mayan temples in Yaxha, and to Tikal the following day. Climbing the ruins in bare feet was the best- it made the experience of being there even more real since it added a tactile dimension to everything. The limestone steps of the pyramids and other structures were warm under the tropical sun. Walking through the jungle was fun too as it was nice to feel roots and rounded stones under the soles while listening to the sounds of exotic birds and howler monkeys.

At Lake Atitlan, I saw a few barefoot women, mostly elders, and felt the warm streets of the fishing/farming villages. Kids kept following me around and laughing and spanking me and stuff. Guess I look funny to them or something, but they were a lot of fun to have around.

 

i found that going barefoot in more urban areas of ecuador got me some seriously strange looks, since it's borderline socially unacceptable to even wear sandals in public. didn't spend too much time in more rural parts of the country, but saw some people barefoot the few times i was there.
barefoot on mayan ruins...sounds absolutely amazing actually and makes me want to get out of the USA again...

 

Sounds like an outstanding trip! Any chance you'll be posting pictures of the exotic places you visited? When traveling, I love getting a real feel for the land and barefooting is the only way to do that. Volcanic hiking sounds like a very ambitious barefoot test. Glad to hear you were able to do it.

 

That is an awesome trip! I hope to work with volcanoes one day so at least I know I can do it barefoot.

Did the Obsidian cut your feet or did you see any? Probably not, but that's one thing I would worry about. I have taken an obsidan rock and slice paper with it. Hope you didn't come across any. I think it's mostly in water though.

Peace & Love

 

Hippie chick, that's cool that you're thinking about working with volcanoes. Any sort of geology is totally enhanced when barefoot- I can now tell what kind of rock is below my feet just from walking on it, and by walking along a trail I can sense the changes in substrate.

This is a webpage about the Pacaya Volcano that I hiked:


http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/current_volcs/pacaya/pacaya.html

I didn't see any obsidian, just a lot of aa rocks. Truthfully I'm not sure I'd want to spend a whole lot of time barefoot on a volcano. Nearest the crater the larger, more solidified aa rocks made it rather slow-going. Native Hawaiians didn't call it "aa" for nothing! However, I seem to recall a television program about volcanoes and saw one volcanologist getting out of a tent and walking around barefoot on the rocks. The fizzing sound that the lava made as it spewed out of the crater was absolutely incredible. It sounded like soda bottles exploding. The ground was rumbling constantly- it was like the churning of the earth's hungry stomach.

Barefoot Beautiful, somehow I managed to stay out of the urban areas in Guatemala, exploring mostly rural villages and the countryside. I was impressed with how well farmed the land is. In the northern part of the country, where it is hotter and very humid, I saw a lot of barefoot farm kids. They would walk along the hot highway asphalt or along the gravel shoulder without any problem. Wild horses and other loose farm animals were everywhere, frequently just standing in the middle of the road.